California State University – Fresno Management Discussion

1-1. What are the different disciplines within a typical supply chain? Compare the various supply chain segments within your own sphere of influence or a company with which you are familiar.

1-2. Why is operations management relevant to managers in other organization functions? Base your discussion on your experience of operations within your organization or an organization with which you are familiar. For example, talk with the operations manager in your organization and find out what he/she says, what he/she does, and how he/she works with the organization including the marketing, financial, personnel, and purchasing functions.

2-1. Discuss the strategic importance of layout decisions. How can a particular layout affect a company?s strategic goals? Provide some specific examples from industry.

2-2. Name the five types of customer-introduced variability and discuss options that let companies offer a high level of accommodation at low cost or reduced variability without damaging the service experience. Provide your rationale and at least one source.

3-1.Explain the three inventory control models and the driving factor in each model. Provide examples for each one using current companies.

3-2. Using one of the companies from 1-1 or 1-2, describe how inventory planning and accuracy can be defined using the Pareto principle.

4-1. Being able to identify opportunities for improvement based on data and other information is a valuable professional skill. Most management and administration positions require this skill, but this can be a highly specialized employment position. This position is often referred to as a “Continuous Improvement Manager” or a slight variation of this title. The primary responsibility of this position is to drive continuous improvement in both quality and productivity while reducing cost and eliminating inefficiencies. If you were a Continuous Improvement Manager in your organization, describe some of the methodology you would apply to identify root causes. What are the tools you would use to help you achieve your primary job responsibilities? In your role as a manager, how would you identify areas of improvement from a Christian worldview and how would these decisions affect the people around you?

4-2. Identify stakeholders and plan how manufacturing or service processes use value stream mapping. What is the benefit and why do companies do it? How would a company measure improvements?