Question

Discuss the four types of process strategies and give an example of each. Also, please share any personal industry experiences (if any) with each process strategy.

Answer 1

Process Focus- This strategy focuses on building low volume and high variety based products. The process focus entails that the business will focus special attention toward the practices and procedures that are most important to the organization.

For example- in an office setting we find that typically human resources, payroll and supply are the strongest process that occurs. Without human resources there would not be any employees that are hired. Without payroll there wouldn’t be any employees because employees must be paid. Without supply resources an organization wouldn’t have the resources needed in order to effectively operate

Repetitive Focus- This strategy revolves on repetition or continuous cycles. This is when an organization is based on mass production and consistent processes. With this strategy management is working on large level of production strategy. Fast-food firms are an example of repetitive process using modules.

Product focus- Product focus is high volume, low variety processes, also called continuous processes. Products such as light bulbs, rolls of paper, beer, and bolts are examples of product process. This type of facility requires a high fixed cost, but low costs. The reward is high facility utilization.

Mass customizations focus- is rapid, low-cost production that caters to constantly changing unique customer desires. This process is not only about variety, it is about making precisely what the customer wants when the customer wants it economically. Achieving mass customization is a challenge that requires sophisticated operational capabilities. Example - production of tiles and marbles.