Questions
Nikita is the manager of a local small hotel. Just today Nikita received word that a...

Nikita is the manager of a local small hotel. Just today Nikita received word that a major convention will be coming to town next month, and the demand for hotel rooms is expected to skyrocket. In a conversation with the owner, she asked, "What should our approach to pricing be for the week of the convention? Should we require payment in full at the time of the reservation?" Which management method is Nikita using?

Multiple Choice

  • the synergy method

  • scientific management

  • the systems viewpoint

  • the devil's advocate method

  • the contingency viewpoint

In: Operations Management

Q.2  Toronto Auto Co [TACo], has a parts division that needs 1,000 units of              component CX12 per...

Q.2  Toronto Auto Co [TACo], has a parts division that needs 1,000 units of     

        component CX12 per period in making car parts. It can buy the component for

        $1,250 each  or make them under the following conditions:

              Per Unit               Direct materials                                  $    500

                                            Direct manufacturing labour                  250

                                            Variable manufacturing overhead         300

                                            Fixed manufacturing overhead              250

                                                           Total                                      $1,300

      If TACo buys the components from outside, it can avoid 25% of fixed manu-   

      facturing overhead.  

      

Required: Part I

  1. Show calculations to prove whether TACo should make or buy the

component.  

  1. List additional  non-financial factors the company should use in deciding whether to make or buy the component.   
  2. What are the potential dangers of outsourcing in this situation?

Part II

Additionally, if TACo were to manufacture the part in-house, it can use extra capacity to supply another company that uses the same component.

  1.               What cost information should be used for pricing the extra units?

In: Operations Management

Background You are the Training & Development Manager of a large corporation (2000 staff). You have...

Background

You are the Training & Development Manager of a large corporation (2000 staff). You have recently been charged with the task of completing a training & development audit. From your research, you are expected to make recommendations to the directors on future training & development requirements.

The training department currently offers programs to staff through a catalogue that it produces each year. You have been receiving feedback from staff & managers alike that the programs are not necessarily meeting today's needs for skill development and just-in-time training. Also there were complaints of favouritism towards some staff who always seem to get to go to training, consequently the perception you face is that there is an inequitable access to training. Managers also raised issues about leadership skills in the workplace.

Another challenge for you is that the directors have also indicated that there is a budget squeeze and there are no more available resources for training & development at this time.

From the needs assessment you identified four options to put forward to the directors:

  1. Training & development programs to remain the same.

  2. Training and development to remain essentially the same, however, a review of the accessibility to training be undertaken to ensure fairness in opportunities and accessibility.

  3. To create a formal training and development plan that supports organizational goals to achieve organizational effectiveness and Human Resource effectiveness through the adoption and implementation of several strategies.

  4. Eliminate training and development all together

Exercise

For this exercise marry both the exercise criteria and your own organization. Utilize your current organization's training and development policies within the context of this assignment (your organization just grew if it doesn't already have 2000 people!) Consider your organization's current training programs, entry and registration process. Use this as a basis for completing the following.

  1. Utilize your own company as a basis for your response.
  2. Outline the training & development activities and issues within your organization. Add in the additional issues listed in this case.
  3. Outline the audit process you would undertake; include any questionnaires etc that you might utilize.
  4. Discuss the merits and gaps of your training and development programs as measured against your readings in the text book and in the Lecture Notes of Week 6.
  5. Pick one of the 4 options as described above, to recommend to your directors. Defend your recommendation by including in your report a description of the benefits the organization might receive as well any potential drawbacks.

In: Operations Management

The manager of an organic yogurt processing plant desires with a mean of 16 ounces +/-...

The manager of an organic yogurt processing plant desires with a mean of 16 ounces +/- 0.5 ounces. The process has a mean of 15.9 ounces and a standard deviation of 1 ounce. 1) Determine the Cp and Cpk of the process. Is the process capable of meeting specifications? Now the management has redesigned the system and so the standard deviation of the process is reduced to 0.1 ounces. 2) What is the Cp and Cpk of the new process? Is the new process capable of meeting specifications? 3) What happens to Cp as the process slides to the right? (the mean of the system increases?) 4) What happens to Cpk as the process slides to the right? (the mean of the system increases?) 5) What is the maximum value of Cpk?

In: Operations Management

The following table contains the measurements of the key length dimension from a fuel injector. These...

The following table contains the measurements of the key length dimension from a fuel injector. These samples of size five were taken at one-hour intervals. Use three-sigma control limits. Use Exhibit 10.13.

OBSERVATIONS

SAMPLE NUMBER 1 2 3 4 5
1 0.486 0.499 0.493 0.511 0.481
2 0.499 0.506 0.516 0.494 0.529
3 0.496 0.500 0.515 0.488 0.521
4 0.495 0.506 0.483 0.487 0.489
5 0.472 0.502 0.526 0.469 0.481
6 0.473 0.495 0.507 0.493 0.506
7 0.495 0.512 0.490 0.471 0.504
8 0.525 0.501 0.498 0.474 0.485
9 0.497 0.501 0.517 0.506 0.516
10 0.495 0.505 0.516 0.511 0.497
11 0.495 0.482 0.468 0.492 0.492
12 0.483 0.459 0.526 0.506 0.522
13 0.521 0.512 0.493 0.525 0.510
14 0.487 0.521 0.507 0.501 0.500
15 0.493 0.516 0.499 0.511 0.513
16 0.473 0.506 0.479 0.480 0.523
17 0.477 0.485 0.513 0.484 0.496
18 0.515 0.493 0.493 0.485 0.475
19 0.511 0.536 0.486 0.497 0.491
20 0.509 0.490 0.470 0.504 0.512

a. Calculate the mean and range for the above samples. (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answers to 3 decimal places.)

b. Determine X=X= and R−R− . (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answers to 3 decimal places.)

c. Determine the UCL and LCL for a X−X− -chart. (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answers to 3 decimal places.)

d. Determine the UCL and LCL for R-chart. (Leave no cells blank - be certain to enter "0" wherever required. Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answers to 3 decimal places.)

e. What comments can you make about the process?

o The process is in statistical control.

o The process is out of statistical control.

In: Operations Management

How does shaping demand differ from anticipating demand? Who can shape demand, and how is it...

How does shaping demand differ from anticipating demand? Who can shape demand, and how is it accomplished?

In: Operations Management

Learning objective: Improve understanding of contingency leadership theory Process: Suppose that you are a leader of...

Learning objective: Improve understanding of contingency leadership theory

Process:

Suppose that you are a leader of a team in a company.

  1. Team members are working together for the first time and are eager to begin, but they lack the experience and confidence needed to perform their roles. They are not familiar with individual and team goals and tasks yet.
  2. The members have begun working together and, as typically happens, are finding that their work is more difficult than they had anticipated. They also want to determine task assignment and roles of members more clearly. They begin to share their views on tasks even if it is hard to reach an agreement due to conflicting views on how to proceed the team project.
  3. The members realize that it is important to work together and begin to be more cooperative to each other. They understand most of team tasks and goals. They voice their views more actively. However, they still need some support from you to perform their tasks.
  4. The members have good understanding of individual tasks and team tasks. They are familiar with how they can accomplish team goals successfully and collectively work together well. They also have most information and knowledge to effectively perform their job.

Q. Drawing on contingency theory of leadership and four leadership behavior (telling, selling, participating, and delegating), identify the optimal leadership behavior for each of the situational contingencies above and justify your choice.

In: Operations Management

How neuromarketing id used marketing research.

How neuromarketing id used marketing research.

In: Operations Management

Learning objective: Improve understanding of behavioral leadership theory Process:       Read the following excerpt about a...

Learning objective: Improve understanding of behavioral leadership theory

Process:

      Read the following excerpt about a Facebook manager and respond to the discussion question.

Facebook (HBR, 2018). At Facebook, our best managers work with people to minimize these trade-offs by creating career opportunities that mesh with personal priorities. Here’s an example.

Shona, an agency lead, was coming back from maternity leave to a global role where time zones directly conflicted with her parenting. With her manager, Shona developed a prioritization plan for travel. For anything that was important but not essential, she worked with regional colleagues to set up meeting coverage. Shona’s manager also connected her with a mentor in a global role who guided her through her transition. In Shona’s words, “This deep level of support gave me the confidence to return to work fully present and also be there for my daughter.” Managers who give this kind of support find that their people not only deliver but also stay longer — they’re proud of where they work.

Discussion question: Drawing on behavioral theory of leadership, identify and explain leadership behavior of Shona’s manager. A strong answer will justify your answer.

In: Operations Management

Experimental research, designed to capture cause-and-effect relation- ships by eliminating competing explanations of the findings: What...

Experimental research, designed to capture cause-and-effect relation- ships by eliminating competing explanations of the findings: What do we mean by case and effect?

In: Operations Management

Try to identify your most commonly used communication channel by conducting an audit of a typical...

Try to identify your most commonly used communication channel by conducting an audit of a typical day’s communications. Select a typical workday and itemize each communication channel you used (you may want to tally and then total at the end of the day). You can use the template provided below. Communication Channel Number of times used in the day Individual face-to-face Meeting Presentation Telephone calls (Including mobile) Video-conferences Reports Memos Letters Emails SMS Others

In: Operations Management

Project #1 Collaboration Description: In this assignment you are to explore what information technology tools are...

Project #1 Collaboration Description: In this assignment you are to explore what information technology tools are available for collaboration in teams. While there are many options, you will find that we can put them into categories. For each of the categories listed identify a collaboration tool and fill out the relevant table entries.

In: Operations Management

Suppose that a firm is considering moving from a batch process to an assembly-line process to...

Suppose that a firm is considering moving from a batch process to an assembly-line process to better meet evolving market needs. What concerns might the following functions have about this proposed process change: Marketing, finance, human resources, accounting, and information systems?

In: Operations Management

Why are assembly-line processes usually so much more efficient but less flexible than batch processes? Give...

Why are assembly-line processes usually so much more efficient but less flexible than batch processes? Give three reasons.

In: Operations Management

Do you have a preferred communication channel? Is it the most effective channel for the types...

Do you have a preferred communication channel? Is it the most effective channel for the types of messages you typically transmit? Could you use other channels to improve your communication effectively

In: Operations Management