What are the fundamental aspects of the Electrolux Manufacturing System (EMS), and how are they related to the decision areas of an operations strategy?

What is the most important action introduced by the EMS as far as the management systems are concerned? Why?

Workplace Conflict

There is a big difference between arguing over ideas and arguing with each other. The former type can potentially improve decisions and increase employee performance. The latter type is likely to harm relationships and create stress and dissatisfaction. This exercise will help you to distinguish between the two types of conflict: task conflict and relationship conflict. It will also ask you to consider structural sources of conflict in organizations as well as different styles we use when faced with conflict.

Past perspectives on conflict assumed it was bad because of its potential negative consequences, such as higher stress, higher job dissatisfaction, and increased organizational politics. More recent views recognize that moderate levels of conflict can have positive outcomes such as better decision making, quicker responses to environmental change, and stronger team cohesion. Task conflict, also called constructive conflict, focuses on issues while maintaining respect for others' points of view. Relationship conflict focuses on interpersonal differences rather than legitimate differences of opinion, and generally has numerous undesirable outcomes. There are several structural sources of organizational conflict, including differentiation, task interdependence, and scarce resources. Research also shows that individuals tend to have a personal preferred conflict handling style they use when faced with conflict episodes.

Read the case below and answer the questions that follow.

Pete was a young and ambitious employee who had been with the organization for two years. He had built a reputation as a hard worker and a solid performer and had participated as a junior member of an extremely successful consulting team. Pete was well liked by older employees for his willingness to put in what it took to get the job done, but he was also admired by newer employees for his apparent ability to balance work demands with an active personal life.

In his third year at the organization, Pete's job responsibilities changed to focus on a long-term project that would last for the next two years. In making the shift to the new responsibilities, Pete was advised by a senior manager to solicit the help of Claire, a new employee who had been hired because of her expertise on projects like the one Pete was starting. Although Claire was just starting with the organization, because of her experience at other similar organizations she had been brought on as a middle manager. Although Claire wouldn't be Pete's primary supervisor, involving her would mean that Pete would need to keep her appraised of his progress and follow her suggestions. Pete had heard very positive things about Claire and was excited to benefit from her knowledge and skills.

As Pete and Claire began the project, they seemed to work well together. Their early discussions focused on the work to be completed and each expressed opinions and suggestions for how to proceed. These discussions vastly improved the plan for completing Pete's project. Pete mostly worked autonomously, but reported periodically to Claire to ask for advice and to report on his progress. After a while, Pete realized that the more he talked with Claire, the larger his project grew. Each time they would meet, she would add an idea or two that would increase his workload. Not wanting to offend her, and trusting in her experience, Pete simply agreed to the extra work. Over the next few months his discussions with Claire became less frequent, partly because of the time it took to complete the extra work she had given him, and partly because he wanted to avoid adding any more work. The early steps of the project were very flexible in terms of their timeline and tangible output, so the frequency of meetings was not a critical issue.

About six months later, Claire asked Pete if he would like to join her on a similar project that she was leading. In fact, Claire proposed that Pete extend his project to include her client and run his project concurrently with hers. This meant Claire and Pete would meet more often and work more closely. Since Claire was the lead consultant on her project, she would be Pete's direct supervisor with regard to his work on her project. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity with a skilled consultant, Pete agreed to join Claire's project.

Pete continued his practice of working on his own and reporting periodically to Claire. The later steps of his project took more time and lent themselves to less frequent reports. In the meantime, Pete had been busy working on Claire's project, including traveling several times to the client's location for two-day meetings. Progress on both projects occasionally stalled as problems arose but were quickly resolved. Pete took these delays in stride, but Claire reacted negatively towards any holdup and began expressing her displeasure in cutting remarks and critical comments. Her discontent reached a peak one day when she summoned Pete to her office for a talk. She began by outlining the failures on her project, but then proceeded to criticize Pete for the failures on his. Pete admitted he could do better, but Claire's next series of comments took him completely by surprise. She told him that he had better shape up and start working harder or he would never get anywhere in their profession. Claire made it clear that she thought Pete was the source of the problems, both on her project and on his.

Pete walked away from this meeting stinging from the unexpected reprimand. Pete knew better than to fire back at Claire, so once she had finished her comments he simply thanked her and left the room. However, the rebuke seemed to linger in the air for weeks. Over the next several months, Pete found himself less and less eager to see Claire. His communications with her became briefer and more task oriented. Unfortunately, the less he interacted with her, the more she seemed to disapprove of him personally. At the end of the projects, Pete was relieved to finally be free of his ties to Claire. The two never worked together again.

1.) Pete and Claire's early discussions focused on the work and how it would be completed. If there was conflict in these discussions, it would likely have been _____ conflict.

Multiple Choice

• interpersonal

• relationship

• nominal

• major

• task

2.) When he initially began to minimize his interactions with Claire, Pete was using which conflict resolution style?

Multiple Choice

• yielding

• compromising

• problem solving

• forcing

• avoiding

3.) When Pete agreed to take on Claire's client, he had to work more closely with her and directly report to her. This would increase which structural source of conflict?

Multiple Choice

• scarce resources

• interdependence

• incompatible goals

• ambiguous rules

• differentiation

4.) When Claire began criticizing Pete and making cutting remarks towards him, it represented which form of conflict?

Multiple Choice

• project

• differentiated

• relationship

• task

• episodic

5.) It is common for the parties to communicate less when relationship conflict is present. However, this lack of communication often ______ the conflict.

Multiple Choice

• decreases

• alleviates

• escalates

• solves

• removes

6.) Claire and Pete were unable to engage in _____, that is, to work together to find a mutually beneficial resolution to their issues.

Multiple Choice

• forcing

• avoiding

• yielding

• compromising

• problem solving

You are the owner of a discount furniture company that has expanded from a rural store in one state to 20 stores across the United States. Discuss at least one reason why your company should think about implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. Discuss at least one challenge to implementing an ERP.

If any company would like to convert their assembly lines from manual to semi or full automated systems, they need to calculate their unit product cost firstly and at this conversion stage, such formulation is used

(1)

[; where = cost to operate automatic workstation i; = cost to operate manual workstation i; = cost to operate the automatic work transfer mechanism; and

Material costs and tooling costs can be neglegible in this analysis]

Therefore, how can you prove the relation between fraction defect rate (q) and unit product cost ( for identical machine systems in automated assemble systems? Please indicate all of your calculations with clear explanations and show all solution steps explicitly.

in short essay name and describe the different ways that learning occurs in a company. What are the four types of capital and how are these influenced by training and development

Sergio Marquina is an expert of automated production lines. However, in order to promote his status to “the professor” he needs to also become an expert of line balancing in manual assembly lines. He already knows the three types of line balancing algorithms as Largest Candidate Rule, Kilbridge and Wester Method and Ranked Positional Weights. In his attempt to become “the professor”, he has to present the following discussion points to the committee of referees. Present your answers with an organized, detailed and clear way.

1. Discuss in what situations one should use Largest Candidate Rule, knowing that Kilbridge and Wester Method and Ranked Positional Weights usually bring solutions that are more accurate.
2. What should be done in the case of a single work element’s value is greater than value?
3. In mixed model line balancing systems, why are we taking AT (available time) as the maximum station time?

Where was the failure in the Microsoft Zune market research process? Which step was missing, not followed correctly, misinterpreted, or misrepresented?

1. What do you think about practicing a predatory pricing strategy and its impact?
2. Should predatory pricing be an illegal strategy? Why?
3. As a policy maker, what do you suggest to protect consumer rights?

Are the symbols/letters part of a universal business language? Or can an organization have its own set of symbols and letters? Up to how many symbols/letters can a BPMN have? Portraying to how easy or difficut it would be to remember them if there's a lot to cover.

What combinations of management style might you use in each of these situations and why?

QUESTION ONE:

Absorption and Variable Costing: Prepare and Reconcile Variable costing Statements

Audiophonics Limited manufactures and sells high-quality and durable ear buds for use with personal electronics that are custom moulded to each customer’s ear. Cost data for the product follows:

Variable costs per unit:

           Direct materials                                       $12

           Direct labour                                            24

           Variable factory overhead                            8

           Variable selling and administrative               6

Total variable costs per unit                               $50

Fixed costs per month:

           Fixed manufacturing overhead                $240,000

           Fixed selling and administrative              180,000

Total fixed costs per month                                $420,000

The product sells for $80 per unit. Production and sales data for May and June, the first two months of operations, are as follows:

Units Produced                 Units Sold

May                         15,000                     13,000

June                        15,000                     17,000

Income statements prepared by the Accounting Department using absorption costing are presented below:

May        June

Sales                                                             $1,040,000   $1,360,000

Cost of goods sold:

           Beginning inventory                                           0              120,000

           Add cost of goods manufactured            900,000           900,000

           Goods available for sale                          900,000        1,020,000

           Less ending inventory                              120,000                        0

Cost of goods sold                                             780,000        1,020,000

Gross margin                                                      260,000             340,000

Selling and administrative expenses                  258,000            282,000

Operating income                                               $2,000           $58,000

REQUIRED:

1. Determine the unit cost under
   1. Absorption costing.
   2. Variable costing.

2. Prepare variable costing income statements for May and June using the contribution approach.

3. Reconcile the variable costing and absorption costing operating income figures.

4. The company’s Accounting Department has determined the break-even point to be 14,000 units per month, computed as follows:

Fixed cost per month         =           $420,000      = 14,000 units

Unit contribution margin                $30 per unit

On receiving this figure, the president commented, “There’s something peculiar here. The comptroller says that the break-even point is 14,000 units per month. Yet we sold only 13,000 units in May, and the income statement we received showed a $2,000 profit. Which figure do we believe?” Prepare a brief explanation of what happened on the May income statement.

what are the organization's responsibility to make the workplace legal & ethical as well as have a stated mission to contribute to societal goals? Write a well-developed answer

subject Human resource management

Your book states that we must never be afraid to try something new, but fear is the single most obstacle to our professional creativity.

• Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
• Why are we afraid to be creative in our tactics?

1. Applying the Product Development Uncertainty Principle means that Traditional/Waterfall projects are seemingly destined to fail. What prevents a company from just changing to Agile?
2. History is an important influencer of project management. Give three examples of how this is true?

In a narrative format, discuss Wal-Mart from a strategic perspective. Discuss Wal-Mart’s strengths and weaknesses? Information concerning recent changes in the firms is readily available online and should be accessed. Strategic issues should be discussed in “real time.