Read the case Laureani, A., Antony, J. (2009). Lean six sigma in a call center: a case study. Emerald Insight found in the Unit 3 activities checklist.

Describe the tools used in each one of the DMAIC phases in this project. Create a table with that information. What tools you think may have been redundant? What other tools you may have used to complement each of the DMAIC phases? Include costs, DPMO, sigma levels, and process capabilities if available. Write your conclusions.

Case study The case study focuses on a large corporation in the service sector operating in the vehicle leasing and renting industry: it sells its services to both the general retail public and other businesses in 145 countries and has 22,000 employees and 8,000 locations. Its European call centre was receiving an average of 10,000 calls a month from customers who had an issue with either the level of service received or the billing/invoicing process. The company puts a lot of emphasis on its level of customer service, an integral part of its mission, vision and values, as a differentiator from the competition; its strategic position was that of a quality service, intended to attract those customers who wanted to pay a bit more for a better service, in contrast with its low-cost competitors. Consequently, quality of customer service was a critical component of the company’s strategy: the number of calls received and the more frequent issues reported by customers were continuously analysed and employees’ variable compensation linked to it. The number of contacts received from customers amounted to about 2 per cent of the total transactions (five million a year). The specific objective of the inbound call centre was to deal as quickly and efficiently as possible with those customers. Problem statement A consistent number of the calls of the 1,200,000 received annually at the inbound call centre couldn’t be solved at the first attempt, leading to customer dissatisfaction and unnecessary repetition of work in the Centre. The objective of the project was to increase the first-call resolution ratio. Lean six sigma in a call centre 761 Define phase A cross-functional project team was created, led by a black belt, with the objective of using the define, measure, analyse, improve, and control (DMAIC) six sigma breakthrough methodology in order to increase the first-call resolution ratio. The team scoped down the project, identifying which specific areas of the call centre and services they were going to focus on; a high-level process map or suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, customers (SIPOC) (Pyzdek, 2003) was created, followed by a more detailed process map (see Figures 1 and 2). The team also investigated the seven kinds of waste accordingly to lean principles. These are: (1) overproduction; (2) inventory; (3) motion; (4) waiting; (5) transportation; (6) over-processing; and (7) defects. Of these seven wastes, four were identified as belonging to the current state of the process: . Motion: unnecessary movement from the call centre operators, who needed to leave their workstation to perform some routine tasks, e.g. sending/receiving a fax, printing a document; . Waiting: sometimes an operator could not answer a customer’s query immediately because they were waiting for an answer from another department or a supervisor; . Over-processing: some of the queries from customer could not be addressed on the phone and needed to be dealt with off line by another operator, so creating unnecessary re-work and reducing customer satisfaction; . Defects: a query was not always completely solved the first time, forcing customers to call back and so creating unnecessary work and lowering customer satisfaction. Figure 1. SIPOC (high level process map) IJPPM 59,8 762 Figure 2. Detailed process map Lean six sigma in a call centre 763 To complete the define phase, the operational definition of first-time call resolution was developed and agreed with the major stakeholders: a call was deemed not resolved if, at the end of it, the case was still open in the customer relationship management system, or was escalated or transferred to another department. Measure phase In this phase the project team established the key metrics for the process and calculated the baseline performances of the process at the start of the project. The defects per million opportunities (DPMO) value of the process was calculated (Pyzdek, 2003), using random sampling techniques (see Table I): establishing this is a key component of the Measure Phase, as it becomes the benchmarking performance measures against which the project will be evaluated. It is important to note at this stage that, whatever the measurement system agreed upon, it must be kept consistent at the end of the project, so the pre- and post-project performances of the process can be compared. Analyse phase The team went into the details of the data, slicing them across different dimensions, and noted, using a Pareto chart (see Figure 3), which two types of queries accounted for about 70 per cent of the unresolved first-time calls. Hypothesis tests showed no relationship between the number of unresolved first-time calls and the call centre operators: in other words, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of unresolved first-time calls between more experienced and less experienced operators. As a result, the focus was put on eliminating the root causes for categories “A” and “B” of the queries. Improve phase While collecting and analysing the data, the project team had the chance to “walk the process”, i.e. observe the process in action: this allowed them to identify two so called “quick win” actions (actions that can be easily implemented without roadblocks or concerns). Two improvement ideas were also generated in a brainstorming session. All those actions were first pre-tested through a pilot group, in a sub-section of the overall call centre: further data were collected from the pilot group to quantify the effects of the improvement actions. The sigma value for the new process, after the improvements were implemented, was recalculated in the pilot group (see Table II). Based on the sample size results on the pilot group, the improvement actions reduced the percentage of unresolved first-time calls from 11.82 per cent to 8.45 per cent. This was deemed satisfactory and the improvement actions were rolled out to the whole call centre. Total number of calls received 91,134 Unresolved queries after first call 10,769 Unresolved as percentage of total calls 11.82 DPMO 118,167 Table I. DPMO value calculations at the start of the project IJPPM 59,8 764 Control phase As part of the control phase, the project team documented the improvement actions implemented in a control plan, which was then handed over to the process owner to ensure sustainability of the process going forward. A p-chart was used to monitor and sustain the gains (see Figure 4). The team also calculated the financial impact of the project. Calculating this in a call centre can be tricky, due to the confusion normally existing between so called “hard savings” and “soft savings”: the first are those financial values identifiable in the profit and loss account and balance sheet of the organisation (e.g. payroll costs, telecommunication costs, hardware, software), whereas the latter are not listed in the balance sheet (e.g. productivity increase, customer satisfaction). The 3 per cent decrease in unresolved queries after first contact resulted in 36,000 fewer calls to the call centre on an annual basis (36,000 ¼ 3 per cent of 1,200,000, as this was the number of calls expected to be handled annually). This freed a certain amount of resources, in terms of both staff and telecommunication equipment, whose value was estimated at about $200,000 per annum. Total number of calls received 27,385 Unresolved queries after first call 2,315 Unresolved as percentage of total calls 8.45 DPMO 84,535 Table II. DPMO value calculations after improvement actions are implemented Figure 3. Pareto chart of unresolved first-time calls by type of query Lean six sigma in a call centre 765 Managerial implications and key lessons learned The main managerial implications from the project were in terms of management’s approach to lean six sigma and communication. The success of this particular project made senior management aware of the opportunities the application of lean six sigma created in the call centre environment. Better utilisation of resources, reduced operational costs and improved customer service are vital factors for the long-term sustainability of a call centre: plans for further lean six sigma projects were prepared. In terms of communication, the most relevant aspect was related to employees’ informal communication: the member of the cross-functional project team, working along with the black belt, were exposed to some of the lean six sigma tools and could see their impact on the understanding of the process. Some of them went proceeded to apply for six sigma green belt training, fostering a culture of continuous improvement in the organisation and getting more staff involved in the lean six sigma program. The key lessons to be learned from this case study are related to the first phase (define) and the last phase (control) of project: . The fact that no stakeholder analysis was performed in the define phase may not have caused major problems in this particular project, where the call centre was physically in one unique location, but given the spread of operations across the world, the importance of conducting a proper stakeholder analysis at the outset of the project must be emphasised. . In the control phase, the completed control plan was handed over to the process owner to ensure sustainability of the process, going forward. However, it may be necessary for the black belt, after a certain time, to revisit the process, to ensure improvement actions are still in place, and the process had not reverted to its pre-project status. Figure 4. P control chart IJPPM 59,8 766 Conclusion Call centres are increasingly important for many businesses and are consistently struggling with the pressure of delivering a better service at a lower cost. This paper tried to address the issue of whether lean six sigma can be useful in a call centre environment: by means of a case study, it was found that lean six sigma can improve the operation of a call centre, through an increase in first-call resolution (that reduces failure created by failing to answer the query in the first place), a reduction in call centre operators’ turnover (leveraging on training and experience) and streamlining the underlying processes by eliminating unnecessary operations. The case study illustrated within this paper has used a certain number of the tools available in the lean six sigma toolbox, while omitting some other important tools (e.g. stakeholder analysis and measurement system analysis): however, despite this, it managed to improve the first-call resolution, and hence the customer service levels, of its operation. Given the large scale of many call centre operations, even a relatively small improvement in the sigma value of the process can dramatically reduce the defect rate, increase customer satisfaction and deliver financial benefits to the bottom-line. By focusing on eliminating waste, identifying the truly value adding activities and using the DMAIC tools for problem solving, it is possible to achieve significant improvements in costs and the levels of customer service provided.

Identify the factors for a successful incentive plan.

Then explain how you would have your company (current employer) implement such a plan.

You are an assistant Human Resource Manager at Company X. You have had this job for two years, and you love it. You have a great opportunity to become the manager within the year as your immediate boss is nearing retirement. One day, the president of the company comes by your desk to ask you for “a favour”. He has just hired a “rock star” CEO and wants you to enroll her in the company benefits program right away and waive the required 6 months probationary period. He really wants to make a good impression with her and roll out the red carpet. The policy is that all employees must wait 6 months before enrolling in any company benefits program. You are well aware of the policy because when you were first hired, you needed new glasses and had to wait 6 months for coverage even though you had asked for a waiver. What do you do? Explain your decision using the four ethical decision-making criteria discussed in class and in your textbook.

Question: In about 150 words, analyze how Social, Economic, Political and Technological factors might affect the food industry. Define each factor with example in context.

Food Industry

There’s no denying that the food industry is one of the strongest in the world after all, everyone needs to eat! Indeed, there are some interesting dynamics at play in this space which make it unclear just how profitable food businesses will continue to be.

Governments across the world have expansive regulatory frameworks for every aspect of the food industry. This includes the cleanliness of commercial kitchens, the standards for storing and transporting produce, and even the requirements for laborers in the food business. Without a doubt, this makes the food industry one of the most tightly regulated industries of all. On the plus side, this ensures that consumers aren’t exposed to poor quality nutrition, but the complexities of regulation certainly take away from the margins of the food business.

We’re seeing various types of automation more and more in the food industry. Perhaps the best example is the use of self-checkout screens at fast food venues such as McDonalds, but it’s not the only one! Just recently, social media platforms went crazy as viral footage of a hotel’s robot cooking up omelets began to spread. As we find more ways to use technology including robots in

Define Alternate dispute resolution procedure and explain how having such a procedure can be valuable to a company

The Attaran Corporation manufactures two electrical​ products: portable air conditioners and portable heaters. The assembly process for each is similar in that both require a certain amount of wiring and drilling. Each air conditioner takes 3 hours of wiring and 2 hours of drilling. Each heater must go through 2 hours of wiring and 1 hour of drilling. During the next production​ period, 240 hours of wiring time are available and up to 130 hours of drilling time may be used. Each air conditioner sold yields a profit of ​$20. Each heater assembled may be sold for a ​$19 profit. The aim of the objective function for Attaran Corporation should be to Maximize the objective value.

The optimum solution​ is:

Number of air conditioners to be produced​ = ___ ​(round your response to two decimal​ places).

Number of heaters to be produced​ =_____ ​(round your response to two decimal​ places).

Optimal solution value​ = _____ ​(round your response to two decimal​ places).

What changes in business software platforms have you experienced, and what was the driving force behind the change? What important trends in business hardware are occurring? What relationship do you see happening between hardware changes and software? In your experience, which seems to drive the other and why? How important do you perceive databases and data mining to business? How could a small business take advantage of the technology? In your opinion, should software dictate business processes or should the business process dictate the software structure? Why? What are the risks?

Discuss the benefits of an effective reverse logistics process. Would you consider working in reverse logistics as a career choice?

Between 1988 and 1990 three $150 million amusement parks opened in France. By 1991 two of them were bankrupt and the third was doing poorly. Despite this, the Walt Disney Company went ahead with a plan to open Europe’s first Disneyland in 1992. Far from being concerned about the theme park doing well, Disney executives were worried that Euro Disneyland would be too small to handle the giant crowds. The $4.4 billion project was to be located on 5,000 acres in Seine-et-Marne 20 miles east of Paris. And the city seemed to be an excellent location; there were 17 million people within a two-hour drive of Euro Disneyland, 41 million within a four-hour drive, and 109 million within six hours of the park. This included people from seven countries: France, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Britain. Disney officials were optimistic about the project. Their US parks, Disneyland and Disneyworld, were extremely successful, and Tokyo Disneyland was so popular that on some days it could not accommodate the large number of visitors. Simply put, the company was making a great deal of money from its parks. However, the Tokyo park was franchised to others—and Disney management felt that it had given up too much profit with this arrangement. This would not be the case at Euro Disneyland. The company’s share of the venture was to be 49 per cent for which it would put up $160 million. Other investors put in $1.2 billion, the French government provided a low-interest $900 million loan, banks loaned the business $1.6 billion, and the remaining $400 million was to come from special partnerships formed to buy properties and to lease them back. For its investment and management of the operation, the Walt Disney Company was to receive 10 per cent of Euro Disney’s admission fees, 5 per cent of food and merchandise revenues, and 49 per cent of all profits. The location of the amusement park was thoroughly researched. The number of people who could be attracted to various locations throughout Europe and the amount of money they were likely to spend during a visit to the park were carefully calculated. In the end, France and Spain had proved to offer the best locations. Both countries were well aware of the park’s capability for creating jobs and stimulating their economy. As a result, each actively wooed the company. In addition to offering a central location in the heart of Europe, France was prepared to provide considerable financial incentives. Among other things, the French government promised to build a train line to connect the amusement park to the European train system. Thus, after carefully comparing the advantages offered by both countries, France was chosen as the site for the park. At first things appeared to be off to a roaring start. Unfortunately, by the time the park was ready to open, a number of problems had developed, and some of these had a very dampening effect on early operations. One was the concern of some French people that Euro Disney was nothing more than a transplanting of Disneyland into Europe. In their view the park did not fit into the local culture, and some of the French press accused Disney of “cultural imperialism.” Others objected to the fact that the French government, as promised in the contract, had expropriated the necessary land and sold it without profit to the Euro Disneyland development people. Signs reading “Don’t gnaw away our national wealth” and “Disney go home” began appearing along roadways. These negative feelings may well have accounted for the fact that on opening day only 50,000 visitors showed up, in contrast to the 500,000 that were expected. Soon thereafter, operations at the park came under criticism from both visitors and employees. Many visitors were upset about the high prices. In the case of British tourists, for example, because of the Franc exchange rate, it was cheaper for them to go to Florida than to Euro Disney. In the case of employees, many of them objected to the pay rates and the working conditions. They also raised concerns about a variety of company policies ranging from personal grooming to having to speak English in meetings, even if most people in attendance spoke French. Within the first month 3,000 employees quit. Some of the other operating problems were a result of Disney’s previous experiences. In the United States, for example, liquor was not sold outside of the hotels or specific areas. The general park was kept alcohol free, including the restaurants, in order to maintain a family atmosphere. In Japan, this policy was accepted and worked very well. However, Europeans were used to having outings with alcoholic beverages. As a result of these types of problems, Euro Disney soon ran into financial problems. In 1994, after three years of heavy losses, the operation was in such bad shape that some people were predicting that the park would close. However, a variety of developments saved the operation. For one thing, a major investor purchased 24.6 per cent (reducing Disney’s share to 39 per cent) of the company, injecting $500 million of much needed cash. Additionally, Disney waived its royalty fees and worked out a new loan repayment plan with the banks, and new shares were issued. These measures allowed Euro Disney to buy time while it restructured its marketing and general policies to fit the European market. In October 1994, Euro Disney officially changed its name to “Disneyland Paris.” This made the park more French and permitted it to capitalize on the romanticism that the word “Paris” conveys. Most importantly, the new name allowed for a new beginning, disassociating the park from the failure of Euro Disney. This was accompanied with measures designed to remedy past failures. The park changed its most offensive labor rules, reduced prices, and began being more culturally conscious. Among other things, alcohol beverages were now allowed to be served just about anywhere. The company also began making the park more appealing to local visitors by giving it a “European” focus. Ninety-two per cent of the park’s visitors are from eight nearby European countries. Disney Tomorrowland, with its dated images of the space age, was jettisoned entirely and replaced by a gleaming brass and wood complex called Discovery land, which was based on themes of Jules Verne and Leonardo da Vinci. In Disneyland food services were designed to reflect the fable’s country of origin: Pinocchio’s facility served German food, Cinderella’s had French offerings, and at Bella Notte’s the cuisine was Italian. The company also shot a 360-degree movie about French culture and showed it in the “Visionarium” exhibit. These changes were designed to draw more visitors, and they seemed to have worked. Disneyland Paris reported a slight profit in 1996, and the park continued to make a modest profit through to the early 2000s. In 2002 and 2003, the company was once again making losses, and new deals had to be worked out with creditors. This time, however, it wasn’t insensitivity to local customs but a slump in the travel and tourism industry, strikes and stoppages in France, and an economic downturn in many of the surrounding markets.

1. What is Walt Disney Company shown as multinational enterprises (MNE) characteristics?
2. Disney instead of licensing some other firm to build and operate the park and settling for a royalty, it takes wholly ownership strategy in the firm, why?
3. Are Walt Disney and Euro Disney indicate the same strategy of MNE?
4. Before going ahead with Euro Disney, was there an external environmental analysis from Disney? Clarify.
5. total answer must be 800 words

How will marketing be different by 2025?

11. Personality is predictive of leader effectiveness. Discuss each correlation coefficient below; make sure to identify/explain the direction of each relationship and each relationship’s magnitude (use Cohen, 1992). (4 points)

The Outdoor Furniture Corporation manufactures two​ products, benches and picnic​ tables, for use in yards and parks. The firm has two main​ resources: its carpenters​ (labor force) and a supply of redwood for use in the furniture. During the next production​ cycle, 3201,320 hours of labor are available under a union agreement. The firm also has a stock of 2403,240 board feet of quality redwood. Each bench that Outdoor Furniture produces requires 88 ​labor-hours and 1212 board feet of​ redwood; each picnic table takes 66 ​labor-hours and 3030 board feet of redwood. Completed benches will yield a profit of ​$1010 ​each, and tables will result in a profit of $1515 each. How many benches and tables should Outdoor Furniture produce in order to obtain the largest possible​ profit?

The optimum solution​ is:

Number of benches produced equals= _____

​(round your response to the nearest whole​ number).

Number of tables

produced equals=_____

​(round your response to the nearest whole​ number).

Optimal solution value​ = _____

​(round your response to the nearest whole​ dollar).

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited Concentrates on the Power Equipment Industry Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is India’s largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise, operating in the energy sector, employing more than 42000 people. Established in 1956, it has established its presence in the heavy electrical equipment’s industry nationally as well as globally. Its vision is to be ‘a world class enterprise committed to enhancing stakeholder value’. Its mission statement is: ‘to be an Indian multinational engineering enterprise providing total business solutions through quality products, systems, and services in the fields of energy, industry, transportation, infrastructure, and other potential areas’. BHEL is a huge organization, manufacturing over 180 products categorized into 30 major product groups, catering to the core sectors of power generation and transmission, industry, transportation, telecommunications and renewable energy. It has 14 manufacturing divisions, four power sector regional centers, over 100 project sites, eight service centers and 18 regional offices. It acquires technology from abroad and develops its own technology at its research and development centers. The operations of BHEL are organized into three business sectors of power, industry and overseas business. Besides the business sector departments, there are the corporate functional departments of engineering and R & D, human resource development, finance and corporate planning and development. BHEL’s turnover experienced a growth of 29 per cent, while net profit increased by 44 per cent in 2006-07. BHEL has formulated a five-year strategic plan with the aim of achieving a sustainable profitable growth. The strategy is driven by a combination of organic and inorganic growth. Organic growth is planned through capacity and capability enhancement, designed to leverage the company’s core areas of power, supported by the industry, transmission, exports and spares and services businesses. For the purpose of inorganic growth, BHEL plans to pursue mergers and acquisition and joint ventures and grow operations both in domestic and export markets.

BHEL is involved in several strategic business initiatives at present for internationalization. These include targeting the export markets, positioning itself as a reputed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor globally, and looking for opportunities for overseas joint ventures. An example of a concentration strategy of BHEL in the power sector is the joint venture with another public enterprise, National Thermal Power Corporation, to perform EPC activities in the power sector. It is to be noted that NTPC as a power generation utility and BHEL as an EPC contractor have worked together on several domestic projects earlier, but without a formal partnership. BHEL also has joint ventures with GE of the US and Siemens AG of Germany. Other strategic initiatives include management contract for Bharat Pumps and Compressors Ltd. and a proposed takeover of Bharat Heavy Plates and Vessels, both being sister public sector enterprises. Despite its impressive performance, BHEL is unable to fulfil the requirements for power equipment in the country. The demand for power has been exceeding the growth and availability. There are serious concerns about energy shortages owing to inadequate generation and transmission, as well as inefficiencies in the power sector. Since this sector is a major part of the national infrastructure, problems in the power sector affect the overall economic growth of the country as well as its attractiveness as a destination for foreign investments. BHEL also faces stiff competition from international players in the power equipment sector, mainly of Korean and Chinese origin. There seems to be an undercurrent of conflict between the two governmental ministries of power and heavy industries. BHEL operates administratively under the Ministry of Heavy Industries but supplies mainly to the power sector that is under the Ministry of Power. There has been talk of establishing another power equipment company as a part of the NTPC for some time, with the purpose of lessening the burden on BHEL.

1) BHEL is mainly formulating and implementing concentration strategies nationally as well as globally, in the power equipment sector. Do you think it should broaden the scope of its strategies to include integration or diversification? Why?

2) Suppose BHEL plans to diversify its business. What areas should it diversify into? Give reasons to justify your choice.

answer must be 500 words and above

Determine the utilization and the efficiency for each of these situations: a. A loan processing operation that processes an average of 4 loans per day. The operation has a design capacity of 12 loans per day and an effective capacity of 11 loans per day. (Round your answer to 1 decimal place. Omit the "%" sign in your response.) Utilization % Efficiency % b. A furnace repair team that services an average of 3 furnaces a day if the design capacity is 7 furnaces a day and the effective capacity is 5 furnaces a day. (Round your answer to 1 decimal place. Omit the "%" sign in your response.) Utilization % Efficiency % c. Would you say that systems that have higher efficiency ratios than other systems will always have higher utilization ratios than those other systems? This is not necessarily . If the design capacity is relatively , the utilization could be even though the efficiency was . Next Visit question mapQuestion 1 of 5 Total

Doug Turner Food Processors wishes to introduce a new brand of dog biscuits composed of chicken and liver flavored biscuits that meet certain nutritional requirements. The liver flavored biscuits contain 1 unit of nutrient A and 2 units of nutrient​ B; the chicken flavored biscuits contain 1 unit of nutrient A and 4 units of nutrient B. According to federal​ requirements, there must be at least 40 units of nutrient A and 60 units of nutrient B in a package of the new mix. In​ addition, the company has decided that there can be no more than 15 liver flavored biscuits in a package. It costs 1​¢ to make 1 liver flavored biscuit and 2​¢ to make 1 chicken flavored. Doug wants to determine the optimal product mix for a package of the biscuits to minimize the​ firm's cost.

The aim of the objective function should be to ▼ Minimize Maximize the objective value.

The optimum solution​ is:

Number of liver flavored biscuits in a package​ = ___ ​(round your response to two decimal​ places).

Number of chicken flavored biscuits in a package​ = ____ ​(round your response to two decimal​ places).

Optimal solution value​ = ____ ​(round your response to two decimal​ places).