With reference to case study #8 from (total quality management and operational excellence text with cases 4ed) book

Case Name: Operational Excellence Driven by Process Maturity Reviews: A Case Study of the ABB Corporation

Case study 8 Building quality and operational excellence across ABB

COMPANY BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

ABB is a global leader in power and automation technologies. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, the company employs 150,000 people and operates in approximately 100 countries. The firm's shares are traded on the stock exchanges of Zurich, Stockholm and New York.

ABB is the world's largest builder of electricity grids and is active in many sectors, its core busi­nesses being in power and automation technolo­gies. The company has one corporate division and five production divisions.

POWER PRODUCTS

Power Products are the key components for the transmission and distribution of electricity. The division incorporates ABB's manufacturing net­work for transformers, switchgear, circuit breakers, cables, and associated high voltage and medium voltage equipment such as digital protective relays. It also offers maintenance services. The division is subdivided into three business units - High Voltage Products, Medium Voltage Products and Transformers.

POWER SYSTEMS

Power Systems offers turnkey systems and service for power transmission and distribution grids, and for power plants. Electrical substations and substation automation systems are key areas. Additional highlights include flexible AC trans­mission systems (FACTS), high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems and network management systems. In power generation, Power Systems offers the instrumentation, control and electrification of power plants. The division is subdivided into four business units - Grid Systems, Substations, Network Management and Power Generation.

DISCRETE AUTOMATION AND MOTION

Discrete Automation and Motion provides products and services for industrial production. It includes electric motors, generators, drives, pro­grammable logic controllers (PLCs), analytical, power electronics and industrial robots. ABB has installed over 200,000 robots. In 2006, ABB's global robotics Manufacturing headquarters moved to Shanghai, China. Also, wind generator and solar power inverter products belong to this division.

LOW VOLTAGE PRODUCTS

The Low Voltage Products division manufactures low-voltage circuit breakers, switches, control products, wiring accessories, enclosures and cable systems to protect people, installations and electronic equipment from electrical overload. The division also makes KNX systems that integrate and automate a building's electrical installa­tions, ventilation systems, and security and data communication networks. Low Voltage Products also incorporates a Low Voltage Systems unit manufacturing low voltage switchgear and motor control centres. Customers include a wide range of industry and utility operations, plus commercial and residential buildings.

PROCESS AUTOMATION

The main focus of this ABB business is to provide customers with systems for control, plant opti­mization and industry-specific automation applications. The industries served include oil and gas, power, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, metals and minerals, marine and turbocharging.

CORPORATE AND OTHER

The Corporate and Other department of ABB deals with the overall management and functioning of the company as well as asset management and investment. It supports MNCs.

The company in its current form was created in 1988, but its history spans over 120 years. ABB's success has been driven particularly by a strong focus on research and development. The company maintains seven corporate research centres around the world and has continued to invest in R&D through all market conditions. The result has been a long track record of innovation. Many of the technologies that underlie our modern society, from high-voltage DC power transmission to a revolutionary approach to ship propulsion, were developed or commercialized by ABB. Today, ABB stands as the largest supplier of industrial motors and drives, the largest provider of generators to the wind industry, and the largest supplier of power grids worldwide.

THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE

To enhance ABB's ability to delight customers with the products and services they provide, a global Operational Excellence (OPEX) program was launched. In summary, the aims of this were to provide:

• A common methodology for transforming improvement ideas into business reality
• Training on tools and techniques to build improvement competencies
• Coaching of improvement projects to turn real business issues into real business results.

The fundamental idea was that OPEX would equip ABB employees with the skills and ability to generate process improvements to ensure On- Time, On-Cost and On-Quality delivery. It was felt that this approach would also create a culture of ‘Continuous Improvement' within ABB through widespread use of its established ‘4Q' improve­ment system; hence the ABB OPEX:

• provides a common approach to problem solving based on the ABB 4Q Methodology
• has a common structure to facilitate participation by all employees regardless of location and function
• provides training materials, instruction and coaching to assure a quick start and transition to local ownership.
• is the programme promoted by the OPEX and Quality networks which creates value in operations.

ABB OPEX provides the training and tools cascade for employees to quickly resolve problems and implement improvements in their workplace (Figure C8.2 ).

The 4Q Program supports the ABB Quality Policy and aims to grow continual improvement competencies and culture on a global scale. These competencies help to eliminate waste, reduce variation and enable people to work in a safe and

efficient manner. They support the primary busi­ness objectives of:

• Delivering to the customer products and services that meet their expectations of quality, cost and delivery date
• Sustainable profitable growth
• Long-term marketplace competitiveness.

Through training, coaching and practical 4Q projects the program engages employees in the drive for process improvement. ABB business leaders select urgent improvement areas in their organizations; they then select individuals from their organizations to be trained in the 4Q methods and become 4Q Project Leaders; those Project Leaders then lead 4Q project teams (Figure C8.3).

Figure C8.4 is an overlay on C8.3 to show the benefits of this approach at the various stages and levels in the programme.

ABB 4Q METHODOLOGY

4Q is the standard ABB improvement methodol­ogy (Figure C8.5) and is applicable to all types of improvement projects. It is a systematic, four step method that ensures processes are mapped and understood, performance data is gathered, real root causes are determined and improvements are built into the local processes to sustain long-lasting results.

ASSESSMENT AND SELECTION OF 4Q PROGRAM TRAINERS AND COACHES

The training for 4Q is deployed by internal change agents that deliver both 'Basic' and 'Advanced' level workshops globally across ABB. These trainers require the necessary skills and capability to deliver effective training in the improvement methodology and then coach improvement projects that deliver benefits to the business. They also require the enthusiasm and energy to help drive the program, establishing credibility and momentum. Designed, built and deployed into the programme is a complete candidate assessment process that:

• Assesses and validates the suitability of poten­tial trainers and coaches against a specific criteria of key competences

• Identifies the individual's learning needs to be addressed and provides guidance on their development requirements, as a program trainer and coach.

DEVELOPING INTERNAL TRAINERS AND COACHES

For the initial rollout, approximately 20 trainers were identified to run courses across all four regions of the business. An external consultancy designed and conducted a comprehensive ‘Train the Trainer' program that rapidly equipped the trainers with the capability to run training courses and coach improvement projects.

The training included:

• Technical knowledge of quality and perfor­mance improvement tools and techniques
• Coaching skills for improvement projects to ensure they delivered real business results
• Workshop delivery and group coordination skills in different cultures
• Presentation and inter-personal skills training.

Figure C8.6 gives an overview of the ABB 4Q certification and trainer/coaches pathway

QUALITY AND CONTINUOUS

IMPROVEMENT TRAINING MATERIAL

The ‘Advanced' level workshops provide training for experienced improvement practitioners who have the capability to lead medium/large-scale improvement projects on cross functional value chains. A level of expertise was, therefore, required to structure and develop this training material. The consultancy led the development of this ‘Advanced' training material, combining best practice lean and six sigma principles. The training modules included: value stream mapping, measurement system analysis, statistical methods, project management, cost benefit analysis and change management.

KEY ELEMENTS OF THE OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE PROGRAMME

The critical success factors of programme are shown in Figures C8.7 and C8.8, which includes the 'A.R.O.W.' structured approach to technical coaching.

A - ASSESS

At the start of each coaching session, determine where the manager is in the improvement process using the coaching review checklist to assess progress - you are looking for supporting evidence.

Then ask the question: ‘What would you like from this session?'

R - REALITY

What is happening at the moment?

How do you know that this is accurate?

When does this happen?

How often does this happen? Be specific/precise where possible

What effect does this have?

How have you verified, or would you verify this?

Who else is involved?

What is their perception of the situation?

What have you tried so far?

O - OPTIONS

What are the relevant constraints and can they be removed?

What else could you do - options?

Think of approach/actions you have seen in similar situations

Who might be able to help?

Would you like suggestions from me?

What are the benefits and down sides of each option?

What factors will you use to evaluate the options?

W - WHAT

What are your next steps?

When?

What might get in the way?

How will you overcome?

What support do you need?

How and when will you get that support?

Do you need another coaching session?

Manager to record actions and agreements

REWARD AND RECOGNITION - THE CEO EXCELLENCE AWARDS

ABB employees make an invaluable contribu­tion to the company's success everyday so a CEO Excellence Award was launched to recognize outstanding achievements accomplished through the talent, passion, and drive of employees and teams around the world. The award acknowledges people and teams that have made significant contributions to operational excellence in ABB and recognized improvements to the business, in terms of customer satisfaction, on-time delivery and cost opportunities.

At the outset it was recognized that award schemes already existed across ABB so the CEO Excellence Award was designed to complement rather than replace existing schemes, providing a harmonized approach to acknowledging contribu­tions to operational excellence across ABB.

The award framework is shown in Figure C8.9.

BENEFITS DERIVED FROM THE PROGRAMME

In very large complex organizations such as ABB, success in improvement programmes like the

OPEX are more likely to be qualitative than quantitative, as the latter are specifically related to the particular industry sectors, geographical and even political situations. The whole OPEX approach was designed and developed to meet the future scale requirements of the ABB and is now fully documented and deployed across the organization.

The standardized trainer/coach assessment process has become embedded within the pro­gramme infrastructure as a sustainable approach to qualifying internal trainers and coaches in the divisions, regions and local business units, ensuring a standardized global approach whilst meeting local needs. This has accelerated development of the initial wave of trainers required to meet the language, cultural and geographical demands of the ABB global organization. Qualified trainers and coaches provided the early momentum required to establish the program credibility and are distrib­uted across the entire organizational footprint, supporting all divisions and regions in ABB.

Nearly 6,000 were trained by this method fairly quickly, including 350 trainer/coaches thereof 190 are active trainer/coaches with total savings from 4Q projects ramping up very quickly to over $500m. Objectives such as having at least one qualified ABB 4Q Basic Trainer/Coach under every ABB roof helped accelerate progress.

The 'Advanced' workshop material, including Lean and Six Sigma techniques, provided a sound basis on which to develop expert quality improve­ment practitioners within ABB and formed a necessary platform to deliver advanced projects with improvements in on-time, on-cost and on- quality delivery.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author is grateful for the help and information provided by Bill Black, Senior Vice President, ABB and Dr Robert Oakland in the preparation of this case study.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (Which i Need to be answered)

1. Consider the complexity of the ABB business and provide a rationale for the development of the approach described in this case study; identify and describe an alternative approach that could have been considered by the senior quality and operational excellence group.
2. Explain the role coaching played in the success of the ABB improvement programme and suggest additional methods and tools that might have led to even greater success.
3. Evaluate the CEO Excellence Award used by ABB and explain how this could be used in another organization of your choice to develop capability and sustainable improvement

Compare and Contrast Various Selling Models

The purpose of this assignment is to compare and contrast two or more competing selling models. The basis for this paper will be The Challenger Sale (Dixon and Adamson) versus Strategic Selling (Miller & Heiman).

1. Provide an overview of both approaches. This overview should include the theoretical basis, practical application, and general steps or stages.
2. Take a position on which approach would be more effective for managing customer accounts that would be considered “Key Customers” or “Strategic Customers”. An example of a key or strategic account would be one where a the sale involves:
   1. A complex solution
   2. Multiple decision makers
   3. Significance in terms of revenue opportunity

Your arguments should provide rationale for your position and relate to specific outcomes (e.g., closing business, positioning as a business partner/consultant, long term relationship building, etc.)

3. Give a detailed example of how your approach would be applied to a sales opportunity (can be real or hypothetical) to achieve a very specific sales goal.

1-As a hotel owner what are the advantages and disadvantages of using a management company?

2-What are the issues GM's must address when operating a hotel for a management company?

Substitutes for Leadership Leadership effectiveness is defined as the degree to which a leader's actions result in the achievement of goals, the continued commitment of employees, as well as the development of mutual trust, respect and obligation between leaders and members. In this exercise, please read the mini-case and answer the questions that follow. Agusto owns and manages Frappacup, a coffee shop on Main Street. Although his business is successful, Agusto has been questioning his own role. Frappacup is a popular hangout for university students, right across the street from the main campus. Agusto opened Frappacup three years ago, and the business has been successful. He employs primarily college students who enjoy their work and their ability to have flexible schedules on early mornings, evenings, or weekends, not to mention the free coffee given as a benefit of employment. Lately, however, Agusto has noticed his leadership is not as effective as it used to be. On the one hand, operations are running smoothly and profits are stable. On the other hand, Agusto noticed some changes, even some positive ones, were being made without his input. It was as if the shop was running on its own steam at times. For example, the night shift started holding poetry slams on Thursday evenings due to one of the night shift workers’ prior experience with this type of event. The events were drawing a new crowd and higher profits. The night shift manager, Alexa, has been at Frappacup for two years. She has forged bonds with the night employees, who hang out outside of work and have classes together on campus. No performance problems had ever been reported and profits are good. Other than feeling on the outside of the evening shift's successes, Agusto also was feeling less like the expert at the business. In the past, Agusto had trained all the new baristas because he was considered "the best." Ever since the day shift assistant manager, Christopher, made laminated cue cards for quick-look directions for making a variety of the shop's most popular drinks, employees hardly ask Agusto for advice. Of course, the drinks tasted the same, but he was starting to wonder if he still had value on the store floor and should take on a more administrative role in running the business.

A) Augusto is afraid that the laminated cue cards for making drinks lower his importance as a leader by using... (spatial distance, cohesion, formatilization, professionalism, or inflexibility).

B) One night shift worker's prior experiences with poetry slams bring what leadership substitute to Frappacup? (spatial distance, training and experience, cohesion, formalization, or task feedback)

C) The night staff's ability to work together effectively and maintain close bonds in getting along shows what leadership substitute? (training and experience, formalization, task feedback, cohesion, or spatial distance)

D) Because Agusto is not present for the night shift work, his leadership is neutralized due to... (spatial distance, training and experience, formalization, task feedback, or cohesion).

What is the service culture? Why is it a requirement for an internal marketing program?

The handling of non-routine transactions separates excellent hospitality companies from mediocre ones. Discuss this statement.

describe the effects using pear phone as a platform in related to IT governance for a distributing company to use to take customer orders

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lily used the power of the internet to launch Innocentive, an online incentive-based scientific network to enable scientists outside the company to collaborate on product development. This is an example of a(n)

Select one:

a. modular organization

b. virtual organization

c. ambidextrous organization

d. divisional structure

ConAgra, a 13-billion-dollar food producer, has many different business units. It is difficult to coordinate and plan activities. As a result, they decided to design their organizational structure based on business unit commonalities. They grouped their business units into three strategic business units: food services (restaurants), retail (grocery stores), and agricultural products. This is an example of:

Select one:

a. holding company

b. divisional structure

c. matrix structure

d. simple structure

A strategy of unrelated diversification where synergies between the businesses are limited often results in which type of organizational structure?

Select one:

a. Strategic business unit structure

b. Holding company structure

c. Matrix structure

d. Functional structure

Which new entry strategy did Under Armor use when they entered the market with improved athletic apparel that helped wick moisture away from the body?

Select one:

a. None of the above

b. adaptive

c. imitative

d. pioneering

All of the following are typical types of boundaries that can place limits on organizations except

Select one:

a. mechanistic boundaries

b. external boundaries

c. geographic boundaries

d. vertical boundaries

Question 1

discuss the HR planning process under the following headings: job analysis and job design, recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation, performance management and employee relations.

Describe how the readings and journalling activities influenced your views on workplace ethics and corporate social responsibility. Did you have a shift in your perspective? Do you consider ethics and/or corporate social responsibility to be important to business and society today? Explain your answer, and use examples from the activities. Please provide references as well.

Comment on the interrelationship between external forces such as globalization, economics, technology, and the environment, and internal influences on business and society including governance and corporate citizenship (CSR), consumer protection, employee rights and responsibilities, and workplace diversity. Remember to support your argument with multiple examples such as sample journal entries, and readings. . Please provide refernces as well

What are the 4 IIA Standards? Who do internal auditors report to? How do they interact with external auditors?

The resource sould be provided.

what reports are filed with the SEC by public companies? Under what circumstances are they filed?  

Analyze the visual and verbal element of the Share a Coke advertising campaign and the Old Spice; The Man your Man Could Smell Like advertisement..

Analyze the Type of advertisement each use (for example is it a brand advertisement, retail advertising, direct etc.).

What is the "message strategy" of each ad. Explain this.

What copywriter styles are used and how is this shown in each ad.

What visualization tools are utilized and the type of lay out in the Share a Coke ad and the Old Spice; The Man your Man Could Smell Like ad..

Is the government an external force, an internal force, a stakeholder, or all of the above? Using examples from your activities, comment on the government’s role in business and society.

please provide references as well.