Describe how human resources and labor can support the overall mission of College Pretzel Company (CPC).

Discussion Question 1

You are the owner of a U.S.-based bicycle manufacturing business. You currently manufacture bicycles in Seattle. Market demand for bicycles is expected to double in the next five years. Your sales in the United States are currently 100 percent. However, you hope to expand your business within the next two years. You are currently considering opening a new facility in China, Italy, or Mexico.

Where would you propose locating a new manufacturing facility? Why? How would you make this decision? Which critical success factors are most important in your analysis? What concerns would you have about expanding the business internationally versus within the United States? Why?

Justify your answers using examples and reasoning.

Discussion Question 4

There are many ways a firm can create value for its customers.

In what ways do you think the design of a firm’s transportation network can affect its ability to create value for customers through efficiency, effectiveness, and differentiation? What factors can cause a firm to analyze the design of its network or reconsider the location of a particular facility? How?

Justify your answers using examples and reasoning.

W4 Assignment 2: Factory Location Problem

A manufacturer of circuit board parts has factories in a city at the location coordinates shown below. Each coordinate unit (roughly 100 feet) represents a city block. The yearly demand at each factory is also given.

Factory

Demand

X-Coordinate

Y-Coordinate

Glen Mills

20,000

20

150

Media

7,000

55

45

Brandywine

5,000

80

90

Springfield

2,000

90

30

Management has decided to build a new factory to supply raw material to these factories. The location of the new factory should be central to the existing factories.

What should be the map coordinates of the new factory? Graph the locations of the four factories and the proposed raw material factory. Is the location of the proposed raw material factory where you expected it to be based on the coordinates of the other factories? Why or why not? What is the main contributing factor leading to the location of the proposed raw material factory?

Submit your answers in a Microsoft Excel sheet.

W4 Assignment 3: Final Project

Location Strategies

Discuss the critical success factors leading to your decision to locate the

College Pretzel Company (CPC) in your apartment. Include in your plan the key factors that will be important when you decide to expand CPC to other college campuses and the criteria you will use in identifying these potential locations.

Submit your answers in a three- to four-page.

W5 Assignment-1

Discussion Question 2

The term “servicescape” was designated by Bitner to refer to the physical surroundings in which a service process takes place and how these surroundings affect customers and employees. A servicescape has three elements: ambient conditions; spatial layout and functionality; and signs, symbols, and artifacts.

How would a flowchart help in planning the servicescape layout? What sort of features would act as focal points or draw customers along certain paths through the service? In a supermarket, what departments should be located first along the customer’s path? Why? Which should be located last? Why?

Justify your answers using examples and reasoning

Discussion Question 3

Wal-Mart is known for its mastery of cross-docking. Cross-docking avoids placing materials in storage and processes them immediately for outbound shipment.

Why do you think cross-docking is appropriate for some forms of warehouse layouts? Do you believe that cross-docking would work for all types of products? Why or why not? In your opinion, does using cross-docking in a warehouse affect any other operations or functions within an organization? Why or why not?

W5 Assignment 2: Process Layout

A firm is planning to set up an assembly line to assemble 40 units per hour. Assume that 57 minutes per hour are productive. The time to perform each task and the tasks preceding each task are as follows:

Task

Preceding Task

Time to Perform (Min)

A

–

0.69

B

A

0.55

C

B

0.92

D

B

0.59

E

B

0.70

F

B

1.10

G

C, D, E

0.75

H

G, F

0.43

I

H

0.29

Draw a network diagram of precedence relationships. Compute the cycle time per unit in minutes. Compute the minimum number of workstations required to produce 40 units per hour. Balance the assembly line using the longest processing time. Calculate the efficiency of the balanced assembly line.

Submit your answers in a Microsoft Excel sheet.

W5 Assignment 3: Final Project

Layout Strategies

From the information provided in the case, describe what type of layout is currently being used by College Pretzel Company (CPC). Describe the advantages of this type of layout and provide a graphic of the flow within the kitchen. Provide some suggestions on how this could be improved in the future when the company grows.

Submit your answers in a two- to three-page Microsoft Word document.

W6 Assignmnet-1

Discussion Question 1

Lean production relies heavily on the concept of employee empowerment. For example, Toyota Manufacturing is regarded as a leader in lean production.

What are some of the benefits of employee empowerment? What are some of the disadvantages of employee empowerment? In your opinion, is employee empowerment a fad or a useful tool? Why? As a manager, what steps would you take to maximize the effectiveness of teams?

Discussion Question 2

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth were pioneers in the time and motion study. The original movie Cheaper by the dozen (1950) depicts a humorous scene where the father (Frank) applies the concepts of time and motion study to a bath.

In most organizations, employees and the management do not see the benefit of work measurement. “Work measurement is old hat. We have automated our office, and now we run every bill through our computer (after our 25 clerks have typed the data into our computer database).”

(Ming Chuan University. [n.d.]. Technical note 5: Job design and work measurement. Retrieved January 13, 2009, from
http://mcu.edu.tw/~htlee/Ch005TN.doc)

Do you agree with the above statement? Why or why not? As a manager, how would you decide when to measure the work of employees and which employees to measure? In your opinion, should employees know when they are being timed? Why? Are there any potential issues that may arise when employees know they are being timed?

W6 Assignment 2: Final Project

Human Resources and Labor Planning

Describe how human resources and labor can support the overall mission of College Pretzel Company (CPC).

Reflective summary: Submit a final document of all work done incorporating any corrections to previously submitted material.

Develop a PowerPoint presentation to identify five areas from the project that you believe will be useful in your future personal, professional, or academic endeavors. Provide a brief rationale for each area.

Submit your answers in a three- to five-page document.