Hazel Case
MGT 5203.E1 - Operations Management
Exercise 1 – Hazel Case
1. In what ways are Hazel’s customers most likely to judge the quality of her lawn care services?
2. Hazel is the operations manager of her business. Among her responsibilities are forecasting, inventory management, scheduling, quality assurance and maintenance.
a. What kinds of things would likely require forecasts?
b. What inventory items does Hazel probably have? Name one inventory decision she has to make periodically.
c. What schedules must she do? What things might occur to disrupt schedules and cause Hazel to reschedule?
d. How important is quality assurance to Hazel’s business? Explain.
A: Quality assurance is very important to Hazel’s business because it is her way to verify the services provided and hold them up to standards or expectations. Without quality assurance it would be more difficult to know what customers think about the products that she offers. Word of mouth will contribute to her success and lead to potential growth in her business but it could just as easy be a hindrance. If the word around the neighborhood is that her services are bad this could slow down her business in terms of new and old customers. Quality assurance will allow for adjustments to a system when needed and provide credibility as a whole for the company.
e. What kind of maintenance must be performed?
A: The lawn equipment will need to be maintained in optimum working order to effectively complete their duties. Schedules will also need to be maintained to make sure the operation is running smoothly and there is enough time and staff when needed. Cleaning of the supplies and maintenance of the supply area will also be required because maintenance is what keeps a business performing at optimal levels.
3.What are some of the trade-offs that Hazel probable considered relative to:
a. working for a company instead of herself?
A: Some advantages to working for herself include the little amount of capital
Exercise 1 – Hazel Case
1. In what ways are Hazel’s customers most likely to judge the quality of her lawn care services?
2. Hazel is the operations manager of her business. Among her responsibilities are forecasting, inventory management, scheduling, quality assurance and maintenance.
a. What kinds of things would likely require forecasts?
b. What inventory items does Hazel probably have? Name one inventory decision she has to make periodically.
c. What schedules must she do? What things might occur to disrupt schedules and cause Hazel to reschedule?
d. How important is quality assurance to Hazel’s business? Explain.
A: Quality assurance is very important to Hazel’s business because it is her way to verify the services provided and hold them up to standards or expectations. Without quality assurance it would be more difficult to know what customers think about the products that she offers. Word of mouth will contribute to her success and lead to potential growth in her business but it could just as easy be a hindrance. If the word around the neighborhood is that her services are bad this could slow down her business in terms of new and old customers. Quality assurance will allow for adjustments to a system when needed and provide credibility as a whole for the company.
e. What kind of maintenance must be performed?
A: The lawn equipment will need to be maintained in optimum working order to effectively complete their duties. Schedules will also need to be maintained to make sure the operation is running smoothly and there is enough time and staff when needed. Cleaning of the supplies and maintenance of the supply area will also be required because maintenance is what keeps a business performing at optimal levels.
3.What are some of the trade-offs that Hazel probable considered relative to:
a. working for a company instead of herself?
A: Some advantages to working for herself include the little amount of capital