Operational Management
Practice Problems: Chapter 2, Operations Strategy in a Global Environment
Problem 1:
Identify how changes in the external environment may affect the OM strategy for a company. For example, what impact are the following factors likely to have on OM strategy?
a. The occurrence of a major storm or hurricane.
b. Terrorist attacks of 9/11/01.
c. The much discussed decrease in the quality of American primary and secondary school systems.
d. Trade Legislation such as WTO and NAFTA and changes in tariffs and quotas.
e. The rapid rate at which the cost of health insurance is increasing.
f. The Internet.
Problem 2:
Identify how the changes in the internal environment affect the OM strategy for a company. For example, what impact are the following factors likely to have on OM strategy?
a. The increased use of Local and Wide Area Networks (LANs and WANs)
b. An increased emphasis on service
c. The increased role of women in the workplace
d. The seemingly increasing rate at which both internal and external environments change.
Problem 3:
Operations managers are called upon to support the organization's strategy. OM does this with some combination of one of three strategies. What are these three strategies?
ANSWERS:
Problem 1:
a. A major storm or hurricane may have considerable impact on a company’s facilities and scheduling. Flooding and wind damage can make a facility unusable or significantly reduce its capacity. Stocks of raw materials, especially agricultural products, might be damaged or in short supply. The long-term availability of some materials might be significantly reduced. There may be a shortage of important services during the recovery. For example, the demand for roofers and builders is high after a major storm and they would like to be able to rapidly increase their capacity to handle the higher demand.
b. Terrorist activity has forced organizations to rethink, and in many cases
Problem 1:
Identify how changes in the external environment may affect the OM strategy for a company. For example, what impact are the following factors likely to have on OM strategy?
a. The occurrence of a major storm or hurricane.
b. Terrorist attacks of 9/11/01.
c. The much discussed decrease in the quality of American primary and secondary school systems.
d. Trade Legislation such as WTO and NAFTA and changes in tariffs and quotas.
e. The rapid rate at which the cost of health insurance is increasing.
f. The Internet.
Problem 2:
Identify how the changes in the internal environment affect the OM strategy for a company. For example, what impact are the following factors likely to have on OM strategy?
a. The increased use of Local and Wide Area Networks (LANs and WANs)
b. An increased emphasis on service
c. The increased role of women in the workplace
d. The seemingly increasing rate at which both internal and external environments change.
Problem 3:
Operations managers are called upon to support the organization's strategy. OM does this with some combination of one of three strategies. What are these three strategies?
ANSWERS:
Problem 1:
a. A major storm or hurricane may have considerable impact on a company’s facilities and scheduling. Flooding and wind damage can make a facility unusable or significantly reduce its capacity. Stocks of raw materials, especially agricultural products, might be damaged or in short supply. The long-term availability of some materials might be significantly reduced. There may be a shortage of important services during the recovery. For example, the demand for roofers and builders is high after a major storm and they would like to be able to rapidly increase their capacity to handle the higher demand.
b. Terrorist activity has forced organizations to rethink, and in many cases