Supply Chain Specific Department Essay

Supply Chain Specific Department Essay 

Paper details The previous assignment asked you to identify an operation that you know a bit about and to briefly describe it. Throughout the rest of this course I may use the acronym YO (your operation) to designate the business/organization/department that you selected in the previous assignment. This assignment asks you to describe YO in more detail using some of the terms and concepts you read about in OM6 Ch. 1 and 2. Answer the following questions: Explain what YO does and how it does it. Explain why you believe it is a goods (manufacturing) operation, or a services operation, or both. Is YO well run and successful or is it struggling? What are its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats? Describe YO’s customer benefit package and its value chain. Do manages and associates understand the customer benefit package (not the term itself but the concept) and the value chain? Describe what performance measures the operation uses. What type of data is collected? Is the data used to make decisions and drive improvement? Select two measures from those you just described and evaluate them using the nine questions IBM, Rochester uses (see page 39 of OM6). Do the performance measures monitor the most important parts of the value chain? What changes would you recommend? Does YO use a balanced scorecard? If so, describe it. Is it helpful? If not, should it? Submit a proposed balanced scorecard if YO does not have one. A typical high scoring response to this assignment would be 1,000 – 1,500 words long. Tip 1: All of the course assignments and questions exist as an opportunity for you to demonstrate relevant course learning. Doing so will allow me to give you the grade you have earned. For example, question 2 above asks whether the operation provides goods, or services, or both. You may choose to tell me it is a “goods” operation because it makes a widget. Doing so would demonstrate very little relevant course learning and although the response may be correct, it would earn a poor grade. On the other hand, you may choose to explain the difference between a goods and services operation and you may choose to use course terminology to explain why you believe your response is correct. Doing so would demonstrate more learning and thus earn a higher grade. Refer to the “Assignment Advice” for more information. Tip 2: You may choose to submit and describe a flow chart, process diagram, illustrations showing the work activity or products/services, an organization chart, etc. These certainly can help demonstrate how well you understand the relevant course material but colorful graphics alone will not earn a higher grade — demonstrated learning and understanding will.