Bus 515 Discussion Questions Solved Week 1-10 – a Graded Essay

Arumugam, V., Chang, H., Ooi, K., and Teh, P. (2009). "Self-assessment of TQM practices: a case analysis", The TQM Journal, 21(1), 46 – 58. Retrieved from http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/journals.htm?articleid=1766744&show=abstract#sthash.TkDGZoZ7.dpuf

1. Evaluate key elements of the selected production or service organization’s operational efficiency with its operational strategy. Determine three (3) tasks that do not align with the operational strategy. Determine the weaknesses that are evident in each task.

Compare and contrast an existing organization’s three major functions (i.e., finance, marketing, and operations), and then justify the interdependence that operations have to finance and marketing. Provide examples to support your rationale.

Each alternative must be clearly identified. The key advantages and disadvantages of each alternative must be listed and thoroughly discussed. The compare and contrast (pro and con) assessments of each alternative must be done against the decision criteria previously listed and discussed. A matrix format may be used in order to more accurately compare each of the alternatives. If multiple decision criteria are being used, weighting of each of the criteria must be applied. It is also important to look at the short and long term results of each alternative, and to assess the best, the worst, and the most likely outcomes for each alternative. Qualitative and quantitative analysis will be required. It will also be necessary for the student to use the various supply chain management tools and techniques learned throughout the certificate program to determine those possible outcomes.

9. The labor relations term for a one-time payment made to adjust wages which does not affect an employee's hourly base wage rate is:

Tobacco smoking is the largest preventable cause of death and diseases in the United States of America. Close to 480,000 Americans lose their life each year due to illness caused by smoking cigarette. (Healthy People 2020, 2010).

Discuss how online marketing could provide competitive advantages in the industry you analyzed in question A.

Advantages of Doing Business in China: As mentioned previously, there are many organizations around the whole world that perform their business in China. They do business in China due to the fact that China has a reliable market. It is also expected that the organizations doing business in China will continue to grow. Some advantages of doing business in China are that it is a major emerging market around the world. Also there are a lot of opportunities for organizations to invest in China for a longer period of time due to expanding of technology and

The topic selected is (Strategic Procurement & Supply Chain Management). For this study, we have selected Toyota Motor Corporations as our company of choice. Toyota is without doubt the best in the world, with its many philosophies and principles on how to make the best out of the least; JIT, lean production and elimination of waste and the desire for continuous improvement are just a few ways how Toyota has become the best in the auto industry. Toyota as a name, a company, and as a brand has become synonymous with Quality.

1. Study the networked supply chain concept as implemented by Cisco. What are its strengths and weaknesses?

Read the profile of Boeing and the company’s 787 Dreamliner found in your textbook. This profile serves as an excellent example of how a company used an infrastructure change to improve its supply chain. In making this improvement, which of the five ways of implementing an infrastructure change, identified in section 10.6 of your text, did Boeing employ? Do a little research on your own to identify a company that has used the second main approach (i.e., a structural change) commonly employed by organizations to improve their supply chains. Write a brief profile of the company you’ve selected following the pattern of the Boeing profile you’ve just examined. The profile should be one to two pages

4. Compare and contrast the three organizational structures discussed in the text: functional, project, and matrix. Provide examples that show the difference between the three, including some of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

4.Given the 4 areas of the company, choose some supply chain processes and suggest appropriate performance metrics.

However, this study only focus on operations dimension performance not for the supply chain as a whole. The measurement of performance of SCM entities can be improved by using a more balanced perspective as provided for by the BSC framework (Chia et al., 2009). This study apply balanced score card (BSC) approach on the logistics industry in order to measure supply chain performance but the results may not be representative of the individual clusters. In order to deliver a comprehensive performance measurement framework for SME’s, BSC and SCOR model must be integrated (Thakkar et al., 2009). This study relates the performance measurement with several supply chain cycles such as procurement, manufacturing, replenishment and customer order. However, this study does not cover the decision making levels. Supply chain performance has significant relationship with market orientation such as customer focus, competitor-oriented and cross-functional coordination (Lin et al., 2010) but this study only focus on innovation

M2: Analyse the advantages and disadvantages of the interrelationships between organizational functions and its impact that can have upon organizational structure.