Beer Game Essay

1. System Thinking: System thinking is nothing but instead of focusing on only one particular issue, we have to analyze and try to understand the entire system on the whole. With this kind of analyzation, we can easily find a solution to the problem as the problems are not confined to only a particular area or time. We might find a solution for a particular issue, somewhere in the whole system by analyzing the entire system completely. We should try to relate the actions and the consequences on the whole as the issues occur at different time levels, not confined to only one particular time level. We have to have knowledge of the relation between different departments of an organization and the relation between them and the functionality between the departments as to how they are related in an organization. We generally focus on only one particular issue rather than seeing the bug picture and that shouldn’t be done. In system thinking we analyze the big picture.

A system is a set of interrelated parts. Systems theory assumes that a system must be understood as a whole, rather than in component parts. It is a way of looking at the world where all the objects are interrelated with one another. Many family systems are addressed in the movie Little Miss Sunshine.

     The brewing industry was once held to competition among many breweries in small geographic areas. That was almost a century ago. The U.S. brewing industry today is characterized by the dominance of three brewers, which I will talk about in this paper. There are many factors today that make the beer industry an oligopoly. Such factors include various advancements in technology (packaging, shipping and production), takeovers and mergers, economies of scale, barriers to entry, high concentration, and many other factors that I will cover in this paper. Over the course of the paper I will try to define an oligopoly, give a brief history of the brewing industry, and finally to show how the brewing industry today is an

Boston Beer’s strategy is primarily focused on growth through differentiation. The sources of its competitive advantage can be classified as a company that provides high quality beer with unique flavors, a market driven approach, and a very efficient contract brewing strategy.

Boston Beer Company (BBC) has enjoyed much success with their craft beers with Samuel Adams as their main focus. Being the leader of this segment, overtopping five of their competitors combined (Exhibit 1), the company now must decide how to take advantage of the light beer market. Boston Lightship, their current light beer, had been a small contributor in BBC’s product line. Currently, it is facing dwindling sales with product volumes down from 12 000 cases per month to 3000 cases per month.

A system is “A set of interrelated and interdependent parts arranged in a manner that produces a unified whole” (robbins 2006), and Systems theory is the

     I plan to study how the changing methods of communication have altered the beer wholesale business, and worked to solve and create problems. Over the past 10 years we have seen a revolution in how people in the work force are able to communicate. First car phones and then cell phones made contacting others much easier, and now computers are affecting everything through email and the Internet. The beer business, much like other business, is built mainly on the strength of communication. Brewers must communicate with wholesalers who in turn must be in constant communication with storeowners. If one of these lines of communications breaks down then a too much beer might be brewed for a season, or a liquor store may end up with

The film depicts an insight of the beer industry and its current state in America. It shows some unexplored or hidden facts and journey of the beer industry which is intended to interest the beer lovers. Beer Wars film describes the daily battles in the beer industry between well-established corporate beer brands and some of the upcoming innovative beer breweries. The independent and the small breweries introduce new and innovative craft beer in this high profitable beer industry.

System Analysis is the study where detailed information about the components and requirements of a system, the information needs of an organisation, the characteristics and current components of the systems and the user functional requirements of the systems that is proposed system.

In the first round of the root beer supply chain game there was a lot of confusion, mystery, and chaos; and the data showed that (Please see separate excel spreadsheet of data with mean, standard deviation, and variation calculated). Analysis of the data shows a classic bullwhip effect; the customer places an order and order fluctuations build up through the supply chain. You can also see that these effects are magnified as you get farther from the customer up the supply chain. This holds true for mean, standard deviation, and variation. Without proper communication between the supply chain, it felt like every group was working blind and three steps behind. This was due to

SCM Globe is a supply chain game designed to teach concepts in supply chain design, demand forecasting, resource allocation, and production planning by the use of illustrating how different supply chain designs produce different operating results and explore how to manage those results. The game is performed in a real-time setting that allows for helping to create a supply chain that meet customer demands for products with the lowest operating costs and lowest inventory levels. The simulation gives students an opportunity to design and manage the supply chain of stores that sell Crunch Candy and Just Born Candy. During the simulation experience, students create products, facilities, vehicles and routes while

The quick ratio for Boston Beer Company is 1.33. A company’s quick ratio is an indicator of a company’s short-term liquidity. This ratio is a more conservative form of the current ratio because it does not take into account inventory of the company when determining its current assets. Boston Beer Company still has a favorable ratio well above 1.0. While their current ratio is much better with all the inventory, Boston Beer Company is still a reliable company that can pay off its short term debts if need be.

It is assumed that the logistics strategies outlined in this report would apply to any divisions in Tsingtao Brewery. As such, it is also assumed that other divisions run very similar supply chain management systems to that of South China Sales Company. The final assumption is that investment by the Tsingtao Group in the supply chain is a very manageable investment for them.

This is my reflective consolidation paper which is an end of course assignment and writing this essay about the experience I had while studying the course System analysis and design. When I went to my advisor for advising courses then she told me about System analysis and design and explained me clearly about this course then this course made me realise that I have a lot to learn and found it as very interesting and challenging.

When, in a system, multiple activities interact cohesively with each other in multiple ways, complexity takes shape.