Reference no: EM131360189
Old Oregon Wood Store
In 2015, George Wright started the Old Oregon Wood Store to manufacture Old Oregon tables. Each table is carefully constructed by hand using the highest-quality oak. Old Oregon tables can support more than 500 pounds, and since the start of the Old Oregon Wood Store, not one table has been returned because of faulty workmanship or structural problems. In addition to being rugged, each table is beautifully finished using a urethane varnish that George developed over 20 years of working with wood-finishing materials. The manufacturing process consists of four steps: preparation, assembly, finishing, and packaging. Each step is performed by one person. In addition to overseeing the entire operation, George does all of the finishing. Tom Surowski performs the preparation step, which involves cutting and forming the basic components of the tables. Leon Davis is in charge of the assembly, and Cathy Stark performs the packaging. Although each person is responsible for only one step in the manufacturing process, everyone can perform any one of the steps. It is George's policy that occasionally everyone should complete several tables on his or her own without any help or assistance. A small competition is used to see who can complete an entire table in the least amount of time. George maintains average total and intermediate completion times. The data are shown in Figure 15.7. It takes Cathy longer than the other employees to construct an Old Oregon table. In addition to being slower than the other employees, Cathy is also unhappy about her current responsibility of packaging, which leaves her idle most of the day. Her first preference is finishing, and her second preference is preparation. In addition to quality, George is concerned with costs and efficiency. When one of the employees misses a day, it causes major scheduling problems. In some cases, George assigns another employee overtime to complete the necessary work. At other times, George simply waits until the employee returns to work to complete his or her step in the manufacturing process. Both solutions cause problems. Overtime is expensive, and waiting causes delays and sometimes stops the entire manufacturing process. To overcome some of these problems, Randy Lane was hired. Randy's major duties are to perform miscellaneous jobs and to help out if one of the employees is absent. George has given Randy training in all phases of the manufacturing process, and he is pleased with the speed at which Randy has been able to learn how to completely assemble Old Oregon tables. Randy's average total and intermediate completion times are given in Figure 15.8.
Discussion Questions:
1. What is the fastest way to manufacture Old Oregon tables using the original crew? How many could be made per day?
2. Would production rates and quantities change significantly if George would allow Randy to perform one of the four functions and make one of the original crew the backup person?
3. What is the fastest time to manufacture a table with the original crew if Cathy is moved to either preparation or finishing?
4. Whoever performs the packaging function is severely underutilized. Can you find a better way of utilizing the four- or five-person crew than either giving each a single job or allowing each to manufacture an entire table? How many tables could be manufactured per day with this scheme?
Write me a speech based on the format
: To be used in the speech, for the speech checklist, and on the exam. You must turn in an outline the day ofyour speech. The outline can be your notecard, in this format - Write me a speech based on the format
|
Identify the global societal problem
: Identify the global societal problem within the introductory paragraph and conclude with a thesis statement that states your proposed solution(s) to the problem.
|
Analyze a recent conversation you had with a person
: Analyze a recent conversation you had with a person of a different culture. Or, if you haven't had this type of conversation recently, find a video clip online that focuses on people from different cultures communicating and analyze the clip.Prov..
|
Considering tightening of its credit standards
: A local Estonian company is considering tightening of its credit standards. The only product it offers to customers is a local popular drink called "kihisev kalamees". The sales price per bottle is 4 EUR/unit. All sales are directed to export and are..
|
What is the fastest way to manufacture old oregon tables
: What is the fastest way to manufacture Old Oregon tables using the original crew? How many could be made per day? Would production rates and quantities change significantly if George would allow Randy to perform one of the four functions and make o..
|
Explain how an organization labor relations
: Explain how an organization's labor relations (relations between businesses and unions) and employee relationspolicies and practices impact the organization's total rewards programs. Your answer will require that you write approximately 3-4 paragra..
|
What type of performance appraisal
: Think about your personal experience with performance appraisals and respond to the following questions. You may choose to respond as though you were being appraised or you were conducting an appraisal. 1. What type of performance appraisal was c..
|
Why did global green books publishing struggle
: Briefly describe the Global Green Books business. Why did Global Green Books Publishing struggle? What were the specific PM solutions that were introduced by Samantha that worked?
|
Possible person a human resource professional
: The best possible person a human resource professional can hire is the best person who applies for the job. If ability and intelligence are normally distributed, more people applying for a job increases the chances of an excellent person in the app..
|