Needs for trade- offs - business strategy, Operation Management

Assignment Help:

Needs for Trade- offs - Business Strategy

In recent years another reason for questioning the need for trade-offs has arisen. In manufacturing industries great efforts have been expended in developing process technologies, and in particular the application of computers, to create production systems capable of mass customisation. Unlike a mass production system, which produces a standard product at low cost, a mass customisation system would produce 'specials' (traditionally the province of the high-cost job shop) at similar low cost. Such a system has been developed by Levi Strauss, the jeans manufacturer, allowing customers to have their jeans made to measure.

The customer's sizes are sent electronically to the factory, where a computer-driven production system automatically produces the jeans to the specified sizes. A few days later the customer may collect the jeans. Impressive though such technology may be, it raises issues. What then to measure? Ideally, the measures chosen will relate directly to the business qualifiers and order winners. However, care is required in the choice of operations performance measures; the order winners themselves may be inappropriate. For example, consider a business which has identified low price as the prime order winner. Price is an external (market) variable, which may rise or fall for reasons other than operational performance eg in response to competitors' pricing, sales promotions, seasonal price variations, etc. It would be unreasonable to measure the week-to-week performance of operations personnel on the basis of such a variable, which can change substantially for reasons outwith their control. What is needed is an internal (operational) variable, relevant to the order winner concerned: in the case of price it might be appropriate to measure unit cost, labour productivity or equipment utilisation.


Related Discussions:- Needs for trade- offs - business strategy

Explain the factors determining the sequencing of jobs, Question : (a) ...

Question : (a) Show how operations management can contribute to the success of an organization. (b) Explain the factors determining the sequencing of jobs. ( c) A machin

Explain an environmental scan or swot analysis, Conduct an environmental sc...

Conduct an environmental scan or SWOT analysis of Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras's current reality and recommend whether the company's current strategy is poised to succeed

Explain what is its default risk premium, The real risk-free rate, r*, is 2...

The real risk-free rate, r*, is 2.5%. Inflation is expected to average 2.8% a year for the next 4 years, after which time inflation is expected to average 3.75% a year. Assume that

Explain exceed the amount invested in auto loans, A bank is attempting to d...

A bank is attempting to determine where its assets should be invested during the current year. At present, $500,000 is available for investment in bonds, home loans, auto loans, an

Explain event for training and development presentation, Suggestion on Fund...

Suggestion on Fundraising event for training and development presentation and also how to internet appeals for online fundraising - this require a 3 page write up. any help would b

Explain must decide between two different forecasting tech, An analyst must...

An analyst must decide between two different forecasting techniques for weekly sales of roller blades: a linear trend equation and the naive approach. The linear trend equation is

Explain which of these costs are associated with quality, Identify signific...

Identify significant costs in the organization like Wal-Mart. Which of these costs are associated with quality? Remember, quality costs are not limited to manufacturing organizatio

Explain the nature of leadership and relate leadership, A: Describe the nat...

A: Describe the nature of leadership and relate leadership to management. B: what are the distinctions between management and lead?

Explain organizations periodically turn to, Organizations periodically turn...

Organizations periodically turn to _________ to meet demands for talent brought about by business growth and a desire for fresh ideas, or to replace employees who leave.

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd