Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by John Loucks
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Chapter 2
Operations Strategies
in a Global Economy
Overview
Introduction
Todays Global Business Conditions
Operations Strategy
Forming Operations Strategies
Wrap-Up: What World-Class Producers Do
Introduction
Introduction
International Companies
International Companies
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Bic pens:
a. Japan
b. The Czech Republic
c. U.S.
Bic S.A. - France
d. France
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RCA television:
a. Japan
b. U.S .
c. France
d. Korea
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Arrow shirts:
a. Thailand
b. Italy
c. U.S .
d. France
Bidermann International
France
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Godiva chocolate:
a. France
b. Belgium
c. Switzerland
d. U.S.
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Unilever PLC.
Great Britain/Netherlands
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Firestone tires:
a. Japan
b. U.S.
c. Germany
d. France
Bridgestone Japan
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Daimler-Chrysler automobiles:
a. Japan
b. U.S.
Daimler-Benz Germany
c. Germany
d. France
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Strategic Alliances
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Strategic Alliances
General Motors (US) &
Kia Motor Corp. (S.K.)
Manufacture 100,000
vehicles annually
near Moscow
Forming Texas-based
Sino Swearingen
Aircraft Co.
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Strategic Alliances
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Production Sharing
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Production Sharing
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Pros (Pluses)
Productivity grows more quickly (living standards
can go up faster)
Global competition and cheap imports keep a lid
on prices (inflation less likely to derail economic
growth)
Open economy spurs innovation (with fresh ideas
from abroad)
Export jobs often pay more than other jobs
US has more access to foreign investment (keeps
interest rates low)
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Cons (Minuses)
Millions of Americans have lost jobs due to
imports or production shifts abroad
Most displaced workers find new jobs that pay less
Workers face pay-cuts demands from employers
Service and white-collar jobs are increasingly
vulnerable
US employees lose their comparative advantage
when companies build advanced factories abroad
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Quality
The goal of adequate quality must be replaced with
the objective of perfect product and service quality.
The entire corporate culture must be redirected and
committed to the ideal of perfect quality.
All employees must be empowered to act.
A commitment to continuous improvement has to
be organization-wide.
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Customer Service
Companies must quickly develop innovative
products and respond quickly to customers needs.
Organizational structures must be made more
horizontal to quickly accommodate change.
Multidisciplined teams must have decision-making
authority, responding better to the marketplace.
Large, unwieldy companies are spinning off whole
business units making them autonomous
businesses that can compete with small, aggressive
competitors.
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Cost
There is continuing pressure to reduce direct costs
(of producing and selling) and overhead costs.
It cost the US automakers $1,500 more per auto
for labor in 1980 than it cost the Japanese automakers. By the 1990s the difference was almost
zero.
Giant retailers (like Wal-Mart) squeezed weaker
competitors out of the market, giving the retailers
the leverage to force their suppliers to streamline
operations and reduce costs/prices.
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Cost
Cost-cutting measures being used include:
Moving production to low-labor-cost countries
Negotiating lower labor rates with unions and
workers
Automating processes to reduce the amount of
labor needed, particularly processes that are
labor intensive.
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Advanced Technologies
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Advanced Technologies
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Social-Responsibility Issues
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Social-Responsibility Issues
Environmental Impact
Product-Safety Impact
Employee Impact
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Social-Responsibility Issues
Environmental Impact
Concerns about the global environment include:
Landfill waste reduction
Recycling
Energy conservation
Chemical spills
Acid rain
Radioactive waste disposal
and more
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Social-Responsibility Issues
Environmental Impact
There is a need for standardizing government
regulations of the environment.
Otherwise, companies will gravitate to the lessregulated countries.
The International Organization for Standardization
has developed a set of environmental guidelines
called ISO 14000.
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Social-Responsibility Issues
Product-Safety Impact
Harm to people or animals that results from poor
product design can:
Damage a companys reputation
Require a large expense to remedy
Cause governments to impose more regulations
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Social-Responsibility Issues
Employee Impact
Employee benefits and policies include:
Safety and health programs
Fair hiring and promotion practices
Day-care
Family leave
Health care
Retirement benefits
Educational assistance
and more
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Social-Responsibility Issues
Employee Impact
Employee benefits and policies impact long-term
profitability due to their effect on:
Employee morale and productivity
Recruitment and retention of employees
Demand for a companys products
Cost of defending against lawsuits and boycotts
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Corporate Mission
Business Strategy
Product/Service Plans
Distinctive
Competencies
or
Weaknesses
Competitive Priorities
Operations Strategy
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Corporate Mission
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Business Strategy
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Competitive Priorities
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Competitive Priorities
Delivery Performance
Definition
a) Fast delivery
b) On-time delivery
Some Ways of Creating
a) larger finished-goods inventory
a) faster production rates
a) quicker shipping methods
b) more-realistic promises
b) better control of production of orders
b) better information systems
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Competitive Priorities
High-Quality Products/Services
Definition
Customers perception of degree of excellence
exhibited by products/services
Some Ways of Creating
Improve product/services
Appearance
Performance and function
Wear, endurance ability
After-sales service
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Competitive Priorities
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Operations Strategy
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Product
Design
OM
Mission and
Strategy
Inventory
Location
Layout
Process
Design
Human
Resources &
Job Design
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Environment
Expectations
Economic
Critical factor
Competitor threats
Competitive position
Industry opportunities
Future moves
DEVELOP A MISSION
Identify Strategy Alternatives
strength & opportunities match?
can weaknesses be overcome?
anticipate competitor moves?
Secure a competitive advantage? COMPANY
SITUATION
Form a Strategy
Present
steps to competitive advantage
performance
steps to build market share
TOWS Analysis
steps to become world class
Relative strengths
critical strategic decisions
Strategic issues
ease of implementation
Weaknesses
Make & Implement a Strategy
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Product/Service Plans
As a product is designed, all the detailed
characteristics of the product are established.
Each product characteristic directly
affects how the product can be made.
How the product is made determines
the design of the production system.
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Automobile
Dot-Matrix
Fax Machine
Printer
Cell Phone
Video Recorder
Internet Radio
Color Copier
Introduction
Growth
CD Player
Maturity
B&W TV
Decline
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Outsourcing Plans
Outsourcing Plans
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Outsourcing Plans
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Facility Plans
Characteristics of Services
and Manufactured Products
Output
Output Inventoried
Customer Contact
Lead Time
Intensity
Quality
Services
Intangible
No
Extensive
Short
Labor
Subjective
Products
Tangible
Yes
Little
Long
Capital
Objective
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Example: McDonalds
Highly standardized service design
Low amount of customer contact
Physical goods dominating intangible services
Quasi-manufacturing approach to back-room
production process
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Intro.
Early
Growth
Slightly
Standard
Late
Growth
Product
Custom
Standard
Volume
Very
Low
Low
High
Focus
Process
Process
Product
Maturity
Highly
Standard
Very
High
Product
Very
Small
Small
Large
Very
Large
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Operations Strategy
Product-focused
Make-to-stock
Standardized products
High volume
Marketing Strategy
Low production cost
Fast delivery of products
Quality
Example: TV sets
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Operations Strategy
Product-focused
Make-to-order
Standardized products
Low volume
Marketing Strategy
Low production cost
Keeping delivery promises
Quality
Example: School buses
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Operations Strategy
Process-focused
Make-to-stock
Custom products
High volume
Marketing Strategy
Flexibility
Quality
Fast delivery of products
Example: Medical instruments
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Operations Strategy
Process-focused
Make-to-order
Custom products
Low volume
Marketing Strategy
Keeping delivery promises
Quality
Flexibility
Example: Large supercomputers
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Technology-Intensive Business
Production systems must be capable of producing
new products and services in high volume soon
after introduction
Such companies must have two key strengths:
Highly capable technical people
Sufficient capital
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End of Chapter 2
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