Chapter 1 The World of Manufacturingno questions

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Solutions Manual for TTotal Manufacturing Assurance Controlling Product Quality, Reliability, and Safety, 2e by Douglas Brauer, John Cesarone (All Chapters)

Chapter 1 The World of Manufacturing……no questions Chapter 2 Total Manufacturing Assurance …..no questions Chapter 3 Strategic Operations Questions

• Identify a broad range of topics that could be addressed in a business strategic plan.

✓ The plan could include such topics as marketing, management, finance, design constraints, manufacturing plans, research requirements, and value chains.

• Business strategic plans typically begin with a mission statement. Develop a concise,

explicit mission statement for your area of concern.✓ The mission statement explicitly defines what it is the organization does; its “marching orders,” such as “deliver world class logistics support to partners in the public and private sector.” 1 / 4

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✓ Have students develop a mission statement regarding their primary focus (e.g., school, work, family, etc.)

• Identify the external and internal issues impacting your corporation or current activity.

✓ Internal issues could include your current strengths and weaknesses, financial situation, product catalog, and management structure. External issues could include your competition, your customers, the dynamics of your marketplace, and the regulatory environment in which you are operating.

• Discuss the significance that environmental issues might have for some corporations in

strategy formulation.✓ This question can be answered in at least two ways: if we take “environmental” to mean ecology, pollution, and the health and safety of the planet, the issues involved would primarily include constraints put on our operations to remain legally and ethically in compliance with sound environmental practices. On the other hand, “environment” could also refer to the business climate, the political climate, and the attitudes and preferences of our customer base, and how they will form constraints in other areas. Both interpretations are valid, and both are important.

• Discuss the differences between tactical and strategic planning.

✓ Generally, tactical planning implies methods of short-term decision making, and is primarily reactive to the changing situation at any given moment. On the other hand, strategic planning is more about long-term decision making, and is proactive based on where the organization wants to be going. 2 / 4

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• What is the difference between vision and mission?

✓ The short answer is that mission is about what we do, and vision is about where we want to be in the future. Another way to look at it is to associate our mission with our tactics, and our vision with our strategies. Mission is operational; vision is aspirational. Feel free to come up with useful distinctions based on your own organization’s mission and vision statements.

• How does project management interface with the strategic plan?

✓ Project management is a means to implement and achieve the strategic plan. The strategic plan comes first, and guides the project managers in creating their work breakdown structures, timelines, milestones, and resource allocations.

• Why is it important to understand “what it takes to play” and “what it takes to win?”

✓ You can’t win if you don’t play. Therefore, you must first be able to “play,” which means to keep up with your competition and stay competitive and viable in the marketplace. This is the easier of the two tasks, and, generally, comes first. In order to gain market share and be recognized as a leader (“to win”) requires even more capability, and a deeper understanding of both your competition and your customer’s needs.

• Who is responsible for the strategic plan implementation?

✓ In one sense, strategic plan implementation is the responsibility of top management, who must drive the corporate culture in the direction identified in the strategic plan. But in another sense, it can be thought of as everyone’s 3 / 4

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responsibility, as loyal members of that corporate culture, dedicated to the concept of continuous improvement and progress toward the corporate vision.

• Look at your specific job and do a SWOT analysis.

✓ Obviously, the answer to this question is highly situation specific. Suppose that you are the manager of the software development department for a manufacturer

of “smart” appliances. You might list your SWOTs as follows:

✓ Strengths: well-trained employees with a diverse background in various

programming environments; good support from corporate.

✓ Weaknesses: aging employees who are not versed in the latest programming

techniques and languages; pay scale is lower than competitors, making it difficult to attract and retain the best employees.✓ Opportunities: good relationships with the local colleges; lots of programming skills in other departments at the company.✓ Threats: Local competitor pays better and can steal staff; evolving software standards make current software obsolete on a very short cycle.Chapter 4 Innovation & Technology Transfer Questions

• What are the principal activities of the innovation technology life-cycle?

✓ Activities include: imagine, incubate, demonstrate, promote, and sustain.

Assessing technology feasibility across these activities moves to commercialization.

• What happens by taking actions to reduce technology risk?
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