Operations Management

Operations Management Thirteenth Edition Principles of Operations Management Eleventh Edition

Jay Heizer Barry Render Chuck Munson

Solutions Manual

Operations Management, 13e and Principles of Operations Management 11e (For Complete File Download Link at the end of this File) 1 / 4

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CHAPTER

Operations and Productivity

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• The text suggests four reasons to study OM. We want to understand (1) how people organize themselves for productive enterprise,

(2) how goods and services are produced, (3) what operations managers do, and (4) this costly part of our economy and most enterprises.

LO 1.1: Define operations management

AACSB: Application of knowledge

• With some 40% of all jobs being in the OM field, the career opportunities are prolific. The text suggests many career opportunities. OM

students find initial jobs throughout the OM field, including supply chain, logistics, purchasing, production planning and scheduling, plant layout, maintenance, quality control, inventory management, etc.

LO 1.3: Identify career opportunities in operations management

AACSB: Application of knowledge

• Possible responses include: Adam Smith (work specialization/ division of labor), Charles Babbage (work specialization/division of labor),

Frederick W. Taylor (scientific management), Walter Shewart (statistical sampling and quality control), Henry Ford (moving assembly line), Charles Sorensen (moving assembly line), Frank and Lillian Gilbreth (motion study), Eli Whitney (standardization).

LO 1.1: Define operations management

AACSB: Application of knowledge

• See references in the answer to Question 3.

LO 1.1: Define operations management

AACSB: Application of knowledge

• The actual charts will differ, depending on the specific organization the student chooses to describe. The important thing is for students

to recognize that all organizations require, to a greater or lesser extent, (a) the three primary functions of operations, finance/accounting, and marketing; and (b) that the emphasis or detailed breakdown of these functions is dependent on the specific competitive strategy employed by the firm.

LO 1.1: Define operations management

AACSB: Application of knowledge

• The answer to this question may be similar to that for Question 5. Here, however, the student should be encouraged to utilize a more

detailed knowledge of a past employer and indicate on the chart additional information such as the number of persons employed to perform the various functions and, perhaps, the position of the functional areas within the overall organization hierarchy.

LO 1.1: Define operations management

AACSB: Application of knowledge

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2 CHAPTER 1 OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY

Copyright ©2020 Pearson Education, Inc.

• The basic functions of a firm are marketing, accounting/ finance, and operations. An interesting class discussion: “Do all firms/organizations

(private, government, not-for-profit) perform these three functions?” The authors’ hypothesis is yes, they do.

LO 1.1: Define operations management

AACSB: Application of knowledge

• The 10 strategic decisions of operations management are product design, quality, process, location, layout, human resources, supply-chain

management, inventory, scheduling (intermediate and short-term), and maintenance. We find this structure an excellent way to help students organize and learn the material.

LO 1.1: Define operations management

AACSB: Application of knowledge

• Four areas that are important to improving labor productivity are (1) basic education (basic reading and math skills), (2) diet of the labor

force, (3) social overhead that makes labor available (water, sanitation, transportation, etc.), and (4) maintaining and expanding the skills necessary for changing technology and knowledge, as well as for teamwork and motivation.

LO 1.8: Identify the critical variables in enhancing productivity

AACSB: Application of knowledge

• Productivity is harder to measure when the task becomes more intellectual. A knowledge society implies that work is more

intellectual and therefore harder to measure. Because the U.S. and many other countries are increasingly “knowledge” societies, productivity is harder to measure. Using labor-hours as a measure of productivity for a postindustrial society versus an industrial or agriculture society is very different. For example, decades spent developing a marvelous new drug or winning a very difficult legal case on intellectual property rights may be significant for postindustrial societies, but not show much in the way of productivity improvement measured in labor-hours.

LO 1.8: Identify the critical variables in enhancing productivity

AACSB: Analytical thinking

• Productivity is difficult to measure because precise units of measure may be lacking, quality may not be consistent, and exogenous

variables may change.

LO 1.8: Identify the critical variables in enhancing productivity

AACSB: Reflective thinking

• Mass customization is the flexibility to produce to meet specific customer demands, without sacrificing the low cost of a product-oriented

process. Rapid product development is a source of competitive advantage. Both rely on agility within the organization.

LO 1.1: Define operations management

AACSB: Application of knowledge

• Labor productivity in the service sector is hard to improve because (1) many services are labor intensive and (2) they are individually

(personally) processed (the customer is paying for that service—the haircut), (3) it may be an intellectual task performed by professionals, (4) it is often difficult to mechanize and automate, and (5) it is often difficult to evaluate for quality.

LO 1.8: Identify the critical variables in enhancing productivity

AACSB: Reflective thinking

• Taco Bell designed meals that were easy to prepare; with actual cooking and food preparation done elsewhere; automation to save

preparation time; reduced floor space; manager training to increase span of control.

LO 1.8: Identify the critical variables in enhancing productivity

AACSB: Application of knowledge 3 / 4

CHAPTER 1 OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTIVITY 3

Copyright ©2020 Pearson Education, Inc.

• Bureau of Labor Statistics (stats.bls.gov) is a good place to start. Results will vary for each year, but overall data for the economy will

range from 0.9% to 4.8%, and mfg. could be as high as 5% and services between 1% and 2%. The data will vary even more for months or quarters. The data are frequently revised, often substantially.

LO 1.7: Compute multifactor productivity

AACSB: Application of knowledge

ETHICAL DILEMMA

AMERICAN CAR BATTERY INDUST RY

You may want to begin the discussion by asking how ethical it is for you to be in the lead battery business when you know that any batteries you recycle will very likely find their way to an overseas facility (probably Mexico) with, at best, marginal pollution containment. Then after a likely conclusion of “Well someone has to provide batteries,” you can move to the following discussion.(a) As owner of an independent auto repair shop trying to dispose of a few old batteries each week, your options may be limited. But as an ethical operator, your first option is to put pressure on your battery supplier to take your old batteries. Alternatively, shop for a battery supplier who wants your business enough to dispose of your old batteries. Third, because there is obviously a market for the lead in old batteries, some aggressive digging may uncover an imaginative recycler who can work out an economical arrangement for pickup or delivery of your old batteries. Another option is, of course, to discontinue the sale of batteries. (This is a problem for many small businesses; ethical decisions and regulation may be such that they often place an expensive and disproportionate burden on a small firm.) (b) As manager of a large retailer responsible for disposal of thousands of used batteries each week, you should have little trouble finding a battery supplier with a reverse supply chain suitable for disposal of old batteries. Indeed, a sophisticated retailer, early on in any supply-chain development process, includes responsible disposal of environmentally dangerous material as part of the negotiations.Disposal of old batteries should be a minor issue for a large retailer.(c) For both a small and large retailer, the solution is to find a “sustainable” solution or get out of the battery business. Burying the batteries behind the store is not an option. Supplement 5: Sustainability in the Supply Chain provides some guidelines for a deeper class discussion.

END-OF-CHAPTER PROBLEMS

120 boxes (a) = 3.0 boxes/hour 40 hours 1.1

125 boxes (b) = 3.125 boxes/hour 40 hours

(c) Change in productivity = 0.125 box/hour (d) 0.125 box Percentage change = = 4.167% 3.0

1.2 (a) Labor productivity is 160 valves/80 hours = 2 valves per hour (b) New labor productivity = 180 valves/80 hours = 2.25 valves per hour (c) Percentage change in productivity = .25 valve/2 valves = 12.5%

1.3 So,

57,600

= = 200

(160)(12)(0.15)

L laborers employed

57,600

0.15 = , where number of laborers

(160)(12)( )

employed at the plant

L L =

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