16 Jan BUS430 Operations Management

BUS430 Operations Management

Week 1 Discussion

Customer Service

Please respond to the following:

From the Zappos video, analyze the role that customer service plays in business and determine the service management skills at Zappos. Evaluate the different way(s) that Zappos creates a superior customer service experience. Evaluate how OM activities impact the management of goods and services that Zappos provides.

BUS430 Operations Management

Week 2 Discussion

Operations Strategy

Please respond to the following:

Choose two service companies with which you are familiar, such as Facebook, Amazon, and UPS. Apply Hill’s Strategy Development Framework to them.

For each company you chose, compare and contrast each sector of the framework and determine which key area(s) provide(s) a competitive advantage. Provide at least two examples to support your position.

Note: Refer to Chapter 3 of the text for information on Hill’s Strategy Development Framework.

BUS430 Operations Management

Week 3 Discussion

Service Positioning versus Product Process

Please respond to the following:

Examine the roles of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in business. Determine how each system can play a critical role in managing value chains.

How does LaRosa’s Pizzeria use this technology in order to improve the supply chain and value chain operations? Determine the ways this technology has helped to deliver quality to the customer. Assess the challenges that LaRosa’s Pizzeria might face when trying to implement these types of technologies.

BUS430 Operations Management

Week 4 Discussion

Push and Pull Decisions

Please respond to the following:

Examine your own organization, or the organization of your choice. How is your organization structured (push or pull)? Justify your response.

BUS430 Operations Management

Week 5 Discussion

Fast Food Franchise

Please respond to the following:

Choose two fast food franchises and examine their facility layouts. Compare and discuss the differences in their layouts.

Evaluate how each of the layouts enhance or hinder productivity and the customer experience. Support your answer.

BUS430 Operations Management

Week 6 Discussion

Bank USA” Please respond to the following:

From the case study, determine the challenges faced by the Help Desk at Bank USA and suggest strategies to mitigate them.

Using the data on call volume in the case, select a forecasting model to forecast the short-term demand. Justify why this model was selected over other forecasting models. Support your position.

BUS430 Operations Management

Week 7 Discussion

“Resource Management” Please respond to the following:

Select a goods-producing organization and a service-providing organization of your choice. Suggest ways each organization can make aggregate planning decisions using the variables described in Exhibit 13.3 in the textbook.

Compare and contrast the operational and managerial impacts of the aggregate planning decisions in terms of customer satisfaction.

BUS430 Operations Management

Week 8 Discussion

“Evaluate an Experience” Please respond to the following:

Analyze the importance of production planning and scheduling within an organization. Evaluate a bad experience you have had with an appointment from the perspectives of the customer (you) and the organization with regard to inefficient planning and scheduling.

Analyze the experience you provided from a process perspective. Suggest ways the schedules could have been designed to be more efficient and effective.

BUS430 Operations Management

Week 9 Discussion

“Cost of Quality” Please respond to the following:

Select two fast food restaurants and evaluate them in terms of service quality. Suggest ways to improve the service quality.

Evaluate the two fast-food restaurants in terms of the “Seven QC tools” discussed in Chapter 15. Determine the top three QC tools that tend to be most valuable to business owners. Explain your rationale.

Lastly, respond to at least one (1) post of your peers.

BUS430 Operations Management

Week 10 Discussion

“Lean Operating Systems” Please respond to the following:

Compare and contrast the lean service system found within Southwest Airlines to a full-service airline such as United Airlines, British Airways, and other large carriers in terms of cabin service, boarding process, baggage handling, and service encounters.

Recommend ways for the airline carriers to improve their lean operation systems in terms of speed and quality while reducing waste and costs. Explain your rationale.

Lastly, respond to at least one (1) post of your peers.

BUS430 Operations Management

Week 11 Discussion

“The Value Chain Concept” Please respond to the following:

Describe a customer experience you have personally encountered where the goods or service or both were unsatisfactory (such as defective products, mistakes, poor service, and so on).

Suggest ways for the organization to improve its goods / service. Determine the element(s) of operations management that must be reevaluated.

Lastly, respond to at least one (1) post of your peers.