02 Jan How has your ability

Capella MBA6022 Unit 1 Discussion 1 & 2

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Discussion Posting Expectations

Before starting your first discussion, please review the following discussion posting expectations for the course:

Participate actively in discussions, beginning with your initial substantive post for each of the discussion topics. This post should demonstrate your achievement of the participation criteria.
Respond to the posts of at least two of your fellow learners for each discussion question per week, unless the discussion instructions state otherwise.
Write substantive response posts to other learners that contribute to the conversation by asking questions, respectfully debating positions, and presenting supporting information relevant to the topic.
Respond to any follow-up questions the instructor directs to you in the discussion area.
In summary, each week you are responsible for:

One initial post for each discussion question.
Two response posts to other learners for each discussion question.
Instructions

In your assignments throughout this course, you will build an OIP based on the real-world example of the Toyota Motor Corporation’s recent product failure crisis. For this discussion, use the research you have conducted on the Toyota accelerator crisis and this unit’s readings to address the following questions:

What was this crisis about?
What made this crisis challenging for Toyota?
As you complete this discussion board post and respond to colleagues, please consider this a sounding boardfor ideas you might incorporate in your assignment this week. You will notice that these questions are very similar to one part of your instructions for the Process Identification assignment in this unit. You are encouraged to re-use your own writing from this discussion, even word-for-word, in that assignment. Attribute any ideas you have borrowed from peers to the person who generated them.

Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two. When responding to others, seek clarification, share your personal experiences that relate to their experiences, and provide feedback on their posts.

dq 2

Because you are identifying processes that you might focus on for your OIP for this course, it is a good time to evaluate the situation using a formative strategy in the field, W. Edwards Deming’s 14 Points for Management. Following the Second World War, Deming traveled to Japan and motivated several prominent Japanese businesses toward process changes that brought them remarkable success. These companies cut expenses, increased productivity and gained market share by improving the quality of their products. By the 1970s, many American and European organizations adopted a similar strategy in order to stay competitive. Using Deming’s 1987 article, “Transformation of Today’s Management,” address the following:

Explain how you think some or all the principles proposed in his 14 Points for Management apply to the candidate processes you identified for your assignment in this unit. Explain why.
What additional information would you need to better understand the process?
As with the first discussion board, and whenever possible in this course, please use this as an opportunity to sound out ideas you will use in your upcoming assignment.

Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two. When responding to others, seek clarification, share your personal experiences that relate to their experiences, and provide feedback on their posts.

Capella MBA6022 Unit 2 Discussion 1 & 2

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In this discussion, please refer to the case study from the Unit 1 readings, “Unintended Acceleration: Toyota’s Recall Crisis,” by Austen-Smith, Diermeier, and Zemel. Respond to the following questions:

What is the best outcome Toyota could have expected from this crisis?
How might Toyota have improved its response to this crisis?
To what extent should Toyota be considered at faultfor these incidents?
At present, what further steps might Toyota take to improve its reputation following this crisis?
Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two. When responding to others, seek clarification, share your personal experiences that relate to their experiences, and provide feedback on their posts.

dq 2

One requirement of this unit’s assignment includes the development of a problem statement for your OIP. An important step in this development is to clearly identify the problem.

For this discussion, consider problem statements as you respond to the following:

In the development of a problem statement, what are some components you consider important as you identify the real causes of a problem?
How would you describe a problem in a way that is clear to the management team that will be evaluating the OIP?
Why is it important to keep your audience in mind as you determine what level of information and detail is appropriate?
What role does the cost-benefit relationship play as you frame the problem and proposed opportunity?
Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two. When responding to others, seek clarification, share your personal experiences that relate to their experiences, and provide feedback on their posts.

Capella MBA6022 Unit 3 Discussion 1 & 2

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For this discussion, review the following readings:

Mishina’s 1995 case study, “Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc.”
Baker Library’s 2015 case study, “Case Flash Forward: Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. (1995).”
Cole’s 2011 article, “What Really Happened to Toyota?”
After your review, respond to the following questions, which will serve as a chance to try out ideas you might use in your assignment for this unit:

If you were Doug Friesen, manager of assembly at the company’s Georgetown, Kentucky plant, what would you do to address the seat problem? Where would you focus your attention and solution efforts?
What options exist? What would you recommend? Why?
What is the real problem facing Doug Friesen?
Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two. When responding to others, seek clarification, share your personal experiences that relate to their experiences, and provide feedback on their posts.

dq 2

For this discussion, analyze the features of a flowchart that helped you understand the process you are addressing in your course project. In addition, explain how you intend to use these features to support your process improvement objectives. Remember that Chapter 6 of your Operations and Supply Chain Managementtextbook provides examples of flowcharts created with different software. If you so choose, you may also use the textbook’s student companion Web site, linked in the Resources, to find more information on flowcharting.

Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two. When responding to others, seek clarification, share your personal experiences that relate to their experiences, and provide feedback on their posts.

Capella MBA6022 Unit 4 Discussion 1 & 2

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For this discussion, respond to the following:

1. Describe three strategies for expanding capacity. What are the advantages and disadvantages of incremental versus one-step expansion?

2. Review the 2011 case study, “Southwest Airlines.” Describe Southwest Airlines’ strategy and process, and then respond to the following questions in view of your knowledge about expanding capacity:

o Is the United States airline industry attractive?

o Why is Southwest successful?

o How easy would it be to imitate this airline’s strategy?

o Is their strategy sustainable?

o Should Southwest become an international airline?

Response Guidelines

Respond to the posts of two peers. When responding to others, seek clarification, share your personal experiences that relate to their experiences, and provide feedback on their posts.

dq 2

Deming (1987) states that, in terms of companies in transformation, one of the seven deadly diseases that can afflict them is using only visible figures as an input to management. With this idea in mind, respond to the following:

How do you think this concept could affect your selection of data and measurement strategies?
When historical data are not available and the product or service is new, how would you go about arriving at a reasonable forecast?
Explain this as it relates to your job or personal experience.
Reference

Deming, W. E. (1987). Transformation of today’s management. Leadership Excellence, 4(12), 8.

Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two. When responding to others, seek clarification, share your personal experiences that relate to their experiences, and provide feedback on their posts.

Capella MBA6022 Unit 5 Discussion

For this discussion, refer to Chapter 13 of your Operations and Supply Chain Managementtextbook and review Wheelwright and Schmidt’s 2011 case study, “Scientific Glass, Inc.: Inventory Management.” Respond to the following questions:

Identify the two basic decisions addressed by inventory management, and discuss why the responses to these decisions differ for continuous and periodic inventory systems.
What were the problems facing Scientific Glass, Inc. in January 2010?
How do Scientific Glass, Inc.’s problems illustrate the relationship between the number of warehouses and inventory levels?
What alternatives are available for dealing with the inventory problems? How would you evaluate the alternatives?
Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two. When responding to others, seek clarification, share your personal experiences that relate to their experiences, and provide feedback on their posts.

Capella MBA6022 Unit 6 Discussion 1 & 2

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Based on the course materials and activities, as well as your own experience, respond to the following:

Describe the implications of operations improvement for international operations and how these differ from domestic applications.
Analyze the potential differences between the operations improvement process for the service and the manufacturing sectors, both internationally and domestically.
Describe how ISO certification might affect the operations improvement process in the international and domestic realm.
Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two. When responding to others, seek clarification, share your personal experiences that relate to their experiences, and provide feedback on their posts.

dq 2

For this discussion, reflect on the knowledge and skills you have developed over the past six weeks. Address the following questions in your post:

How has your ability to perform these skills and apply this knowledge evolved?
What concepts, skills, or insights were most relevant to you?
How have you grown in your academic and professional goals? Have you made progress on any items in the action plan you developed during first course?
Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two. When responding to others, seek clarification, share your personal experiences that relate to their experiences, and provide feedback on their posts.