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Spring 2014 Exam July/Aug2014

Masters of Business Administration
MBA Semester 2
MB0044 Production & Operations Management
Assignments

Q. No 1 Explain briefly elements of operations strategy ?
Ans.1
Operations Strategy:
Operations strategy is defined as the set of decisions that are warranted in the
operational processes in order to support the competitive strategies of the business. The
objectives stated above will give the firm competitive advantages in the products or services
that are served to the customers.
Elements of Operations Strategy:
The six elements of operations strategy are:
1) Designing of the production system
2) Facilities for production and services
3) Product or service design and development
4) Technology selection, development, and process development
5) Allocation of resources
6) Focus on facilities planning
Designing of the production system:
The designing of the production system involves the selection of the type of product design,
processing system, inventory plan for finished goods, etc. The product design has two varieties.
They are:
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Customized product design
Standard product design

Facilities for production and services:
Certain specialization in production allows the firm to provide the customers with products of
lower cost, faster delivery, on-time delivery, high product Quality, and flexibility. Here,
overheads will be less and the firm can Outperform compared to the competitors. While
planning the specialized lines, the economies of scale and the continuous demand are to be
looked into.

Product or service design and development

The stages followed in developing a product are:
1. Generating the idea
2. Creating the feasibility reports
3. Designing the prototype and testing
4. Preparing a production model
5. Evaluating the economies of scale for production
6. Testing the product in the market
7. Obtaining feedback
8. Creating the final design and starting the production.
Any product designed and introduced into the market has its own life cycle.
Technology selection and process development

A product selected for production will be analyzed for the process and the Applicable
technology for optimal production. There are many challenges faced by the operations
managers in this decision as the alternatives are many. The techno-economic analysis for each
alternative will help to decide the required technology.

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Allocation of resources

The production units face continuous problems of allocating the scarce resources like capital,
machines, equipments, materials, manpower, services, etc. Allocation at the right time to the
right place of production indicates the efficiency of the production planners.

Facility, capacity, and layout planning

The location, layout, and facilities creation for the production are the key decision areas for the
operations manager.
Q. No 2. Describe the general factors that influence the plant location decision.
Ans.2
The general factors that influence the plant location are listed as follows:

Availability of land Availability of land plays an important role in determining the
plant location. On several occasions, our plans, calculations and forecasts suggest a
particular area as the best to start
an organisation.
Availability of inputs While choosing a plant location, it is very important for the
organisation t o get the labor at the right time and good quality raw materials.
Closeness to market places
It is advisable to locate the plant near to the market place, when:
The projected life of the product is low
The transportation cost is high
The products are delicate and susceptible to spoilage
After sales services have to be prompt
Communication facilities Communication facility is also an important factor which
influences the location of a plant

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Infrastructure Infrastructure plays a prominent role in deciding the location. The
basic infrastructure needed in any organisation is:
Power For example, industries which run day and night require continuous power
supply. So, they should be located near the power stations and should ensure
continuous power supply throughout the year.
Water For example, process industries such as, paper, chemical, and
Cement, require continuous water supply in large amount. So, such
Process industries need to be located near the source of water supply.
Waste disposal For example, for process industries such as, paper
And sugarcane industries, facility for disposal of waste are the key factor.
Transport Transport facility is a must for facility location and layout of Location of
the plant. Timely supply of raw materials to the company and Supply of finished goods
to the customers is an important factor.
Government support The factors that demand additional attention for plant location
are the policies of the state governments and local bodies concerning labor laws,
building codes, and safety.
Housing and recreation Housing and recreation factors also influence the plant
location. Locating a plant with or near to the facilities of good schools, housing and
recreation for employ will have a greater impact on the organisation.
Remaining Answers are available in Paid Assignments.

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Q. No 3 Write short notes on
Total productive Maintenance
GNATT Chart
Bullwhip effect in SCM
Scheduling in services

Ans.3
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM):

Maintenance is a function in any operations system. Maintenance keeps the Equipments in
good condition. Generally, equipments deteriorate because usage causes wear and tear to
the parts causing inaccuracies to the products made by them. When the deterioration produces
components which exceed the permitted deviations rendering them unacceptable,
maintenance is undertaken to bring back the machine to produce acceptable components.
Sometimes the failure is sudden and serious and
The equipment stops working. Disruption of production and emergency repair work are costly
and schedules are missed causing delays in supplies and consequent losses. These breakdowns
occur because the equipment was carrying hidden defects which were not apparent. Total
productive maintenance puts the responsibility of maintenance where It belongs to and on the
operator who uses the equipment. It is a companywide activity which involves all the people.
Gantt chart:
A Gantt load chart shows the amount of cumulative workload that each work
Centre has in a manufacturing unit. It is a graph showing individual and total
Estimated workloads of each work centre on a time scale.
Uses of Gantt chart
Total workload shown graphically is simple, clear, and easy to Understand.
It indicates the need for more resources or for reassigning or resources when the load at
one work centre becomes too large.
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Limitations of Gantt chart
Gantt load chart does not account for delays and disruptions at the work centers.
t does not give information regarding the due date requirements of each job.
Chart must be updated periodically for new jobs.
Bullwhip Effect in SCM:
An organisation always goes through ups and downs. It is necessary that the managers of the
organisation keep track of the market conditions and analyze the changes.
This affects almost all the industries, poses a risk to firms that experience large variations in
demand, and also those firms which are dependent on suppliers, distributors and retailers. A
Bullwhip effect may arise because of the following factors:
Increase in the lead time of the project due to increase in variability of demand
Increase in the stocks to accommodate the increasing demand arising out of
complicated demand models and forecasting techniques
Reduced service levels in the organisation
Inefficient allocation of resources
Increased transportation cost
How to prevent it?
Bullwhip effect may be avoided by one or more of the following measures:
1. Avoid multiple demand forecasting
2. Breaking the single orders into number of batches of orders
3. Stabilize the prices avoid the risk involved in overstocking by
Maintaining a proper stock
4. Reduce the variability and uncertainty in Point Of Sale (POS) and
Sharing information
Scheduling in Services:
There are distinctive difference between the scheduling followed for manufacturing
and services. All these differences have a direct impact on scheduling. These differences are:
1. Service operations cannot create inventories to provide buffer for demand
uncertainties.
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2. Demand in service operations cannot be predicted accurately.
3. Demand for service are initiated mostly as unplanned event and hence, there may be certain
distortions in scheduling.
4. Providing the required manpower and skills for the sudden demand in scheduling a service
activity is challenging and sometimes becomes crucial.
Scheduling customer demand
Forecasting the demand in advance for service activities is difficult and scheduling such variable
demand poses certain problems. In order to provide timely service and utilize the capacity to
the maximum extent, the scheduler has to adopt certain systems/methodologies. There are
three methods normally used by the scheduler in services. They are
1. Backlogs
2. Reservations
3. Appointments

Q. No 4 Explain the steps and tools for changing project management process.
Q. No 5 Under capacity options the company decides to vary the production output by
varying the time, workforce or outsourcing. What are the basic capacity options a company
can chose to meet demand?
Q. No 6 Write short notes on:
Relevance of Value Engineering in manufacturing
Vendor Managed inventory
Rating methods for locating a plant
Importance of business process modeling



Remaining Answers are available in Paid Assignments..
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Contact us for complete assignments..
NAVEEN KUMAR: 09958511016 /09971164259
E-MAIL: naveenk31@yahoo.co.in / smuassignments2014@gmail.com
Website: www.smustudy.com

ALL OF OUR ASSIGNMENTS ARE IN WORD FORMAT AND AS PER NEW
GUIDELINES OF SMU