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Business Management-AW349 Online Services

Introduction

 
For this task, you will be using “Business Fundamentals,” a Marketplace simulation from Innovative Learning Solutions. You will act as the manager of a firm that manufactures and markets personal computers. You will prepare an analytical report that you plan to discuss with your management team as you review your company’s performance in the simulation.
 

Task

 
A. Submit the following documents from your simulation company
 
• Final cumulative balanced scorecard ending with Quarter 4
• Income statement from the Quarter 5 performance report, showing Quarters 1 through 4 results
• Balance sheet from the Quarter 5 performance report, showing Quarters 1 through results
 
Note: You may submit your files in a word processing document or spreadsheet format.
 
B. Analyze your simulation results by addressing the following prompts (B1 through B5).
 
Note: Reflect on the following in your analysis: Your actions during the simulation, the
relationship between your actions and your simulation results, your success compared to other competitors, and alternatives to your actions that could have produced better results in the simulation.
 
Keeping your analysis and the simulation content in mind, do the following
 
1. Evaluate how you utilized budgets and proforma statements to plan funding of the production capacity you needed to achieve your business goals.
2. Discuss how you could have employed each of the following strategies to improve operating efficiency in your manufacturing facility
 
a. Justintime
b. Lean operations
 
3. Discuss the applicability of work cells versus a traditional straight line method to the type of manufacturing facility used to assemble computers.
 
4. Evaluate your decisions involving inventory management (e.g., did you have inventory when you needed it without incurring unnecessary inventory carrying costs?).
 
5. Explain how a specific continuous improvement program could have been used within the type of manufacturing facility in the simulation to achieve quality assurance goals.
 
C. When you use sources, include all intextcitations and references in APA format.

Introduction

 
For this task, you will be using “Business Fundamentals,” a Marketplace simulation from Innovative Learning Solutions. You will play as manager of a firm producing and selling personal computers.
 
Your firm will be competing against others for share of the market and profitable sales.
 

Task

 
A. Analyze your simulation results by addressing the following prompts (A1 through A4).
 
Note: Reflect on the following in your analysis: Your actions during the simulation, the relationship between your actions and your simulation results, your success compared to other competitors, and alternatives to your actions that could have produced better results in the simulation.
 
Keeping your analysis and the simulation content in mind, do the following
 
1. Explain how you determined your product design decisions in the simulation.
2. Discuss whether you would change the target markets you selected if given the opportunity to repeat the simulation.
 
3. Discuss whether you would change the sales office locations you selected if given the opportunity to repeat the simulation.
4. Discuss whether you would spend differently on marketing research if given the opportunity to repeat the simulation.
 
B. Analyze the factors you considered during the simulation in deciding whether to establish a presence in international markets.
C. Discuss additional factors this type of company should consider when analyzing whether to expand internationally (beyond the factors available in the simulation).
 
D. When you use sources, include all intextcitations and references in APA format.
Note: When bulleted points are present in the task prompt, the level of detail or support called for in the rubric refers to those bulleted points.
 

Scenario

 
You have been retained by a group of investors who plan to manufacture and market a line of power hand tools, including electric drills, saws, and sanders. The investors would like you to guide their decisions regarding how they should design and organize their supply chain and how they should approach the operations management aspects of the production facility, as well as operations issues related to the success of the entire supply chain that they should consider and attempt to influence in their role as a major and critical component of the supply chain. The investor group will own and operate the production facility and are willing to consider ownership of any other component of the supply chain that you recommend they own and manage.
 
You are to prepare a business report that addresses the challenges of ensuring all business units in the supply chain have the right amount of the right product in the right place at the right time and at the right cost. The operation of the supply chain should achieve synergistic results that provide sustainable dominant competitive advantage. The business report should focus on the concerns that the investor group has expressed and include, but not be limited to, any additional concerns the investor group has not yet considered.
 

Task

 
Create a business report based on the above scenario in which you do the following
 
A. Recommend, with sufficient support, the adoption of one of the following strategies by the power tool company: a Keiretsu network, a virtual company, a vertical integration, or a different supply chain strategy.
B. Discuss metrics that could be used to measure performance of the supply chain.
 
C. Discuss three of the following issues that could complicate the development of an efficient, integrated supply chain: local optimization, incentives, large lots, and the bullwhip effect.
D. Recommend two tactics or methods which are opportunities for effective management in an integrated supply chain.
 
E. Explain the actions that should be taken to mitigate one clearly identified possible risk for each of the following areas
 
1. Process
2. Control
3. Environmental
 
Note: Please clearly identify the risk you are addressing with each mitigation plan.
 
F. Recommend a hierarchical functional organizational structure for the power tool manufacturing company.
1. Discuss what departments might be included in the operations function of the company.
G. Discuss strategic operations management decisions related to at least three of the following concepts that would support the implementation of the company’s mission and strategy
 
• Design of goods and services
• Design of process and capacity
 
• Quality
• Location
 
• Layout design
• Human resources and job design
 
• Supply chain management
• Inventory
 
• Scheduling
• Maintenance
 
1. Discuss whether the company should adopt a consumer focused mass customization process. H. Recommend actions to improve cost effectiveness for each of the following
 
1. Manufacturing facility
2. Supply chain
 
I. When you use sources, include all intextcitations and references in APA format.
 
Note: When bulleted points are present in the task prompt, the level of detail or support called for in the rubric refers to those bulleted points.
 
Note: For definitions of terms commonly used in the rubric, see the Rubric Terms web link included in the Evaluation Procedures section.

product code: Business Management-AW349

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