MBA576 Week 3 Discussion

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Unit 3: Discussion

Introduction

As operations manager you are responsible for designing and managing processes that turn raw materials into finished goods and services. In some cases, your customers only see the finished product, without any knowledge of the process used to create and deliver the products to them. Take the customers of Kibby and Strand, the company in our simulations, for example. It is doubtful their customers come to the factory where the clothes are being made. Customers in the scenarios are deemed satisfied if the finished products arrive on time and are high quality. In other words, our customers are not necessarily concerned with the process, just the finished product.

However, not all businesses operate like Kibby and Strand. Take a retail store or restaurant for example.   When you visit one of these establishments it is likely you will interface with a salesperson or server, and if that person is rude or not helpful, then you may leave without making a purchase even though the finished product may be exactly what you wanted. In this weeks scenario, you are the manager of a chain restaurant and company leadership has concerns younger diners are not as satisfied with the dining experience as older customers. This experience starts when the customer arrives at the restaurant and carries through until they walk out the door.  In other words, there are many opportunities for the customer to observe the process, and along the way they formulate opinions that ultimate determine their satisfaction with the experience.  If they are satisfied then they are likely to come back in the future. Given that repeat restaurant customers account for at least 33% of revenue, it is imperative customers enjoy the experience and return in the future.

Source:

Unit Learning Outcomes

  1. Document the requirements for an operational product / service plan for an organization. (CLO 2, 4, 5, and 7)
  2. Analyze the risks to an organization resulting from a poorly formulated product / service plan. (CLO 2 and 7)
  3. Examine considerations for sustainability of a product /service plan. (CLO 2, 3, and 7)
  4. Prepare an operational product / service plan emphasizing efficiency and suggested changes to improve operational outcomes. (CLO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7)

Directions

Accessing McGraw-Hill Connect

Follow to view the scenario.

Initial Posting

You are to role play an independent consultant for this assignment.  Research a company or industry that is modifying its operations to attract Millennials.  Prepare your submission as a combination impact study and recommendation paper.  Basically, you are documenting how Millennials are impacting the company / industry, and how the organization should be trying to go after the Millennial market or complete with it.  Also include any risks you identify. Avoid companies such as Chipotle, Panera Bread, Starbucks, and Chick-fil-a who built their business by targeting Millennials. You are looking for    companies / industries likely to be impacted if they do not target Millennials, and their futures may be at risk.

This paper should be prepared as a Microsoft Word document, and then attached to the unit discussion thread. There is no minimum or maximum in terms of the word count; however, the response should explicitly address all required components of this discussion assignment. The document should be prepared consistent with the APA writing style and reflect higher level cognitive processing (analysis, synthesis and or evaluation).  

Instruction Guidance: It would be prudent to consider content covered in chapter 4 of the textbook; however, there are many other useful resources available on the Internet and in the literature to support the construction of your action plan. 

This formal plan should be prepared as a Microsoft Word document, and then attached to the unit discussion thread. There is no minimum or maximum in terms of the word count; however, the response should explicitly address all required components of this discussion assignment. The document should be prepared consistent with the APA writing style and reflect higher level cognitive processing (analysis, synthesis and or evaluation).