B 6029 Module 1 Unit 1 Assignment 1 Opening Discussion Introduction to Classmates and This Course

Begin this assignment by introducing yourself to classmates—giving your name, current occupation, and areas of interest that might be covered by this course.

Next, share your ideas, observations, and experiences regarding operations management.

• Share your reasons for taking an operations management course. How does this course fit into your career plans, and how do you believe it offers you a competitive advantage in the workplace?
• Describe an operational challenge you have either experienced or witnessed. This can come either from the workplace or your own experience as a consumer or customer. Include the following in your response:
• In which areas did you find breakdowns or opportunities in the system?
• How would you have improved the process?

Beginning Thursday, May 5, 2017, post your responses to the appropriateDiscussion Area. Continue to get to know your fellow classmates and contribute to our discussion on operations management. Through Saturday, May 7, 2017, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses.

Write your initial response in 300–500 words. Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail, include citations of all sources, where needed, according to the APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Do the following when responding to your peers:

B 6029 Module 1 Unit 1 Assignment 2 Discussion Competitive Advantage and Globalization

Competitive advantage implies the creation of a system that has a unique advantage over competitors. With the advent of globalization, the competition has become stronger and can be located anywhere in the world. The idea behind competitive advantage is to create customer value in an efficient and sustainable way. One approach to address this issue would be the use of resource-based theories of competitive advantage.

Resources are not simply raw materials but include all the inputs, such as intellectual capital, necessary to produce a good or service. Consider this as you address globalization strategies for Fortune 500 firms in this assignment. Be mindful of constraints, such as transportation costs and cultural barriers, as you complete this assignment.

Review the article “Resource-Based Theories of Competitive Advantage: A Ten-Year Retrospective on the Resource-Based View” by J. B. Barney from the readings for this module.

Based on your analysis of this article and other readings for this module, respond to the following:

• Explain how resource-based competitive advantage drives globalization strategies for Fortune 500 firms.
• Why are application of project management principles critical to effective business operations?

Barney, J. B. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120. (ProQuest Document ID: 215258436)http://www.thecampuscommon.com/library/ezproxy/ticketdemocs.asp?sch=auo&turl=http://search.proquest.com/docview/215258436

Barney, J. B. (2001). Resource-based theories of competitive advantage: A ten-year retrospective on the resource-based view. Journal of Management, 27(6), 643–650. Retrieved fromhttp://www.thecampuscommon.com/library/ezproxy/ticketdemocs.asp?sch=auo&turl=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=5777193&site=ehost-live

By Saturday, May 7, 2016, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Wednesday, May 11, 2016, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses.

Write your initial response in 300–500 words. Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail, include citations of all sources, where needed, according to the APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Do the following when responding to your peers:

• Read your peers’ answers.
• Provide substantive comments by
• contributing new, relevant information from course readings, Web sites, or other sources;
• building on the remarks or questions of others; or
• sharing practical examples of key concepts from your professional or personal experiences
• Respond to feedback on your posting and provide feedback to other students on their ideas.
• Make sure your writing
• is clear, concise, and organized;
• demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and
• displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

B 6029 Module 1 Unit 1 Assignment 3 Operational Barriers to Success

Delivering on a value proposition demands constant improvement and innovation as competition changes over time along with evolving customers’ needs and wants. How an organization delivers is not only dependent on its ability to serve the market but also on how well it adapts and overcomes the challenges of its own structure, culture, incentives, and design. However, an organization may face many barriers that hinder its ability to overcome these challenges.

Using the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, research operational barriers. Based on your research, address the following:

• What tools might an organization use to help identify barriers?
• Identify at least three barriers that impede an organization’s ability to adopt innovative practices and processes.
• Identify at least one organization that faced these barriers, describe the approach used to address these barriers, and explain whether it was successful or unsuccessful.
• Explain what you would you have done differently to overcome these barriers.

Write a 3–5-page paper in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M1_A3.doc.

B 6029 Module 2 Unit 2 Assignment 1 Discussion Outsourcing A Strategic Advantage?

Outsourcing may provide tremendous advantages for firms. It may allow companies to specialize, reduce costs, and focus narrowly on the core competencies they deem strategic; however, companies also have to think about what they may lose both qualitatively and quantitatively. For example, when outsourcing, managers need to be certain that what they source from outside is not a key component of their value proposition.

A way to reduce those risks is to use an approach called vertical integration. The meaning of vertical integration is developing the ability to produce goods or services previously purchased or to actually buy a supplier or a distributor. It can take two forms: backward and forward. These forms relate to how the corporation moves in its supply chain to pursue the vertical integration. If the movement is towards the suppliers, it is called backward integration. Conversely, it is known as forward integration.

Using the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, research outsourcing. Based on your research, respond to the following:

• What are the risks and benefits of the outsourcing approach?
• What are the strategic advantages of outsourcing to vertically integrated firms?

By Saturday, May 14, 2016, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Wednesday, May 18, 2016, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses.

Write your initial response in 300–500 words. Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail, include citations of all sources, where needed, according to the APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Do the following when responding to your peers:

• Read your peers’ answers.
• Provide substantive comments by
• contributing new, relevant information from course readings, Web sites, or other sources;
• building on the remarks or questions of others; or
• sharing practical examples of key concepts from your professional or personal experiences
• Respond to feedback on your posting and provide feedback to other students on their ideas.
• Make sure your writing
• is clear, concise, and organized;
• demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and
• displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

B 6029 Module 2 Unit 2 Assignment 2 Designing Value Based Service

As the rate of innovation increases, companies face expanding product/service lines, shorter product and service lifecycles, and more frequent product/service transitions. All of these can bring tremendous value but also pose enormous challenges and risks.

The article “The Art of Managing New Product Transitions” by Erhun, Gonclave, and Hopman (2007) from the readings for this module includes a matrix titled “Product Drivers and Risk Factors,” which focuses on Intel, a company that manufactures high-tech products (p. 76). Based on your readings and research, address the following issues:

• Redesign the product risk factor matrix so that the factors are appropriate for a services firm that delivers traditional tax accounting and audit services. For example, among the supply risks, assume that the company relies on individuals with specific knowledge of the tax law in the jurisdictions where its clients operate, be it state, federal, or foreign.
• Now, assume that the firm wants to develop a management consultancy practice. (Alternatively, you may choose to add a legal services line instead.). Create a separate new matrix that summarizes the additional risk factors for this firm launching a management consultancy or legal services line. What additional risk factors are you adding to your matrix?
• Explain how the business risks differ between traditional tax and audit services and management consulting services. In your opinion, what are the three biggest risks the firm faces if it diversifies into the new service line?
• Recommend whether the firm should organically grow into a consultancy service or acquire a third party to achieve new goals. Justify your recommendations.

Develop a 6–8-slide presentation in PowerPoint format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M2_A2.ppt.

Be sure to include the following in your presentation:

• A title slide
• An agenda slide
• A reference slide
• Headings for each section
• Speaker notes to support the content in each slide

B 6029 Module 3 Unit 3 Assignment 1 Discussion General Electric

Sustained profits come from building a competitive advantage. This advantage can be accomplished not only through good financial return on a specific process but also through the correct capacity decisions that must be integrated into the organization’s mission and strategy.

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric (GE), understood this better than anyone else. Although GE was a profitable and respected company when Welch took over, its financial results during the1970s were troubling to both its investors and senior management. Welch immediately made changes to the company’s structure and management practices. From the beginning, he stressed the importance of being one of the top players in the industry. He told his colleagues that GE should always be number one or number two in all its businesses; if it was not, then their only options would be to fix, sell, or shut down.

Because of this strategic direction, GE today usually dominates the markets in which it participates; and if it does not, then it divests. A major part of GE’s strategy is to be the first or second in every market. As you review the module readings for this week, consider the complexity of GE’s products and its emphasis on vertical integration and capacity planning.

GE’s Profile

The General Electric Company, or GE, is a diversified company that offers
infostructure, media and finance products and services. The company was
originally founded by electrical innovator Thomas Edison. It is also listed as one
of the most admired companies, ranking as number one in electronics and 16th
overall according to Fortune Magazine. For the company's innovation focus, it was ranked as one of the world's most innovative companies by Business Week.

GE’s Reach

The General Electric Company is organized into 5 divisions including
“’NBC Universal", "Technology Infrastructure", "Consumer & Industrial", "Energy
Infrastructure" and "Capital Finance". The company functions in over 100
countries and has over 300,000 employees. For 2009, the company achieved
$11.2 billion in earnings and an industrial cash flow of $16.6 billion. Effective
January 1, 2011, it reorganized the Technology Infrastructure segment into three
segments: Aviation, Healthcare and Transportation.

Services

Chemicals, Petrochemicals, and Fertilizers
Food & Beverage
Government & Public Administration
Metals and Metals Fabrication
Mining (Coal, Minerals, Metals)
Oil & Gas Upstream
Power Generation

GE. (2013). The History of General Electric. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ge.com/about-us/history/1878-1904.

GE. (2013). GE fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.ge.com/pdf/news/GE-Fact-Sheet.pdf

Using the information above, the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, respond to the following:

• How does GE’s framework give it the opportunity to be at the forefront of the markets in which it participates?
• Examine your own firm or a firm you would like to work for in the light of GE’s framework and respond to the following:
• Does this firm have the means to execute like GE?
• Which type of resources would the firm require?
• How could GE’s lessons be applied to this firm?

By Saturday, May 21, 2017, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Wednesday, May 25, 2017, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses related to their firm of choice.

Write your initial response in 300–500 words. Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail, include citations of all sources, where needed, according to the APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Do the following when responding to your peers:

• Read your peers’ answers.
• Provide substantive comments by
• contributing new, relevant information from course readings, Web sites, or other sources;
• building on the remarks or questions of others; or
• sharing practical examples of key concepts from your professional or personal experiences
• Respond to feedback on your posting and provide feedback to other students on their ideas.
• Make sure your writing
• is clear, concise, and organized;
• demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and
• displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

B 6029 Module 3 Unit 3Assignment 2 LASA 1 IKEA Analysis Report

What is values-based service? How can a company create value for customers and other stakeholders?

Values-based service is defined as service that is firmly based on the core company values as well as social and environmental responsibility. When the core company values and the social and environmental values are in accordance with the values of customers and other stakeholders, resonance (rather than dissonance) occurs. To be successful, a values-based service business must seek resonance with its customers and other stakeholders in terms of values and avoid any suggestion of dissonance. Companies, such as IKEA, nurture and communicate values in their customer relationships.

Read the article “Values-Based Service Brands: Narratives from IKEA” by Edvardsson from the readings for this module. Using IKEA as the company in point, conduct research, using the Argosy University online library and the Internet, to better understand the “IKEA environment.”

Based on your research, write a report addressing the following points:

• IKEA’s Marketing (1 page) 
  Corporate strategy begins with marketing and understanding the key elements of the marketing plan. For IKEA, describe the following elements of its marketing strategy:
• How do IKEA’s products, services, and related attributes satisfy the wants and needs known as its value proposition?
• How does IKEA create a well-defined market position that appeals to customer wants and needs and differentiates its offering from competitive offerings in a process known as positioning and differentiation?

• Assess IKEA’s strategy using the criteria listed below:
• Value Chain (1 page)
  Analyze the three sources of value (economic, social, and environmental) in IKEA’s value chain.
• Explain sources of value as they relate to the wants and needs of IKEA’s core customer.
• Explain how IKEA’s supply chain supports its value proposition.
• Explain how IKEA’s focus on customer value (economic, social, and environmental) is reflected in its supply chain.
• Intangible Products (1 page)
• Explain IKEA’s intangible products and benefits.
• Explain how other firms employ this concept of intangibles to erect barriers to entry for competitors.
• Explain how the concept of intangible benefits is used to increase profits.
• Customers (1 page) 
  IKEA considers the customer to be a critical stakeholder. The IKEA message is directed to the majority of people and what they can afford, and its pricing is dependent on the economic values that serve a majority of its customers.
• Explain how this approach may or may not maximize profits for IKEA.
• Explain if this premise is at odds with supply and demand economics. Give reasons for your answer.
• Performance Measures (1 page)
  Suppose you are a vice-president of manufacturing for IKEA and are responsible for establishing operating performance measures.
• For all of the performance factors other than quality and cost, create a set of 4–6 performance measures for evaluating your managers that integrates IKEA’s values (economic, social, and environmental) as discussed in the article written by Edvardsson.
• For each performance measure, identify one specific process measure that demonstrates how well these values are being upheld in the manufacturing activities including suppliers of the company.
• Recommend how you would develop the workforce to livethese values in the workplace. Suggest types of hiring, training, and performance management criteria that you will apply to the workforce.

Write a 6–8-page paper in Word format. Please use 3–7 scholarly articles in your research. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M3_A2.doc.

Then, develop a short 6–8-slide Power Point presentation (not including the title and reference slides) covering the same information. Include headings for each slide, and provide your talking points in the notes section to explain the content if the presentation is given verbally. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M3_A2.ppt.

B 6029 Module 4 Unit 4Assignment 1 Discussion Supply Chain Management as a Value Driver

A successful supply chain strategy includes good design and implementation. However, supply chain strategy is not considered truly successful until there is a measurable contribution to the bottom line. To be successful, managers must plan, forecast, and execute the operational plan as well as face and overcome the organizational, partner-based, and personnel-based factors that can diminish value. Effective supply chain management continues to grow in importance as a competitive differentiator for most companies. However, most companies fail to realize a competitive advantage or value for the customer.

Using the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, research supply chain management. As you examine the readings in this module, consider how change affects all stakeholders in the supply chain and apply those reflections to the following questions:

• What do you consider are some of the problems that affect supply chain management success?
• Using at least two current examples, discuss effective supply chain strategies that were used by a company to positively impact organizational effectiveness and yield desirable results.

By Saturday, May 28, 2017, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Wednesday, June 1, 2017, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses.

Write your initial response in 300–500 words. Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail, include citations of all sources, where needed, according to the APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Do the following when responding to your peers:

• Read your peers’ answers.
• Provide substantive comments by
• contributing new, relevant information from course readings, Web sites, or other sources;
• building on the remarks or questions of others; or
• sharing practical examples of key concepts from your professional or personal experiences
• Respond to feedback on your posting and provide feedback to other students on their ideas.
• Make sure your writing
• is clear, concise, and organized;
• demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and
• displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

B 6029 Module 4 Unit 4 Assignment 2 Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is the integration of activities that procure materials and services, transform them into intermediate goods and final products, and deliver them to customers. The production, distribution, and sale of both goods and services are bound by constraints in demand, supply, capacity, capability, and a myriad of other parameters.

In this assignment, consider the strategic implications of how an organization produces and interacts with its partners, customers, and suppliers.

Using the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, research supply chain management processes. Based on your research, complete the following:

• Describe the overall goal of a supply chain.
• Describe the difference between a supply that is responsive (service) and a supply chain that is efficient. Can a supply chain be both?
• How can an organization optimize supply chain management to improve results and remove obstacles? Support your answer with two current examples.
• Based on your learning from your research, what additional recommendations might add to what was accomplished?

Write a 3–5-page paper in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M4_A2.doc.

By Wednesday, June 1, 2017, deliver your assignment to the M4: Assignment 2 Dropbox.

B 6029 Module 5 Unit 5 Assignment 2 Discussion Enterprise Resource Planning

Reflect on the readings for this module as well as those from previous modules when you consider this module’s discussion question. In your response, take into account the time constraints on modern businesses in terms of time to market and demand for innovation. As an aside, and not as part of the assignment, you may wish to consider how your answers would or would not change if you were considering a craftsmen-type or vertically-integrated business.

Based on the above information and on your reflection of the readings for the course, respond to the following:

• If continuous improvement is the key to remain competitive, then why do firms codify so many processes into enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems?
• Does this limit innovation and if so, how can that risk be reduced? If you were an ERP vendor what would be your perspective?

By Monday, June 6, 2016, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Wednesday, June 8, 2016, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses.

Write your initial response in 300–500 words. Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail, include citations of all sources, where needed, according to the APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Do the following when responding to your peers:

• Read your peers’ answers.
• Provide substantive comments by
• contributing new, relevant information from course readings, Web sites, or other sources;
• building on the remarks or questions of others; or
• sharing practical examples of key concepts from your professional or personal experiences
• Respond to feedback on your posting and provide feedback to other students on their ideas.
• Make sure your writing
• is clear, concise, and organized;
• demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and
• displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

B 6029 Module 5 Unit 5 Assignment 1 LASA 2 Company Analysis Report

Review the following scenario:

Assume that you have recently been hired as the director of continuous improvement of a company. You are an outside hire with limited history of the firm and personal capital at the firm, and you are responsible for lean production, total quality management (TQM), six sigma, and best practice implementation. Lean production means doing more with less, such as less inventory, fewer workers, or less space. A recent trade in quality management is lean six sigma (also known as lean sigma) that integrates six sigma and lean production. The capacity for which you were hired has existed for three years with a direct line of report to the vice-president of operations and dotted line of report to the head of information technology (IT), the chief information officer (CIO), and the director of internal controls and audit. You are the second person to fill in this position. You have a team of internal consultants; half of your team has six sigma black belt or equivalent capabilities with the remainder having a solid understanding of operations and IT. You also have a budget for two external vendor resources. You have taken six months to familiarize yourself with the organization and its people, mission, goals, strategy, and structure. In this time, you have also evaluated current operations. At the end of this period, you are assigned to deliver a report identifying the three most promising avenues for achieving best practices within the company. You have already been told that the company suffers from both aging and complex information systems and that your recommendation must include a major upgrade of those systems. The executive officers anticipate major investments in IT over the next several years. Your best practice implementations, coupled with new technology, must be measurable in terms of speed, quality, productivity, and efficiency or other key performance indicators that you identify in your report.

For this assignment, you will choose a company with which you are familiar. You are encouraged to choose a company for which you currently work or have worked, but you may choose some other firm if you believe it will be a compelling analysis.

You may choose one area of the company, such as a manufacturing plant or product design, to focus on if you can make a strong case. Your recommendations should have the following features.

• Repeatable: If you “fix” three things in a manufacturing plant, you should be able to tackle the “next” three in iteration.
• Scalable: If they work in one plant, they should work in all of them.
• Replicable: Your process for improvement should be repeatable in different, disparate parts of the organization.

This is a key initiative at the “C” level, and your recommendation will reach the board of directors.

Your paper must include the following sections:

1. Strategic Overview: (1 page) 
   Provide a brief description of the following elements:
1. The company, including its products or services
2. Marketing strategy: target market segments, value proposition, market position, and source of competitive differentiation
3. Organizational structure
4. Any other relevant facts
2. Analysis of the Supply Chain: (4 pages)
   Analyze the supply chain for your identified company by explaining the following key elements of the supply chain:
1. Identify key inputs, including less tangible assets, such as human resources and information. How are these key inputs sourced, reconfigured into a product or service, and delivered to your customers?
2. Identify the key processes that add value, and evaluate the supply chain performance relative to the competition. What are the key inputs for each process? How are these inputs processed or configured into the final offering for your customers?
3. What is the value added at each step?
4. What is the role of information technology and e-commerce in serving your customers?
5. What are the key performance measures for evaluating your supply chain?
6. Research online sources to explain how the performance on these measures compares to that of your competitors?
3. Plan to Improve Operating Processes: (3 pages) 
   Create a plan for improving the performance of three specific operating processes in your company. Your plan should address the following:
1. Identify three elements of the supply chain that you recommend as targets for improvement.
2. State the performance improvement opportunity for each element, and indicate how it will improve process speed, quality, efficiency, and productivity.
3. Explain what specific action or change you recommend for each supply chain element selected.
4. Explanation of the Results of Performance Improvements Regarding Product or Service: (2 pages) 
   Explain the following:
1. How will your product or service be improved as a result of these changes to the supply chain activities?
2. How are you altering the specific features or attributes of your product or service?
3. Why are these specific changes important to your customers?
4. How do these changes enhance the value proposition and competitive position of your company?
5. What lasting capabilities and improvement are you introducing into your company through these changes?
6. How will you measure the scope and impact of your improvements? What are your key performance indicators?
5. Assessment of the Impact on Human Resources: (1–2 pages) 
   Detail how your plan impacts your company’s HR and human capital strategy by explaining how the organization’s structure supports the new process configuration you are recommending. Your response should address the following questions:
1. Are the roles and responsibilities in your organization properly defined and aligned to enable these changes? Who will perform these new/modified process activities, and what changes to their jobs do you anticipate?
2. Is decision-making authority assigned so that the process changes you propose can be implemented and properly managed under the current structure? Who will own the process and the results? Based on the current structure, will they have the authority to make changes as necessary?
3. Are the individuals with the right skills in place to implement these changes? If not, how will you attract the talent necessary to implement your changes? How will you retrain the existing employee base? How will you handle attrition? How will you reduce the risk of impacted protected classes?
6. Changes:
   Explain changes to the compensation and incentives at your company that are necessary to reinforce your recommendations and increase efforts for continuous improvement throughout the organization. Explain how your plan motivates employees, customers, and suppliers better.

Write an 10–12-page paper in Word format. You may rearrange the above sections if it improves the quality of your paper. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M5_A1.doc.

By Monday, June 6, 2017, deliver your assignment to the M5: Assignment 1 Dropbox.