Operations is the engine that drives a business. This module focuses on the heart of that engine: managing the production process. (12 Turns).  To gain access to this module, please access the URL your faculty posted in the announcements and course materials section of the classroom to begin. Using the email from Words of Wisdom (WOW) containing your sign in information, log into your McGraw Hill student account and select the MGMT 345 Master (Cape & Cullen), then select “Click here to launch MH Practice.” On the next screen, select Assign & Play to gain access to the various modules. Find "Module 1: The Production Process" on the list and select Play Game. From that point follow the instructions in the simulation.

The warehouse manager thought a recent presentation on operations management was extremely valuable to the company. He now wants to shift the conversation to focus on the production process. He would like you to explain the key components of the production process to others in his department. He has asked you to create a memo that will be sent out to everyone in his department.

Using what you learned in the game module, draft a memo explaining to your production managers how effective the production process can be and how it could help to enhance profitability and stakeholder value for the company, including the following:

• Provide an overview of what a manufacturing process is and how it is organized. 
• Explain why process thinking is important in operations management.
• Explain the concepts of setup time, utilization time, production scheduling, and bottlenecks in a simple manufacturing process and what the role of the operations manager is.
• The memo should include a visual representation of an example process dominant layout and the advantages and disadvantage of such a layout should be provided. You may use the "Shape" or "SmartArt" options in Word for your illustration.