1 Operations & Productivity

Movin’ on Up?

Posted on by spr1324jstevenson

Wrigley Field is one of the most notable sports venues in the nation. It has been located in the heart of the Wrigleyville neighborhood of Chicago since the beginning of the 20th century. Being one of the spearheads of the economy of the neighborhood, it brings in customers for local businesses.

Recently, Wrigley Field has been undergoing construction the the outfield bleachers, with the addition of the Budweiser section in centerfield. One of the major plans the new Cubs owner, Tom Ricketts, has been to put a video board in left-center field since it is one of the few arenas that has yet to succumb to the trend. Ricketts has been pushing this addition for months though many fans as well as sponsors are completely against it. Becoming desperate, Ricketts threatened to move the stadium to a different location so that he may install the board. Many thought he was bluffing as the the field and neighborhood are the reason for the Cubs success as they are not the best team in the league.

As the owner of one of the most profitable teams in baseball but has a losing record, is it really a wise choice to threaten to move the one thing that keeps the fans coming? Is it worth it to anger sponsors as advertisements would be blocked and removed? Is it worth it to completely block an entire section that has been generating revenue for years and has become part of the Wrigley Field experience? No. The fans are the driving force of this organization. It is shocking that a team fighting a 68-year curse is the most profitable team with the most loyal fanbase. A video board would be possible but would not go over well with sponsors. Threatening the fans, though,will not help Tom Rickett’s case in putting a video board in left field. Any sport’s fan can tell you that they do not respond well to threats.

Moving Wrigley Field would also affect the local businesses as they generate a large amount of their revenue during the summer months of baseball season. Owners of the team as well as their investors would be faced with a difficult decision of where to move the stadium as well as the problem of redesigning and building it as well, unnecessarily decreasing their bank accounts of millions. The value of the field itself is worth much more than a video board as many fans would be less willing to travel elsewhere for games. With the ivy covered outfield and classic brick in the low backstop, Ricketts would be unwise to move the field against the wishes of the team’s loyal fans.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/05/08/killing-wrigley-field-will-kill-chicago-cubs-column/2145275/

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/cubs/2013/05/01/chicago-cubs-move-wrigley-field-renovations-tom-ricketts-video-screen/2126331/

Will there ever be a perfect design?

Posted on by spr1311kfelix

There will never be a perfect design. If there was there would never be a need for anyone to buy anything new. This can be seen with many products and as we first use them we think they are amazing but as time dwindles on we start to see the flaws. This is the case with the 3 gadgets that have taken over the market by storm and have now made us take a second look.  The 3 gadgets I will talk about below are the latest Mac book pro, amazons kindle and the razor 2. Reading these names must have quickly caught your attention if you are indeed a user of any of these products and if you are not experiencing any issues below you can see that the product design we may see as perfect is not flawless.

While not all of us have experiences writing on the latest Mac book pro there are some flaws that were not found in the design and production of the laptop. It was made so that it can be light and thin and taken anywhere. While that is great the lower edges of the medal casing are so sharp that after typing for more than a short period you may start to see deep indentations in your skin. Most users who work long hours on these machines say that the redness and sensitivity may last hours until their arms are back to normal. Something this easy to correct should have been seen when they were testing the laptop out and can now potentially be very costly.

Unlike the Mac book pro above the problem with the kindle has been addressed and corrected already. The very first kindle on the market had buttons that were very sensitive. Without even touching down on the button the device would change the page or start typing. While this design defect was corrected in the newest version, the old kindle is now selling online for a quarter of what it first sold for.

The third gadget we should all be familiar with is the razor 2. Being one of the original  flip phones it definitely came with things that needed to be changed. The purpose of having a touch screen on the outside of the flip phone was supposed to be to quickly get to your contacts or play music. What they did not suspect was that when people sat on their phones or hand it in their pockets it was playing music and calling the contacts that were so readily available.  Although this issue has not been fixed yet it is something that razor lovers want addressed.

As you can see from the examples above, there is no such thing as a perfect design. The designs of these goods should have been tested further before being introduced into the market but have lead the way for new product opportunities. What opportunities do you think can arise from the above?

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/news/4307736

Is The “Dreamliner” Still a Dream?

Posted on by spr1311kbeery

Finally, “after months of headaches brought on by its 787 Dreamliner jet, Boeing Company is now back on track and even speeding up the production rate of the new airliner.”

This is fantastic news for the Dreamliner program being that starting from January 16th until late April of this year, all of the Boeing 787s had been grounded due to some safety concerns with the plane’s lithium-ion battery system. The influential aerospace company has stated that they have since increased the jet production rate to seven airplanes per month at one of its factories in Everett, Washington, and claims that the Dreamliner program is set to reach a further increase to ten per month by the end of the year.

Before the grounding, Boeing had delivered fifty of the Dreamliner planes to eight different airlines worldwide, including United Airlines, which is the only U.S. carrier that operates 787s currently. Today the Dreamliner program has more than 800 unfulfilled orders to 58 customers worldwide. Hence, the immediate need for Boeing to fix the jet’s design flaws and production challenges they were facing. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded Boeing’s newest and most technologically advanced jetliner until the risk of battery fires was resolved. During the time of the grounding order, Boeing had not been allowed to deliver any new 787 Dreamliner’s but continued building them. The company had to seriously look at the jet program’s operations and reevaluate some of their critical decisions.

The final assembly of the Dreamliner’s takes place at the Everett facility, but the bulk of the jet’s large components come from numerous suppliers around the world so the time putting these planes together is influenced heavily on the getting the parts in quickly. “There are about 50 suppliers in California alone.” But the major production slowdown was due to Boeing having to redesign the 787’s battery system due to some overheating incidents that had occurred. One incident even resulted in a fire.

Although “Boeing will not say how much redesigning, testing, and retrofitting the battery system has cost the company,” officials have stated that the cost was absorbed into spending $705 million in research and development during Boeing’s first quarter. The three-month grounding period of the Dreamliner created a 2.5% downturn in revenue for the company, which came out to be around $18.9 billion. Despite all the production troubles Boeing has encountered recently, the company now firmly states it is back on track to deliver more than 60 of the planes during this year as originally planned. But the question is whether the Dreamliner will now stick in the pubic’s mind as a troubled aircraft?

In addition to the increased production of the Dreamliner jet, Boeing has also increased production of its 737 and 777 jets and is forecasting to deliver as many as 645 planes this year, making this a record for the company.

Which types of critical decisions did Boeing have to reevaluate? Do you think that the grounding of the Dreamliner will or has had any effect on the company or the plane’s reputation? Which types of forecasting methods do you think Boeing is using in regards to their production ability and what other factors does Boeing need to consider?

Article Reference: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/la-fi-mo-boeing-787-production-rate-20130510,0,6024577.story

 

Go Ahead, Drink on the Job!

Posted on by spr1314bwashington

Many companies would frown upon an employee enjoying a drink during the workday but The Life is Good Company would beg to differ. The Life is Good Company is a Boston-based apparel and accessories brand that aims to be unique and fresh. They have focused their efforts on improving employee productivity in a totally new way. No they didn’t try a cash incentive program, prizes, or extra vacation days, they thought having a tavern in the office would increase productivity.

The Life is Good Company is in the process of installing a tavern in the middle of their office. The tavern will include a stage, to host live music, shuffleboard, billiards, and a basketball hoop with enough space to hold at least 260 people.  They want to have a comfortable place where employees can “put their feet up and relax” while doing their work. Hungry? Grab a booth, food, and hold an informal meeting. The boss says it’s okay.

The Life is Good Company isn’t promoting people to be drunk, driving while drunk, or alcoholism. They just want their employees to be comfortable and productive at work. They would even say having a tavern is appropriate to their brand. Most of The Life is Good Company employees often grab a drink after work, so why not let them do it at the office?

An area The Life if Good Company is trying to improve might just the area that disappears. The book states that labor productivity will increase due to “healthier, better-educated, and better nourished labor force” and poor diets are a major downfall to productivity. Having a glass of red wine a few times a week is good for your diet but will these people really be drinking red wine? Beer and hard liquor are not conducive to a healthy diet. Having a tavern in the office will encourage people to drink. Many people are social drinkers. Having a bar will distract people from working and increase socialization. Product organization may suffer because it requires management and attention.

The operations management team is not being socially responsible or ethical. The workplace has the potential to be a harmful environment to co-workers and prospective business partners. The ability to measure productivity will be increasingly hard as more employees spend time in the tavern.

Another area that could see a decline in growth is quality management. The increase in alcohol could lead to a decrease in quality. The product could suffer because a questionable product could be produced. Many people who drink think certain ideas are better than others maybe that is why a tavern is being installed at The Life is Good Company.

Do you think having a tavern in the office will increase productivity? Is having a tavern in the office ethical and socially responsible? What possible management issues will the Life is Good Company run into because of having a tavern in the office? Can a tavern in the office have a positive influence on the company’s brand image?

Sources:

Why I’m Building An Tavern at the Office : http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2013/05/10/why-im-building-a-tavern-at-my-company/?mod=WSJ_Management_At_Work

Is College a Scam?

Posted on by spr1334rszwejkowska

 

 

We live in a country where the student debt is the second largest debt after mortgages. U.S is one of the nations where the education cost is outrageous and almost impossible to cover without taking any loans.  The cost is so high, because it is purposely set up that way. Students are being offered loan programs, which allow the schools to increase the tuition each year. The higher the tuition, the better the school’s reputation – and we all know it. According to the article the “average student loan balance for a 25-year-old is $20,326.” For most of the young adults, it takes until middle age to pay off the student loans. But is it all worth it? A huge number of students have difficulties finding a job after graduation or are being terminated after a short period of time. Bennett looked at the 3500 colleges and universities in the U.S and calculated the return on investment. The results were a bit shocking. Only 150 institutions had a positive return. The top 10 (ranked by Bennett) are listed below:

 

  1. Harvey Mudd College
  2. California Institute of Technology
  3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  4. Stanford University
  5. Princeton University
  6. Harvard University
  7. Dartmouth College
  8. Duke University
  9. University of Pennsylvania
  10. University of Notre Dame

Bennett said “college is worth it if you get into a top tier university like Stanford, or study an in-demand field like nuclear engineering at even a lower tier school.” Not everyone can afford to go to Stanford.

I somewhat agree with Bennett’s point of view, since the top companies only retain talent from the ivy league schools. Some organizations will not consider inviting you for an interview, if you didn’t go to a top university. I believe everyone deserves a chance, and school should not be the only factor that impacts your future. However, we live in a society where the “brand name” matters the most. Universities compete with each other by establishing a good reputation. In result, students pick the schools that will guarantee a job in the future. The vicious circle closes. In order to create some equilibrium, universities that are less expensive should implement a breakthrough improvement. As we learned in class, innovation and creative thinking is crucial. Also, such schools should use the benchmarking method. By researching the industry and following the footsteps of the successful colleges it will lead to a superior performance. It will give them a chance to become more popular, and hopefully, a positive return on investment ratio for the students. I think more students are willing to go to a more affordable college, where the future outcome is bright.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. As I mentioned before, the more you pay for your tuition the higher chances of getting a job. The question remains – is this fair?

Links where I found the article and the pictures used for this blog:

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/only-150-3500-u-colleges-worth-investment-former-132020890.html?vp=1

http://www.mynextcollege.com/college-life/the-student-loan-scam/

http://www.sfexaminer.com/files/blog_images/graduationhats.jpg

http://www.blackenterprise.com/career/10-highest-paying-college-degrees-for-african-americans/attachment/grad-cap-money-620×480/

United Airlines: Quality Taking Off or Crash Landing?

Posted on by spr1324mstapleton

In recent years, the United Airlines Company has fallen drastically in terms of Quality. Complaint after complaint United continued to try new approaches to improve user and product based qualities. As a result of their changes, they received a ranking of dead last in AirlineQuality Ratings. United is arguing this ranking of 2012 but I would love to hear what you all have to say after reading this blog post.

As we know, United Airlines reputation had plummeted after previous unfortunate events. This has had a huge impact on their quality as a company. They have been forced into the dead last position and now they are tryingdifferent approaches to fly their way to the top. The initiatives that United is implementing include sharpening performance, enhancing passengers experience and making service more responsive. The stigma of their reputation has haunted them throughout the years, but let’s see if the initiatives are taking off, or if the Airline Quality Ratings ranking is accurate.

The judging process of this ranking system is based off four key areas including “on-time arrivals, mishandled bags, rate of passengers bumped off overbooked flights, and the number of customer complaints.” Seeing as the complaint rates have doubled in the past year, I am guessing that United is wrong in what they have claimed to be doing. It appears that the features and conformance that it takes to have high quality ratings guide the performance of their product quality. The only place that they are visibly making an effort to improve is their status is by hiring more full-time reservations agents that angry customers use to vent about their frustrations! As an occasional United flier, I can say that I have seen an improvement in numbers but not an improvement in quality.

United Airlines has taken initiative to improve company quality through thte usage of social media initiatives. Mark Krolik, the Director of Marketing and Product Development stated, “Anyone who’s tweeted at United and gotten their problem resolved is someone who isn’t standing in line at the airport service counter.” This sums up the companies value in quality. They are not succeeding transcendentally. Rather, they are taking the bare minimum initiatives and hiring individuals for venting purposes as opposed to hiring individuals to make improvements.

Although it might appear that United is only making minimal changes, two out of three of their initiatives are being fulfilled through these simple differences. Many individuals have had great experiences in finding alternatives to cancelled or delayed flights and taking advantage of social media has also helped individuals stay calm in hectic times. The key to this ease in customer frustration revolves around loyalty and quick responses. For example, an individual with a delayed flight was so frustrated that she directly tweeted at united and told them about her angers. They responded promptly to her tweet giving her options around her delay but a service representative had already helped her. United even goes above and beyond by following up on tweets even if there is no need to. They are going above the expectations of quality responsive services through social media acts such as this one.

 

What do you all believe? Does United Airlines deserve the “dead last” ranking that they received? Through your own experiences or simply through this text, please let me know if you think they could be doing more or if they are dong enough in this first step of regaining loyalty and reputation.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/04/united_airlines_says_2012_airl.html

Are you inferring I’m bad at mathematics?

Posted on by spr1324jvaca

It’s amazing to think that with a simple program you can increase any companies sales growth without any of your help. In the case of Vik Singh, a 28-year-old engineer, thought it to be easy and is on a mission to prove it. Vik Singh has created software using simple mathematical formulas and algorithms that will allow create sales growth and accurately predict sales.

On April 23rd in Palo Alto, California, Vik Singh had a coming-out party presenting his new company “Infer”. Infer has raised 10 million dollars from Redpoint Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Social+Capital Partnership, and Sutter Hill Ventures. Infer has been diligently working on creating the technology for about two years. Singh already has a variety of customers that include Yammer and box, and Silicon Valley. In addition, infer has worked with traditional companies that include health care and insurance providers. Singh is not only in the business software industry he is an extremely brilliant engineer. He has helped in creating programs and systems for companies like Google and Microsoft. If these projects are not impressing you, Singh has also built a completely new search system for Yahoo at is still being used today.

Infer applies software to your company information that uses algorithms to locate your buyers. Infers software starts with the basics of your company, by searching for your customers and locating there name address and company. Then it starts surfing the web for more information about the company itself, at this time it determines all the important information such as headquarters, demographic information, hiring rates and any information it can use to determine the company’s needs. Singh determines the company’s outlook of trademarks in a certain area that can show growth. Once he applies all these factors to the sales system trends start to emerge and tries to relate certain kinds of customers in different states with similar sales.

The initial companies that Infer worked with verify the successful results. When you compare sales data and compare outcomes with predictions. Singh verified that the company nearly predicted the outcomes of other companies perfectly. Infer has yet to release any documentation proving these claims in sales growth.

Companies already spend millions of dollars trying to find sales. With this new Infer system, companies can focus on the sales its self and not worry about locating their next prospective client. With this technology, it will enable companies to forecast sales by determining the demand and volume of leads the system is creating. If companies can predict sales accurately it will complete eliminate old forms of forecasting and effect every aspect of the way to run a business.

With this new technology, do you think this will become the new norm in forecasting sales and production? Does Infer really have a revolutionary product?

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-24/infer-promises-more-sales-through-better-math

http://www.ehow.com/list_6507308_risks-sales-forecasting.html

Social Media: A Business Maker or Deal Breaker?

Posted on by spr1324bsteiger

how-to-run-an-effective-social-media-program.jpg

Social media is everywhere. For our generation especially, the Internet and networking sites are a part of our daily lives. People use social media to communicate with one another on both personal and professional levels. Businesses have begun using social media as a means of advertising and promoting their companies, so it’s no surprise that people are starting to consider it a tool for competitive advantage rather than something to do in your spare time.

Consulting firm Vivaldi Partners recently ranked a list of companies based on their use of social media and its effect on consumer awareness and purchases. Among the top 10 companies were household names like Amazon, Google, Target, and Dunkin’ Donuts.  These companies are smart in recognizing that social media is no longer just a small department within the company, but rather a main way to conduct business. And while it is true that larger firms (such as those mentioned above) have more economic resources to fund their social media sites, the true key to success is using your resources wisely.

Three big tips have been given to businesses that wish to improve their social presence and it’s effect on profits. The first is to have a strategy. Many companies get easily discouraged once the initial excitement fades away and immediate results aren’t seen. However, by planning ahead and tailoring your approach so that it will yield the results you want to see, one can easily increase their odds of success. To create an effective strategy, companies must consider not only the characteristics of the organization but also those of the audience, and tailoring their strategy to the social media site that best supports those characteristics.

Social-Media-Icons.png

The second tip is to have plenty of content. In the fast-paced world of social media, companies must be able to bring new or unique ideas to the table almost daily. Content development strategies are absolutely necessary to keep your presence known online. By establishing what you want to accomplish and how you will get there, businesses will be able to allocate necessary positions to achieve this presence.

Finally, businesses must understand that success doesn’t happen over night. Social media presence may take months or years between design, installation, growth, and maturity. Companies should elect individuals to be in charge of watching trends, content development, calendar creation, writing, editing, photography, and video production, etc. Social media is extremely time consuming, with 43% of businesses stating it takes up 6+ hours of the workweek, every week.  Most likely, social media will become it’s own department in the coming years.

Overall, it’s obvious that social media is ever-present and is only going to continue to grow. Similar to operations, social media has become a product with a life cycle that has no foreseeable expiration date. It will continue to go through these cycles until a new product or platform is introduced.

While there are plenty of ways for social media to make your company, are there also ways in which it could break you? What are the disadvantages to having a presence on the Web?

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-20/how-to-run-an-effective-social-media-program

The simple joy of McDonald’s? Ba-da-ba-ba-ba, i’m hatin’ it

Posted on by spr1314cyoo

 

In 1948, the McDonald brothers re-organized the drive-in and completely restructured food delivery by focusing on quick and efficient “Speedee” self-service system which lowered prices as well as increased speed and volume of sales. Now, the McDonald’s Golden Arches logo can be seen throughout every continent except Antarctica and is one of the most recognizable in the world. McDonald’s Corporation remains to be the world’s largest restaurant chain focused on providing cheap fast food and delivering quick service to their customers.

However, the fast-food giant has been struggling with falling sales due to a vast number of complaints with its service. According to the Wall Street Journal, McDonald’s customer service is “broken,” because too many customers complain about the speed of the drive through, chaotic service, and unprofessional employees.

Slow service and inaccurate orders are known to be caused by management problems. Main reasons include employees being only trained for specific job tasks, lack of communication among fellow employees and poor wages. These problems lead to an increase in employee turnover and according to Wall Street Journal, McDonald’s Corp. contribute to 60 percent turnover rate. Furthermore, customers are outraged by rude or unprofessional employees and leave restaurants disappointed after experiencing chaotic service, which contradicts its traditional practice of “service with a smile”.

It is clear that customer satisfaction has a great impact on sales. What are the solutions to these management problems? First, McDonald’s new leadership has decided to focus on customer satisfaction to expand its brand name. The company will evaluate its performance through restaurant inspections, and conduct customer and employee surveys. The biggest change or improvement will be with the incorporation of the new “Dual-Point” ordering system. This will provide a simple and better service along with improved order accuracy. After the customer orders, he or she will be handed a receipt with a number and that order number will then appear on a screen and the customer will pick up his or her food at the other end of the counter. The “runner” will take on the responsibility of fulfilling requests and making sure the customer is satisfied with the order. Finally, the dedicated employee who delivers the food will thank customers and encourage them to come again.

In addition, new software has been installed to help managers decide the optimal number of employees to have on staff within a time frame. Also, the new management structure will designate managers to each area of the operation in the restaurant for efficiency. At the end of the day, by enacting these new changes to its management, McDonald’s Corporation hopes to win back its customer with improved customer satisfaction and encourage them to keep coming back for more.

There are number of restaurant chains that already carry out the new ordering system, will the new “Dual-Point” ordering system improve overall customer satisfaction for McDonald’s Corporation?

If you were part of the McDonald’s operations management team, what other implementations or suggestions would you incorporate to boost sales?

Sources:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324010704578414901710175648.html#printMode

http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/mcdonalds-dual-point-ordering-system/

Bring the Doctors to Us

Posted on by spr1314jschild

Innovation within the healthcare industry is often concentrated on medicine and the specific procedures used in the treatment of individuals, rightfully so of course. But what about the modernization of how certain treatments are actually delivered and brought upon certain people? Would it be plausible, from a financial standpoint, to bring the doctor to us, rather than us going to the doctor? Or would it prove to be so ineffective or inefficient that it would not be worth it?

Electronic health care generally refers to the connectedness of computers, medical instruments, and the internet aimed at speeding up communication while providing more accurate and rapid responses. We can all see this today. Medical files can be transferred from a hospital in New York to one in Seattle in a matter of seconds, while technological developments provide tools and machines that make the jobs of health professionals easier and more effective. However, much of this is not meeting the needs of lower-income individuals who reside in areas where this service and technology is not readily available.

New technological advancements though have the ability to make many of these instruments smaller in size and more cost effective. Bloomberg recently published an article highlighting a study conducted by a team of doctors and nurses who sought to address the issues raised above. Basically, they carried around a backback in an underserved community of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In it was several thousands of dollars’ worth of medical devices that were capable of analyzing samples, conducting tests, and communicating results; all light enough to carry around and remain close by.

Not only was the study successful in detecting diseases in several individuals at a rapid pace, but it also revealed just how much money it can save. “Savings ranged from $4,000 to $200,000 per 100 elderly patients who participated,” while costs to hospitals were reduced by about $136,000 per 1,000 patients with cardiovascular disease due to decreased hospitalizations.

Typically, healthcare professionals have been in a reactive role while they wait and respond to people who come and see them seeking help. What I find most interesting about this is that it allows healthcare professionals to take a more proactive approach and actually reach out to communities that need it, bringing the necessary equipment to where it is most necessary. It greatly improves the availability and accessibility of healthcare treatment while reducing the financial burdens placed upon both consumers and providers. These improvements could reduce the chokepoints that hospitals in highly populated cities are experiencing as they see more and more patients for the most mundane reasons. Simultaneously, less hospital visits would reduce costs; and these savings could trickle down to the average consumer.

Considering the cost of health care continues to rise, could the implementation of electronic health care strategies help reduce the costs incurred by hospitals, and healthcare treatment and service in general? What kinds of long-term problems or issues could arise if efforts similar to that of the study conducted in Brazil were employed in American communities where medical treatment isn’t easily accessible?

 

 

 

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-08/glimpsing-the-future-of-e-health-care-from-a-rio-favela#r=nav-r-blog