Can You Keep Up?

When faced with a project there are many ways to get it done. Here we have two types of strategies to approaching projects: agile and waterfall. Agile is quick paced and is likely to have more short-term goals that “keeps the teams at a constant high pace and productivity” (projecttimes.com). Agile projects are not necessarily all short term but the iterations within the project are completed in short periods of time.
The article goes on to explain one of the principles of agile project management, which is time boxing. It “establishes cadence and, after two or three iterations, the team learns how much output they can produce.” Time boxing is not as flexible as other project management techniques. There is a set time frame for each aspect of the project and “it doesn’t matter if you can’t do them to perfection. Completing the task is the goal” (blog.online.net).
We can also use cadence in waterfall projects as well. Waterfall is a more traditional approach. Some may say that it’s not as effective as other approaches or to avoid this technique, and others find it is efficient. It follows a stricter schedule, and includes very important details; even the smallest detail is an important one.
Using cadence for waterfall projects can help move the team to being as high energy as the teams in the agile projects. The first point of cadence is keeping a weekly schedule with milestones being completed. The first week should be the week that everyone gathers his or her information. When they meet again at the end of the week the project manager adjusts the schedule to fit the conditions of the information. Which brings us to the second point of cadence: “is the next milestone still on track?” (projecttimes.com). The PM adjusts the schedule at the meeting and they settle the next steps there so that the team knows what is happening. To me this seems kind of similar to crashing. The team and project manager adjust the schedule if need be on a weekly basis whereas crashing would most often occur as one point and would adjust each critical path to crash it down to the desired time frame.
The author of the article also provides some suggests as to planning milestones. One of which was timing between milestones should not be too far apart not too close together. I feel that with everything we learned in class, timing is the most flexible yet most critical part of managing the project. You can crash a project down from 14 weeks down to 10 weeks and if you don’t do it right you may be incurring more cost than you should be. If something doesn’t go as planned then you need to be sure you allowed yourself that extra time to adjust anything you need.

So now I turn it over to you:

How do you like to approach projects?
Do you have another strategy to approaching projects?

http://www.projecttimes.com/articles/so-you-think-you-can-dance.html
http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/Agile-project-management
http://blog.onlineclock.net/time-boxing/

Are Corporations Our Personal Shoppers?

The thought of ordering an item online and receiving it the same day, just a few hours later seems unrealistic. With technology becoming more integrated in our world and the demand for instant gratification, this unrealistic idea is now a reality. Major corporations like Wal-Mart, Amazon, and EBay have adopted this new service of same-day delivery. It is really testing the limits of supply chain management, and now a whole new look on logistics is being placed in the hands of these corporations.

walamrt  Wal-Mart , is sitting at an advantage because of its massive fleet of stores across the country. They use their 4,005 locations as inventory holders and distribution centers, so now when you order something before noon you can receive it by that evening. Workers will literally go down the aisle and collect the item you want, which is later delivered to your door. Even though this service is only in the test phase in five major cities, Denver, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, northern Virginia and San Francisco/San Jose, it has proven to be a huge success thus far.

Amazon has a new technology that now sends your order to the closest of its 40 massive and highly efficient distribution centers that has same day service available. From here a robot find your item and places it in a place where a human can package it and ship it to you just in time before the day is over. This is pretty crazy, right? Wait till read this next corporation’s new strategy!

debay   EBay, a dominant online seller has a brand-new beta service that brings same day delivery to an even new level. It currently operates in beta form in New York, San Francisco, and San Jose. This service involves personal shoppers, or “valets, that EBay will send to pick up a good you have just ordered. They will literally drive to the outlet from which you ordered it from through EBay, and deliver it to your doorstep that same day, sometimes even within only few hours! If this doesn’t impress you then this will. EBay now even offers an iOS app that you can use to buy, and track your item for same day delivery. This app tracks your “valets” progress in real time so you know exactly where he/she is, what step of the delivery they are on, and how far away they are from your home. This tracking app will even give you a picture of what the “valet” looks like so you can recognize them when they arrive. Once they have arrived, all you have to do is simply swipe your credit card, or pay with PayPal. The best part about this service is that it costs only $5, yes that’s it!

With this extremely gratifying service from these corporations how do you think it tests the limits of supply chain management and inventory management? Could this be the future for online shopping or delivery? Do you think implementing the service that EBay has in many other corporations could add a lot of jobs to the economy?

 

Sources:

http://www.wired.com/insights/2013/05/once-refined-same-day-delivery-will-be-commonplace/

 

http://blog.apptricity.com/bid/283436/How-Walmart-and-Others-Are-Achieving-Same-Day-Delivery

 

No South For You! CTA approves plan to close South Side Red Line Branch for Reconstruction

imagesOn September 28, 1969, the southern part of the Red Line was completed for the first time. This section has been worn down over the years and 44 years later, they are in dire need of repair.  Yet, where does one start?  This is a tough decision to make.  In the eyes of an operations manager, the entire section of track is completely in shambles, and there are sections that need repairing.  Yet, even if that track is repaired, how much is it going to cost?   That is the question that the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) had to ask.

There was a lot of work that needed to be done.  The tracks haven’t been fixed in 44 years and “the limestone ballast is worn [as well], failing to properly drain water from the rail bed or keep the tracks securely in place” (Chicago Tribune).  So, that has to be fixed as well because it wouldn’t make sense to fix the tracks if the supports wouldn’t hold them.  Working with Kiewit Infrastructure Corporation, the CTA approved a plan in April to completely redo the entire track section between Cermak-Chinatown to 95th/Dan Ryan.  This company will completely disassemble the entire supports of the old track system and put in new tracks as well as a new drainage system under the tracks.  The total cost of this will be $425 million dollars.

This project is expensive, but it will give jobs to 1,200 workers that will work in two 10-hour shifts for 6 days for a total of 5 months.   imagesCAVNHMYQ Once this project gets finished, the benefits will show.  With the new track system, the South Side Red Line Branch will be able to increase speeds from 15 mph to 55 mph, make a downtown commute to 95th/Dan Ryan 20 minutes shorter, and make the Red Line in general have a much smoother commute as well.   This process can clearly create efficiency for the Red Line as well as the other CTA trains.

Yet, devil’s advocate is that a good section of the Red Line is being worked on and the people who live down there have to take longer to get to where they need to go.  There would be also traffic tie-ups as well.  Behold option #2. With this first option in mind, there happens to be alternative plan as well.  It would have all the necessary adjustments done on the weekends, and would keep the train running during the week.  The bad news?  $75 million more and four years extra to finish.  In my opinion, the first option is the better offer, and in the end, it will help out everyone and it also appears to be the most efficient, which is what the CTA believed to when they made this agreement.  It will also save money and time in the future even though it would cause headaches and tie-ups now.

Do you believe that CTA  was correct to go with their first option or should they have tried the second option?

Sources:

Hilkevitch, Jon. “Red Line Going Offline during Reconstruction.” Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune, 10 May 2013. Web. 23 May 2013. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-05-10/news/ct-met-cta-red-line-south-rebuild-20130510_1_red-line-95th-street-stations-green-line>.

 

What else is hidden in Google’s Arsenal?

What else is hidden in Google’s Arsenal?

Whenever Google comes out with a new application, product, or service quality is an after-thought. Google is in the process of coming out with something and entering a risky market that could hurt the high quality image Google Portrays. This new “thing” is upgrading its Google Play that launched last year. This wasn’t doing as well as anticipated so they are in the process of revamping it. Android hackers dug deep into Google’s servers to find this out which, is an interesting way of having a competitive advantage. Anyway, this market is extremely competitive and bumpy. A lot is needed to compete when there are only so many games to sign. Additionally, signing to right or wrong game could mean a tarnished image. This new revamp is intended to offer some new features that other companies haven’t yet added.  Social Integration, In-Game Chatting, and Cloud Capabilities are just some of the new additions that will hopefully put them above their competitors and bring a better and higher quality image to their brand. The Social Integration aspect will grant users the ability to use their Google+ profile compare performances on leader boards. Next, In-Game Chatting will build on the social capabilities and users will have the ability “to chirp your friend’s terrible performance.” The last addition are Cloud Capabilities. This will be where the management of quality comes in. Google Play Games will sync all saved data on servers the same way calendars, contact information, and mail is stored. The games, supposedly, won’t take up precious hard drive room; however, relying 100% on the Google servers may put too much responsibility in the hands of the company. If Google doesn’t capitalize on this opportunity and execute it some quality issues will definitely arise.

My Opinion

Google is taking the right actions to get ahead of its competition. I don’t think these changes are outlandish because innovation is what makes money now a days. Also, this won’t hurt Google’s quality and credibility because consumers don’t expect much out of mobile device games so the sky is the limit. Any upgrade or innovational addition will just bring more users into the scene and make it an even more profitable market. Google’s market share within this realm of entertainment will grow.

Questions

  1. Will this new version of Google Play be too risky and tarnish Google’s accolades in quality?
  2. What else could Google do to make this “less risky”?
  3. What can Android do?
  4. Are Google’s new additions attainable or impossible?
  5. How does this effect quality in the market or with Google?

http://news.yahoo.com/expect-googles-mobile-game-hub-214655725.html

Why Microsoft isn’t so hot to enter the Smart Phone market

 

Article Breakdown

Stated in the article, “Rather than creating a premium device to rival Apple and Samsung in the developed world, Microsoft plans to rely on partners to mine emerging markets with budget smartphones.” Microsoft’s CEO stated that the company as a whole wants to stray away from being strictly a software company to a entity that will focus on devices and services more this the mind set of it yielding more market share. Alternatively, it seems Microsoft is afraid to enter an extremely profitable and competitive market. This market is the smartphone market. Numerous companies have tried to take a piece of this plentiful pie but failed miserably. Microsoft will only take this risk  if it’s partners jump off the cliff first. “Microsoft recognizes that the cost of creating a premium handset to compete at the high-end of the smartphone market against Apple’s iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S3 is an enormously expensive and risky proposition.” Moreover, the company feels that investing in a market like this isn’t the best use of the company’s resources so instead Microsoft looks to gain this lost ground in, equally as risky, emerging markets. In markets like these they will be focuses on partners like Nokia to establish this.

Some make think that Microsoft surface may have stumbled but the company intends to build devices when its numerous partners aren’t trying to produce gadgets that resonate with the consumers. Markets like that smartphone market in the U.S are extremely developed markets. Some may think this is a perfect chance for Microsoft to take a dive in but the task of displacing Apple and Google with a Microsoft-made product is near impossible. The game with competing with Google and Apple is one Microsoft just doesn’t want to play.

My Opinion

I thought Microsoft’s plan was an extremely thought out and strategic one. Microsoft will be under the radar in the technology game for just a little bit but then will capitalize on the right technology or gadget at the right time. Competing with companies like Google or Apple is near impossible in an already established market. The only way to win this innovation battle is let them win this “fight” and focus on the “war” or the next mind blowing thing. With Microsoft taking all the focus off this market they can truly succeed in a new market and get there before Google and Apple. At the end of the day, it started with Microsoft. Lastly, I feel the quality of Microsoft’s products are on the line if the company attempts to come out with a smart phone because customers are extremely picky about products like these

Questions to consider

1. Is Microsoft making the right choice by taking a safe route and losing market share?

2. How much market share could Microsoft actually capture come Apple and Google?

3. Are there any emerging markets that Microsoft has missed or do you know of any they could capitalize on in the future?

4. How is Microsoft managing its quality?

February 2013 Smart Phone Market Share

Google’s Android: 51.7%

Apple’s iOS: 38.9%

Windows: 3.2%

 

Sources

news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57579980-75/why-microsoft-wont-make-an-iphone-rival/

 

 

 

Tepco Faces Decision to Dump Radioactive Water in Pacific

Are ethical dilemmas an issue for operational management? If your answer is no, you are wrong.  There are many ethical dilemmas that companies face each day regarding their operations.  This Bloomberg article regarding an ethical decision needed to be made by Tokyo Electric Power Company (or ‘TEPCO’) , a Japanese electric utility company, is ground shaking with the large implications that will result per their ultimate decision.

TEPCO has discovered leaking in water storage pits within the Fukushima atomic station- The station was destroyed in March 2011 from an earthquake and tsunami simultaneously (link to article —-> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8953574/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-and-Fukushima-nuclear-disaster-2011-review.html)

From within the seven pits, leaks were found in the basements from when the disaster teams were called in to cool down the reactors. The company is now under pressure because it may be forced to dump the radioactive water in the Pacific Ocean.

Time is of the essence due to the water busting through basement walls at roughly 400 tons per day.  This water is then becoming contaminated, thus a huge issue.

TEPCO has two operational decisions to make to pass down to its work crew:  reduce radiation levels from the water by pouring it into the Pacific Ocean or continue their production of “above-group storage tanks”.

Why such a tough decision for management?  It is essentially impossible to keep up with the inflow of water that is leaking. Even with production of 450,000 tons of the tanks above ground by September 2013 and 700,000 tons by the middle of 2015 this company clearly is fighting an uphill battle.

What are the effects of their decisions? Well, an important factor in this are human lives.  The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (or ‘UNSCEAR’ link to their website here –> http://www.unscear.org/) has remarked that humans can get cancer, such as leukemia, with moderate to high levels of exposure to the toxins.

Even though TEPCO is working on the removal of many of the radioactive substances, the purification system they have created continues to see operational issues in functioning properly.  The company’s image continues to be at stake, they face legal issues, disrupting the fishing industry, and their company’s attractiveness to investors in the future. Other than the business side, their obligated to think of their own people as in their workers and also those people that this could affect.

The original cause of the leaks could have potentially been a flaw in the staffs proper inspection of the equipment and additional tests before dumping toxic water into the leaking pits.

This is an operational nightmare for TEPCO.  I feel that this story directly related to what we have already learned within class.  Within the puppet making exercise the workers continued to feel pressured by upper management to just get the job done. Also, within the tower exercise having an effective team leader was crucial along with the planning phase of construction.

I am curious to hear your thoughts on what truly caused these leaks and what you would do in this situation.

Link to article –> http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-11/tepco-faces-decision-to-dump-radioactive-water-in-pacific-ocean.html

Groupon To Replace Jobs!?

Since it’s introduction in Chicago exactly four years ago, Groupon has spread across the U.S. to Boston, New York City, and Toronto as well. Although it benefits consumers by saving them money daily on local products and services, many have debated the implications it has for local businesses. Whether it actually increases their returning customer base is just one of the issues many businesses have to face when considering offering a Groupon.

Anthony Raso, though, has found a way for Groupon to better organize and increase his customer base. The owner of a car maintenance garage in Toronto, Raso decided to advertise a rustproofing deal on Groupon to increase his local customer base. He soon found himself with too many people calling in for his services, but not enough employees to actually organize and book all of the potential customers. Not being able to increase his customer base as much as he could have drove Raso to eventually take advantage of Groupon Scheduler, a service which allows customers to book their own appointments online. He could also use this service to book clients who called in. The appointments are automatically stored in an online calendar, allowing Raso to focus on providing his excellent services instead of worrying about booking customers.

Raso considered his previous appointment booking technique too time consuming, and called it the bottleneck of his business. Running into problems like double booking and forgetting appointments was slowing down his service time and caused him to not service as many customers as he could. With the help of Groupon Scheduler, he can now maximize his profits by leaving the scheduling of appointments to Groupon, allowing him to focus on what he does best.

Similar to what the paper puppet activity showed us, bottlenecks are constraints that limit the output of production. Throughput gets caught in the bottleneck and takes longer to complete than in any other stage of the product cycle, thereby reducing maximum output. A bottleneck can severely harm a business by preventing it from performing at its fullest potential. Raso was able his solve his bottleneck process by introducing a digital method of booking appointments for his business so that it would no longer take away from him being able to work on his customer’s cars. Eliminating this bottleneck will allow Raso to increase his customer base and his overall profits.

What do you think of this scheduling service that Groupon now offers to businesses? Do you think it is essentially reducing the need for employees whose job it may be to book appointments? Can you foresee any problems that businesses utilizing this service may run into?

http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=69214

Cash Strap? Need a Job this Holiday Season?

With the holiday season approaching fast, many major retailers are opening up more jobs in preparation for the high demand of the holidays. Experts estimated about 700,000 new, temporary jobs for this year, which is a slight increase from last year. As the economy is slowly moving out of the recession, many American families are paying back their debts, which give them the extra cash to spend this year. Hence, there is a great outlook for this holiday season for those of you who are looking for a little more income or just taking advantage of the employee discount that most of these retailers offer for their employees.

Looking at previous years numbers, most of these retailers are retaining their seasonal workers well over the holiday season. These temporary, seasonal jobs are turned into full-time positions, which for most workers are a good thing if they are looking for a permanent job. I have started seeing a lot of companies doing this nowadays. Rather than hiring full-time workers right from the start, companies would look into their pool of temporary workers first before hiring outside workers for any new positions. I’ve had a taste of this through the internships I have had done in the past. Most of the firms that I want to work for usually hire from their pools of interns and offer little to no position to those who have not worked an internship at their firm.

We’ve talked about forecasting in class, and this article ties in with this topic. With the increase in demand for goods and services this holiday season, major retailers are hiring more workers to meet this demand. Some even go as far as to open temporary stores, i.e. Toys “R” Us, in anticipation for the busy holiday rush. I think that this is a good boost for the economy as it may opens more, new jobs in the future for some people. Also, for companies, this is a smart move because they do not have to deal with making enough revenue to cover for the fix costs that come with permanent stores throughout the year. They can just rent a store for three to four months just in time for the holiday demand.

Questions to consider: Are you looking for a job? Would you be interested in becoming a seasonal worker? How are these companies handling their forecasts? What are the pro and cons of the increase in jobs during the holiday season?

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/10/02/700000-new-retail-jobs-for-holiday-2012-heres-whos-hiring/

Will YOU give it a shot?

article link : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443890304578006650462123038.html?KEYWORDS=starbucks+gives+single+serve+a+shot

http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-1039767/Starbucks-Verismo-Single-Cup-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker-Champagne;jsessionid=AEB76F3F8A01C00B18498FC92786CC51

Starbucks is currently in the midst of launching their newest product, the Verismo single-cup espresso based beverage machine. The Verismo has unique pods that contain coffee and milk, and when used together, can product a latte. This machine has a unique new sleek style, to better fit on top of a kitchen counter, and is also capable of making shots of expresso. This machine is going to be sold at high- end kitchen good stores such as Sur La Table, and Williams Sonoma, as well as in select Starbucks locations. It will be priced at $199 and and the larger version will be priced at $399.

Previous data has shown in the last year only 4% of coffee makers made a profit from selling espresso machines. This means starbucks is taking a large risk entering the espresso machine market. Chief Executive, Howard Schultz, stated in his most recent interview that Starbucks is making a bet with this new machine.

So, with last year espresso machine sales at a mere 4%, and the Chief Executive officer admitting that this is a big risk, why would Starbucks enter into this market? Well, I believe we can look at Chapter 12, regarding Operations and strategy in a global environment, for some answers. Starbucks has one of the most, if not THE most crucial advantage over competitors; Starbucks has brand recognition. Starbucks differentiates themselves from other coffee shops because they provide an “experience”, which sets them apart from the rest of the many places you can get a cup of coffee. But, their newest product launch had nothing to do with this in store “experience”, rather, it is about bringing Starbucks “experience” into your own home. The competitive advantage is about differentiation, cost leadership, and response. Starbucks new Verismo machine touches upon all three, with a strong emphasis on differentiation because there are currently are no other machines like it on the market. According to our book,Competing on differentiation means, “the uniqueness can go beyond both the physical characteristics and service attributes to encompass everything that impacts the customer’s perception of value- and in this case, the Starbucks customer values their own time, their coffe, and their loyalty to the brand itself.

I think this coffee maker will be successful? Will it be a positive thing for Starbucks?

What strategies and data do you think Starbucks is using to make sure sales of this machine are successful?

The operations managers job is to provide competitive advantage and increase productivity… Do you think the OM Manager is doing this in this instance?