Strayer 2020 October JWI550 Assignment 1 Latest

JWI550 OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Assignment 1 

Operational Excellence and Competitive Advantage

Welcome to the course. Please introduce yourself to your classmates and professor.

What are the top 2 operational challenges in your industry?

What differentiates the most competitive organizations from the laggards in your industry?

What do you hope to get out of this course as it relates to operations management in your workplace?

 

JWI550 OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Week 2 Discussion

Value Stream Mapping

Read the Course Project overview on pp. 16-17 of the Course Guide. In preparation for Part A, identify a value stream relevant to your organization that needs improvement. Include specific references to this week’s course materials to support your response.

What value does this value stream deliver to the organization or contribute to its competitiveness?

What metrics are currently used (or should be used) to monitor the performance of this value stream?

What do you predict might be some improvement opportunities in this value stream?

 

JWI550 OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Week 3 Discussion

Process Performance Impacts Competitive Advantage

Identify one key process that is within the value stream map you shared in Week 2. Include specific references to this week’s course materials, specifically Operations Management Reading: Process Analysis, to support your response.

What process metrics are used in this process?

Describe any shortcomings such as delays, bottlenecks, or quality issues in the process.

 

 

 

 

JWI550 OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Week 4 Discussion

Process Types and Strategies

Choice of process types is a strategic decision in Operations Management. Answer the following and include references to this week’s course materials, specifically "Operations Management Reading: Designing, Managing, and Improving Operations," to support your response.

Identify 2 different processes used in your industry and classify them into process types such as job shop, batch processing, assembly line, etc. Explain the rationale for your process type classifications.

Which companies or similar organizations in your industry would you consider to be recognized leaders in any of these process types? How does that compare to your organization?

What should management focus on in managing those process types?

 

JWI550 OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Week 1 Discussion

Operations Management Project Part A: Value Stream Mapping and Analysis

Overview

A core tool in Operational Excellence is Value Stream Mapping. This tool helps stakeholders visualize complex work systems (including material and information flows) and address disconnects, redundancies, and gaps in how work gets done between the beginning and end of a value stream or end-to-end process.

• The primary type of value stream is one in which a product or service is requested by, and delivered to, an external customer. Examples include request to receipt, order to delivery, and quote to cash.

• Other value streams which support the delivery of value are called value-enabling or support value streams. Examples include recruiting, onboarding, IT support, and annual budgeting.

Since it is nearly always a mistake to initiate changes without have a clear picture of how the system is currently functioning, we are beginning our Course Project with the creation and analysis of a Value Stream Map.

Instructions

For this assignment, select a value stream in your organization that can benefit from analysis and improvement. As noted previously, the value stream (or end-to-end process) selected does not need to be overly large or complex. Select something which has the potential for meaningful improvement, but which is manageable within the scope of this assignment.

1) Develop a current state Value Stream Map of your selected value stream. Show the customer demand rate (or Takt), information flow, work flow, and summary timeline on the map.

2) Document key metrics for each process block:

• Process Time (PT)

• Lead Time (LT)

• Percent Complete and Accurate (%C&A)

• Any other appropriate metrics, such as number of operators, changeover time or setup time, batch size, and % uptime.

3) Calculate the current state summary metrics:

• Total lead time (TotalLT)

• Total process time (Total PT)

• Activity Ratio (AR)

• Rolled Percent Complete and Accurate (Rolled %C&A)

4) Describe the current state of the value stream and highlight any performance deficiencies and challenges, such as delays, excessive WIP, bottlenecks, capacity and workload imbalances, rework, poor quality yields, long lead times, and other operational issues.

Submission Requirements

Your work may be submitted in either Word or PowerPoint.

• Since you will need to include a diagram to map the value stream for #1, you should select whatever software you are most comfortable working with. The Value Stream Map can easily be created in PowerPoint (see the symbols and template provided by the instructor), or neatly drawn by hand.

You may also use software such as Visio. In all cases, please scan or convert your map to a PDF or JPG, and paste it into Word or PPT before submitting.

• For #2, the information for each process block should be on the value stream map. For #3, it can be on the map or in tabular form. Show how the summary metrics are calculated. Keep your written answers brief and to the point. Accuracy is what matters. This should take no more than one page.

There are no additional points for overly elaborate responses.

• For #4, a thorough response with specifics should take no more than one page. As you discuss improvement opportunities, mention and make specific reference to the Value Stream Map, including names of process blocks and performance metrics.