Operations Management

Option #1: Same Firm – Three Different Products

This Portfolio Project options requires you to evaluate the implications for operations management within organizations that operate in an international or global environment. For this assignment, you will select and assess three different products from the same firm; for example, the Ford Motor Company, with the three products being the Ford Escape, Ford Edge, and Ford F-150.

Your final project should:

• Appraise your selections and describe the types of goods sold, as well as the industry in which the organization operates.
• Analyze the organization’s supply chain characteristics: type of supply chain, negotiation strategies, performance of the supply chain, and areas for improvement.
• Evaluate the approach that your firm(s) uses to maintain a competitive advantage, and if applicable, the global business operations strategy.
• Defend the organizations’ production processes, the customer interaction with those processes (if applicable), and the technologies used in production.
• Judge the organization’s commitment to quality and excellence, as well as the processes used for measuring quality.
• Describe the organization’s inventory methodologies and model(s), and suggest any areas for improvement.
• Justify the organization’s operational planning policies, job designs, and work environment issues, if any.
• Describe the organization’s movements, if any, toward lean processes, and the effects of those processes on culture, efficiency, and success.

For each bullet point above, include your observations (based on the research material) about where improvements can be achieved.

Instructions:

• Your essay must have an organizational structure that includes an introduction section, a conclusion section, and individual sections that address each requirement noted above.
• Write an 8-10-page paper, not including the required title and reference pages.
• You must support your analysis with at least four current scholarly references and the course textbook The CSU-Global Library is a good place to find these sources. Sources such as Wikipedia, USA Today, Fox News, or MSNBC News will not be accepted.
• Your paper must be properly cited and formatted according to the CSU-Global Guide to Writing & APA.
• This is an individual paper, which must adhere to CSU-Global’s Re-Using and Re-Purposing One’s Own Work policies.
• Review the similarity results from Turnitin and correct all issues within the body of the essay. Paraphrasing is encouraged, but always cite your sources.

Remember, a product-based business sells a physical, tangible product, while a service-based business sells a service, which has no physical or tangible product.

You are encouraged to visit the CSUG Library for additional resources, or contact the CSU-Global Librarian at . The Purdue Online Writing Lab’s (OWL) APA Formatting and Style Guide, available at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/1/, is also a great resource for additional information.