Questions and Answers of Supply Chain Management global

2. What makes a culture of despair so debilitating? What makes a culture of delight so empowering?
1. How does a company’s culture influence its collaborative capabilities? Why is this so important?
10. Explain why Toyota does such a good job of making their workers an integral part of the value-creation process while others do not.
9. Describe the characteristics of a great place to work. Identify the pros and cons of establishing each characteristic.
8. Identify an example of each of the “ABCs” of an empowerment culture as they are practiced at your workplace. Do you use the “ABCs” in your relationships?
7. Describe the aspects of Newmont Gold’s empowerment program that you like. What would you change to make it even better?
6. Based on your own experience, describe the challenges and benefits of working on a team. Discuss the challenges of designing and managing a successful team.
5. Discuss the benefits of a cross-experienced management team.
4. Explain the reasons cross-training is an investment and not just a cost.
3. Describe your impressions of Deere’s training philosophy and course offerings. Explain why more companies do not provide this type of training.
2. Think back to the best work experiences of your life. What made these experiences so good? Likewise, what factors contributed to negative work experiences?
1. Explain why people are a company’s most important resource. Discuss why many managers talk about the importance of their people and then fail to invest in them.
11. What is meant by the statement, “Great companies are compulsive about measurement”? Describe the core traits of a world-class measurement system.
10. List the steps involved in the benchmarking process. Explain why benchmarking is important and when it is appropriate. Who should a company benchmark?
9. Identify the characteristics of an effective measure. Describe how modern information technology supports the adoption of tailored metrics.
8. Explain the benefits of the balanced scorecard methodology. Explain why scorecards are used in buyer/supplier relationships. Discuss the benefits of posting scorecards to the Web.
7. Go on-line to find the financial statements for WalMart and Kroger. Compare their cash-to cash cycles. Describe what you see. Infer how each company manages its cash-to-cash cycle.
6. Describe several challenges to the development of effective SC-wide measures Which SC measure do you think is most effective?
5. Explain why SC total cost analysis is not performed more often. Discuss the implications of this measurement failure.
4. Discuss the characteristics of a customer-centric measurement system. Develop a flowchart to highlight the critical steps in establishing a customercentric measurement system.
3. Explain why strategic intent does not translate into operational performance. Discuss the reasons for the lack of alignment within the company and across the supply chain.
2. Identify and discuss three measures used in the following areas: asset management, cost, customer service, productivity, and quality.
1. Identify and discuss three roles of performance measurement. From your own experience, identify good and bad examples of measurement practice that illustrate each role.
3. Develop a strategy, complete with specific methods, for adopting best practices and improving the organization’s own process and performance.
2. Document the comparison company’s process at strategic and operational levels. Compare the best-in-class practices with the company’s own methods, specifying any and all differences.
1. Define the “attribute” to be benchmarked and identify a best-in-class comparison company.
6. Which would be more important for this project, information technology or information sharing? Why?
5. What problems or challenges might Transport face as it implements these technologies?
4. What benefits could be achieved in this situation through the proper use of information technology and information sharing?
3. How might reducing the number of suppliers facilitate the additional use of information technology and additional information sharing?
2. What recommendations would you make to John?
1. What types of information technologies might be useful in Transport’s supply-base reduction efforts?
10. Describe two problems or challenges of information sharing and think of at least one way to help overcome each of these problems or challenges.
9. Identify several types of information that should be shared between companies along a supply chain.
8. Describe the different types of e-marketplaces.
7. Describe how the Internet and e-commerce can both increase revenues and lower costs.
6. Describe the steps that should be taken during ERP implementation to ensure that the information technology is closely aligned with the business processes.
5. If the Internet and other technologies reduce transaction costs (such as ordering costs) to zero, what effect might this have on the economic order quantity (EOQ) calculations discussed in Chapter
4. Describe how ERP and ERP II systems were a logical extension of previous supply chain–related information systems.
3. Describe how applying technology to bad processes can actually make things worse and what can be done to ensure that this doesn’t happen.
2. Describe the possible benefits that companies can achieve by sharing information.
1. Describe the relationship between information technology and information sharing.
2. What are the implications of saying “yes”? “No”? If the invitation is accepted, how can Tim assure a successful “partnership”?
1. How would you suggest Tim analyze this opportunity?
7. Discuss the issues involved in carrying out a successful negotiation. Do you have the skills to be a successful negotiator? Identify 3 areas in which you need training or practice.
6. Define trust. Identify two current events—one that demonstrates a high level of trust and one that demonstrates the absence of trust. What are the performance implications discussed in each
5. Discuss the counterproductive behaviors that impede alliance creation. Describe how you would mitigate the negative influence of these behaviors.
4. Identify the most important tools and techniques that facilitate alliance development. What are some of the barriers to utilizing each of these techniques?
3. Describe the reasons companies should consider establishing closer relationships with important customers or suppliers. Identify the benefits buyers and suppliers should expect from an SC
2. Identify 10 practices that foster efficient, fair relationships with “C”-level customers and suppliers. Discuss two reasons managers should care about these relationships.
1. Describe the factors that should be considered in deciding what type of relationship to build with a specific customer or supplier.
3. What steps need to be taken to prevent “culture shock” as a new sourcing model is implemented? How can Donna make sure that managers in the local operations continue to be passionate about
2. Are there any alternatives to the approach Donna’s task force has taken? Describe at least one and identify its comparative strengths and weaknesses.
1. How would you answer Donna’s questions? What type of analysis is needed to answer these questions?
7. Explain why most companies have not taken full advantage of SC rationalization and/or role shifting to achieve higher levels of efficiency and customer value.
6. What is role shifting? From the trade press, identify and describe an example of role shifting that resulted in higher levels of company and/or supply chain performance.
5. Identify the basic steps in the supply-base optimization process. Select one of the other 6 sources of complexity and draw a rationalization flowchart for this source of complexity. Describe the
4. Define supply-base optimization. Explain how supply-base optimization is different from supplybase reduction.
3. Define SC rationalization. Describe how a proactive rationalization program can improve the SC design process and lead to a more competitive supply chain.
2. From your own work experience, identify and discuss an example of the confusion, costs, or counterproductive decisions that resulted from each of the 7 sources of complexity. Alternatively, find
1. What are the sources of complexity in your own life? Take a few minutes to map out your past week. Where did you spend your time? How much time did you waste dealing with complexity? Describe at
10. When might a firm decide to insource or vertically reintegrate? Identify an example and discuss the reasons behind the decision.
9. Define reverse marketing. Discuss how it fits in with the outsourcing decision.
8. Discuss the difference between a post-audit of an outsourced relationship and an ongoing evaluation.
7. Describe the three different ways of managing outsourced relationships.
6. Describe the four different types of outsourcing arrangements, and the distinguishing features of each.
5. Describe two operational and two strategic risks that might be associated with outsourcing.
4. Explain what a sensitivity analysis is, and why an organization should conduct one when considering outsourcing.
3. Explain why outsourcing has become an important element of competitive strategy.
2. Using the example of Southwest Airlines, or another company you are very familiar with, describe in detail the elements that make up that organization’s core competency.
1. Define core competency. Describe the three tests of a core competency.
5. Which assumptions and costs related to this process do you think you should perform a sensitivity analysis on, and why?
4. Is this project a good opportunity for total cost of ownership analysis? Explain why or why not, including what sort of costs you would try to capture if you do a TCO analysis?
3. Develop some ideas for improving the supply chain of this product, and redraw the process map based on those ideas. How long is the lead time now?
2. Which costs and associated processes do not add value commensurate with cost, and which should be considered for improvement?
1. From a strategic cost management perspective, what are the cost and value drivers in this supply chain?
8. When conducting TCO analysis, what is sensitivity analysis? Why is it important? When should it be conducted?
7. Why is it important to have a team involved in conducting TCO?
6. Describe TCO analysis, and where it is applicable.
5. What are the problems with most managerial accounting systems today? How does ABCM address these problems?
4. Who should be responsible for strategic cost management in an organization, and why?
3. When can a high level for a cost driver be desirable? Give an example of a situation (real or hypothetical) when a higher cost decision is better for an organization than a lower cost decision.
2. Why is it important for key decision makers throughout the organization to understand the value proposition for the situation they are working with?
1. Describe the three key elements of strategic cost management and how they are related to each other.
4. Use the Internet to find two companies utilizing project management tools. Compare and contrast the companies’ use of these tools in a 1-page paper.
3. Visit www.microsoft.com and learn more about Microsoft’s project management software. Write a 1-page paper discussing how this application may be superior to the calculations/methods discussed
2. Visit www.project.net and write a 1-page paper discussing how this application may be useful to project management.
1. Visit www.pmi.org and write a 1-page paper summarizing additional information that you learned about the project management tools discussed in this chapter.
9. A project has the following activities, precedence relationships, and time estimates: Prede- Most Activity cessor Optimistic Pessimistic Likely A none 8 10 10 B A 20 25 22 C A 14 21 17 DB 5 9 8 E
8. Compute the mean and variance for each of the following activities: Activity Optimistic Pessimistic Most Likely A 5 10 7 B 3 21 15 C 18 32 25 D 9 11 10 E8 8 8 F 1 10 6 G 45 95 60 H 12 15 13 I 7 11
7. A project has the following activities, times, and precedence relationships: Activity Time (Months) Preceding Activities A 2 none B 8 none C 3 none D6 B E5 C F 4 B, A G 1 D, E H2 C I 2 F, G J 7 D,
6. Suppose that the following additional information is available for the project in question 5. How much would it cost to shorten the project by 5 days? Which activities would you shorten and by how
5. A project has the following activities, times, and precedence relationships: Activity Time (Days) Preceding Activities A 15 none B5 A C 21 A D9 A E 12 B, Da. Draw a precedence diagram for the
4. A project has the following activities, times, and precedence relationships: Preceding Activity Time (Weeks) Activities A 15 none B 5 none C 21 A D 9C E 12 C F 7 D, E, Ba. Draw a precedence
3. A project has the following activities, times, and precedence relationships: Activity Time (Weeks) Preceding Activities A 3 none B 5 none C 3 none D 4 A, B E 8 A, B F 2 D, Ea. Draw a precedence
2. Determine the earliest start, earliest finish, latest start, latest finish, and slack times for each of the activities in the project shown in Figure 8.
1. A project has the following activities, times, and precedence relationships: Activity Time (Weeks) Preceding Activities A 3 none B5 A C3 A D4 B E8 C F 2 D, Ea. Draw a precedence diagram for the
5. What further information would you request to assist you in analyzing the cheese sauce supply chain?
4. Identify any areas for improvement in the cheese sauce supply chain.
3. Lillian contacted the supplier of the cheese sauce to get the bill of materials for the cheese sauce, as shown in Table 3. Note that there is also information to particular questions that Lillian

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