1. Lynn is the operations manager of her business. Among her responsibilities are forecasting, inventory management, scheduling, quality assurance, and maintenance.

a. What kinds of things would likely require forecasts?

b. What inventory items does Lynn probably have? Name one inventory decision she has to make periodically.

c. What scheduling must she do? What situations might arise, disrupting schedules and causing Lynn to reschedule?

d. How important is quality assurance to Lynn's business? Explain.
e. What kinds of maintenance must be performed?

2. What are some of the trade-offs that Lynn probably considered relative to:

a. Working for a company instead of for herself?

b. Expanding the business?

c. Launching a website?

3. Lynn decided to offer the students who worked for her a bonus of $25 for ideas on how to improve the business, and they provided several good ideas. One idea that she initially rejected now appears to hold great promise. The student who proposed the idea has left, and is currently working for a competitor. Should Lynn send that student a cheque for the idea?

4. Lynn is thinking of making her operations sustainable. Name
one or two ideas she might consider.

Lynn had worked for the same major Canadian company for almost 15 years. Although the company had gone through some tough times, things were starting to turn around. Customer orders were up, and quality and productivity had improved dramatically from what they had been only a few years earlier due to a company-wide quality improvement program. So it came as a real shock to Lynn and about 400 of her co-workers when they were suddenly terminated following the new CEO's decision to downsize the company.

After recovering from the initial shock, Lynn tried to find employment elsewhere. Despite her efforts, after eight months of searching she was no closer to finding a job than the day she started. Her funds were being depleted and she was getting more discouraged. There was one bright spot, though: she was able to bring in a little money by mowing lawns for her neighbours. She got involved quite by chance when she heard one neighbour remark that now that his children were on their own, nobody was around to cut the grass. Almost jokingly, Lynn asked him how much he'd be willing to pay. Soon Lynn was mowing the lawns of five neighbours. Other neighbours wanted her to work on their lawns, but she didn't feel that she could spare any more time from her job search.

However, as the rejection letters began to pile up, Lynn knew she had to make an important decision in her life. On a rainy Tuesday morning, she decided to go into business for herselftaking care of neighbourhood lawns. She was relieved to give up the stress of job hunting, and she was excited about the prospect of being her own boss. But she was also fearful of being completely on her own. Nevertheless, Lynn was determined to make a go of it.

At first, business was a little slow, but once people realized Lynn was available, many asked her to take care of their lawns. Some people were simply glad to turn the work over to her; others
switched from professional lawn care services. By the end of her first year in business, Lynn knew she could earn a living this way. She also performed other services such as fertilizing lawns, weeding lawns and gardens, and trimming shrubbery. Business became so good that Lynn hired two part-time workers to assist her and, even then, she believed she could expand further if she wanted to. During winter months (January and February), Lynn takes her vacation in Florida.