In$-$Class Assignment: Decision Support Systems in Operations Management

Objective:

To assess the students' understanding of Decision Support Systems $($DSS$)$ in the context of Operations Management and encourage critical thinking and application of theoretical knowledge.

Instructions:

You are provided with a case study of a manufacturing company facing operational challenges. Your task is to analyze the situation and recommend how a Decision Support System $($DSS$)$ can address these challenges.

Case Study: 'TechManufacture Corp.

TechManufacture Corp. is a leading electronics manufacturing company. Recently, they have been facing challenges related to inventory management, production scheduling, and quality control. Their current systems are outdated, leading to inefficiencies, increased costs, and customer dissatisfaction.

Challenges:

$1.$ Inventory Management: Overstock of certain components while facing shortages for others.

$2.$ Production Scheduling: Delays in production due to inefficient scheduling of tasks.

$3.$ Quality Control: Increased rate of defective products in the last quarter.

Assignment Tasks:

$1.$ Problem Analysis :

$-$ List the main operational challenges faced by $*$TechManufacture Corp.$*$

$-$ Highlight the potential consequences if these challenges are not addressed.

$2.$ DSS Recommendations:

$-$ For each challenge, recommend a type of DSS $($Data$-$driven, Model$-$driven, Knowledge$-$driven, or Document$-$driven$).$

$-$ Justify your choice of DSS for each challenge.

$3.$ Implementation Strategy:

$-$ Outline a step$-$by$-$step strategy for implementing your recommended DSS in $*$TechManufacture Corp.$*$

$-$ Consider factors like training, data migration, and integration with existing systems.

$4.$ Potential Limitations :

$-$ Identify possible limitations or challenges $*$TechManufacture Corp.$*$ might face while implementing the recommended DSS$.$

$-$ Suggest ways to overcome these limitations$.$

Submission Guidelines:

$-$ Your answers should be concise, clear, and well$-$structured.

$-$ Use academic writing conventions. Avoid informal language or slang.

$-$ Reference any external sources or frameworks you use.

$-$ Submit your assignment in a typed format, preferably a Word document or PDF$.$

Evaluation Criteria:

$-$ Depth of problem analysis and understanding of the case study.

$-$ Appropriateness and justification of the recommended DSS$.$

$-$ Feasibility and comprehensiveness of the implementation strategy.

$-$ Insightfulness of identified limitations and proposed solutions.