Assignment 3: Implementing and Evaluating the Future at Galaxy Toys, Inc. (Week 8)
Purpose:
Continuing with the saga of Galaxy Toys, Inc., the third assignment covers the last three functions of the P-O-L-C, Organizing, Leading and Controlling. Students will look at the production floor of Galaxy Toys, Inc. through the lens of the organizing function, create an organizational chart, and assess the decision-making authority associated with the organizational structure. Students will then assess change, discuss motivation from a leadership perspective, and delve into the control function by looking and projecting specifications, interpreting data, and assessing corrective measures.
In completing this assignment, students will demonstrate an understanding of the major content areas of the course and use critical thinking and writing skills.
Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment:
NOTE:All submitted work is to be your original work. You may not use any work from another student, the Internet or an online clearinghouse. You are expected to understand the Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy, and know that it is your responsibility to learn about instructor and general academic expectations with regard to proper citation of sources as specified in the APA Publication Manual, 6th Ed. (Students are held accountable for in-text citations and an associated reference list only).
Step 1: Preparation for the Assignment
Step 2: How to Set Up the Paper
Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced, 12-point font. The final product will be between 8-10 pages in length excluding the title page and reference page and appendix. Write clearly and concisely.
Use the following format:
Step 3: Create the introductory paragraph.
The introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper but is typically written after writing the body of the paper (Questions students responded to above). View this website to learn how to write an introductory paragraph: http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html
Part One
Step 4: Organizing
Now, that the major short term production goals and objectives have been determined, for Project MMTJE1 it is time for implementation of the plan. The process starts with the production manager, Itza Yu. Yu has been tasked with the job of organizing a plan for implementing the production goals. This plan is part of the organizing function. The production managers of each plant will execute Itza Yu’s organization scheme. Doing so requires managers to organize the people, resources, and capital to begin production in a way that will implement the short-term production goals in the most cost efficient, quality oriented, and timely manner as possible. The project is designed to have Itza Yu create an organizational plan for him and the other branch managers to follow.
Step 5: Organizing People, Physical Resources and Money
Assume the Role of Itza Yu. Carefully read and review each area.
Money: The budget for each production department at Galaxy is $650,000 per year. This is an increase over last year of $300,000 to accommodate the new production costs of MMTJE1. Salaries of existing personnel and physical resources are currently running effectively under budget by $10,000.Yu does not want to touch this cushion.
People: Current positions on the plant floor are filled. Turnover is infrequent. Yu anticipates that the following new personnel will need to be hired: Four trained print operators with computer expertise per shift ($40,000 salary each) and one new IT person ($65,000 salary) to liaise with the IT department software and workers on the floor. Yu also anticipates that training for backup personnel for existing staff ($25,000 cost) is likely but is not sure at this point if more education than current personnel have will be required.
Physical Resources: Existing: Two conveyor lines with 100 foot clearance for printers and forklift, pallets and people to easily work with the product, 4 compatible computers (between the 4 branches), and upgraded printers at approximately $1500 per computer. Needed: Four printers ($6100 each including software and 14 hours of training for each branch), 2 additional computers ($6000 for both), printer material for the creation of the toy and packaging, service contract for the computer (years material is estimated at costing $40,000 and prototype material costs estimated at $4,000.
Step 6: Organizing People, Physical Resources and Money
Yu must make initial notes before finalizing his plans for production. First, he must prioritize the objectives so that the work can flow easily. Yu has decided that the following four objectives are the most important.
Short Term Objectives: |
|
Each plant must produce 375,000 toys by May 31, 2018. |
Prototype toy trials will be completed and approved by QC by October 31, 2017. |
Shipment to customers will begin June 2018. |
Bearing in mind the research material above, Yu must organize the three areas: physical, monetary, and human resources in concert to complete the tasks. In one page, answer the following questions to create Yu’s notes for his first Branch Manager’s meeting. Yu hopes that this will give the other branch managers some preliminary idea of how the project will operate.
Part Two
Step 7: Leading Motivation
During production, older line staff and machine workers began to see the speed and accuracy with which the 3D printers make the MMJTE1 toys. An obvious concern began to surface among the workers, “Will I still have a job next year?” Morale of plant workers began to suffer. Itza Yu knows that this concern must be addressed and morale needs to be improved. Yu also knows that the business must innovate to keep growing. The workers concern is a real one.
Acting as Joyce Barnhart, what advice should she give to Yu.
Part Three
Step 8: Control:
Read critically and analyze the following scenario:
The following chart displays the results of the first year’s production of MMTJE1. The table was created from data supplied by the company’s entire production department managed by Keith as a means of controlling production output. It will be used by the VP in his evaluation of areas of improvement, change, or success to processes used by the production department in the production of MMTJE1. The chart describes the standard goal (identified as standard) set by the department and the result each branch obtained. A comparison of the standard to the results allows the reader to form conclusions about the success or failure of the production department to meet the goals envisioned by the company. It also allows the reader to recognize patterns from the data from which conclusions can be drawn as to the relationship between elements (e.g. cost expended vs time expended; those who spent more time had a higher cost).
Answer the following required elements making sure that the facts of the scenario and the course readings support the reasoning of the answers provided.
Measurable Factors |
Standard |
Toledo |
Dayton |
White Plains |
Huntsville |
Juarez |
Cost |
5.56 |
5.67 |
5.87 |
5.45 |
5.52 |
5.01 |
Time |
2.36 |
2.32 |
2.46 |
2.31 |
2.32 |
2.69 |
Quality Control Problem Ratio (per 500 units) |
1 |
2.5 |
4 |
1.5 |
1.75 |
8.75 |
Training Time (per hour) |
30 |
35 |
38 |
45 |
48 |
25 |
Shipping Problems/Damage (per 10,000 units) |
1 |
0.333 |
0.222 |
0.133 |
0.178 |
0.4 |
3D Problems (per 10,000 units) |
0.2 |
0.25 |
0.286 |
0.111 |
0.1 |
0.4 |
Total Number of Pieces Produced per year |
375,000 |
435,000 |
455,000 |
550,000 |
525,000 |
378,000 |
Step 9: Standard Specifications
Yu compares the standard specifications data set from the chart with the results for each of the five branches. Yu has to interpret the results.
Step 10: Corrective Action
Step 11: Long-Term Planning
Read critically and analyze the following scenario:
The next meeting of the long-term planning team for Galaxy Toys is scheduled for next week. All the VP’s will be there. Everyone must give a report about the success of the “Moon Mission Jupiter’s Europa 1” toy roll out and the success or failure of the long-term goals and objectives.
Keith video conferences with his branch managers once the production results were released. The data looked good to Keith but he wanted to get additional “human” feedback on the data. The managers seemed to all talk at once. All the managers felt that the project was well worth the effort. They saw great potential for production of all the products. It appears that several managers felt that training on the 3D printer was the biggest problem. Back up trained personnel in Huntsville and capable-trained personnel in Mexico was a real problem. There was a lack of skilled IT people in these areas. The Mexico manager, Hernando Gonzalez, said that they lost their trained personnel to a software company almost from the start and had difficulties finding replacements. The company that supplied the 3D printers provided initial training but follow up training thereafter proved a problem when original staff was lost. Gonzalez explained that there was a serious shortage of skilled IT personnel in Juarez. Consequently, finding qualified workers and keeping people without paying more than the budget permitted was a major problem. It took Gonzalez four months to train four of his workers to do the job. Thus, both the production and the IT departments lost money. However, Gonzalez said that once they got started the workers caught up quickly so he saw tremendous potential for the future.
Step 12: Prepare Three Recommendations for Keith to Take to the Long-Term Planning Meeting.
Step 13: Proofread the paper for spelling and grammatical issues, and third person writing.
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