Solutions (in bold font) to Homework Assignment 3 Essays

Solutions (in bold font) to Homework Assignment 3 Essays Solutions (in bold font) to Homework Assignment 3OPIM 3104: Operations Management Problem 2-1: Backwoods American, Inc., produces expensive water-repellent, down-lined parkas. The company implemented a total quality-management program in 2005. Following are quality-related accounting data that have been accumulated for the five-year period after the programs start. Note: Numbers in the table are in thousands of dollars (e.g. quality cost of 3.2 is $3,200). a)Compute the companys total failure costs as a percentage of total quality costs for each of the five years. Does there appear to be a trend to this result? If so, speculate on what might have caused the trend. The failure costs decrease as a percentage of total quality costs. This may be attributed to an increase in product monitoring and inspection. Fewer defective products are reaching the consumer, as evidenced by the sharp decline in external failure costs. b)Compute prevention costs and appraisal costs, each as a percentage of total quality costs, during each of the five years. Speculate on what the companys quality strategy appears to be. The increase in prevention costs as a percentage of total quality costs indicates that Backwoods American is placing more emphasis on prevention of defects rather than correction of them. Perhaps they are spending more in the areas of quality planning, product design, process, training, and information. This is contributing to a decline in the need for inspection and testing, equipment testing, and operators to test quality; thus appraisal costs decline, both absolutely and as a percentage of total costs. Prevention also contributes to the decline in external and internal failures, because fewer defective products are produced to begin with. Increases in prevention expenditures will result in a decrease in all other quality costs. c)Compare quality-sales indices and quality-cost indices for each of the five years. Is it possible to assess the effectiveness of the companys quality management program from these index values? These index values do not provide much information regarding the effectiveness of the quality assurance program. They are, however, useful in making comparisons from one period to the next and in showing trends in product quality over time d)List several examples of each quality-related cost that is, prevention, appraisal, and internal and external failure that might result from the production of parkas. Prevention: Market research, that is, producing what consumers want; purchasing only high-quality down and other materials, designing an efficient and effective manufacturing process; training employees in making quality products. Appraisal: Inspection of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished product; equipment testing (pattern cutter, sewing machines, etc.), inspection. Internal failure: Wasted materials and labor, defective products discovered during inspection, use of inefficient processes, equipment downtime, poorly trained employees. External failure: Defective products, customer complaints, warranty costs, lost sales, loss of good will. Problem 2-2: The Backwoods American company in Problem 2-1 produces approximately 20,000 parkas annually. The quality management program the company implemented was able to improve the average percentage of good parkas produce by 2% each year, beginning with 83% good quality parkas in 2006. Only about 20% of poor-quality parkas can be reworked. a)Compute the product yield for each of the five years. b)Using a rework cost of $12 per parka, determine the manufacturing cost per good parka for each of the five years. What do these results imply about the companys quality management program? Problem 2-9: The total processing cost for producing the X-Pacer running shoe is $18. The Omega Shoe Company starts production of 650 pairs of the shoes weekly, and the average weekly yield is 90%, with 10% defective shoes. One quarter of the defective shoes can be reworked at a cost of $3.75 per shoe. a)Compute the quality-productivity ratio (QPR) b)Compute QPR if production rate is increased to 800 pairs of shoes per week c)Compute QPR if processing cost is reduced to $16.50 and remark cost is reduced to $3.20 d)Compute QPR if the product yield is increased to 93% good quality.

The Origins of the Korean War essays

The Origins of the Korean War essays The Korean War is considered to be the first episode of conflict in the Cold War and therefore its causes are of particular interest in understanding the interaction between Russia and the West during the period. The debate as to whether Stalin was responsible for the Korean War concentrates on the significance of several main issues, such as: the role of the United States, the aggression of Kim il Sung and the division of the Peninsula in 1945. To some contemporary historians, such as Steven Hugh Lee, Stalin was the crucial cause of the War, because of the aid he provided to North Korea. Yet perhaps the focus should be on other factors, as it seems it is not possible to classify this episode as a simple case of Soviet expansionism. Nonetheless, with the release of the top secret Soviet-era archives in the early 1990's, it has become more evident that although Stalin was not the immediate cause of the War, he enabled the conflict to occur through his support of Kim. With this in mind, it would seem that Stalin's material support of Kim il Sung was a central cause of the war. Therefore, Hugh Lee shrewdly states that the "Soviet decision [to provide North Korea with arms and munitions] escalated the 1949 border war into a full-scale international conflict". Indeed, the North Korean army had been trained by a cadre of Russian advisers and was the beneficiary of large amounts of Soviet equipment, such as tanks, aircraft and guns. This is confirmed by a telegram, from the Russian ambassador in North Korea (Shtykov), which tells how "Lieutenant-General Vasiliev has arrived [in North Korea] and has taken over the responsibility of main military adviser to the Korean People's Army"2. Moreover, such military assistance helps to explain North Korea's rapid advance in the early weeks of the War. Therefore, it seems that Stalin was the enabler, with North Korea largely reliant on Russian advice and aid. This allowed Kim il Sung to pursue hi...

''See Assignment Criteria'' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

''See Assignment Criteria'' - Essay Example It will also recommend strategic moves which can improve Caterpillar’s performance over the next decade. The predecessor of Caterpillar was the Holt Caterpillar company which was established by Benjamin Holt in 1909. Caterpillar was formed in 1925 when market leader Holt Caterpillar merged with C L Best Gas Tractor Company. The merged entity consolidated its product lines, shifted from gasoline engines to diesel engines, and continued to grow at an even pace even during the Great Depression. During the Second World War, Caterpillar’s products were widely used by the construction units of the United States Navy in the Pacific theatre of war for construction of airfields and other facilities. After the end of the war, the company grew rapidly on the back of the construction boom. Caterpillar used acquisition as a major vehicle for growth from 1950 onwards. Its first major acquisition was Trackson, based in Milwaukee. Over the year, it has acquired companies throughout the globe in order to drive up its sales. During the 1980s, the company was threatened by a decrease in demand because of heightened competition with its Japanese rival Komatsu. Moreover, US embargo against USSR also harmed the company because the company was all set to sell equipments worth millions of dollars to the USSR. The results of these losses were lay-offs and labour union issues subsequently. Caterpillar, in response to strike called by its unionized workforce, farmed out much of its production and warehousing to outside firms. It also started shifting its facilities to Southern states where labour laws were more favourable for non unionized workers. In the late 1990s, Caterpillar was hurt by the Asian crisis. It had to close down Caterpillar Shanghai Engine, a joint venture with the Chinese government owned Shanghai Diesel. In 2000, it received loans worth $29