The December 22, 2009, edition of the Wall Street Journal has an article by Kevin Kelliker entitled “In Risky Move, GM to Run Plants Around Clock.”
Instructions
Read the article and answer the following questions.
(a) According to the article, what is the normal industry standard for plants to be considered operating at full capacity?
(b) What ideal standard is the company hoping to achieve?
(c) What reasons are given in the article for why most companies do not operate a third shift? How does GM propose to overcome these issues?
(d) What are some potential drawbacks of the midnight shift? What implications does this have for variances from standards?
(e) What potential sales/marketing disadvantage does the third shift create?