Service Systems Management And Engineering Creating Strategic Differentiation And Operational Excellence 1st Edition Ching M. Chang - Solutions

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10 Both China and India are rising economic powers. How might your approach to doing business with communist China be different from your approach to doing business with India, the world’s most populous democracy? In which country would you expect to encounter the most rules? The most bureaucracy?
9 Why are symbols important to a corporate culture? Do stories, heroes, slogans and ceremonies have symbolic value? Discuss.
5 Contemporary best-selling management books often argue that customers are the most important element in the external environment. Do you agree? In what company situations might this statement be untrue?
4 What do you think are the most important forces in the external environment creating uncertainty for organisations today? Do the forces you identified typically arise in the task environment or the general environment?
If you were a manager at Microsoft, how might you have been more prepared for this shift in the way PC makers do business with software companies? What steps would you take to help Microsoft maintain its status in the software industry as it faces new threats from competitors in the environment?
6 Define a cultural leader and explain the tools that a cultural leader uses to create a high-performance culture.
5 Describe the four types of cultures and how corporate culture relates to the environment.
2 Explain the strategies that managers use to help organisations adapt to an uncertain or turbulent environment.
1 Define an organisational ecosystem and how the general and task environments affect an organisation’s ability to thrive.
5 Once GM Holden ceases manufacturing in Australia in 2017, do you think its market share will be substantially reduced? Why or why not? General Motors celebrates 100 years of change and innovation Of the many important dates in automotive history, 16 September 2008 marked both the end of an era
4 Comment on the turbulence that GM experienced from 2008 to 2013, and its ability to develop the Volt in that period. General Motors celebrates 100 years of change and innovation Of the many important dates in automotive history, 16 September 2008 marked both the end of an era and a bold new
3 Which historical management perspective fuelled GM’s transformation into a manufacturing powerhouse in the twentieth century? And can this trend continue this century? General Motors celebrates 100 years of change and innovation Of the many important dates in automotive history, 16 September
2 Identify the social, political and economic forces that you think would affect the auto industry and the practice of management at GM Holden in Australia. General Motors celebrates 100 years of change and innovation Of the many important dates in automotive history, 16 September 2008 marked both
1 Which management functions and skills would enable GM’s leaders to create a bold vision for reinventing the car around green technology? General Motors celebrates 100 years of change and innovation Of the many important dates in automotive history, 16 September 2008 marked both the end of an
3 What aspects of restaurant work are especially challenging to wait staff, and how does Barcelona’s approach to management help employees overcome the downsides of the job?
2 In what ways does Barcelona’s management approach run counter to contemporary developments in management thinking?
1 In what ways is Barcelona’s management approach consistent with modern developments in management thinking?
4 Might the emphasis on core leadership behaviours be handled in a different way? What do you suggest? In their three years at Melbourne’s Vreeland Pharmaceuticals, Vitorio Nuños and Gary Shaw had rarely crossed paths, and they had exchanged no more than a dozen sentences. But here they were,
3 Why do you think Vitorio and Gary are on the defensive? In their three years at Melbourne’s Vreeland Pharmaceuticals, Vitorio Nuños and Gary Shaw had rarely crossed paths, and they had exchanged no more than a dozen sentences. But here they were, seat mates on a plane headed to company
2 Do you think a more participative and open culture can be imposed on managers with value statements and training sessions? Why? In their three years at Melbourne’s Vreeland Pharmaceuticals, Vitorio Nuños and Gary Shaw had rarely crossed paths, and they had exchanged no more than a dozen
1 Are Connie and her staff on the right track to avoid manager mishaps by defining a new set of leader rules and core values and imposing it by fiat from the top down? In their three years at Melbourne’s Vreeland Pharmaceuticals, Vitorio Nuños and Gary Shaw had rarely crossed paths, and they had
Step 1. Interview a manager you know at your university or place of employment, or a parent or friend who is a manager, and ask the following question: ‘What was a turning point in your life that led you to become the person, and manager, that you are today?’(A turning point could be an event,
3 Devise a more comprehensive set of selection criteria – including test results as well as supervisory experience, ability to motivate employees and knowledge of agency procedures – that can be explained and justified to the board and to employees. Karen Lowry, a manager of a social service
2 Give the job to the candidate with the highest score. You don’t need to make enemies on the Public Service Board and, after all, it is an objective way to select a permanent placement. Karen Lowry, a manager of a social service welfare agency in a suburb of Brisbane, loved to see her employees
1 Ignore the test. Charlotte has proven herself and deserves the job. Karen Lowry, a manager of a social service welfare agency in a suburb of Brisbane, loved to see her employees learn and grow to their full potential. When a rare opening for a supervising clerk occurred, Karen quickly decided to
10 Do you think management theory will ever be as precise as theories in the fields of finance, accounting or experimental psychology? Why or why not?
9 How would you apply systems thinking to a problem such as poor performance in your current academic studies? Or to a problem with a romantic partner or family member? Try to identify all the elements and their interdependencies.
8 Why can an event such as the Hawthorne studies be a major turning point in the history of management, even if the results of the studies are later shown to be in error? Discuss.
7 Explain the basic idea underlying the contingency view. How would you go about identifying key contingencies facing an organisation?
6 Why do you think Mary Parker Follett’s ideas tended to be popular with businesspeople of her day, but were ignored by management scholars? Why are her ideas appreciated more today?
5 As organisations become more technology-driven, which do you think will become more important: the management of the human element of the organisation, or the management of technology? Discuss.
4 A management lecturer once said that for successful management, studying the present was most important, studying the past was next and studying the future was least important. Do you agree? Why?
3 Can you think of potential drawbacks to retailers using labour-waste elimination systems based on scientific management principles, as described in the text? Despite being around 100 years old, do you believe scientific management characteristics will ever cease to be a part of organisational
2 The 2010–11 Bain survey of management tools and trends, which was cited earlier in this chapter, found that the use of social media programs is growing, but that, as a tool, social media also has one of the lowest satisfaction ratings. How would you explain this?
1 How do you think management practices might change in response to increasing government regulation in the banking and healthcare industries? What other recent political, social or economic forces can you identify that might affect your job as a manager?
If you were a manager at Cemex, what changes would you implement to help the organisation thrive in the face of constant chaos? What advice would you give managers concerning their management approach and the kind of company they might create? Cementos Mexicanos (Cemex), based in Monterrey, Mexico,
5 Explain the major concepts of systems thinking, the contingency view and total quality management
3 List two activities that leaders at Camp Bow Wow perform daily, and identify which of the ten managerial roles discussed in the chapter figure prominently for each.
2 Which activities at Camp Bow Wow require high efficiency? Which activities require high effectiveness?
3 How do you think Jamie should have handled each of the incidents with Marianne? Holly and Carol Jean? Victoria? Jamie Westbrook takes pride in her position as salon manager for SharpStyle Salon, one of a chain of hairdressing salons under the Gold Group umbrella. She oversees a staff of 15
2 How do these traits help or hinder her potential to get the top position at the Riverwood Shopping Centre salon? Jamie Westbrook takes pride in her position as salon manager for SharpStyle Salon, one of a chain of hairdressing salons under the Gold Group umbrella. She oversees a staff of 15
1 What positive and negative managerial characteristics does Jamie possess? Jamie Westbrook takes pride in her position as salon manager for SharpStyle Salon, one of a chain of hairdressing salons under the Gold Group umbrella. She oversees a staff of 15 including hairdressers, a nail technician,
Step 1. On your own, think of two managers that you have had – the best and the worst. The managers could be anyone who served as an authority figure over you, including an instructor, a boss at work, a manager of a student organisation, a leader of a student group, a coach, a volunteer in a
2 Launch a full-scale investigation of employee complaints about Jacobs, and make Jacobs aware that the documented history over the past 10 years has put him on thin ice.
9 Discuss some of the ways organisations and jobs have changed over the past 10 years. What changes do you anticipate over the next 10 years? How might these changes affect the manager’s job and the skills a manager needs to be successful?
8 A university professor once told her students, ‘The purpose of a management course is to teach students about management, not to teach them to be managers.’ Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Discuss.
4 Why do some organisations seem to have a new CEO every year or two, whereas others have top leaders who stay with the company for many years (for example, Jack Welch’s 20 years as CEO at General Electric)? What factors about the manager or about the company might account for this difference?
How can the managers in PETRONAS and other oil companies, large and small, have any confidence in their decisions and plans in an environment that is changing so rapidly that, almost every day, a surprising event somewhere in the world impacts significantly on their business? The business
14.14 For products intended for global markets, customers’ wants and needs are different from one market to another. How can a centralized global team build up a product to serve as a “platform” for the global market?
14.13 Globalization is generally accepted as a dominant business trend in the twenty-first century. The center of economic activities is expected to gradually shift toward Asia in the next twenty years, according to forecasts of the United Nations. Explain how companies in private sectors may
14.12 Globalization is already upon us. In spite of the current recession in the United States, whose recovery is expected by various economists to begin before or around the end of 2009, economic activities are expected to increase dramatically (e.g., with a GDP at 5 percent to 9 percent) in Asia,
14.11 Expertise and talents in various disciplines are critical to the success of any company. This is true, especially in the rapidly developing global economy of today, wherein knowledge workers are highly mobile and talents are dispersed everywhere. Companies will be better prepared to meet the
14.10 In the new millennium, speed to market will be a major harbinger of competitiveness. “The early bird gets the worm,” as the saying goes. How can engineering managers meet this challenge by leading their companies to be the first movers?
14.9 U.S. productivity has improved noticeably in recent years, averaging 4 to 5 percent per year, while the U.S. economy grew by only 3.5 percent. The gain in productivity was due, in large part, to the use of technology, in addition to longer working hours by those who are lucky enough to have
14.8 The new millennium is expected to see continued changes in communications technologies, business practices, worker diversity, customer empowerment, and marketplace conditions. Name a few leadership qualities that are deemed essential for engineering managers to achieve success in the new
14.7 Leading technological innovation will be a major challenge for engineering managers in the new millennium. What are some of the success factors for technological innovation?
14.6 Sustainable development refers to work that simultaneously satisfies economical, social, and environmental requirements (United Nations 2002). It is self-evident that work must be economically viable so that customers are willing to pay for the work supplied. Work must also be safe and
14.5 During the new century, increased flows of products, services, technologies, capital, and workers across national borders will affect the economical, social, and political life of everyone involved. The United Nations is expected to play a critical role in this increasingly dynamic
14.4 Globalization, which causes the countries involved to become more interconnected, clearly has tremendous social and political implications. It also has a cultural dimension to it, due to worldwide communications that facilitate the global connections. Cultural globalization may lead to a more
14.3 It can be argued that democracy and capitalism are concepts that are fundamentally incompatible with each other. Democracy is built on the principle of equality—one person, one vote—regardless of the individual’s intelligence, wealth, work ethic, or any other features that distinguish
14.2 Study the case “Metsco Paper: Globalization of Finnish Metal Workshops,” Harvard Business School Case # 9-805-057 (Revised December 13, 2004) and answer the following questions. The case materials may be purchased by contacting its publisher at 1-800-545- 7685 or at
14.1 Strategic planning on a global scale is a leadership function of great importance to any organization. Review the Harvard Business School case “General Electric Medical Systems, 2002,” # 9-702-428 (rev. February 26, 2003) and answer the following questions. The case materials may be
13.15 Study the Harvard Business School Case “Cleveland Clinic” Case #9-607-143 (Rev. September 26, 2007) and answer the following questions. The case materials may be purchased by contacting its publisher at 1-800-545-7685, or at www.custserve @hbsp.harvard.edu. A. What is the case about? B.
13.14 As the SOA service vendors are likely to be consolidated over time, an IT utility would emerge. Under that scenario, most businesses will buy computing services instead of maintaining their own in-house computing data centers, much like how business, commercial and residential customers are
13.13 There are two types of Web services. The first type offered software applications that are accessible to human users. The second type provides software applications that can be accessed by other applications. Explain the basic requirements of building Web services to create applications,
13.12 The Lean principle focuses on the improvement of process speed. It is thus particularly useful to service enterprises, which are in need of shortening its customer response time. Explain the basic concepts involved in Lean to improve process speed.
13.11 Services are known to have a variety of wastes, which, if not removed, will increase costs and erode service quality, leading to customer dissatisfaction. Name a few of the typical wastes encountered in service offerings.
13.10 The Design for Lean Six Sigma (DFLSS) is a methodology known to be particularly useful to designing new services that are in close alignment with customer and business needs. Explain the key phases the DFISS methodology goes through.
13.9 The business environment in the new millennium will continue to be fast paced, Internet enhanced and globally oriented. Name a few factors that will affect the business successes of any companies in such a challenging environment.
13.8 Although marketing and sales are not functions of engineering, they have a direct impact on product development and customer relationship management. Which Web-based applications are currently available to facilitate marketing and sales?
13.7 For the development of software products, the SCM (software configuration management) process is closely followed as a way to ensure performance and reliability while controlling costs. Explain what SCM can do and in what ways it is important that both developers and intended customers insist
13.6 What is Web mining, and how significant is it in generating useful results to support management decision making?
13.5 In implementing a computerized maintenance management system to reduce maintenance costs, what steps are taken?
13.4 What are some of the legal issues related to the Internet and Web-based business transactions that remain unresolved at this time?
13.3 What are the standard markup languages used in the design of Web pages?
13.2 What are Internet, intranet, and extranet? How are they being used by numerous large and small companies today?
13.1 How are URL, domain name, and search engines defined? Use examples to explain the relationship between them. How can one make use of Web pages to promote business?
12.16 Study the Harvard Business School Case “Innovation at Progressive (A) Pay-as-you-go Insurance,” Case #9-602-175 (Rev. April 29, 2004) and answer the following questions. The case materials may be purchased by contacting its publisher at 1-800-545-7685, or at
12.15 The topic of cross-function teams was discussed in this text. It was postulated that nowadays teams are the most appropriate organizational structure for managers to deploy in promoting and realizing innovations, be it in conjunction with new service/product development, new process
12.14 Marketing and innovation are said to be two significant competencies of any enterprise. A. Explain, why these two competencies have been singled out as significant. B. Why would those engineering managers, who possess demonstrable skills and insights in both of these competencies, be
12.13 Service systems engineers and leaders face a variety of challenges when managing innovation. What are some of these top challenges in managing innovation?
12.12 The management of innovation demands a broad and balanced approach. What are the factors deemed to be critical for achieving success in innovation management?
12.11 When managing innovation, service systems engineers and leaders might be able to take advantage of specific practices that were beneficial to other managers in the past. Name a few useful lessons about managing innovation that can be gleaned by scanning the applicable business literature.
12.10 Creativity and innovation will usually result in some changes to be introduced into the organization, such as new production process, new marketing strategies, new procedure of offering customer supports, and others. Not everyone likes changes, and some will, in fact, resist them. Service
12.9 The performance of any company can be promoted by specifying a set of metrics that can be readily measured and then monitoring them rigorously. To promote the creativity and innovation of a service enterprise, one needs to define a set of metrics for determining its innovative performance.
12.8 There are numerous techniques used in engineering to promote creative thinking. Service systems engineers and managers should employ them whenever appropriate. Name some of these creativity methods in engineering.
12.7 Creativity is a highly desirable personality trait most y service enterprises are looking for in their new employees. Service systems engineers and managers are special people who possess the basic training in engineering/scientific disciplines with a bend in entrepreneurship. What in your
12.6 Service enterprises need creative employees to attain strategic differentiation. These creative employees need to be properly managed. What are the useful guidelines for managing creative people?
12.5 Service systems engineers needs to access new ideas from time to time. Which sources should they tap into in order to obtain new ideas?
12.4 Problem-solving is a fundamental skill that all systems service engineers and managers must possess. Its use in industry is rather frequent. What steps should be included in a generic problem-solving process?
12.3 Discuss the steps of the inventing procedure commonly followed by inventors.
12.2 What are the relationships between creativity and innovation?
12.1 The 3M Company is a diversified technology company that aggressively pursued innovation. What is unique about the innovation strategy of this company?
11.8 Study the Harvard Business School Case “Siemens ShareNet: Building a Knowledge Network,” Case #9-603-036 (November 2, 2002) and answer the following questions. The case materials may be purchased by contacting its publisher at 1-800-545-7685, or at http://www.custserve@hbsp.harvard.edu.
11.7 There is a saying: “You get what you measure.” To promote knowledge management, companies must devise criteria and techniques to monitor its progress. Explain the best practices in measuring progress in knowledge management.
11.6 Sharing knowledge willingly and ably by experts is the central tenet in any knowledge management system. How can companies motivate able experts to become more willing to share their knowledge?
11.5 Explicit knowledge differs from tacit knowledge in that it is readily externalized by the experts in the form of written documents, patents, procedure manuals, test reports, and project files, whereas tacit knowledge consists of insights, intuition, heuristics, rules of thumb, and perceptions,
11.4 People need to collaborate with others in collecting, preserving, and disseminating knowledge, both explicit and tacit, in order to leverage knowledge and realize its value. Name a few proven techniques that enhance collaboration among people.
11.3 Connections between people are essential for the implementation of any knowledge management program. What are the best practices in creating connections, so that knowledge exchange can take place effectively?
11.2 Communities of practice (CoPs) are regarded to be a key organizational design by which willing and able experts could interact to produce, exchange, and improve tacit knowledge. Which are the three most critical success factors for achieving success in CoPs? How should companies use them?

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