CASE STUDIES ASSIGNMENT $3($CHAPTERS $8-9)$

A Supervision Challenge: CREATIVE PROBLEM$-$SOLVING AT DIRTY LEMON $($Page $190)$

The opening case discusses Dirty Lemon, a Brooklyn based beverage company that sells directly to customers through text messaging. The case presents the following two questions.

$1.$ What problem solving and decision making strategies will the founders of Dirty Lemon continue to need and rely upon?

$2.$ How can you apply their ability to think creatively to your own work as a supervisor?

Problem$-$Solving Case: What Makes a Work Environment Creative? $($Page $215)$

$1.$ It$$s often said that the ability to see the big picture, or the way in which a solution might affect the rest of the company, is another ingredient of creative problem$-$solving. Do you think Christensen$$s subordinate was able to see the big picture in the challenge she gave him? Why or why not? How would this ability contribute to creative problem$-$solving?

$2.$ If you were the employee in this case, are there any other resources you would have liked to have to assist you in coming up with a solution? If so$,$ what are they? How would you obtain them, and how would they help you?

$3.$ Working with one or two other students, apply what you learned from the case and the chapters to brainstorm a problem similar to the one Christensen$$s subordinate faced, but image the department you must become familiar with operates as a virtual team, none of whose members work in the same location as you. List as many potential solutions as you can. Which one is the most feasible?

A Supervision Challenge: CONTRIBUTING TO HIGH QUALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY AT SHEARER$$S FOODS $($Page $218)$

The opening case discusses Shearer$$s Foods$$ broad drive for perfection and presents the following two questions.

$1.$ Is this company$$s commitment to quality realistic? Explain.

$2.$ How can supervisors get employees excited about constant improvement when change is hard?

Problem$-$Solving Case: At Pal$$s$,$ Quality Is All about Service $($Page $250)$

$1.$ What forms does quality take in a fast$-$food restaurant? That is what aspects of the food, service, atmosphere, and so on do you consider to be acceptable in terms of quality, and what would exceed your expectations?

$2.$ Productivity efforts in a fast$-$food restaurant often involve behind$-$the$-$scenes work in the kitchen. But in a service business, production includes interactions with the customer. Identify one or two ways in which Pal$$s supports its employees$$ productivity when it comes to working with customers.

$3.$ Using Pal$$s as an example, work with one or two other students to develop a list of ways in which quality and productivity can interact. That is$,$ do any of the steps Pal$$s takes to maintain productivity help to support the quality of its customer service, and vice versa?