We will work in teams assigned by your instructor. Each team will answer the 4 discussion questions on page 116. Complete Problems 2 and 4 on pages 116-117 (do not just provide the answers, show how you worked through each problem) You will access your Team via the Teams section under Course Content. Each team will have a group discussion board and file exchange to use to complete the group assignment. Remember to read the submission instructions for the Group Assignment Contact your instructor 1. Operations Management (OM), or "operations," is the business used to reach agreement and develop contracts with potential function responsible for producing a company's goods and ser- suppliers. vices, in an efficient and cost-effective way. It is the function responsible for transforming a company's inputs, obtained by 4. Product design is the process of deciding on the specific charac- the sourcing function into the finished goods or services, which teristics and features of each of the company's products. Pro- marketing sells to final customers. cess design is developing the process needed to produce the exact product designed 2. The operations function performs the transformational role of the organization. It has evolved from being a strictly production 5. Layout planning is deciding on the best physical arrangement function to having a strategic organizational role. of centers of economic activity. There are four types of layouts: fixed position, process, product, and cellular. 3. OM involves making many varied decisions. These include product and process design, quality management, inventory 6. Line balancing is the process of designing product layouts. management, facility layout and location, and scheduling. It involves assigning tasks to workstations considering their Competitive bidding and negotiation are two different methods precedence relationships, cycle time, and tasktimes