Mendoza, Julie Anne Mae S.

POM

III-11 Mrs.Varona

CASE STUDY

CHAPTER 7
MAKING HOT PLATES
1. What changes in the work situation might account for the increase in
productivity and the decrease in controllable rejects?
- The primary change in the work situation which increased the productivity and
decreased the controllable rejects is the job enlargement. In job enlargement, the
workers job and responsibilities are being expanded to make their position more
challenging. In the work situation of making hot plates, the workers are given the
opportunity to build hot plates individually instead of working on one subassembly.
By giving employees several different tasks to be performed rather than limiting
their activities to small number of tasks, boredom and monotony decreases.
Through job enlargement, workers feel challenged and motivated to build their
very own product which leads to increased productivity and decreased number of
errors and reject.
2. What might account for the drop in absenteeism and the increase in
morale?
- The drop in absenteeism and increase in morale were due to the increased
satisfaction of the workers with their jobs. Job satisfaction is the level of
contentment employees feel about their work. Since employees were given the
opportunity to build a hot plate on their own, they started to feel a sense of
ownership on their work and control of what they are doing. Through that, they
felt self-fulfilled because they are given the opportunity of achieving or doing a
specific task on their own which lead them to have increased job satisfaction.
When employees are satisfied, they were happy and motivated to do their job
which leads to a drop in absenteeism among employees.
3. What were the major changes in the situation? Which changes were under
the control of the manager? Which were controlled by the workers?
- The major changes in the situation are job enlargement and job enrichment
wherein the workers are given expanded tasks and responsibilities at the same time
allowing them to have more control over how they perform their own tasks. The
change that were under the control of the manager is the reorganizing of the work
line which creates a wider range of movement and tasks for each worker. Setting
a more effective job design and increasing training programs are also under the
control of the manager which made productivity and efficiency possible. On the
other hand, workers are the only one who can increase the quality and productivity
since they are the one who control their own performance. The managers have no
control whenever the workers commit errors causing defects to the products.
4. What might happen if the workers went back to the old assembly line
method?
- If the workers would went back to the old assembly line method, the same
problems would instantly arise. The increasing number of controllable rejects will
arise again as well as the increasing percentage of absenteeism among workers.
The workers will become unmotivated again since the sense of ownership on what
they are doing vanishes. If the old assembly line method will be implemented again,
the work situation will just go back to the way it was where quality and productivity
declines.
CHAPTER 10
BRUEGGERS BAGEL BAKERY
1. Brueggers maintains relatively little inventory at either its plants or its
retail stores. List the benefits and risks of this policy.
BENEFITS
- It helps in reducing the cost and space for storage.
- It diminishes the amount of scrap and waste during the operation.
- Fresh products can be delivered to the customers which could gain to increased
customer satisfaction.
 - The resources can be easily managed and organized.
RISKS
- The business will not be able to meet higher demands.
- Unavailability of stock could happen if there is a breakage in the supply chain
- When there is unavailability of raw materials, the production process would be
interrupted.
- There will be high transportation cost.
2. Quality is very important to Brueggers.
a. What features of bagels do customers look at to judge their quality of
bagels?
- The customers judge the quality of the bagels based on their appearance
particularly its size, shape and shine. Also, the customers look at the taste and
consistency as another factors in judging the quality of the bagels.
b. At what points in the production process, do workers check bagel quality?
- Brueggers gives careful attention to quality at every stage of operation, from
choosing their suppliers of ingredients, careful monitoring of ingredients, and
keeping their equipment in good operating condition to monitoring output at each
step in the process. At the stores, the employees are properly instructed and trained
to watch and remove deformed bagels. Employees who work in thestores are
carefully chosen and trained so that they were competent enough to operate the
necessary equipment in the stores at the same time to provide desired level of
customer service.
c. List the steps in the production process, beginning with purchasing
ingredients, and ending with the sale, and state how quality can be
positively affected at each step.
- Selection of suppliers of ingredients.
- Production begins at a processing plant, where the basic ingredients of flour,
water, yeast and flavorings are combined in a special mixing machine.
- After the dough has been thoroughly mixed, it is transferred to another machine
that shapes it into individual bagels.
 - Once the bagels have been formed, they are carefully loaded onto a refrigerated
trucks for shipping to individual stores. The bagels are refrigerated to maintain its
freshness until it reaches the stores.
- When the bagels reached the store, they are unloaded from the trucks and
temporarily stored.
- The last step is the proper cooking and baking of each bagels.
3. Which inventory models could be used for ordering the ingredients for
bagels? Which model do you think would be most appropriate for deciding
how many bagels to make in a given batch?
- The different types of inventory models that could be used for ordering the
ingredients for bagels are Economic Order Quantity, Economic Production Lot Size
Model, and Order quantity and Reorder Point Model with probabilistic model.
- The most suitable inventory model for this case is Economic Production Lot Size
Model. This model is used when the demand for the bagels is almost constant.
Through this model, the inventory required for the day can be attained within the
day itself. It gives information about how much to order and when to order.
4. Brueggers have bagel-making machines at its plants. Another
possibility would be to have a bagel-making machine at each store, what
advantages does each alternative have?
ADVANTAGES OF HAVING MACHINES AT MAIN PLANT
- Proper utilization of manpower
- Quality, shape and size could be maintained
- Less tools required
- Inventory maintenance at single location
- Secret recipe is maintained
ADVANTAGES OF HAVING MACHINES AT EVERY RETAIL STORES
- There will be reduced transportation cost
- There will be reduced wastage and damage
- Can meet customer demands immediately
- Time saving
 HOME-STYLE COOKIES
1. Briefly describe the cookie production process.
- The production process is called a Batch Processing System.
- The production starts when the management receives orders from distributors.
- A list of the cookies to be made is delivered to the person in charge of mixing.
- The assigned person will encode to the computer the number of cookies to be
produced as well as the ingredients needed for each cookie.
- The computer will determine the right amount of ingredients needed and that
information would be directly sent to the storage silos where the ingredients are
stored. Those ingredients are automatically sent to a giant mixer for flavouring.
- After the ingredients have been mixed, the batter will be cut into individual cookies
and then placed to the oven.
- The cooked cookies will be fed onto the cooling racks and once the cookies are
finally cooled, the workers will manually put them into a box. Lastly, the boxes are
wrapped, sealed and labelled automatically.
2. What are the two ways that the company has increased productivity? Why
did increasing the length of the oven result in a faster output?
- The company has increased productivity by cutting the cookies diagonally and
increasing the length of the ovens.
- Increasing the length of the oven will result to a faster output rate because it will
increase the number of quantity of baked cookies which directly leads to higher
productivity.
3. Do you think that the company is making the right decision by not
automating the packing of cookies? Explain your reasoning. What
obligation does a company have to its employees in a situation such as this?
What obligation does it have to the community? Is the size of the town a
factor? Would it make a difference if the company was located in large city?
Is the size of the company a factor? What if it was a much larger company?
 - Yes, the company is making the right decision by not automating the packing of
cookies. It is because there are still people who needs employment in the
community where the company belongs to.
- The company expresses its commitment to the community by investing in the
employment of its people instead of machinery
- The fact that it is a small community proves that the commitment the company
has is even bigger and possibly the reason to not automate. If the company was
located in a large city, the focus would be more on faster production and would
probably favor automation.
4. What factors cause Lew-mark to carry minimal amounts of certain
inventories? What benefits results from the policy?
- Cookies, just like any other food, are perishable goods. It means that if this certain
product is not consumed within a short period of time, its quality decreases. The
main factor that causes Lew-Mark to carry minimal amounts of certain inventories
is the fact that no preservatives is added to the cookies causing them to have a
limited shelf life. The only benefit that Lew-Mark could get from carrying minimal
amount of inventory is that they are able to manage their products efficiently with
minimum number of waste and scrap.
5. As a consumer, what things do you consider in judging the quality of
cookies you buy in a supermarket?
- As a consumer, the thing that I consider in judging the quality of the cookies is
the health benefits that we could get from it. Another thing that I consider is the
appearance and the taste of the cookie. Sometimes, I also consider the
manufacturer of the cookies in judging its quality.
6. What advantages and what limitations stem from Lew-Marks not using
preservatives in cookies?
- The advantages of Lew-Marks not using preservatives in cookies is that the
cookies became soft and not too sweet. Also, it became a benefit for the company
because many consumers are attracted to buy it because they see it as a healthier
 alternative to homemade cookies. The only limitations for not using preservatives
is that the cookies have a limited shelf life.
7. Briefly describe the companys strategy.
- Generally, the company uses a quality-based and time-based strategy. Their
strategy is to deliver a tasty and quality food to the consumers especially to the
health conscious ones. Also, the companys strategy in delivering their cookies is
very effective since the cookies are made to order using a Batch Processing
System. Through this strategies, the company are able to keep a tight control on
their inventories and able to gain higher productivity.