Environmental scanning as information seeking and organizational

learning

In the ensuing sections, we will analyze each mode of

scanning by examining its characteristic information needs,
information seeking, and information use behaviours. In
addition, we analyze organizational learning processes by
considering the sense making, knowledge creating and
decision making processes at work in each mode.
An organization processes information to make sense of its
environment, to create new knowledge, and to make decisions
(Choo, 1998).sense making is induced by changes in the
environment that create discontinuity in the flow of
experience engaging the people and activities of an
organization. People enact or actively construct the
environment that they attend to by bracketing experience, and
by creating new features in the environment (Weick, 1995).
Organizational sense making can be driven by beliefs or by
actions (Weick, 1995). In belief-driven processes, people start
from an initial set of beliefs that are sufficiently clear and
plausible, and use them as nodes to connect more and more
information into larger structures of meaning. People may use
beliefs as expectations to guide the choice of plausible
interpretations, or they may argue about beliefs and their
relevance when these beliefs conflict with current
information. In action-driven processes, people start from
their actions and grow their structures of meaning around
them, modifying the structures in order to give significance to
those actions. People may create meaning to justify actions
that they are already committed to, or they may create
meaning to explain actions that have been taken to manipulate
the environment.

An organization possesses three kinds of knowledge: tacit

knowledge, explicit knowledge and cultural knowledge. Tacit
knowledge is the personal knowledge that is learned through
extended periods of experiencing and doing a task, during
which the individual develops a feel for and a capacity to
make intuitive judgements about the successful execution of
the activity. Explicit knowledge is knowledge that is expressed
formally using a system of symbols, and may be object-based
or rule-based. Knowledge is object-based when it is
represented using strings of symbols (documents, software
code), or is embodied in physical entities (equipment,
substances). Explicit knowledge is rule-based when the
knowledge is codified into rules, routines, or operating
procedures. Cultural knowledge consists of the beliefs an
organization holds to be true based on experience,
observation, reflection about itself and its environment. Over
time, an organization develops shared beliefs about the nature
of its main business, core capabilities, markets, competitors,
and so on. These beliefs then form the criteria for judging and
selecting alternatives and new ideas, and for evaluating
projects and proposals. In this way an organization uses its
cultural knowledge to answer questions such as 'What kind of
an organization are we?' 'What knowledge would be valuable
to the organization?' and 'What knowledge would be worth
pursuing?' Organizations continuously create new knowledge
by converting between the personal, tacit knowledge of
individuals who develop creative insight, and the shared,
explicit knowledge by which the organization develops new
products and innovations (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995).
Completely rational decision making requires information
gathering and information processing beyond the capabilities
of any organization. In practice, organizational decision
making departs from the rational ideal in important ways

depending on: (1) the ambiguity or conflict of goals in the

decision situation (goal ambiguity or conflict), and (2) the
uncertainty about the methods and processes by which the
goals are to be attained (technical or procedural uncertainty).
In the boundedly rational mode, when goal and procedural
clarity are both high, choice is guided by performance
programmes (March & Simon, 1993). Thus, decision makers
'simplify' their representation of the problem situation;
'satisfice' rather than maximize their searches; and follow
'action programmes' or routinized procedures. In the process
mode(Mintzberg et al., 1976), when strategic goals are clear
but the methods to attain them are not, decision making
becomes a process that is highly dynamic, with many internal
and external factors interrupting and changing the tempo and
direction of the decision process. In thepolitical mode (Allison
& Zelikow, 1999), goals are contested by interest groups but
procedural certainty is high within the groups: each group
believes that its preferred alternative is best for the
organization. Decisions and actions are then the results of the
bargaining among players pursuing their own interests and
manipulating their available instruments of influence. In
the anarchic mode (also known as the Garbage Can model of
decision making) (Cohen et al., 1972), when goal and
procedural uncertainty are both high, decision situations
consist of independent streams of problems, solutions,
participants, and choice opportunities arriving and leaving. A
decision then happens when problems, solutions, participants,
and choices coincide. When they do, solutions are attached to
problems, and problems to choices by participants who are
present and have the interest, time and energy to do so.
Tools for implementation of Operations:All functions in the organisation including administration, finance, materials, purchase, marketing,

production, logistics, communication and others, can be considered operations. The reason is all of
them use some inputs like materials or information either on a person to person basis or through a
flow line. They are required to use some process and convert them into outputs usable in the next
stage of the value chain. For example, when an invoice is received for payment, it contains
information about a material or a service, the person who needed it, the price to be paid, the
supplier, transportation, insurance, quantity, tax to be paid, etc. The bills payable section will have
to verify data regarding the above, seek inspection reports from the quality control
department/user department to certify the bill for payment. Before actual payment is made
verification of the terms of payment, availability of funds etc are done You will notice that
information is sought or given, materials received and transferred, papers/instructions are received
/ issued for initiating activities. All these are also operations. However, for our study we will limit
our focus to operations involving manufacture. We identify a set of specialized techniques call
them tools which can be standardized for ease of implementation and control.
Implementation of Operations Implementation is the process of executing the planned operations.
Estimating, routing and loading are the planning processes and dispatching and progressing are
processes which are conducted while the manufacturing is going on. We call the former planning
and the latter controlling function. Put together they are considered implementation. Estimating
gives the quantities to be made at each workstation depending on the sales forecast, provision for
buffer stock, quantities bought out, or services outsourced, likely shortfalls etc. It is done on the
basis of capacity. The next step, routing, determines the sequence of operations and the machines
that do them so that work flow as determined by the processes is smooth resulting in minimum
inventory. Scheduling is mainly concerned with allocating time slots for different jobs. It specifies
as to when jobs start and end at particular workstations. The purpose is to prevent imbalances
among work centers and utilize labour hours in such a way that established lead times are
maintained. Dispatching is concerned with actually moving the materials with tools, jigs and
fixtures to specific machines along with drawings and ensuring inspections at specific nodes, so
that the materials move in the supply chain, Expediting is mainly to ensure that all the above are
being done properly. Reports are generated and any bottleneck that gets created is removed.
Tools for implementation GANTT charts are used to record progress comparing the actual against
the planned activities and keep track of the flow of the material. Line balancing and line of balance
are two more tools to ensure that machining centers are loaded as uniformly as possible to
prevent build up stocks at intermediate stages. Simulation models are used to predict utilization of
machines and production levels. Various inventory models help us to determine when to order and
how many to order and also give us an insight to the risks and opportunities that come up for our
consideration. Proper maintenance and analysis of records help us to see the gaps that have crept
into the operations system. Learning that happens across functions will make the tools used more
realistically and increase efficiency. Much ERP software, especially SAP have many modules
that store, sort and analyze data and make them available to the staff across the globe in many
plants enabling managers to streamline their operations. Software specific to functions,
applications or organization can be obtained. Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 is a useful tool in
this regard.

Differentiation strategies as a basis of decision making:

Differentiation is a process by which a company distinguishes itself from
its competitors and their
offerings. The process includes adding a set of differentiators, which are
meaningful, and adds value

for the customer. The differences should be perceived by the customer as

important, distinctive,
superior, and affordable. Further, the differentiators have to make the
opays offerigs (the
products and services) profitable.
Core competencies as a basis of decision making:
Each organization is started by an entrepreneur or a small group of
entrepreneurs. The objective is to
use their unique strengths to create and develop an organisation. These
unique strengths are the
core-competencies of the organization.
Outline of the main points of the topic:
For any topic work to be undertaken, it is good practice to prepare an
outline of the topic. The
outline is the template of the topic preparation.
Analyse the topic:
Analysis the procedure to monitor and control of project is a must.
Conclude with your opinion:
The opinion of a group of experts should be collected and used as an
estimate to obtain the forecast.

Ans.2
Definition of Forecasting:
Forecasting is an art because subjective assessment coupled with
historical and contemporary
judgment is required to improve the accuracy of forecasts. It is a science
because wide variety of
numerical methods are used to obtain a number or several numbers and f
urther analysed using
mathematical models to ascertain the accuracy of forecast.
b. Benefits of forecasting:
Forecasting basically helps to overcome the uncertainty about the
demand and thus provides a
workable solution. Without the forecast, no production function can be
taken up. Hence, it can be
stated that forecasting helps to:
Improve employee relations
Improve materials management

Get better use of capital and facilities

Improve customer service
c. Discuss the cost implications of forecasting:
Forecasting requires special efforts and involves inputs from experts which
cost a lot to the
companies. Well-trained experts and associations substantially invest in
human resources and hence
charge their clients for the service rendered. Thus, forecasting done inhouse or carried out
externally requires significant investments. Thus, it can be said that more
the efforts put for
forecasting, more will be the cost of forecasting. Because of improved
accuracy and better judgment,
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the losses that would occur because of poor forecasting would decrease
as more efforts are put in
for forecasting. Hence, higher the efforts, lower will be the losses. Because
effort is a direct function
of forecasting, this cost goes up with increase in the forecasting efforts.
d. List the forecasting methods based on the context or focus:
The forecasting methods can be classified based on the context or focus.
The different forecasting
methods are discussed below. Based on the type of database, the
forecasting methods can be
classified into 2.
They are:
Quantitative (Statistical forecasting)
Qualitative (Subjective estimation)
Based on the forecast time period, the forecasting methods can be
classified into 3.
They are:
Short range up to 1 year
Medium range 1 to 3 years
Long range 5 years or more
Based on the methodology, the forecasting methods can be classified into
3. They are:
Time series methods
Causal methods
Predictive methods (Qualitative methods)

Ans 3.
a. Data gathering:
All relevant information concerned with the product and the parts that go
to make it are collected.
The concerns at this stage are the raw materials used, its dimensions,
characteristics, availability,
lead time, price, mode of transport, storage, and the rate of consumption.
All questions regarding
each of them are asked. The available information I s recorded and when
information is not available,
tags can be attached for information gathering at a later date. No
information should be considered
unimportant or irrelevant. It will be advantageous to record the source of
information. Classification
will be helpful.
b. Analysis and valuation of functions:
The function of each part is listed. They are categorised as basic functions
and secondary functions.
The description should be cryptic two or three words. If there are many
functions that any part has
to perform weightage may be given to each of them. Considered with
the cost of the part and the
weight, each function gets a value attached to it. Table 14.2 depicts a brief
about the key questions,
techniques, and tasks that need to be performed in step 2.
c. Idea generation and evaluation of substitutes:
Having collected the data and analysed them and knowing the relative
importance of the functions,
the next step is to identify the material or process that is amenable to the
application of value
engineering. Since there are a number of factors to be considered and to
break away from the
conventional thinking, brain storming is preferred. Ideas are allowed to be
submitted to the group for
discussion. A few of them will turn out to be worth more detailed
evaluation.
d. Implementation and regulation:
The decision taken after evaluation is conveyed to the top management
and clearances are obtained
for implementation. Teams are formed for each implementation and
concerned persons are involved
and educated about the impending change. Their cooperation is
necessary for the change to be
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effective. If any small changes are necessary when a few trials are taken,
they should be considered.
After successful implementation, the change material change or the
process change becomes the

new norm or standard for further operations. The methodology adopted is

on the lines of continuous
improvement.

Q 3: What do you understand by line balancing? What happens

if balance doesnt exist?
Answer: Assembly line refers to a special arrangement of facilities typically
along a straight line or a u-shaped line, exclusively to produce assemblies or
finished products. The assembly starts in the form of a skeleton at one end and
passes through several work stations where; different operations are
performed and components are added, and the final assembly is obtained after
passing through successive stages. The line is arranged so as to produce a
specified number of products over a certain time period. To facilitate easy
mounting of components and fast operations, the assembly moves at certain
speed and rolls over at the end of the line.
A simple line (typically set up for the purpose of assembly) consists of a
series of work stations, and the total work content of the product, which is
expressed in terms of the total time is divided among these workstations equally.
For example, consider five operations performed at A, B, C, D, and E. Each one
can be a workstation or more than one operation can be combined at a single
workstation. In a simple line like this it is easy to visualise the flow and also to
make out the work allocation. Figure depicts a simple line flow indicating the
work stations.

Fig: Simple Line Flow Indicating the Work Stations

As the items move along the line, the work is progressed intermittently and
leaves the line as a finished product. Typically the objective is, to divide the work
content equally among the workstations so that the workstations are loaded as
evenly as possible. This is known as balancing. Firstly, if such a balance is not
achieved, a certain amount of inefficiency will arise because some stations will
have more work to perform than others, and all the stations are expected to
process same number of items per period of time. Secondly, unequal work
content at different workstations leads to unequal work distribution and also
formation of queue of items. Hence, to ensure a smooth flow, all the
workstations are given the same time to process the items. The entire line
typically, on a manual or power-driven conveyor moves from workstation to
workstation at a constant rate. The time required to complete the work allotted
to each station is known as the service time and the time available at each
station is known as the cycle time, normally longer than the service time.
The cycle time includes both the productive as well as the non-productive
time along with idle time if any. Non productive time includes time for
movement, handling and inspection time. The manner in which the work content
is allocated to the station is influenced by the technological sequence of the
assembly and expressed by precedence requirements, that is, one operation
must be completed before the other operation can start. Such constraints limit

the ability to achieve complete or perfect balance while allocating work to

stations. The allocation of work elements to a workstation may also be
influenced by zoning constraints which occurs in two ways: positive zoning
constraint demands that certain operations have to be clubbed together
because of certain sharing of resources, and negative zoning which insists that
certain operations should be clubbed together because of interference or
conflict.
All these constraints make it very difficult or impossible to achieve perfect
line balance and hence, a certain amount of balancing delay or balancing loss is
inevitable. Balance delay is defined as the total time available to complete the
given job and the total time required. In other words, the balance delay is the
difference in time between the service time and the cycle time, expressed as a
percentage of the cycle time. The objective of line balancing is that, given a
desired cycle time, the attempt is to assign work elements to workstations to:
Minimise idle time or balancing delay
Minimise the number of work stations
Distribute balancing delay evenly between stations
Avoid violating any constraints
As it is difficult to achieve all these objectives simultaneously at least one
objective has to be satisfied. Based on this premise, several researchers have
proposed different heuristic methods to realise the desired goal. Discussing all
the different approaches is beyond the scope of this topic and hence a few
methods are illustrated. Several calculations are involved in line balancing. The
different terms and corresponding calculations are stated here as follows:
Cycle time, C

C=

1
1

Where,
c = cycle time in hours per unit,
r = desired output rate in units per hour
Theoretical minimum number of workstations:

TM =

t
C

(to be rounded up)

Where, t = total time required to assemble each unit,

and c = cycle time

Idle time nc t
Where, n = number of stations, and c = cycle time
Total time required to assemble oneunitt
(%) Efficiency =

t (100)
C

Balance delay (%) = 100 Efficiency

Assigning the operations or tasks to workstations is based on heuristics as given
here:
Longest task time Choose the available task with the longest task time
Most following tasks Choose the available task with the largest number of
following tasks

 Ranked positional weight Choose the available task for which the sum of
following task times is the longest
Shortest task time Choose the available task with the shortest task time
Least number of following tasks - Choose the available task with the least
number of following tasks.