National Institute of Business Management

Chennai - 020
EMBA/ MBA
Elective: Operations Management (Part - 2)
Attend any 4 questions.

1. What are the effects of Total quality management on an

Organization? Explain.
Answer:
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a competitive approach to long-term
success thats derived from a dedication to customer satisfaction. Within this
system, every employee in a company endeavours to enhance the products,
services and internal culture to produce a streamlined set of business
processes that deliver an improved customer experience.
Also commonly known as Quality Management in the United States, a
TQM effort is unique in that it requires a high level of commitment to an
established philosophy, with every member of the organization not only
familiar with the end goal but committed to it a dedication many attribute
to the self-motivation of employees through reward-based incentives.
For the overall process to be effective, there are 10 key practices
management can use to promote the culture of Total Quality Management
and, in doing so, positively impact nearly every process within an
organization. These include:

Foster a continuous drive toward improving products and services

Stop depending upon inspection to achieve quality

Work with a single supplier to avoid having to award supplier contracts

based on price alone

Commit to a continuous revaluation of processes related to planning,
production and service to achieve improvement goals

Provide on-the-job training to develop and retain valuable staff, including

opportunities for extensive education and self-improvement for everyone

Remove barriers between staff areas to facilitate a free-flow of

collaboration and ideas

Get rid of any slogans, exhortations and targets aimed at employees

Do away with numerical quotas for employees and numerical goals for

management
Eliminate the barriers that erode pride of workmanship, such as an annual

evaluation or merit-based system

Task everyone within the organization toward achieving the
transformation goals of TQM

The above mentioned practices related to Total Quality Management can

have a profound impact on companies both large and small. To achieve the
best results, there are two areas of focus that can enable the benefits of Total
Quality Management to be integrated as seamlessly as possible: employee
participation and benchmarking.
Benchmarking is a competitive method used to evaluate the success of a
companys products or services in relation to its competitors. The practice
calls for an in-depth study of competitors deemed best in class within their
niche and is an essential component to achieving a successful TQM impact on
your organization. The overall goal is to analyze how a successful
organization operates with respect to a particular product or service,
emulating and improving upon it whenever possible.
For example, many companies have imitated the highly-successful shopping
cart available at Amazon.com, specifically the creation of a wish list that
not only enables shoppers to create a list of items for future purchase but
also motivates them to continuously return to the site to manage and add to
the list.
The second area of focus, employee participation, is the most crucial. A
successful effort toward the goals established through TQM demands a
workforce that is both well-trained and committed to the activities selected
for process improvements. As mentioned earlier, this level of participation is

often reinforced through reward-based and recognition systems, highlighting

the individual and team achievements related to quality objectives.
In addition, continuous education and training for employees adds to the
drive for quality by improving the capabilities of those within the organization
while instilling a culture of self-improvement that often leads to the retention
of valuable employees who more readily view themselves as having a
personal stake in the company. As a result, employees are more willing to
take on additional responsibilities, communicate more effectively, act
creatively and innovate a system that can be directly linked to customer
satisfaction metrics in Total Quality Management.

2. What are the advantages and limitations of a Product Layout?

Explain.
Answer:
A product layout refers to a production system where the work stations and
equipment are located along the line of production, as with assembly lines.
Usually, work units are moved along a line (not necessarily a geometric line,
but a set of interconnected work stations) by a conveyor. Work is done in
small amounts at each of the work stations on the line. To use the product
layout, the total work to be performed must be dividable into small tasks that
can be assigned to each of the workstations.
Because the work stations each do small amounts of work, the stations utilize
specific techniques and equipment tailored to the individual job they are
assigned. This can lead to a higher rate of production.
Product Layout: Advantages:

(1) Low total flow time of the product from the input stage to the output
stage (i.e. higher rates of output) due to:
(a) Continuous flow without intermediate stoppages and storages;
(b) Repetitive, small, fragmented jobs learnt to perfection by the
concerned workers; and
(c) Minimum set-up times of machines.

(2) Production planning and control is simple; less paper work

(3) Inspection required is less
(4) Lower degrees of skills in the manpower may suffice
(5) Raw materials and other inputs can be planned better, even to the
extent of Just in Time, resulting in lower inventories.
(6) Lower work-in-process inventories needed.
(7) Lower material handling costs
(8) by balancing the line, labor utilization can be high.

Product Layout: Disadvantages:

(1) None or very little variety possible.
(2) Less flexibility to changes, particularly to other than minor changes.
(3) Entire line or significant portions of the line may come to a grinding halt if
any equipment in the line breaks down, resulting in high stoppage costs.
(4) Larger maintenance crew needed.
(5) Very low job variety and therefore lower job satisfaction and higher
boredom for the workers.
(6) More coordination required by supervisors.
(7) Duplication of machines and equipments may be necessary resulting in
higher capital investment.
(8) More space may be required.

3. Discuss the evolution of Six Sigma. How is it implemented?

Write its steps.
Answer:
Six Sigma is now according to many business development and quality
improvement experts, the most popular management methodology in history.
Six Sigma is certainly a very big industry in its own right, and Six Sigma is
now an enormous 'brand' in the world of corporate development. Six Sigma
began in 1986 as a statistically-based method to reduce variation in
electronic manufacturing processes in Motorola Inc in the USA. Today, twentysomething years on, Six Sigma is used as an all-encompassing business
performance methodology, all over the world, in organizations as diverse as
local government departments, prisons, hospitals, the armed forces, banks,
and multi-nationals corporations. While Six Sigma implementation continues

apace in many of the world's largest corporations, many organizations and

suppliers in the consulting and training communities have also seized on the
Six Sigma concept, to package and provide all sorts of Six Sigma 'branded'
training products and consultancy and services. Six Sigma has also spawned
many and various business books on the subject. Six Sigma, it might seem, is
taking over the world.
Steps:
Step 1: Create a Burning Platform
Organizations must have a compelling reason for implementing Lean Six
Sigma. Some examples of a burning platform message:

We are suffering huge quality losses. They account for more than 45
percent of our
Costs.
Our competitors are gaining our market by 12 percent every quarter.
Without a burning platform, there is seldom a motivation to implement a
continuous improvement initiative. Company leadership should become
familiar with the burning platform, and understand how Lean Six Sigma can
address the problems in the platform statement.
Step 2: Put Resources in Place
Do not hesitate to hire the right resource at right price. This is applicable to
any resource, be it employees, material or technology. But resources alone do
not ensure that a deployment will be successful. They must be able to work
together as a team, and be empowered to carry out initiatives.
It is important to know what to look for in a potential resource. One example:
My organization had finalized a candidate for a Black Belt position in our
customer service process. During an interview, I asked him, What was the
most wonderful experience in your life? He replied, The six months I spent
working in a farm with no people, no telephone and no tension.
Here is a candidate who was saying he wanted no connectivity and we were
considering him for a customer service role. I ran to my boss and told him the
candidate might not fit in. Resources must be able to commit to

implementing a shared vision, and this candidate would not be right for that
role.
Step 3: Teach the Methodology
As the saying goes, if I give a man a fish, he can only survive a day. But if I
teach the person to catch the fish, he can live for a lifetime.
For Lean Six Sigma to survive for a lifetime, organizations need to train their
team members to be powerful change agents. Yellow Belt, Green Belt and
Black

Belt

training,

along

with

skilled

mentors,

can

help

increase

organizational awareness. The employees identified for training should share

the organizations vision.
Step 4: Prioritize Activities
Once resources and training are in place, a number of opportunities may
present themselves. Organizations must make it a priority to:

Listen to the customer

Identify critical-to-quality criteria
Ensure Lean Six Sigma efforts are linked to business goals
It is important to learn what to overlook and where to take risks. Activities
must be assessed to ensure they are meeting the expectations of the
organizations goals.
Step 5: Establish Ownership
It must be clear who owns the Lean Six Sigma initiative. This may involve
appointing a committee to find out who is responsible for the entire team.
With ownership comes empowerment and a sense of pride, and team
members who are more committed, accountable and engaged.
Step 6: Take the Right Measurements
What cannot be measured cannot be improved. By creating a measurement
system, practitioners can determine baseline performance and use the data
in objective decision making and analysis of variation.
The key for measurement is to get the cost of quality right. The following
example, which took place while I was working as a trainee engineer in an
engineering firm, helps illustrate this premise. I was posted to a field
warehouse to take stock of all the nuts, bolts and other parts as part of an

annual inventory exercise. I realized that if I were to start counting each and
every part, I would be spending weeks doing this it would not be the right
way to measure. Therefore, I devised a way to count the nuts and bolts by
working on a system of weighing the parts in large batches and converting
them into units. It took a fraction of the time to count the parts than other
methods used in the past.
Organizations also must find a way to measure process performance to
ensure they receive data at a fast pace. Having too many items on a
scorecard may shift practitioners attention from the critical few metrics. They
need to identify and measure the key leading indicators instead of measuring
the many lagging indicators.
Step 7: Govern the Program
A proper governance structure can help a program sustain momentum. Poor
governance or too much governance can lead to the vision falling apart. For
instance, establishing a business quality council can help to clear any hurdles
that may slow a project, allowing the project to adhere to timelines.
Proper governance also helps practitioners create a best practice sharing
forum, which helps projects to be replicated and can highlight common
challenges. Without regularly scheduled, productive meetings or review
sessions, the program can veer off course and employees may lack guidance.
Step 8: Recognize Contributions
Rewards and recognition play a valuable role in making sure team members
remain satisfied in their roles. They can help build enthusiasm for the
program from a top-down and grassroots level. Rewards and recognition also
can help drive innovation throughout the organization.

4. Explain the common features of computer

production control and management.

assistance

in

Answer:
Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is the manufacturing approach of
using computers to control the entire production process. This integration
allows individual processes to exchange information with each other and
initiate actions. Through the integration of computers, manufacturing can be

faster and less error-prone, although the main advantage is the ability to
create automated manufacturing processes. Typically CIM relies on closedloop control processes, based on real-time input from sensors. It is also
known as flexible design and manufacturing.
Computer-integrated manufacturing is used in automotive, aviation, space,
and ship building industries. The term "computer-integrated manufacturing"
is both a method of manufacturing and the name of a computer-automated
system in which individual engineering, production, marketing, and support
functions of a manufacturing enterprise are organized. In a CIM system
functional

areas

such

as design,

analysis, planning, purchasing, cost

accounting, inventory control, and distribution are linked through the

computer with factory floor functions such as materials handling and
management, providing direct control and monitoring of all the operations.
As a method of manufacturing, three components distinguish CIM from other
manufacturing methodologies:

Means for data storage, retrieval, manipulation and presentation;

Mechanisms for sensing state and modifying processes;

Algorithms for uniting the data processing component with the

sensor/modification component.

CIM is an example of the implementation of information and communication

technologies (ICTs) in manufacturing.
CIM implies that there are at least two computers exchanging information,
e.g. the controller of an arm robot and a micro-controller of a CNC machine.
Some factors involved when considering a CIM implementation are the
production volume, the experience of the company or personnel to make the
integration, the level of the integration into the product itself and the
integration of the production processes. CIM is most useful where a high level
of ICT is used in the company or facility, such as CAD/CAM systems,
the availability of process planning and its data.
The manufacturing process includes process planning, production planning
(involving

tool

procurement,

materials

ordering,

and numerical

control programming), production, quality control, packaging, marketing, and

shipping. CAM systems assist in all but the last two steps of this process. In
CAM systems, the computer interfaces directly or indirectly with the plant's
production resources.
Process planning is a manufacturing function that establishes which
processes and parameters are to be used, as well as the machines
performing these processes. This often involves preparing detailed work
instructions to machines for assembling or manufacturing parts. Computeraided process planning (CAPP) systems help to automate the planning
process by developing, based on the family classification of the part being
produced, a sequence of operations required for producing this part
(sometimes called a routing), together with text descriptions of the work to
be done at each step in the sequence. Sometimes these process plans are
constructed based on data from the CAD databases.
Process

planning

is

difficult

scheduling

problem.

For

complex

manufacturing procedure, there could be a huge number of possible

permutations of tasks in a process requiring the use of sophisticated
optimization methods to obtain the best process plan. Techniques such as
genetic algorithms and heuristic search (based on artificial intelligence) are
often employed to solve this problem.
The most common CAM application is numerical control (NC), in which
programmed instructions control machine tools that grind, cut, mill, punch, or
bend raw stock into finished products. Often the NC inputs specifications from
a CAD database, together with additional information from the machine tool
operator. A typical NC machine tool includes a machine control unit (MCU)
and the machine tool itself. The MCU includes a data processing unit (DPU),
which reads and decodes instructions from a part program, and a control loop
unit (CLU), which converts the instructions into control signals and operates
the drive mechanisms of the machine tool.
The part program is a set of statements that contain geometric information
about the part and motion information about how the cutting tool should
move with respect to the work piece. Cutting speed, feed rate, and other
information are also specified to meet the required part tolerances. Part
programming

is

an

entire

technical

discipline

in

itself,

requiring

sophisticated programming language and coordinate system reference

points. Sometimes parts programs can be generated automatically from CAD

databases, where the geometric and functional specifications of the CAD
design automatically translate into the parts program instructions.
Numerical control systems are evolving into a more sophisticated technology
called rapid prototyping and manufacturing (RP&M). This technology involves
three steps: forming cross sections of the objects to be manufactured, laying
cross sections layer by layer, and combining the layers. This is a tool-less
approach to manufacturing made possible by the availability of solid
modelling CAD systems. RP&M is often used for evaluating designs, verifying
functional specifications, and reverse engineering.
Of course, machine control systems are often used in conjunction with
robotics technology, making use of artificial intelligence and computer
controlled humanoid physical capabilities (e.g., dexterity, movement, and
vision). These "steel-collar workers" increase productivity and reduce costs by
replacing

human

workers

in

repetitive,

mundane,

and

hazardous

environments.
CAM systems often include components for automating the quality control
function. This involves evaluating product and process specifications, testing
incoming materials and outgoing products, and testing the production
process in progress. Quality control systems often measure the products that
are coming off the assembly line to ensure that they are meeting the
tolerance specifications established in the CAD databases. They produce
exception reports for the assembly line managers when products are not
meeting specifications.
In summary, CAM systems increase manufacturing efficiency by simplifying
and automating production processes, improve the utilization of production
facilities, reduce investment in production inventories, and ultimately
improve customer service by drastically reducing out-of-stock situations.