| REDUCING CYCLE TIME Background:
An important goal of production and
operations management is reducing
cycle time—the time it takes to
complete a task or process. The goal in
cycle time reduction is to reduce costs and/
or increase customer service. Many experts believe that
the rate of change in our society is so fast that a firm must
master speed and connectivity. Connectivity refers to a
seamless integration of customers, suppliers, employees,
and organizational, production, and operations management.
The use of the Internet and other telecommunications
systems helps many organizations connect and
reduce cycle time. Task:
Break up into pairs throughout the class. Select two businesses
(local restaurants, retail stores, etc.) that both
of you frequent, are employed by, and/or are fairly well
acquainted with. For the first business, one of you will
role-play the "manager" and the other will role-play the
"customer." Reverse roles for the second business you
have selected. As managers at your respective businesses,
you are to prepare a list of five questions you will
ask the customer during the role-play. The questions you
prepare should be designed to get the customer's viewpoint
on how good the cycle time is at your business. If one
of the responses leads to a problem area, you may need
to ask a follow-up question to determine the nature of the
dissatisfaction. Prepare one main question and a follow-up,
if necessary, for each of the five dimensions of cycle
time: | 1. | Speed—the delivery of goods and services in the minimum time; efficient communications; the elimination of wasted time. | | 2. | Connectivity—all operations and systems in the business appear connected with the customer. | | 3. | Interactive relationships—a continual dialog exists between operations units, service providers, and customers that permits the exchange of feedback on concerns or needs. | | 4. | Customization—each product is tailored to the needs of the customer. | | 5. | Responsiveness—the willingness to make adjustments and be flexible to help customers and to provide prompt service when a problem develops. |
Begin the two role-plays. When it is your turn to be the
manager, listen carefully when your partner answers
your prepared questions. You need to elicit information
on how to improve the cycle time at your business. You
will achieve this by identifying the problem areas (weaknesses)
that need attention. After completing both role-play situations, fill out the
form below for the role-play where you were the manager.
You may not have gathered enough information to fill in
all the boxes. For example, for some categories, the customer
may have had only good things to say; for others,
the comments may all be negative. Be prepared to share
the information you gain with the rest of the class. I role-played the manager at (business). After listening
carefully to the customer's responses to my five questions,
I determined the following strengths and weaknesses as
they relate to the cycle time at my business:  <![CDATA[<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg::::/sites/dl/free/0076735192/948876/Ch08_t1.jpg','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (23.0K)</a>]]> |
