Management Question

‫المملكة العربية السعودية‬
‫وزارة التعليم‬
‫الجامعة السعودية اإللكترونية‬

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Education
Saudi Electronic University

College of Administrative and Financial Sciences

Assignment 2
Introduction to Operations Management (MGT 311)
Due Date: 02/11/2024 @ 23:59
Course Name: Introduction to Operations
Management
Course Code: MGT 311

Student’s Name:

Semester: First

CRN:

Student’s ID Number:

Academic Year:2024-25-1st

For Instructor’s Use only
Instructor’s Name:
Students’ Grade:
Marks Obtained/Out of 10

Level of Marks: High/Middle/Low

General Instructions – PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

The Assignment must be submitted on Blackboard (WORD format only) via allocated
folder.
Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted.
Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented, marks may be reduced
for poor presentation. This includes filling your information on the cover page.
Students must mention question number clearly in their answer.
Late submission will NOT be accepted.
Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from students or other
resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No exceptions.
All answered must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced) font. No
pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism).
Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted.

Learning Outcomes:

•
•
•

To designing profitable services that provide high level of quality to
satisfy business needs.
To ensure that the services delivered are reasonable and relevant to
the customers.
To gain an understanding of the business rules and ensure if the
results are in alignment with the organizational goals.

Go through the given case scenario
‘There must be a better way of running this place!’ said Dean Hammond,
recently recruited General Manager of Boys and Boden, as he finished a
somewhat stressful conversation with a complaining customer, a large and
loyal local building contractor.
‘We had six weeks to make their special staircase, and we are still late! I’ll
have to persuade one of the joiners to work overtime this weekend to get
everything ready for Monday. We never seem to get complaints about
quality, as our men always do an excellent job … but there is usually a big
backlog of work, and something always gets finished late, so how should we
set priorities? We could do the most profitable work first, or the work for our
biggest customers, or the jobs which are most behind on. In practice, we try
to satisfy everyone as best we can, but inevitably someone’s order will be
late. In theory, each job should be quite profitable, since we build into the
price a big allowance for waste, and for timber defects. And we know the
work content of almost any task we would have to do; this is the basis of our
estimating system. But, overall, the department is disappointingly
unprofitable, and most problems seem to end up with a higher-thananticipated cost, and with late deliveries!’
Boys and Boden was a small, successful, privately-owned timber and
building materials merchant based in a small town. Over the years it had
established a large Joinery Department, which made doors, windows,

staircases and other timber products, all to the exact special requirements of
the customers, mostly comprising numerous local and regional builders. In
addition, the joiners would cut and prepare special orders of timber, such as
non-standard sections and special profiles, including old designs of skirting
board, sometimes at very short notice, and often even while the customers
waited. Typically, for larger joinery items, the customer provided simple
dimensioned sketches of the required products. These were then passed to
the central Estimating and Quotations Department which, in conjunction
with the Joinery Manager, calculated costs and prepared a written quotation,
which was faxed or posted to the customer. This first stage was normally
completed within two or three days, but on occasions could take a week or
more. On receipt of an order, the original sketches and estimating details
were passed back to the Joinery Manager, who roughly scheduled them into
his manufacturing plan, allocating them to individual craftsmen as each
became available. Most of the joiners were capable of making any product,
and enjoyed the wide variety of challenging work.
The Joinery Department appeared congested and somewhat untidy, but
everyone believed that this was acceptable and normal for job shops, since
there was no single flow route for materials. Whatever the design of the item
being made, it was normal for the joiner to select the required bulk timber
from the storage building across the yard. This roughly-sawn timber was
then prepared using a planer-thicknesser machine which gave it smooth,
parallel surfaces. After that, the joiners would use a variety of processes,
depending on product. The timber could be machined into different crosssectional shapes, cut into component lengths using a radial arm saw, joints
were formed by hand tools, or using a morticing machine, and so on. Finally,
the products would be glued and assembled with screws and nails, sanded
smooth by hand or by machine, and treated with preservatives, stains or
varnishes if required. All the large and more expensive floor-standing
machines were grouped together by type (for example, saws) or were single
pieces of equipment shared by all 10 joiners. Every joiner also owned a
complete set of hand tools which they guarded and cared for with pride.
Dean described what one might observe on a random visit to the Joinery
Department:
‘One or two long staircases partly assembled, and crossing several work
areas; large door frames on trestles being assembled; stacks of window

components for a large contract being prepared and jointed, and so on.
Offcuts and wood shavings are scattered around the work area, but are
periodically cleared when they get in the way or form a hazard. The joiners
try to fit in with each other over the use of machinery, so are often working
on several, part-finished items at once. Varnishing or staining has to be done
when it’s quiet, for example towards the end of the working day or at
weekends, or even outside, to avoid sawdust contamination. Long offcuts are
stacked around the workshop, to be used up on any future occasion when
these lengths or sections are required. However, it is often easier to take a
new length of timber for each job, so the offcuts do tend to build up over
time. Unfortunately, everything I have described is getting worse as we get
busier … our sales are increasing so the system is getting more congested.
The joiners are almost climbing over each other to complete their work.
Unfortunately, despite having more orders, the department has remained
stubbornly unprofitable!
’Whilst analysing in detail the lack of profit, we were horrified to find that,
for the majority of orders, the actual times booked by the joiners exceeded
the estimated times by up to 50 per cent. Sometimes this was clearly
attributable to the inexperience of newly employed joiners. Although fully
trained and qualified, they might lack the experience needed to complete a
complex job in the time an Estimator would expect; but there had been no
feedback of this to the individual. We then put one of these men on doors
only; having overcome his initial reluctance, he has become an enthusiastic
“door expert” and gets closely involved in quotations too, so now he always
does his work within the time estimates! However, the main time losses
were found to be the result of general delays caused by congestion,
interference, double-handling, and rework to rectify in-process damage.
Moreover, we found that a joiner walked an average of nearly 5 km a day,
usually carrying around heavy bits of wood.
‘When I did my operations management course on my MBA, the professor
described the application of cellular manufacturing and JIT. From what I can
remember, the idea seems to be to get better flow, reducing the times and
distances in the process, and thus achieving quicker throughput times. That
is just what we needed, but these concepts were explained in the context of
high-volume, repetitive production of bicycles, whereas all the products we

make are one-offs. However, although we do make a lot of different
staircases, they all use roughly the same process steps:
1 Cutting timber to width and length
2 Sanding
3 Machining
4 Tenoning
5 Manual assembly (glue and wedges)

‘We have a lot of unused factory floor space, so it would be relatively easy
to set up a self-contained staircase cell. There is a huge demand for
specially-made stairs in this region, but also a lot of competing small joinery
businesses with low overheads, which can beat us on price and lead-time. So
we go to a lot of trouble quoting for stairs, but only win about 20 per cent of
the business. If we could get the cell idea to work, we should be more
competitive on price and delivery, hence winning more orders. At least that
is the theory. I know we will need a lot more volume to justify establishing
the cell, so it’s really a case of whether to construct a cell in anticipation of
higher demand, or to try to win more business first. To do the latter, we
would have to reduce our selling prices and lead-times, and then allocate
more joiners to complete the higher volumes of orders until we had enough
work to set up the cell. I personally favour setting up the cell first so that we
can have a “capacity leads demand” strategy.’

Questions
1. To what extent could (or should) Dean expect to apply the philosophies
and techniques of JIT to the running of the staircase cell?
(2.5 MM)
2. What are likely to be the main categories of costs and benefits in
establishing the cell? Are there any non-financial benefits which should be
taken into account?
(2.5 MM)
3.How different would the cell work (job design) be to that in the main
Joinery Department?
(2.5 MM)
4. What risks are associated with Dean’s proposal?
(2.5 MM)

Note:
•
•
•

You must include at least 5 references.
Format your references using APA style.
Each answer must not be less than 300 words

Answers
1. Answer2. Answer3. Answer4. Answer-

‫المملكة العربية السعودية‬
‫وزارة التعليم‬
‫الجامعة السعودية اإللكترونية‬

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Education
Saudi Electronic University

College of Administrative and Financial Sciences

Assignment 3
Introduction to Operations Management
(MGT 311)
Due Date: 02/12/2023 @ 23:59
Course Name: Introduction to Operations
Management

Student’s Name: SEU ELITE

Course Code: MGT311

Student’s ID Number:

Semester: 1st

CRN:
Academic Year:2023-24

For Instructor’s Use only
Instructor’s Name:
Students’ Grade: 00 /10

Level of Marks: High/Middle/Low

General Instructions – PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

The Assignment must be submitted on Blackboard (WORD format only) via allocated
folder.
Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted.
Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented; marks may be reduced
for poor presentation. This includes filling your information on the cover page.
Students must mention question numbers clearly in their answer.
Late submission will NOT be accepted.
Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from students or other
resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No exceptions.
All answers must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced) font. No
pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism).
Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted.

1

Go through the given case scenario
‘There must be a better way of running this place!’ said Dean
Hammond, recently recruited General Manager of Boys and
Boden, as he finished a somewhat stressful conversation with a
complaining customer, a large and loyal local building contractor.
‘We had six weeks to make their special staircase, and we are still
late! I’ll have to persuade one of the joiners to work overtime this
weekend to get everything ready for Monday. We never seem to
get complaints about quality, as our men always do an excellent
job … but there is usually a big backlog of work, and something
always gets finished late, so how should we set priorities? We
could do the most profitable work first, or the work for our biggest
customers, or the jobs which are most behind on. In practice, we
try to satisfy everyone as best we can, but inevitably someone’s
order will be late. In theory, each job should be quite profitable,
since we build into the price a big allowance for waste, and for
timber defects. And we know the work content of almost any task
we would have to do; this is the basis of our estimating system.
But, overall, the department is disappointingly unprofitable, and
most problems seem to end up with a higher-than-anticipated cost,
and with late deliveries!’
Boys and Boden was a small, successful, privately-owned timber
and building materials merchant based in a small town. Over the
years it had established a large Joinery Department, which made
doors, windows, staircases and other timber products, all to the
exact special requirements of the customers, mostly comprising
numerous local and regional builders. In addition, the joiners
would cut and prepare special orders of timber, such as nonstandard sections and special profiles, including old designs of
skirting board, sometimes at very short notice, and often even
while the customers waited. Typically, for larger joinery items, the
2

customer provided simple dimensioned sketches of the required
products. These were then passed to the central Estimating and
Quotations Department which, in conjunction with the Joinery
Manager, calculated costs and prepared a written quotation, which
was faxed or posted to the customer. This first stage was normally
completed within two or three days, but on occasions could take a
week or more. On receipt of an order, the original sketches and
estimating details were passed back to the Joinery Manager, who
roughly scheduled them into his manufacturing plan, allocating
them to individual craftsmen as each became available. Most of the
joiners were capable of making any product, and enjoyed the wide
variety of challenging work.
The Joinery Department appeared congested and somewhat untidy,
but everyone believed that this was acceptable and normal for job
shops, since there was no single flow route for materials. Whatever
the design of the item being made, it was normal for the joiner to
select the required bulk timber from the storage building across the
yard. This roughly-sawn timber was then prepared using a planerthicknesser machine which gave it smooth, parallel surfaces. After
that, the joiners would use a variety of processes, depending on
product. The timber could be machined into different crosssectional shapes, cut into component lengths using a radial arm
saw, joints were formed by hand tools, or using a morticing
machine, and so on. Finally the products would be glued and
assembled with screws and nails, sanded smooth by hand or by
machine, and treated with preservatives, stains or varnishes if
required. All the large and more expensive floor-standing
machines were grouped together by type (for example, saws) or
were single pieces of equipment shared by all 10 joiners. Every
joiner also owned a complete set of hand tools which they guarded
and cared for with pride. Dean described what one might observe
on a random visit to the Joinery Department:
‘One or two long staircases partly assembled, and crossing several
work areas; large door frames on trestles being assembled; stacks
of window components for a large contract being prepared and
3

jointed, and so on. Offcuts and wood shavings are scattered around
the work area, but are periodically cleared when they get in the
way or form a hazard. The joiners try to fit in with each other over
the use of machinery, so are often working on several, partfinished items at once. Varnishing or staining has to be done when
it’s quiet, for example towards the end of the working day or at
weekends, or even outside, to avoid sawdust contamination. Long
offcuts are stacked around the workshop, to be used up on any
future occasion when these lengths or sections are required.
However, it is often easier to take a new length of timber for each
job, so the offcuts do tend to build up over time. Unfortunately,
everything I have described is getting worse as we get busier …
our sales are increasing so the system is getting more congested.
The joiners are almost climbing over each other to complete their
work. Unfortunately, despite having more orders, the department
has remained stubbornly unprofitable!
’Whilst analysing in detail the lack of profit, we were horrified to
find that, for the majority of orders, the actual times booked by the
joiners exceeded the estimated times by up to 50 per cent.
Sometimes this was clearly attributable to the inexperience of
newly employed joiners. Although fully trained and qualified, they
might lack the experience needed to complete a complex job in the
time an Estimator would expect; but there had been no feedback of
this to the individual. We then put one of these men on doors only;
having overcome his initial reluctance, he has become an
enthusiastic “door expert” and gets closely involved in quotations
too, so now he always does his work within the time estimates!
However, the main time losses were found to be the result of
general delays caused by congestion, interference, doublehandling, and rework to rectify in-process damage. Moreover, we
found that a joiner walked an average of nearly 5 km a day, usually
carrying around heavy bits of wood.
‘When I did my operations management course on my MBA, the
professor described the application of cellular manufacturing and
JIT. From what I can remember, the idea seems to be to get better
4

flow, reducing the times and distances in the process, and thus
achieving quicker throughput times. That is just what we needed,
but these concepts were explained in the context of high-volume,
repetitive production of bicycles, whereas all the products we make
are one-offs. However, although we do make a lot of different
staircases, they all use roughly the same process steps:
1 Cutting timber to width and length
2 Sanding
3 Machining
4 Tenoning
5 Manual assembly (glue and wedges)
‘We have a lot of unused factory floor space, so it would be
relatively easy to set up a self-contained staircase cell. There is a
huge demand for specially-made stairs in this region, but also a lot
of competing small joinery businesses with low overheads, which
can beat us on price and lead-time. So we go to a lot of trouble
quoting for stairs, but only win about 20 per cent of the business. If
we could get the cell idea to work, we should be more competitive
on price and delivery, hence winning more orders. At least that is
the theory. I know we will need a lot more volume to justify
establishing the cell, so it’s really a case of whether to construct a
cell in anticipation of higher demand, or to try to win more
business first. To do the latter, we would have to reduce our selling
prices and lead-times, and then allocate more joiners to complete
the higher volumes of orders until we had enough work to set up
the cell. I personally favour setting up the cell first so that we can
have a “capacity leads demand” strategy.’

Questions

5

1. To what extent could (or should) Dean expect to apply the
philosophies and techniques of JIT to the running of the staircase
cell?
(2.5 MM)
2. What are likely to be the main categories of costs and benefits in
establishing the cell? Are there any non-financial benefits which
should be taken into
account?
(2.5 MM)
3.How different would the cell work (job design) be to that in the
main Joinery
Department?
(2.5 MM)
4. What risks are associated with Dean’s proposal?
(2.5 MM

Answers

1: To what extent could or should Deane expect to apply the philosophies and
techniques of JIT/Lean to the running of a staircase cell?

SEU ELITE

Deane works as a General Manager at Staircase Production Company and found that due
to a lack of proper management company is lacking in satisfying customers and building
contractors, which is impacting its image in the market. The company is facing issues in
completing the assigned project on time, quality of products is also not up to the mark.
All this is due to a lack of management skills. Deane decided to introduce a new

6

workplace philosophy to improve the manufacturing process, which is known as the ‘Justin-time’ management philosophy. This philosophy emphasises producing goods and
services for the customers to satisfy them within a limited period but also states that
quality and quantity of the products also play an important role in the process and
satisfaction level of customers. Just-in-time philosophy also focuses on eliminating waste
from the process, ensuring optimum utilisation of available resources. In the case of
Staircase Production Company, JIT should be followed, which ensures efficient use of
resources and continuous improvement that can support the company in building a
positive brand image in the market (Pinto et al. 2018). JIT include two basic elements
that improve performance-Continuous improvement: To ensure continuous improvement
at the workplace, Deane needs to focus on attacking factors that create fundamental
issues that are of no importance and have no value in the market. Formulating a system to
examine problems at the workplace, and in Staircase Production Company, customers are
facing issues due to a lack of proper workplace management and product quality.
Management team working should also focus on implementing simple methods and a
technique that makes the process easy to understand and operate and improves chances of
success. The product-oriented layout ensures a less time-consuming process of moving
parts and materials from one place to another. To maintain quality, all individuals
working within the organisation should focus on giving the best and delivering quality
results. The use of foolproof tools and techniques at the workplace also contributes to
preventing mistakes and errors at the workplace. Production and maintenance teams also
focus on ensuring that all machines and assets work effectively and efficiently, leading to
improved performance and productivity (Taghipour, Hoang, and Cao, 2020).

7

Eliminating waste: waste includes different types of waste from the manufacturing
process that may be due to overproduction, waste of time, transportation waste, inventory
or processing waste, waste of motion by moving products and material from one place to
another, waste also takes place due to defects in the product, and while checking quality,
defective products are cancelled and are treated as waste out of defective product
manufacturing.
Housekeeping: it is also the responsibility of the employer to ensure a clean and safe
working environment, which also improves employees’ performance and productivity.
Set-up time reduction: the company’s management team should focus on recruiting a
flexible workforce who can perform multi-task at a time and performance with higher
productivity and improves job satisfaction.
Mixed production: this focus on maintaining a smooth flow of products and services
from the factory that ensures a seamless process. And simple tools and methods should
be used to pull products from the process.
Automation: this allows the machines to perform the regular task on autonomous
capability and frame judgements according to to set targets. This reduces the extra time
required by employees to watch the overall process to frame decisions at last (Baldauf et
al. 2021).Trouble lights: this step ensures that if any problem or trouble occurs at the
workplace, then a signal is made that informs the team to take the initiative to take action
successfully.

8

2: What are likely to be the main categories of costs and benefits in establishing the
cell? Are there any non-financial benefits which should be taken into account?
Establishing a new cell will require extra cost to reallocate resources, and the changes
made in the process will also offer various benefits to the Staircase Production Company.
Financial cost: Establishing a new cell management team will focus on relocating
resources such as machinery, equipment, etc., which will require investment. If Staircase
Production Company has limited machinery at the workplace, then to improve processes
and production, the company should focus on purchasing new machines and equipment.
Organising training and learning programs for the employees to familiarise them with the
new process and develop new skills and knowledge to perform specific tasks. Extra teams
to work and supervise cell performance will also require investment to recruit new
employees (Na-nan, Chaiprasit, Kand Pukkeeree, 2017).
Non-financial cost: it includes all those factors that do not require extra cost but impact

SEU ELITE

employees’ performance and affect performance and productivity. Employees working in
the new cell may feel distracted due to multi-tasking to handle new cells; distraction can
also take place due to the movement of machines and equipment and organising training
programs that disturb working hours.
Financial benefit: introduction of the new cell at the workplace will support the
company in improving production, that will leads to better product flow, management,
and control over the overall process. By allocating specific tasks to specific workers with
special skills and knowledge, organisations can easily reduce waste created by reworking
products. Increasing the capacity of the company to produce more staircases, windows,

9

and doors will contribute to getting more orders and business expansion. Setting up a new
cell for staircase production will also support the company to have enough space to
manufacture doors and windows, improving production (Torres, Sidorova, and Jones,
2018).
Non-financial benefits: implementing changes at the workplace also ensures that
organisations are taking steps towards success. It will also make everyone aware of the
importance of change for business growth and development. Engaging in new projects
also supports employees in developing new skills and knowledge in individuals that
support growth and development.

3: How different would the cell work be from the main Joinery Department?
Deane identifies the requirement of a cell to ensure improvement in the production
process. Implementation of the new cell only considers staircase manufacturing;
therefore, it is different from the main Joinery department. The staircase Production
Company will continue producing windows and doors, but more emphasis will be on
producing good quality and new staircase designs. By introducing new cell quality, the
staircase can easily be managed. Through an effective cell system, the company can
easily examine the cause behind issues and challenges that the Staircase Production
Company had earlier faced. All this also contributes to understanding the main reason
behind implementing new cell in the workplace. Lack of machinery and equipment also
restricts the performance of employees as all employees deal with similar machinery and
equipment (Minh, 2020).

10

Earlier employees performed according to their convenience due to a lack of proper
management. Through implementing the new cell system organisation also aims to
provide specific job responsibility to individuals within the organisation that improves
their performance over time. By minimising the gap and movement between different
methods in the process new cell system aims to clear all stages effectively and efficiently.
The staircase Production Process includes steps followed to complete the process,
including cutting timber, sanding, machining, tenoning, and manual assembly. To easily
access required equipment and machines, they are placed at an easily accessible place
that contributes to completing operations effectively. After receiving the order for the
staircase, window or door, the team starts identifying timber and cutting it according to
width and length requirements. After cutting timber into different shapes according to the
customer’s demand, all cut parts are assembled according to the customers’ requirements
by maintaining quality, and at last, the product is assembled and packed to make it ready
for delivery (Kanten, and Darma, 2017).

4: What risks are associated with Deane’s Proposal?
To implement any change, it is required to assess the risk that may impact the
performance, and therefore risks associated with the Proposal made by Deane are
evaluatedInvestment: Incompetence to make adequate investment in change implementation is
required, but unstructured work culture impacts performance. To implement change
successfully, it is essential to have a proper work culture and structure that makes the

11

process seamless, as relocation of resources like equipment, machinery and human
resource is considered an expensive process that requires investment (Hopkin, 2018).
Workforce: behavior of employees also plays an important role in implementing a
Proposal successfully. Lack of trust and honesty among employees also leads to the
unsuccessful implementation of the changes at the workplace. Assembling and designing
products to meet customers’ demands also impacts the overall process. For successful
implementation of change, it is required to get the best input from employees to maintain
the quality of products manufactured in the company.
Period: an organization may face risk in implementing change successfully in a limited or
decided time frame.

SEU ELITE

Using vacant floor space: use of vacant space in the organisation also contributes to
reducing the time taken to shift towards the next step. An increase in the distance also
leads to increased wasting time due to long distances. Long distance to operate all
activities leads to creating problem in resolving issues and conflicts that takes place at the
workplace. More distance in operating different activities also increases safety measures
and issues.
Staining process: varnishing done on finished products and delay in the order processing
may lead to increased customer dissatisfaction. Associated risks also include issues in
inventory management.
Stacking: cutting and designing timber according to design length and width requires the
use of sharp equipment that may lead to accidents at the workplace. Using low-quality
and good-quality timber in manufacturing also leads to sorting waste (Guo et al. 2021).

12

References
Pinto, J.L.Q., Matias, J.C.O., Pimentel, C., Azevedo, S.G. and Govindan, K., 2018.
Introduction to lean and just-in-time manufacturing. In Just in time factory
(pp. 1-4). Springer, Cham
Taghipour, A., Hoang, P. and Cao, X., 2020. Just in time/lean purchasing
approach: an investigation for research and applications. Journal of Advanced
Management Science vol,8(2).
Baldauf, M., Fröhlich, P., Sadeghian, S., Palanque, P., Roto, V., Ju, W., Baillie, L.
and Tscheligi, M., 2021, May. Automation Experience at the Workplace. In
Extended Abstracts of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems (pp. 1-6).
Na-nan, K., Chaiprasit, K. and Pukkeeree, P., 2017. Influences of workplace
environment factors on employees’ training transfer. Industrial and
Commercial Training.
Torres, R., Sidorova, A. and Jones, M.C., 2018. Enabling firm performance
through business intelligence and analytics: A dynamic capabilities
perspective. Information & Management, 55(7), pp.822-839.
Minh, N.D., 2020. A new application model of lean management in small and
medium sized enterprises.
Kanten, I.K. and Darma, G.S., 2017. Consumer behavior, marketing strategy,
customer satisfaction, and business performance. Journal Management Bisnis,
14(2), pp.143-165.
Guo , H.W. , Hu , Z. , Liu , Z.B. and Tian , J.G. , 2021. Stacking of 2D materials .
Advanced Functional Materials , 31 ( 4 ) , p.2007810 .
Hopkin , P. , 2018. Fundamentals of risk management : understanding ,
evaluating and implementing effective risk management . Kogan Page
Publishers .

13

‫المملكة العربية السعودية‬
‫وزارة التعليم‬
‫الجامعة السعودية اإللكترونية‬

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Education
Saudi Electronic University

College of Administrative and Financial Sciences

Assignment 3
Introduction to Operations Management (MGT 311)
Due Date: 02/12/2023 @ 23:59
Course Name: Introduction to Operations
Management
Course Code: MGT 311

Student’s Name:SEU ELITE

Semester: First

CRN:

Student’s ID Number:

Academic Year:2023-24-1st

For Instructor’s Use only
Instructor’s Name:
Students’ Grade:
Marks Obtained/Out of 10

Level of Marks: High/Middle/Low

General Instructions – PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

The Assignment must be submitted on Blackboard (WORD format only) via allocated
folder.
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Learning Outcomes:

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•
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To designing profitable services that provide high level of quality to satisfy
business needs.
To ensure that the services delivered are reasonable and relevant to the customers.
To gain an understanding of the business rules and ensure if the results are in
alignment with the organizational goals.

Go through the given case scenario
‘There must be a better way of running this place!’ said Dean Hammond,
recently recruited General Manager of Boys and Boden, as he finished a
somewhat stressful conversation with a complaining customer, a large and
loyal local building contractor.
‘We had six weeks to make their special staircase, and we are still late! I’ll
have to persuade one of the joiners to work overtime this weekend to get
everything ready for Monday. We never seem to get complaints about
quality, as our men always do an excellent job … but there is usually a big
backlog of work, and something always gets finished late, so how should we
set priorities? We could do the most profitable work first, or the work for our
biggest customers, or the jobs which are most behind on. In practice, we try
to satisfy everyone as best we can, but inevitably someone’s order will be
late. In theory, each job should be quite profitable, since we build into the
price a big allowance for waste, and for timber defects. And we know the
work content of almost any task we would have to do; this is the basis of our
estimating system. But, overall, the department is disappointingly
unprofitable, and most problems seem to end up with a higher-thananticipated cost, and with late deliveries!’
Boys and Boden was a small, successful, privately-owned timber and
building materials merchant based in a small town. Over the years it had
established a large Joinery Department, which made doors, windows,
staircases and other timber products, all to the exact special requirements of
the customers, mostly comprising numerous local and regional builders. In

addition, the joiners would cut and prepare special orders of timber, such as
non-standard sections and special profiles, including old designs of skirting
board, sometimes at very short notice, and often even while the customers
waited. Typically, for larger joinery items, the customer provided simple
dimensioned sketches of the required products. These were then passed to
the central Estimating and Quotations Department which, in conjunction
with the Joinery Manager, calculated costs and prepared a written quotation,
which was faxed or posted to the customer. This first stage was normally
completed within two or three days, but on occasions could take a week or
more. On receipt of an order, the original sketches and estimating details
were passed back to the Joinery Manager, who roughly scheduled them into
his manufacturing plan, allocating them to individual craftsmen as each
became available. Most of the joiners were capable of making any product,
and enjoyed the wide variety of challenging work.
The Joinery Department appeared congested and somewhat untidy, but
everyone believed that this was acceptable and normal for job shops, since
there was no single flow route for materials. Whatever the design of the item
being made, it was normal for the joiner to select the required bulk timber
from the storage building across the yard. This roughly-sawn timber was
then prepared using a planer-thicknesser machine which gave it smooth,
parallel surfaces. After that, the joiners would use a variety of processes,
depending on product. The timber could be machined into different crosssectional shapes, cut into component lengths using a radial arm saw, joints
were formed by hand tools, or using a morticing machine, and so on. Finally
the products would be glued and assembled with screws and nails, sanded
smooth by hand or by machine, and treated with preservatives, stains or
varnishes if required. All the large and more expensive floor-standing
machines were grouped together by type (for example, saws) or were single
pieces of equipment shared by all 10 joiners. Every joiner also owned a
complete set of hand tools they guarded and cared for with pride. Dean
described what one might observe on a random visit to the Joinery
Department:
‘One or two long staircases partly assembled, and crossing several work
areas; large door frames on trestles being assembled; stacks of window
components for a large contract being prepared and jointed, and so on.
Offcuts and wood shavings are scattered around the work area, but are

periodically cleared when they get in the way or form a hazard. The joiners
try to fit in with each other over the use of machinery, so are often working
on several, part-finished items at once. Varnishing or staining has to be done
when it’s quiet, for example towards the end of the working day or at
weekends, or even outside, to avoid sawdust contamination. Long offcuts are
stacked around the workshop, to be used up on any future occasion when
these lengths or sections are required. However, it is often easier to take a
new length of timber for each job, so the offcuts do tend to build up over
time. Unfortunately, everything I have described is getting worse as we get
busier … our sales are increasing so the system is getting more congested.
The joiners are almost climbing over each other to complete their work.
Unfortunately, despite having more orders, the department has remained
stubbornly unprofitable!
’Whilst analysing in detail the lack of profit, we were horrified to find that,
for the majority of orders, the actual times booked by the joiners exceeded
the estimated times by up to 50 per cent. Sometimes this was clearly
attributable to the inexperience of newly employed joiners. Although fully
trained and qualified, they might lack the experience needed to complete a
complex job in the time an Estimator would expect; but there had been no
feedback of this to the individual. We then put one of these men on doors
only; having overcome his initial reluctance, he has become an enthusiastic
“door expert” and gets closely involved in quotations too, so now he always
does his work within the time estimates! However, the main time losses
were found to be the result of general delays caused by congestion,
interference, double-handling, and rework to rectify in-process damage.
Moreover, we found that a joiner walked an average of nearly 5 km a day,
usually carrying around heavy bits of wood.
‘When I did my operations management course on my MBA, the professor
described the application of cellular manufacturing and JIT. From what I can
remember, the idea seems to be to get better flow, reducing the times and
distances in the process, and thus achieving quicker throughput times. That
is just what we needed, but these concepts were explained in the context of
high-volume, repetitive production of bicycles, whereas all the products we
make are one-offs. However, although we do make a lot of different
staircases, they all use roughly the same process steps:

1 Cutting timber to width and length
2 Sanding
3 Machining
4 Tenoning
5 Manual assembly (glue and wedges)

‘We have a lot of unused factory floor space, so it would be relatively easy
to set up a self-contained staircase cell. There is a huge demand for
specially-made stairs in this region, but also a lot of competing small joinery
businesses with low overheads, which can beat us on price and lead-time. So
we go to a lot of trouble quoting for stairs, but only win about 20 per cent of
the business. If we could get the cell idea to work, we should be more
competitive on price and delivery, hence winning more orders. At least that
is the theory. I know we will need a lot more volume to justify establishing
the cell, so it’s really a case of whether to construct a cell in anticipation of
higher demand, or to try to win more business first. To do the latter, we
would have to reduce our selling prices and lead-times, and then allocate
more joiners to complete the higher volumes of orders until we had enough
work to set up the cell. I personally favour setting up the cell first so that we
can have a “capacity leads demand” strategy.’

Questions
1. To what extent could (or should) Dean expect to apply the philosophies
and techniques of JIT to the running of the staircase cell?
(2.5 MM)
2. What are likely to be the main categories of costs and benefits in
establishing the cell? Are there any non-financial benefits which should be
taken into account?
(2.5 MM)
3.How different would the cell work (job design) be to that in the main
Joinery Department?
(2.5 MM)
4. What risks are associated with Dean’s proposal?
(2.5 MM)

Answers
1. AnswerDean should anticipate that the staircase cell will be operated mostly using Just-InTime (JIT) principles and methods. The JIT concept was first created for high-volume,
repetitive production, but custom joinery can still benefit from its guiding principles of
avoiding waste, enhancing flow, and cutting throughput times. JIT places a strong
emphasis on eliminating non-value-adding operations, simplifying procedures, and
lowering inventory levels to accomplish efficient production. Lead time reduction is one
area in which JIT principles can be effectively implemented. Dean may maximize the
scheduling of production tasks by putting JIT into practice. Putting JIT into practice will
guarantee that every activity in the staircase cell is perfectly linked, cutting down on
waiting periods and needless delays (Monson, 2022). Cutting down on waiting periods
can be accomplished by establishing a synchronized production sequence and a wellorganized workflow, where each step in the staircase manufacturing process is started
when the preceding stage is finished. Adopting JIT can also make it easier to deploy pullbased manufacturing, which reduces wasteful inventory and prevents overproduction by
starting the production of stairs in response to client demand.
Dean can also use Just-In-Time principles to improve the staircase cell’s design,
which will optimize the flow of products and materials and reduce needless movement
and transit inside the production area (Yücenur, 2021). The joiners can perform more
efficiently and cooperatively by arranging workstations and equipment strategically.
Arranging workstations lessens the need for unnecessary material handling and double-

handling, which were shown to be sources of delays in the current setup. Furthermore,
JIT can play a key role in supporting the staircase cell’s continual improvement culture.
Dean may foster a culture of quality consciousness and proactive problem-solving among
the joiners, improving overall efficiency and product quality by pushing them to
recognize and handle possible waste sources like rework and in-process damage. While
some JIT components might need to be modified to account for the particulars of custom
joinery production, Dean can still use the core ideas of JIT to optimize processes, shorten
lead times, and boost overall effectiveness in the staircase cell, all of which will
eventually result in a more profitable and competitive joinery business.
2. AnswerThe main costs and rewards of setting up the staircase cell can be divided into two
main groups: financial and non-financial. Setting up the cell would cost money because
the production floor would have to be rearranged, more specialized equipment would
have to be bought, and the joiners might need to be retrained on how to work efficiently
in the new cell structure (Aurelius, 2019). These up-front costs would have to be paid to
make the production process more streamlined and efficient. Streamlining the production
process would have long-term benefits like shorter lead times, better productivity, and
even happier customers. Also, the costs of implementing just-in-time concepts in the cell
should be considered. For example, the workflow might need to be reorganized, and new
inventory management methods may need to be used. These changes may need more
money and changes to how things are done, but they are necessary to get the results they
want, which are less waste, better quality products, and higher total efficiency.

On the plus side, setting up the cell could save much money over time by cutting
down on wait times and reducing the amount of inventory that is not needed. Cutting
down on wait times could improve cash flow and increase profits. Boys and Boden can
also offer better prices and shorter lead times because the cell streamlines the production
process. Also, perks that are not related to money should be thought about. For example,
a more organized and efficient workplace can boost employee morale and job
satisfaction. Using just-in-time (JIT) principles and setting up the cell can help the new
employees develop a culture of teamwork and constant improvement, which will make
them more engaged and driven (Soliman, 2023). Boys and Boden’s better status as a
dependable and effective joinery provider can also help build stronger customer
relationships and boost customer loyalty, which will have a positive effect on the
company’s brand image and market positioning. When figuring out what the general
effects of setting up the staircase cell are, it is important to look at both the financial and
non-financial benefits.
3. AnswerBecause of the dedicated cell’s use of the JIT philosophy and its particular focus on
staircase production, the work done in the staircase cell would differ significantly from
the task design in the main Joinery Department. Specializing tasks within the cell would
be one of the main distinctions (Chen, 2022). The cell work would include a more
specialized and concentrated approach, with each joiner allocated to specific tasks
connected to the production of staircases. The concentrated approach would differ from
the main Joinery Department, where joiners are accustomed to handling various custom
timber products. By specializing in the particular procedures used in the manufacturing of

staircases, the joiners would be able to gain knowledge and competence that would
increase productivity and output quality. In addition, the task design in the cell would
prioritize a more streamlined and organized workflow emphasizing waste reduction and
throughput times. A more efficient and integrated production method would be required
to apply JIT principles, guaranteeing that every stage of the staircase manufacturing
process is carefully planned and carried out to satisfy the expected demand.
A more efficient and integrated production method would necessitate rearranging the
cell’s workflow and architecture, focusing on minimizing needless material and
component movement and transportation (Aurelius, 2019). It would also entail
implementing a pull-based production system that reacts immediately to consumer
demand. Additionally, the job design inside the cell would probably need the
employment of specialized equipment and tools made especially for producing staircases,
as well as the adoption of defined work practices. The joiners could work more
productively and efficiently, concentrating on reducing variation and guaranteeing
reliable, high-quality production. The cell should incorporate quality control measures
and performance indicators to help further standardize and optimize the production
process and guarantee that the manufactured staircases meet or surpass the required
quality requirements. Overall, in contrast to the more general, more varied approach used
in the main Joinery Department, the job design within the staircase cell would center
around a more specialized, synchronized, and streamlined approach to staircase
manufacturing, emphasizing efficiency, quality, and responsiveness to customer demand.
4. Answer-

There are several inherent dangers associated with Dean’s suggestion to create a
specialized staircase cell within the Boys and Boden Joinery Department, which should
be thoroughly evaluated and dealt with. The initial outlay of funds needed to set up the
cell represents one of the main hazards. Reorganizing the layout, purchasing specialist
equipment, and retraining the joiners might come at a substantial financial cost to the
business, especially if the anticipated advantages and rise in demand for staircase
manufacturing do not pan out as planned (Mishan, 2020). The company’s resources may
be strained by this financial risk, impacting its health. An additional noteworthy risk
relates to the need for more assurance regarding the need for custom steps in the area.
Despite the strong demand, Boys and Boden’s capacity to effectively compete on price
and lead time is threatened by other small joinery enterprises with reduced overhead. The
business may experience underutilization of the staircase cell, which could result in
inefficiencies and possible financial losses if the predicted increase in demand does not
materialize as projected.
Additionally, there is a certain amount of operational risk associated with the
staircase cell’s application of JIT techniques (Chen, 2022). There can be brief delays and
difficulties adjusting to the new operating processes due to switching to a new workflow
and manufacturing process. The general productivity and efficiency of the cell may be
impacted if the joiners need help adjusting to the specialized and synchronized workflow.
The trouble in changing could result in production delays and disgruntled customers.
Furthermore, the transition to a more specialized production technique within the cell can
restrict the joiners’ ability to handle a variety of custom timber products, which might
affect the business’s capacity to meet the various needs of its clients. Furthermore, the

company’s competitiveness and profitability may only improve if the cell can accomplish
the anticipated cost savings and efficiency increases, which could have long-term effects
on the company’s operations. For this reason, thorough risk assessment and mitigation
techniques are necessary to guarantee Dean’s proposal’s effective execution and Boys and
Boden’s further expansion.

References
Aurelius, G., & Ingvarsson, M. (2019). Simulation of production flow: A simulationbased approach to evaluate and optimize future production scenarios.
Chen, T. C. T., & Wang, Y. C. (2022). Basics in Lean Management. In Artificial
Intelligence and Lean Manufacturing (pp. 1-12). Cham: Springer International
Publishing.
Mishan, E. J., & Quah, E. (2020). Cost-benefit analysis. Routledge.
Monson, M. A., Chmait, R. H., & Einerson, B. D. (2022). Fetoscopic laser ablation of
Type II Vasa Previa: a cost-benefit analysis. American Journal of Obstetrics &
Gynecology, 226(1), S461.
Soliman, M. H. A. (2023). A Complete Guide to Just-in-Time Production: Inside Toyota’s
Mind. Mohammed Hamed Ahmed Soliman.
Yücenur, G. N., & Şenol, K. (2021). Sequential SWARA and fuzzy VIKOR methods in
the elimination of waste and creation of lean construction processes. Journal of
Building Engineering, 44, 103196.

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