Addis Ababa University

School of Commerce
Logistics and Supply Chain Management Graduate Program
Tutor Supported Distance Modality
TMAI-2021
Course Title: Industrial Operation Management
Max Point-25pts
Submission Date….
___________________________________________________________________________________
Instruction: Answer the following questions (5pts. each)

1. Many organizations offer a combination of goods and services to their customers.

There are some key differences between production of goods and delivery of
services. What are the implications of these differences relative to managing
operations?
2. A catering company prepared and served 300 meals at an anniversary celebration
last week using eight workers. The week before, six workers prepared and served
240 meals at a wedding reception.
a. For which event was the labor productivity higher? Explain.
b. What are some possible reasons for the productivity differences?
3. Evaluate a couple of local organizations (preferably your employer organization and
another organization of your choice) in terms of its emphasis on the strategic
operations objectives: cost, quality, delivery, speed and flexibility. Are all
departments focused on the same objectives? What are the order winners and the
order qualifiers?
4. Just like quality standards, quality awards have become popular as a way of
recognizing outstanding achievements in quality management, and as a way for
organizations to assess their own quality performance. These frameworks may be
used as the basis for awards, for a form of ‘self-assessment, or as a description of
what should be in place. Aware of this, Mr Duressa, a COO of a Local giant logistics
organization in Ethiopia is planning to implement quality improvement system at
the organization. Yet, he is not sure to use the ISO 9000, the Ethiopian Quality
Award (EQA) or The European Framework for Quality Award (EFQM). Contrast and
compare these three approaches to quality improvement. How different are these
three approaches?
5. Company Z is planning to implement lean system in its operations. Suggest how to
go about. What are some of the main obstacles that must be overcome in converting
from a traditional system to lean?

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