PEER REVIEW PLANNING EXERCISE

This peer review exercise asks you to select a complex or meta-problem that
you are currently facing with your business; and to describe the process you
would use (should be adaptive or process) to solve that problem. You are not
asked to actually solve that problem, but only provide a detailed description
of how you would go about solving problem and what you would hope to
accomplish (the nature of the solution).

EXAMPLE:
This is an example of what your response to the assignment should look like.
It is based on the Stederal Case.

DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM (provide an overview of the problem in terms of its

context and what aspect of your business’s operation it impacts) :

Mr. Stedson is addressing one of the major issues with respect to the
strategic direction of his firm. What steps should he be implementing to be
even more profitable, to grow even faster, to become the dominant firm in the
targeted niche? Specifically he was wondering if concentrating on the
emergency order segment of his market might better enable the company to
reach these goals, since profits margins are much greater than with
company’s contract business. This segment is currently 15% of the company’s
total orders, and Mr. Stedson feels it can be as much as 50%.

CATEGORIZE SCOPE: Partially Known

CATEGORIZE DETAILS: Partially Known
LIST ALTERNATIVES: 1. Maintain Status Quo
2. Intensify Marketing Efforts to
Capture Emergency Sector
3. Forgo Emergency
Sector All Together
If alternatives are not finite, enter the term ‘open ended

LIST OBJECTIVES: 1. Increase profitability

2. Increase to growth rate
3. Market share of segment
LIST INTERESTS: 1. Company’s Perspective
2. Current Contract Customers
LIST CRITERIA: 1. Level of Demand
2. Competitors’ Reaction
3. Stability of Demand
WHAT TYPE OF PROBLEM IS THIS? Meta
WHAT TYPE OF SOLUTION ARE YOU SEEKING? Partial Improvement
CATEGORIZE PLANNING PROCESS: Process
DESCRIBE HOW YOU WOULD GO ABOUT PLANNING FOR THIS
PROBLEM:
The company knows that emergency orders occur when industry and/or
environmental factors clog the flow of medical and health care items in the
world wide supply chain. These factors are both known and unknown and
even those that are known cannot be predicted beforehand. If an emergency
order occurs when the company’s capacity is being utilized it could go
unaddressed (thus losing credibility), or if addressed negatively impact the
service level to a contract customer. The does not have the resources to
maintain excess capacity to always be able to address an emergency order.
In lieu of these circumstances the company should work with public
accessible databases and original manufacturers build a model of the flows of
targeted medical and health care products across their supply chain. Given
that this would have benefits for a number of organizations, efforts will be
made to get other organizations to share cost and effort to build database.
The cost though is expected to be substantially less than purchasing
equipment, and expending marketing efforts or leasing expenses when
conditions do not warrant.
With this database a process can be instituted where this information feeds a
forecasting system to estimate when conditions might be ripe to cause the
need for emergency order. Similar to earthquakes, the exact time and place
may not be able to be predicted, but favorably conditions can. When favorable
conditions are found the company can implement targeted marketing efforts
to elicit clients and short term leasing of equipment to minimize impact on
capacity. A pricing model will be develop to attract emergency customers to
transition into contract customers and acquire priority status in the event of
future emergencies.
This process plan is diagrammed below.
Action Taken Initially:
Build Data Base

Feed Information Build ‘Early Warning

Back Into Database System for Emergencies

Build in Pricing When Alerted, Execute

Incentives to Marketing Campaign
Convert to Contract Customers

Use Short Term Leasing

To Gain Capacity

INSTRUCTOR’S NOTES: This example has few details, and arguably may have
some flaws. The important thing for you to take from this is to not get too concerned for
the details of the plan, but focus on its nature and format. Remember you are not being
graded on the ‘optimality’ of the plan, but on the extent it is consistent with the type of
plan required by the type of problem identified. This example identified a meta-problem
which calls for a process planning process. There is no recommendation with respect to
the alternatives, what is shown is a process. In addition it is a process that takes some
initial action that generates and captures information that addresses the unknown
details of the problem, and enables the company to make a better selection of the
alternatives than it could initially. Thus a partial improvement, the type of solution called
for by a meta-problem. A table or diagram is not necessary. It was given here to
emphasize the fact that it is a process.
These are the factors you will be graded on:
1. The framing of your problem in terms of the basic components of a decision.
2. Given this framing, the correct identification of the type of problem (required
to be either complex, or Meta).
3. The correct (based on the explanation of the components of a decision)
identification of the type of problem and
4. The correct identification of the type of solution required (either partial
improvement, or overall improvement).
5. The correct identification of the type of planning (either adaptive or process);
and
6. The extent to which the description of how you would go about planning for a
solution fits the criteria for the identified type of plan, and generates the
identified type of solution.
ASSIGNMENT FORMAT:
Using the example above as a boilerplate, complete the assignment for a
problem you are currently facing in your business, or that you expect to face
in the future.

DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM (provide an overview of the problem in terms of its

context and what aspect of your business’s operation it impacts) :
Click here to enter text.

CATEGORIZE SCOPE: Choose an item.

CATEGORIZE DETAILS: Choose an item.

LIST ALTERNATIVES: Click here to enter text.

If alternatives are not finite, enter the term ‘open ended

LIST OBJECTIVES: Click here to enter text.

LIST INTERESTS: Click here to enter text.

LIST CRITERIA: Click here to enter text.

WHAT TYPE OF PROBLEM IS THIS? Choose an item.

WHAT TYPE OF SOLUTION ARE YOU SEEKING? Choose an item.

CATEGORIZE PLANNING PROCESS: Choose an item.

DESCRIBE HOW YOU WOULD GO ABOUT PLANNING FOR THIS

PROBLEM:
Click here to enter text.