BM1708

TASK PERFORMANCE

Case Study: Solar Cell Manufacturer

Solar Cell is a manufacturing company based in southern part of Korea that manufactures different types
of solar-powered products. They have customers based in the local parts of the country and abroad. The
company is growing fast due to the increased demand for non-conventional energy. The CEO of the
company associates their success in the use of control charts for their manufacturing procedures which
lets them control the quality of their final outputs.

Although the company has been quite successful in the use of control charts for their manufacturing
operations, it has extended the applications of control charts in their non-manufacturing sectors such as
HR and Finance. The reason for this implementation is because of the major increase in employee
attrition and significantly large budget allotted to several departments of the company. Based on the
result of the exit interviews, most of the employees who left the company claimed that they
experienced work-life imbalance particularly for the operators since they were required to work in
extended hours in circumstances when their substitute partners would not be able to arrive to work on
time or would not be able to report to work at all. The minority of the resigned employees thought that
they were misaligned and not trained for their job, they felt undervalued and afraid that growth
opportunities were not present in the company. Another problem area that the top management has
observed involves the finance team of the company. The management have found out that allotted
budgets in some departments or work units of the firm are unrealistic, inaccurate, and unreasonable.

After reviewing all the problem areas of the organization, the company’s quality assurance team
suggested the use of control charts in the two (2) departments where the problems are prevalent.
However, another difficult situation arises due to the resistance of the employees toward the use of
control charts which gains several complaints from the employees pertaining to exhausting additional
workload since they would have to monitor and notate the different outflows and inflows in their major
and minor day-to-day operations. There was a clear lack of understanding of the benefits of control
charts and the need for change using control charts as a catalyst for change. The senior management
team decided to provide a one-day awareness program for the HR and Finance people so that they can
understand the expectations and the need for the control chart initiative within the company.
Moreover, an executive awareness was also introduced to all senior management team so that they
would understand the importance and benefits of control charts in the business.

Follow the suggested outline below in answering the case study:

I. Background
a. It must include a brief summary of the organizational issue.
II. Statement of the Problem
a. How can Solar Cell Manufacturer control or eliminate attrition and overspending in their
organization through the use of control charts?
b. What steps should the top management employ in order to overcome the resistance of
the employees in the change initiative?
c. What steps in implementing Statistical Process Control (SPC) should Solar Cell
Manufacturer apply in order to succeed in the initiative?

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III. Areas of Consideration

a. It must include details and facts from the case that contribute to the organizational
problem of the company.
IV. Alternative Courses of Action
a. It must contain at least (2) two courses of action for every point stated in the statement
of the problem. It must also present the advantages and disadvantages of each course of
action in resolving the organizational problem.
V. Recommendation
a. It must present the best course of action among the presented alternatives in resolving
each organizational problem.
VI. Management Lessons Learned
a. It must discuss the takeaways from the case and the relevant things that the company
should do or not do in order to avoid the given organizational problems.

Rubric for grading:

CRITERIA PERFORMANCE INDICATORS POINTS SCORE

Wrote a concise summary of the case, the areas of
Executive Summary consideration presented, and the alternatives proposed 20
for the case.
Organization of Adhered to the correct outline and content was
20
Ideas organized in a clear and logical manner.
All necessary research and analysis were provided in
Analysis 30
support of the statement of the problem.
Proposed a well-thought and well-researched solution
Recommendation 30
to the case study.
TOTAL 100

Reference:
Gijo, E. & Jiju, A. (n.d.). A multiple case study analysis of six sigma practices in Indian manufacturing
companies. Retrieved on July 2, 2018 from
https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/10.1108/IJQRM-10-2014-0157

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