Case Study 3.1: Building the Better Mouse ©2008 victor E. Sower, Ph.D, C.Q.E You are sitting in on a meeting with the Acme Corp. new product development team. The team is comprised entirely of design engineers and is meeting in the engineering conference room. The team leader is the Chief Design Engineer, Michael Carroll, who invited you to sit in today. Michael addresses the team. “We’ve been tasked with designing a new mouse to sell with the next generation of personal computers. We have six months to have working prototypes ready to present to marketing and three months after that to have the new mouse in production. It’s very aggressive schedule – we have no time to waste. Let’s start by brainstorming ideas for the mouse. Please be as innovative as possible.” Michael stepped to the white board prepared to write all the ideas that emerged from the meeting. Ideas began to surface: “Why does a mouse have to have only 2 buttons and a scroller? Why not add an additional button for the thumb that can be programmed to serve as a function key?” “Why not make the mouse available in many colors rather than just the drab black, grey, and off-white?” “Why not send power to the mouse using RF rather than using a battery?” “Why do we need a mouse anyway? Why not implant a chip into user’s index fingers?” “Let’s make the mouse a glove. Just move your fingers to move the cursor.” As the ideas were offered, Michael wrote them on the white board. After about 30 minutes the flow of ideas had about stopped. There were a total of 28 ideas generated. Michael divided them loosely into categories: electrical; physical; functional. He asked the team to divide themselves into three groups along functional lines and each group to select a category to develop further. “Please pay particular attention to technical feasibility and manufacturing cost when you evaluate the ideas. Let’s plan to meet again in two weeks with each group giving a report on their ideas. We’ll try to narrow the ideas down and start tough prototyping the most promising ideas.” After the meeting, Michael asked you for comments about the process he is using to design the new mouse. What comments and suggestions would you make to Michael?

2,000–2,500 words including chart form section 1.I ran into some difficulties and need this assignment within 48 hoursYou have just been hired as the director of process improvement, a new position, by the VP of Operations for the ABC Manufacturing Company. ABC has been plagued by both internal and external vendor issues; the vendor issues involved repeated late deliveries and poor quality, while internally poor deliveries to customers resulted from both vendor issues, as well as quality and scheduling issues. The CEO’s instinct is that the factory could benefit from some wide-reaching process improvements.The VP of Operations has decided that a far greater focus on vendor quality and internal process improvements must be taken. The VP of Procurement, prior to your coming on board, had already met with the CEO’s of ABC’s 4 major vendors and alerted them that he expected them to begin turning around their quality performance. About a month prior, he had sent each a letter suggesting several formal overall quality programs that they may embark upon, which included the following:TQMJuran's TrilogyCrosby's program Deming's program Six Sigma The VP has already received the following responses from each of the main vendors, and he asked you, in coming months, to work with each vendor as they implement their quality initiatives.Company A had written back that it was planning to implement the Juran program but had not yet begun, hoping you could visit and shed some light on the overall concept, methodology, pros, and cons.Company B had written back that it was planning to implement the Crosby program but had not yet begun, hoping you could visit and shed some light on the overall concept, methodology, pros, and cons. Company C had written back that it was planning to implement the Deming program but had not yet begun, hoping you could visit and shed some light on the overall concept, methodology, pros, and cons. Company D had written back that it was planning to implement a TQM program but had not yet begun, hoping you could visit and shed some light on the overall concept, methodology, pros, and cons. Company E had written back that it was planning to implement the Six Sigma program but had not yet begun, hoping you could visit and shed some light on the overall concept, methodology, pros, and cons. In addition, you know that as far as internal processes and overall supply chain management goes, that there may be opportunities for improvement. Currently, the following internal opportunities exist for possible process improvement: Supply Chain Management   The company communicates separately with each vendor; usually when a forecast or production change is made, not every vendor finds out the same day. This leads to confusion, excess inventories, and stock outs. Demand Planning   The primary method to establish the master production schedule is to use a forecast that is created prior to the beginning of the year and updated monthly using salesmen’s inputs. Invariably, the company ends up producing too much of the wrong items (not demanded) and too few of what is in demand (real customer orders). Multistage Inventory  To create ABC’s final finished product requires a multiple-step supply chain, which looks something like the following:  Raw material to vendors factoryVendor processes raw materials to make their partsThose parts are shipped to ABC’s factoryABC processes purchased parts through a succession of departments, each one adding more and more valeFinally, all finished components are assembled into a finished product.Currently, every step in this entire supply chain is scheduled, monitored through some kind of MRP system, reported throughout the day, and seems to take an inordinate amount of system updating.Transportation Planning  ABC continues to use its own fleet to deliver finished goods all over the country and to have common carriers deliver parts from its vendors, also located all over the country.  Process Control, Performance, and Variability   ABC’s own internal process seem to all of a sudden go in and out of quality specifications; the company always seems to find out too late to avoid massive amounts of scrap, rejected parts, or labor costs to rework parts.  Negative and Positive Cash Flow  The company goes through frequent swings from positive to negative cash flows as inventory purchases for large lots create negative cash flows, but then using up these materials occur at a slower rate, and with less outgoing, cash flow becomes positive. The CFO really struggles with managing these cash flow swings.Before you begin to put together a vendor visitation schedule, your boss, the VP of Procurement, advised you that the CEO expects a comprehensive report, in about a month, covering the following specific topics:The key characteristics and requirements and the pros and cons of each of the following overarching quality programs should be put into a chart format. The chart should have columns for an overall 1-sentence description of each program, its pros, and its cons.  TQMJuran's TrilogyDemingCrosbySix SigmaProvide your view on how a formal process improvement program could help at both vendor locations and inside ABC’s own factory.Specifically, in the areas of vendor quality and delivery performance, what are the benefits of creating a vendor certification program, and what does it involve?Specifically, in the area of ABC’s own internal workings, what opportunities for continuous improvement exist, and what exactly would you do?How do you get ABC itself to adopt a more continuous improvement mentality? Finally, and most importantly, all these operational improvements could create a strategic advantage for ABC because most of its competitors have similar internal and vendor quality challenges, as well as internal operational challenges.

Write an Original proposal of no more than 750 words, outlining the research approach you will use for your Strategic Plan, due in Week 6. Include the following: How you intend to ensure the organization's vision, mission, and people strategies and values statements are aligned with the proposed strategic plan. Sources you expect to use to perform an external environmental analysis Sources you expect to use to perform an internal environmental analysisClick the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.