Introduction
Practicality and reality in operations is essential for every business or organization’s success. However, there are problems resulting from the manner and the order in which the activities in the organizations are performed. This attributes to the inconvenience in the processes of production or service provision (Slack, 2007). Therefore, an organization has to implement a set of developed strategies, precise tactics and allocation of resources and skills to explain the nature and the way in which operations are to be carried out in the organization. This will allow the employees in the company to see what to do and when to do it so proper time and resources utilization and the eventual success of the company. The objective of this report is to develop a cohesive arrangement that describes the identified problems, provide recommendations and get their solutions.
The irregularity in the submission of the copiers from various distributors results into unpredictability of the number of copiers.
Work scheduling is a very important aspect, but can only be achieved by expectations of a given number after a specific duration. When the company is not able to predict the number of copiers that can be brought at a given time for rehabilitation, then preparations cannot be easier. There is a need to device a new means which will ensure a constant supply at predict the number of copiers hence curbing this problem. The principles of unity of direction and division of labor can enable the firm to solve the problems (Galloway, 2003). The division of labor enables the management to organize the workers in a way that there are receivers of the copiers, and the technical service providers repairing the copiers. The unity of direction enables employees to obtain an organized way of performing their tasks. For instance, when the copiers arrive, they are counted and stored well.
Distributors are accumulating copiers at their locations until they physically run out of the room and then ship the entire quantity.
The use of space poses a major problem since many copiers are brought in at a time. There should be a proper planning in order to accommodate all the expected copiers. The employees need to be organized, alert and in working positions all the time to offer services as transfer of the copiers from the off loading points to the sites where the rehabilitation is to take place. The employees should be in adequate numbers and possess competent skills for efficient delivery and maintenance of the copiers. The proper centralization of workers and the machines are critical since this will save time.
Repair parts that are controlled by the Charleston facility is out of control.
The repair parts that are out of control can be managed by using alternative sources of control by using an alternative facility. The choice of the alternate facility should be, accurate since the step is considered as the solution.
The purchasing department is operating using 5-year-old EOQs.
The economic order quantity allows different discounts on different quantities of goods. The five-year old EOQs should not be used because the prices of the products have changed. The company is making losses by using the outdated discounts. New EOQs should be formulated to recover the profits because one of the main aims of the company is a profit making (Galloway, 2003).
The purchasing department is double-checking (indicating lack of trust) and validating every single purchase request that comes from this inventory department.
Professional ethics should be embraced because this will alleviate practices like dishonesty and mistrust among the workers in the company (Slack, 2007). Discipline among the workers should be improved because disciplined employees do not engage in bad practices. Behaviors like theft results in to time wastage due to frequent checking on the quantities. A better balance between the authority and responsibility among the managers can ensure that the workers have good behaviors.
The personnel department has set permanent staffing levels to handle the periodic surges in workload.
The step taken by the personnel department to curb the surges in the workload is not appropriate, because it only focus on the status of workers employment but not flexibility. The best way to solve the problem of the workload surges is by dividing the work into smaller portions and assigning employees according to their employees’ capabilities (Raturi, 2005).
Recommendation
The managements should change their operational ways in various perspectives to implement the proposed solution. This will see the company through the problems it currently experiences.
Conclusion
For every organization to realize a positive change in its operation, it has to consult experts to obtain desired solution. The company needs to implement the new measures and correct few areas after a given period.
References
Slack N, Chambers S, & Johnston R (2007). Operations Management (5th Edition). New York: Trans-Atlantic Publications, Inc
Galloway R. (2003). Principles of operations management. Westport: Routledge
Raturi .S & Evans ,J ,(2005). Principles of operations management. Chicago: South Western
