Explain and interpret the practices and processes involved in Business Operations and Services. K2. Describe and summarise a number of possible techniques which can inform decision making for Business Operations and Services.
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Explain and interpret the practices and processes involved in Business Operations and Services.
K2. Describe and summarise a number of possible techniques which can inform decision making for
Business Operations and Services. Skills outcomes:
S1. Apply of a range of numerical decision-making models and techniques.
S2. Apply and explain the factors involved in the managing of Business Operations and Services
https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/a-golden-opportunity-for-ford-and-gm <- Please, rely on this article
plese use -> Lean operations and Just In Time (JIT)
Task:
A Golden Opportunity for Ford and GM
by Bill George
With Toyota caught in a downshift, competitors should make aggressive moves to capitalize, says HBS
professor Bill George. For starters, they need to improve their auto lineups for the long term. He
explains how Ford and GM can best navigate the industry landscape ahead. Key concepts include:
For U.S. automakers to accelerate production while Toyota remains wounded is not a longterm strategy for success.
Ford and GM could secure market share gains by investing windfall profits into making
products more competitive for the next decade. In this regard, Ford has the jump on GM.
2 | P a g e
Toyota's tragic automobile recalls offer a historic opportunity for Ford's CEO Alan Mulally and General
Motors' new CEO Ed Whitacre. After years of decline, they can re-establish the preeminence of
American-made autos if they are wise at leading through this crisis.
In the past month Toyota has recalled almost 9 million vehicles—more than the entire number it sold
the past three years. The irony is that Toyota gained significant market share in the past decade at the
expense of its American competitors by offering superior quality vehicles. Now quality has become
Toyota's Achilles' heel.
No doubt, Toyota will regain some of its lost market share in the short term, if the automaker's
production systems can respond by increasing production rates without incurring problems of their
own. The bigger question is, will Ford and GM be able to capitalize on this opportunity for the long
term?
I was with Whitacre when he initially learned that Toyota was suspending sales of 57 percent of its
autos sold in the United States. He responded immediately by directing his executives to ramp-up
production as quickly as possible.
While Whitacre and Mulally maximize current sales, taking advantage of this opportunity in the near
term is not a long-term strategy. All too often, both GM and Ford have squandered similar
opportunities by simply raising prices and profits, as they did during the three-year import quotas in
the mid-1980s. They must recognize that no matter how wounded Toyota is in the short term by its
quality problems, this company is a very tough and able competitor that will move quickly to revamp
its quality and its product offerings.
On The March
GM and Ford need to move aggressively to secure their market share gains by investing windfall profits
to make their auto line-ups more competitive for the next decade.
As the newly appointed Operations Manager for the Toyota, you have been asked by the Senior
Management Team to prepare a 3000-word report to:
i) explain how you would introduce a companywide operations improvement strategy. This
improvement strategy must include the tools and techniques that you have learned in this
module UGB 165 (70 marks).
ii) advise on the operational strategies that Ford and GM can implement to gain market
share from Toyota (30 marks).
Sample Solution