System thinking for an integrated workforcePage 1 � This assignmet together with Essay constitutes...

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System thinking for an integrated workforce

System thinking for an integrated workforce

Page 1 � This assignmet together with Essay constitutes Assessment 3 o Reminder: Essay 20% - due by the same date/time Assignment preparation and submission – marks may be lost for failure to adhere to the following: � Submission requirements: o Submit online – via the link provided in Canvas o Submission MUST BE ONE SINGLE PDF or WORD document – pages oriented vertically. � Naming of submitted (single file) document ‘Course Code – – Assignment 3 – ’ E.g., ‘STAT6100 – Kirill Glavatskiy – Assignment 3 – c0000000’ � Check your file has been correctly uploaded (check for receipt) and that the content of the file is as you intended. I may not become aware of problem file submissions until too late (and thus you will receive no marks) - check your uploaded file! � Don’t restate questions in your submission - simply state the question number & part (e.g., Q1, Q2a) & your response. � Ensure you address the question directly and use support/evidence from within the question where appropriate. � Maximum word counts are sometimes provided to assist you in knowing within what number of words you should easily be able to respond. If you are finding the word limit unreasonable then you may not quite understand the question, or not be directly addressing the question. A response needn’t be near the word limit to answer correctly and wholly – it may be well under the limit. Whilst it is acceptable to exceed the word count, marks may be deducted where unnecessarily long responses are given that do not relate directly to the question at hand. State your response’s word count at the beginning of your response to avoid penalties. � Be clear in your contention, be explicit, and use support/evidence from within the question. � Assignments must be word-processed with legible font (12pt for main text). � Please ensure you keep backup copies of all your assignments during their development! Computer crashes are not valid reasons for extensions, primarily as it is difficult to prove. � Assignment submissions that are indicative of one piece of work attempting to be passed off as the work of separate individuals or plagiarism may attract zero marks and the Student Academic Conduct Officer notified. Provide references where appropriate. � Submission of your assignment is confirmation that you have completed and adhered to UON and student academic conduct policies. Coversheets are not required (nor desired – preferably not used). Systems thinking for an integrated workf orce STAT6100 Assignment 3 – Semester 2, 2023 Due: 23:55 Sunday of Week 12 Weight: 20% of final grade Materials assessed: Content from all lectures (and related Modules and Workshops) Final note: � For all that we have covered in this course, the intention, as demonstrated throughout, is practical value and application – its use for improvement within the workplace, providing insight, reporting clearly and succinctly to management and broader employees. � For each scenario, consider if someone in the workplace had just presented you with the context and associated output or charts – consider what you would glean from such and hence succinctly report upon. The scenarios are the product of actual situations. STAT6100 – Systems Thinking for an Integrated Workforce ASSIGNMENT 3 Page 2 of 5 Question 1 – The consequences of ignoring some TQM principles [5 marks: 3,2] An Iron Ore mining company in Australia is defined as having three primary departments or divisions: the Mine (where Iron Ore is mined), the Rail (which is in charge of the site-to-port land transport of Iron Ore) and the Port (where the Iron Ore is loaded and shipped to markets). Each division has a separate manager who reports to the senior management (General Manager). The General Manager was known for annually reviewing the budget for each division separately and indicating each division needed to reduce its budget by 10%. However, in an industry where fixed costs (e.g., machinery) are a large proportion of the overall costs, the amount of tonnes available to be sold is central to reducing the overall ‘unit cost’ (e.g., cost per tonne). The Rail Manager decided that his goal was to achieve budget, resulting in a capacity (i.e., maximum) of 58 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) being able to be transported to the Port. The manager of the Mining division believed that the goal was to maximise output. The Mine had a mining capacity of 65 mtpa. During the year, the marketable amount (that which the company could have transported and sold) was 60 mtpa; however, the constraints set by the Rail Manager’s goal dictated that only 58 mtpa would reach the market. Table 1 content (below) is based on an existing fixed cost of 75% of total costs. Thus even if nothing was produced (mined), 75% of the budget is used. • The first column indicates the Division of the Iron Ore mining company. • The second column indicates unit costs, by division and in total, based on 58 mtpa. • The third column is the expenditure in millions of dollars, by division and in total, based on 58 mtpa. • The fourth column is the expenditure in millions of dollars, by division and in total, if 60 mtpa (the marketable amount) of Iron Ore was mined and sold to the market; the values are based on 75% being fixed costs and the remaining costs (25%) increasing proportionally with the change in mtpa (i.e., 60/58). E.g., the value 234 is obtained from 0.75*232+0.25*232*60/58 where * represents multiplications (it is not critical that you can follow this calculation). • The fifth column indicates unit costs based on the potential 60 mtpa of Iron Ore mined and sold to the market. Table 1: Unit costs and expenditures by division Division Unit cost @58mtpa Expenditure ($m) @58mtpa Expenditure ($m) @60mtpa Unit cost @60mtpa Mine $ 4.00 $ 232 $ 234 $ 3.90 Rail $ 1.20 $ 70 $ 74 $ 1.23 Port $ 2.00 $ 116 $ 117 $ 1.95 Total $ 7.20 $ 418 $ 425 $ 7.08 % fixed costs = 75% a) Discuss the implications of this scenario: identify aspects of systems thinking and TQM that this company is overlooking and the significance of doing so (max. 400 words: 300 should suffice). b) There is one particular aspect of TQM/Systems thinking that this company was overlooking and from which they would have benefited had it been understood and implemented. Identify the aspect, which would have been part of your response in a), and provide an example of a situation that exhibits the positive results from implementing such an aspect (and the loss from not doing so). Ensure it is adequately described (max. 120 words: 50-80 should suffice). Your example cannot be one discussed in lectures and should not simply be a replica of the above values in a new or fictitious situation. Your example is unlikely to be as involved as the presented situation and it does not need to include calculations, values or numbers – the scenario could be simply explained. It need not even be an example for an organisation; it may be something from personal or other non-workplace activities. STAT6100 – Systems Thinking for an Integrated Workforce ASSIGNMENT 3 Page 3 of 5 Question 2 – Statistical Process Control [10 marks: 4, 6] a) (4 marks: 1 per part) Name the control chart (from those discussed in the course) that is most appropriate to apply for each of the following situations and explain why: i. Monitoring the monthly number of adverse events (errors) occurring during delivery of new- borns (babies) at a hospital. ii. Monitoring the daily number of complaints received in an airline’s call centre. iii. Monitoring the weekly total sales (in dollars) of electrical appliances at a store. iv. Monitoring the number of defective transistors from random samples of 100 tested each week. b) (6 marks: 2 per part) Electronics, Inc. has been reporting difficulties with the circuit boards purchased from a supplier. There have been complaints about the distances between the two holes drilled on the circuit board. The holes are supposed to be 5cm apart. Twenty-five samples, with each sample consisting of 4 circuit boards, were taken from random samples across successive shipments sent by the supplier. An excerpt of the data is provided below: Observations Subgroup 1 2 3 4 1 4.92 4.26 4.94 4.29 2 4.65 5.54 5.00 5.42 3 5.77 5.26 4.76 4.79 4 6.25 4.88 5.66 4.44 . . . . . . . . . . 24 5.11 4.90 5.91 4.66 25 4.50 5.24 4.86 4.35 The observations represent the distances between the two holes drilled on the circuit boards. N.B. All control charts relating to this question (Figures 2, 3 and 4) appear after the questions. i. R and X-bar control charts are constructed from these 100 observations (25 subgroups, each of size 4), see Figure 2. Report the key information based on Figure 2, clearly (and briefly) identifying your suggested course of action and rationale (max. 120 words: 60 words should suffice). ii. The supplier’s plant quality manager confirmed that they were experiencing quality problems for shipments 18, 19, 20 and 21. These shipments have been excluded and the control charts are reconstructed. Figure 3 contains the revised R and X-bar control charts, where the four poor batches (subgroups) are removed. How has the removal of these observations affected your assessment of the system, based on the control charts? Report the key aspects based on these two charts (max. 100 words: 50 should suffice) iii. The supplier’s plant quality manager indicated that they had sought to rectify the quality problems they had been experiencing. Samples of 4 circuit boards were taken from each of the next ten shipments. Using the revised control chart limits from part (ii) above (i.e., excluding the samples 18- 21), the R-chart and the X-bar chart for the thirty-five samples have been plotted (see Figure 4). Comment on whether the quality problem appears to have been rectified (max. 90 words). STAT6100 – Systems Thinking for an Integrated Workforce ASSIGNMENT 3 Page 4 of 5 Figure 2: R and X-bar charts of distance between the two holes drilled on the circuit board (25 subgroups, each of size 4) Figure 3: R and X-bar charts of distance between the two holes drilled on the circuit board (limits based on data excluding subgroups 18-21) Figure 4: R and X-bar charts of distance between the two holes drilled on the circuit board for all 35 subgroups (limits based on data excluding subgroups 18-21) 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 R an ge o f d is ta nc e 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 Avg=1.106 LCL UCL=2.523 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 M ea n of d is ta nc e 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 Avg=5.102 LCL=4.297 UCL=5.908 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 R an ge o f d is ta nc e 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 Avg=1.090 LCL UCL=2.489 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 M ea n of d is ta nc e 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 Avg=5.034 LCL=4.239 UCL=5.828 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 R an ge o f d is ta nc e 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 Avg=1.090 LCL UCL=2.489 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 M ea n of d is ta nc e 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 Avg=5.034 LCL=4.239 UCL=5.828 STAT6100 – Systems Thinking for an Integrated Workforce ASSIGNMENT 3 Page 5 of 5 Question 3 – Deming’s Fourteen Points, The Joiner Triangle and TQM [5 marks] In this scenario, the actual organisation’s name has been replaced by a fictitious name ‘FishCo’; in all other respects the following is a true account of the scenario as it transpired. A customer purchased a crumbed fish product at FishCo. When the customer cooked and bit into one of the crumbed fish pieces, one piece was found to have a white ‘fishing-line-like’ thread or band within it – the thread/band remained within the fish piece with a few centimetres of the offending thread/band protruding

a3stat61002023-tsu3cwr3.pdf

Answered 1 days AfterOct 11, 2023

Answer To: System thinking for an integrated workforce

Aishwarya Ganapat answered on Oct 12 2023

20 Votes

Q1. a)
In the present situation, the Iron Ore mining company based in Australia is grappling with
consequences arising from the neglect of fundamental tenets of Total Quality Management
(TQM) and systems thinking. These issues bear substantial ramifications for the company's
operational efficiency, cost management, and overall success.
1. Lack of Alignment and Goal Discrepancy:
The Rail Manager primarily aims to adhere to a budget by capping transport capacity at 58
million tons per annum (mtpa), while the Mining Manager strives to maximize output up to a
capacity of 65 mtpa, creating a misalignment within their organization. This misalignment results
in inefficiencies as they fail to work toward a shared objective. TQM underscores the importance
of aligning objectives across an organization to achieve the desired level of excellence.
2. Inefficient Resource Deployment:
Disregarding the marketable quantity of 60 mtpa due to the constraints imposed by the Rail
Manager leads to inefficient resource deployment. It results in a situation where 2 million tons of
Iron Ore that could have been sold in the market remain untapped. TQM principles advocate for
the efficient utilization of resources and waste reduction, which this company is overlooking.
3. Fixed vs. Variable Costs:
The company's oversight of the implications of fixed and variable costs on its unit costs
represents a significant shortcoming. Given that 75% of the expenses are fixed, the company
continues to bear these costs even when iron ore production is halted. This situation contradicts
the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM), which stress the importance of managing
costs and continually enhancing efficiency.
4. Suboptimal Approach to Cost Reduction:
The General Manager's sweeping directive to cut divisional budgets by 10% fails to consider
that budget reductions don't necessarily translate to reduced unit costs. The Rail Manager's
emphasis on budget adherence leads to an increase in the unit cost per ton. TQM advocates for a
comprehensive approach to cost reduction, prioritizing overall process improvement over mere
budget reductions.
5. Ineffectual Market Expansion:
The Rail Manager's choice to limit transport capacity to 58 million tons per annum adversely
affects the company's market expansion. This decision results in a missed opportunity to sell 2
million tons of iron ore, impacting the company's revenue and profitability. TQM principles
underscore the significance of customer satisfaction and efficient market expansion as pivotal
factors for success.
In this instance, the situation exemplifies a clear lack of coordination, ineffective allocation of
resources, insufficient control over costs, and less-than-ideal decision-making rooted in Total
Quality Management (TQM) principles and a systemic perspective. To attain operational
excellence, the organization ought to focus on harmonizing its goals, streamlining resource
allocation, assessing cost structures, embracing a comprehensive cost reduction strategy, and
ensuring an efficient...

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