Nissan operations management

TEMPLATE FOR PART II

BE SURE TO REPLACE ALL RED TEXT. THE WORDS SHOULD NOT BE USED AS AN ANSWER, THEY SERVE AS A GUIDE AND TEMPLATE, NOT THE ANSWER.

Introduction:

Write a brief 2-3 sentence introduction simply describing what Nissan has going on and what we are going to review. …Nissan, like most companies, has explored the use of process management functions. The below paper describes the use of these process management functions and how Nissan may incorporate them into their OM functions.

I. Theories and Techniques

A. Explain the five steps of the theory of constraints (TOC) process. To what processes might the company in the case study apply TOC? Why would applying TOC to these processes be advantageous?

Start with a brief description of what TOC is, after that type out the five steps. I would strongly suggest listing it out like this… The key on your example, don’t get too complex. Also, don’t try to include some of the next steps or description within your step. That is a common hang-up.

Step Nissan

Step 1-Identify the constraint. During this step, Nissan would identify the constraint as a bottleneck in the incoming portion of their supply lines.

Step 2-Develop a plan for overcoming the During this step, Nissan would determine how to unclog identified constraint. The bottleneck through reorganizing their loading dock.

Step 3-

…Etc. If you want, you can even start with a very similar example.

Be sure to use in-text citation for page 306.

B. Describe how total quality management (TQM) principles and tools can be used to improve quality in the latest line of products in the context of the case study.

During this section, write out a handful of sentences on what TQM is, and then a handful on how these tools can be applied through Nissan. Note, please see the text starting on page 208. Two keys, make sure you list the 7 key concepts from the course text. Also, be sure to list a couple of ways that Nissan can use some of these key concepts. IE; Nissan could utilize Six Sigma in order to find and reduce defects within an area of production.

II. Data Analysis

A. Draw a cause-and-effect diagram that assesses why some of the company’s supply chain partners might have struggled to implement some of the company’s newly developed materials. Summarize your findings from the diagram.

During this section, write out a handful of sentences setting up the cause and effect diagram. Something like; Nissan has been struggling to implement new windshields into their Altima model. This cause-and-effect diagram will help Nissan review for a root cause. A key consideration here, be sure to update the excel template for your problem. The problem state should be very short, just list the specific problem, not any causes or solutions. If you have the word because in your problem statement, it isn’t a good problem statement.

Use this template for easy drawing-

Based on our root cause analysis, we find the windshields are not working well because of a porous sealant.

B. Draw a hypothetical process (time-function) map for producing a recently released (within the past two years) product manufactured by the company. As an operations manager, how will you use the value map? Be sure to include your process map within your case study analysis.

This is a swim lane that can be built rather easily in excel.

The first column going down describes your different areas;

Customer

Sales

Production Input