個案總覽

Supplements the (A) case.

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is the most important catalyst for transforming U.S. business. But since its inception four years ago, the award has been the target of increasingly acrimonious criticism. Most of the criticism is based on misunderstanding. To get to the "truth," the best available source of information on the award was tapped: judges, examiners, and senior examiners. In-depth interviews with 20 of these insiders led to a clear definition of the award's real purpose and the value contained within its seven categories.

Manufacturers that thrive into the next generation will compete by bundling services with products. The factory will be the hub of their efforts to get and hold customers. Some companies are already exploiting their factories' service potentials. Upstream activities like marketing, design, and quality, are folding into downstream activities like sales, repair, and aftersales support.

Describes the evolution of the Boeing 767 from the conception of the project to the start of manufacturing. Shows how the company manages an enormously complex and risky project and introduces students to a variety of estimating and management tools. The decision issue involves the shift from three-person to two-person cockpits and whether rework should be done in-line (without removing planes from the flow of production) or off-line (after initial assembly has been completed).

Updates the (A) case to the present day. The issue facing students is whether Boeing's approach to managing new airplane programs must be modified to fit with this new environment.

Describes a comprehensive manufacturing strategy designed to reduce substantially the cycle time of orders (i.e. the time between the placement of an order by a customer and its delivery to the customer). To launch the strategy Digital has adopted manufacturing resource planning (MRP II). The case allows students to assess the pros and cons of the strategy which requires rapid information flows and tight manufacturing discipline, the usefulness of MRP II which integrates manufacturing with overall business plans, and the implementation process to date.

Should follow Digital Equipment Corp.: The Endpoint Model (A). The plant manager has been promoted and students must decide what kind of individual--background, training, personal style, etc.--they would like to replace him.

Should follow Digital Equipment Corp.: The Endpoint Model (B1). A new plant manager has been hired; the case describes her experience, management philosophy, goals in the plant, and handling of a production problem.

To follow Digital Equipment Corp.: The Endpoint Model (B2). The division has just received a request for dramatically increased production. If it complies with the request, it will have to expedite production, override the MRP II system and the planned schedule. Should it accept the order? The case forces students to consider the tensions between an uncertain market and environment and disciplined manufacturing plans.

To follow Digital Equipment Corp.: The Endpoint Model (C1). Students must assess what their next steps would be as plant manager and group manufacturing manager.

Traditional programs of quality control in the United States have emphasized mainly defensive actions--preventing defects--and even these programs have been pursued halfheartedly. But high quality means pleasing consumers, not just protecting them from annoyances. Therefore, U.S. consumers have become skeptical about the quality of goods and services offered by U.S. corporations, while Japanese electronics, automobile, and semiconductor companies have come to dominate important U.S. markets. In order for a company to compete on quality deliberately and strategically, its managers must first divide the concept into manageable parts--the eight dimensions of quality by which consumers judge products: performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics, and perceived quality. Managers should research potential markets and the strengths of their competition to ascertain which of these dimensions they can emphasize.

Describes Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II), a production technique designed to couple business and financial plans with manufacturing plans. It is an important tool for aligning manufacturing with a company's overall strategy and goals. Describes MRPII, distinguishing it from its predecessor, Material Requirements Planning (MRP); discusses the technique's basic elements; and reports survey results that show the factors distinguishing the most successful adopters of the technique.

Describes the three distinct approaches to quality management represented by W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, and Philip B. Crosby. Designed to introduce students to the elements of statistical quality control, structured approaches to quality improvement, and zero defects programs and to show them that there is more than one way to improve quality.

Describes the evolution of a company's manufacturing strategy over an eight-year period. Copeland had pursued a strategy of building freestanding focused plants devoted to single processes or product lines, and then moving products from the home plant at Sidney, Ohio to the new facility. Sidney is now left with a jumble of unrelated products and processes, and management must decide whether it should be reorganized by product line or manufacturing processes. HBR reprint number 85117 "Competing Through Manufacturing," January-February 1985, by S.C. Wheelwright and R.H. Hayes may be taught with these cases.

In the (A) case, Copeland had to choose between focusing its Sidney plant by product line or by manufacturing process. Now that it has made that decision, a plant layout must be selected from two alternatives.

In the preceding case, Copeland had to choose between two alternative plant layouts for organizing its Sidney plant. Now it must get work force approval for a change in "bumping" rules before proceeding with the change. Management must decide how to proceed--to continue with the reorganization, delay the moving of equipment and personnel, or drop the project completely.

Describes what has happened since the introduction of just-in-time production techniques were developed to reduce inventory. Reviews the progress to date in such areas as process rationalization; set-up reduction; quality improvement and leveling the scheduling; and discusses options for the future. The aim of the case is to show students the details of implementing a new production method.

GE is considering introducing a "just-in-time" production system to reduce inventory in its thermocouple manufacturing area. The case presents students with a description of the present inventory management system, the production process, and the perspectives of different individuals in the plant. The issue is how GE should proceed with introducing this system.

A multi-year study of production operations of virtually all the producers of room air conditioners in the United States and in Japan reveals a failure rate of products from the lowest quality manufacturers some 500 to 1000 times greater than that of products from the highest quality manufacturers. Quality is measured by the incidence of internal and external failures. Internal failures include all defects observed, either during fabrication or along the assembly line, before the product leaves the factory. External failures include all problems incurred in the field after the unit has been installed. Measured by either criterion, Japanese companies were far superior to the U.S. counterparts.

Investments in plant and equipment are sensitive to differences in how managers view the importance of short- vs. long-term issues. Yet most managers depend on highly analytic techniques like discounted cash flow analysis to evaluate capital investment proposals, and these techniques are often biased against long-term investment. Such methods place most of their emphasis on net present value or internal rate of return calculations, and as their use has increased, the growth of capital investment and R&D spending in the United States has decreased. McKinsey Award Winner.