Question.912 - Please respond to the following: Select a goods-producing organization and a service-providing organization of your choice. Suggest ways each organization can make aggregate planning decisions using the variables described in Exhibit 14.3 (page413) in the textbook, OM. Compare and contrast the operational and managerial impacts of the aggregate planning decisions in terms of customer satisfaction. Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates' posts.
Answer Below:
Considering a furniture manufacturing company as a goods-producing organization and a restaurant as a service-providing organization. Aggregate planning decisions involve using the variables described in Exhibit 14.3 (page 413) in OM. By considering the capacity, inventory, workforce, and subcontracting variables, the furniture manufacturing company adjusts its production output to meet customer demands. To increase the capacity company can invest more in production equipment, while inventory is managed by looking at the lead time of the product and adjusting the production output accordingly. The workforce can be increased by hiring more new employees or outsourcing the labor to other companies. The restaurant can use the variables of the workforce, capacity, pricing, scheduling, and back ordering to make aggregate planning decisions. The restaurant can increase its workforce by hiring new employees or using part-time and/or seasonal workers. To increase the capacity, they can add additional seating areas with a greater number of chairs and tables. Scheduling should be done to ensure that the restaurant meets the demands of customers. The restaurant can alter its prices to increase or decrease demand. The operational and managerial effects of aggregate planning decisions regarding customer satisfaction are the same for both the furniture manufacturing company and the restaurant. Both companies need to ensure that their production is sufficient to meet customer demands, and both have to take care that the customer experience is satisfactory. The difference lies in the variables they can use to make aggregate planning decisions. The furniture manufacturing company can make more precise selections since they have access to more factors than the restaurant. The restaurant must employ more inventive strategies to modify the output to satisfy consumer needs because they have fewer variables at their disposal.More Articles From Operation Management