Borderless Marketplace Man 3504 Sfcc Applied O
OM is rapidly changing. Therefore, it is imperative that managers are informed and proactively prepared to mitigate challenges that will define the future workplace. The text highlighted the following challenges facing contemporary OM:
1. Customers. Consumers demand an increasing variety of high-quality goods with new and improved features that are delivered faster than ever—along with outstanding service and support. Being first to market means more now than ever before, and OM plays a vital role.
2. Technology. Technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Applications in design and manufacturing as well as the use of information technology in services have provided the ability to develop innovative products and services and more effectively manage and control extremely complex operations. Future transformative technologies, such as artificial intelligence, 3-D metal printing, the Internet of Things, nanotechnology, smart cities, genetic design, quantum computing, and others, are forthcoming. OM needs to continue to leverage and exploit these technology advances.
3. Workforce. Today’s workforce requires new skills, continual learning, more diversity, and better management. These tasks often fall on the shoulders of operations managers. Organizations will need to become more flexible with how and where their workforces operate in global value chains.
4. Globalization. Globalization no longer means just an opportunity for organizations to enter new markets. We now live in an era of the “borderless marketplace.” Today, firms have to contend with a growing number of competitors and sources of lower-cost labor. For example, labor costs are far cheaper outside the United States (where manufacturing labor averages about $40 per hour); in Asia, Mexico, and South America, labor costs range from $3 to $10 per hour. In addition, managing operations in countries with vastly different cultures can be problematic.
5. Sustainability. Performance in global operations and supply chains use to mean a focus on cost, quality, and time. Today, sustainability is a fourth major performance area. Global sourcing managers, for example, must qualify suppliers on at least these four performance areas. A global supplier that is best at cost, quality, and delivery performance but uses child labor or pollutes community drinking water is not going to do business with the modern companies of today.
6. Optimizing supply chains. Value chains now span across many continents. Companies today face many challenges in designing and optimizing their supply chains. These include determining where to best source raw materials, components, and finished goods. Sourcing abroad, of course, requires efficient transportation and scheduling, and also incurs risks related to intellectual property and supply chain disruptions from natural disasters and other factors. Coordinating this entire process to minimize total costs is a continuing challenge.
1. Select 1 of the 6 challenges above.
2. Identify a real-world company or industry that is or has faced this challenge.
3. Provide a brief overview…. discuss how the problem began… investigate its progression and future trajectory.
No word criteria, has be completed by Wed 10pm