Business Discussion
This is a 2-part assignment
Part 1
For this discussion, you will read from the Annual Editions: Maidment, F. (2013). Annual Editions: Management (17th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/ Dushkin.
ISBN-10: 1121833810 or ISBN-13: 9781121833814 textbook article, "Supply Chain Quality Begins with You," and then answer the following questions:
1. How do you think brainstorming can help identify problems?
2. What do you think of the strategy of taking on the problems you control first?
3. Do you think separating the problems into internal, suppliers, and customers is a good approach?
4. Post has to be a minimum of 200 words.
5. Has to have at least one citation in proper APA style.
Part 2
Respond to these two initial posts given with a minimum of 100 words each.
1) After reading from the text book article Supply Chain Quality begins with You, I have learned about how brainstorming can identify problems, the strategy of taking on problems you control first can be helpful, and separating the problems into internal, suppliers, and customers can be a good approach.
I think brainstorming can help identify problems by getting everyone's thoughts and ideas out in the open. Everyone's sees different things so by getting everyone together and brainstorming you can identify problems. Problems that were not even known about but could help make a large impact on the businesses success.
I think the strategy of taking on the problems you control first is the best way to handle the situation. If you know there is a problem why let it go on to be caught later down the line. If everyone would fix the problem when they realize there is one, it would make for an altogether better process. The text says, " As you identify root cause and determine what changes must be made to correct the problem, do not wait" (Nash & Poling, 2012).
I do think separating problems out into internal, suppliers, and customers is a good approach as long as it is done properly. You have to make sure that everyone is on the same page and is going to take responsibility for it where the problem occurs. If the problem begins internally, the problem should be taken care of internally. If the problem do not occur until it reaches the suppliers, the suppliers should take care of the problem and so on.
Nash, M.A., & Poling, S.R. (2012). Supply chain quality begins with you. In Fred H. Maidment (Ed.), Annual editions-management (17th ed., pp. 120-122). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
(Morgan Fergerson)
2) Brainstorming can help identify problems by getting your creative juices flowing and can generate a number of potential solutions to a problem. Brainstorming as a group helps to build a team where everyone is able to get their ideas out on the table and no one is left feeling like their idea doesn't matter and it creates an environment where team members are able to work better together. Brainstorming also helps team members to think outside of the box and it encourages critical thinking. As ideas come about you can jot them down and revisit them at a later time. As you are brainstorming and collecting ideas from team members, you are likely to come up with fresh ideas and/or solutions to problems that you otherwise would not know about.
I believe that changes in the improvement of the supply chain should start with you. You start with what you control no matter what your job is. I think the strategy of taking on the problems you control first applies not only in the supply chain but in all areas of your life. You can only fix what you control and more often than not that can be done right away. Use the lean mindset of making something better today--right now (Nash & Poling, 2012). You don't have to wait for someone else's approval before changing what you control.
I think that separating the problems into internal, suppliers, and customers is a good approach. This way each problem can be dealt with by the appropriate department. Each department will likely have the expertise to handle the problem efficiently while providing a solution in a timely manner. Having to waste time determining who should handle what problem is not a good look for any company and makes for a bad experience from the customer's view point.
Nash, M.A., & Poling, S.R. (2012). Supply chain quality begins with you. In Fred H. Maidment (Ed.), Annual editions-management (17th ed., pp. 120-122). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
The response should include a reference list. Double-space, using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.