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What do you think is causing Braddock's problem?
There had been two changes in the production process which may be causes of the creases in the wheel borrows. There was a change in the material from a new supplier. The malleability of the new metal sheets may not be compatible to the stamping machines. The other change is the replacement of the machine operator; the new operator may be making mistakes in his work.
The most likely cause is the new metal sheets and one clue is that it appeared first in the construction model whose inventory gets replaced 3 days ahead of the homeowner’s model. The creases appeared in the construction model in 3 days also before those in the homeowner’s model.
Why is the problem more pronounced on the construction model than on the homeowner's model?
Since the construction model is deeper, it uses more material. The weakness of the material propagates more during the stamping which causes the crease to be more prominent.
How can Braddock eliminate its problem?
He should eliminate first the possibility of the new operator being the problem. The workman’s errors must be corrected first. A comparison test would be conducted using the old and new metal sheets. This will confirm the new metal sheets as the problem. Either they revert back to the old sheets or recalibrate the stamping process to match the features of the new metal sheets.
What is Pareto's Principle (or the 80-20 Rule), and what does it have to do with control?
The Pareto principle states that there is 80:20 in ratio between effects and their causes in many events (Pareto Principle, n.d.). One application is in production process control whereby 80% of defects can be attributed to 20% of the possible causes. This is not absolute but the point is made that we have to search for the causes which creates the most number of defects and apply most of the management attention to controlling them.
Why do many managers act like control freaks?
Managers who are under an inordinate amount of pressure from their bosses will exert the same amount of supervision on their subordinates to ensure that results will be correct. This is also related to the quality of training that managers have subjected their subordinates to. The less they are, the more distrustful the manager is of their capabilities and will be more controlling.
Why do many managers micromanage so much?
Basically, micromanagers are poor delegators of work. They haven’t fully understood the immense leverage to productivity that effective delegation can do (Avoiding Micromanagement, n.d.). It is also a sign that they haven’t got to know their staff well enough to be confident in their skill and the results that they can produce. They are also short sighted in that they choose to assure the success of present work at the expense of the long term goal of developing staff’s capabilities; of which one approach is to empower them and allow them to deliver on goals.
Why are many managers reluctant to take the actions necessary to correct deviations?
Deviations may reveal structural defects in the production process which may turn out to be very costly. Managers would be afraid that they may be held responsible for the existence of these defects. Also, correcting deviations can generate more work and initiate projects which managers may consider as an extra burden to their current workload. On the other hand, these correcting deviations may turn out not worth the time, money and effort. The products may still sell even with deviations in production but the cost may be too high to remove them.
Do you agree that if something isn’t broke, it shouldn’t be fixed? Why?
That ‘something’ can be a product or a process. They may not be broke but if they will not be improved over time, they may be rendered obsolete by better competition.
References
Pareto Principle. (n.d.). Investopedia. Retrieved June 3, 2016 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/paretoprinciple.asp
Avoiding Micromanagement. (n.d.). MindTools. Retrieved June 3, 2016 from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_90.htm
