ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF COMMERCE
OPERATION MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT

Name: Hikma Hamid

Id : BER/9352/11

Submitted to: Mr. Tesfaye

Submitted date: Sept 20, 2021.

1. Given the supports provided and constraints posed by both its internal and external
environmental elements, consider a fictitious company which every year introduces many
new designs of products. The company distinguishes those new designs into high-risk and
low-risk designs. Low-risk designs or products are those for which uncertainties and prices
are low, offered to a broad market, and produced at large volume way in advance of realizing
the customer order. On the other hand, those for which uncertainties and prices are high,
highly customized to customer order, produced at large variety, and offered to very narrow
markets are known by high-risk products.
A) How are the company’s operations function related with the external environment? List out
your justifications

Ans:- The fictitious company I chose was textile manufacturing company. It produces low risk
design products like carpets and rugs, towels and textile yarn with low prices and offers them to
a broad market with a mass production. It on the other hand produces high risk design products
like furniture and finished products including apparels with high prices and customized order to a
relatively narrow market.

The textile company operation function is affected by the external environment which it operates
in.

 It’ll have to deal with competition.

 Pricing pressure
 Emergent Technology
 Changes in government policy can have a huge effect on the company
 Economic conditions
 Cultural and social trends
 Financial stability or ability of consumers
 Natural conditions such as weather or climate condition
B) Draw the six cells process selection matrix available for the company to choose from and
indicate the appropriate cell for each of the two types of designs

Ans:-

Make-to-stock Make-to-order
 Line Flow
Production I IV
Process
Intermittent
Flow
II V
Production
Process
Project
Production III VI
Process

 The appropriate cell for High-risk design is Cell VI. The product is based on customized
order to a relatively narrow market. The price is high as well. The project production
process and make-to-order production process is appropriate.
 The appropriate cell for the Low-risk design is Cell I. The product is produced in advance
of the customer's order and offered to a broad market. It has a low price as well. The line
production process and a make-to-stock production process is appropriate.
C) Identify the main operational challenges of managing the two types of designs based on your
recommendations in part “b”.

Ans:-

 Operational challenge for low risk

 Finding the right staff
 Retaining customers
 Monitoring performance
 Operational challenge for high risk
 Uncertainty caused by high risk
 Cash flow
 Quality
 2. AAU is modernizing its university ID system. Beginning next term, all faculty members,
staff, and students will be required to carry a “smart” identification card, called a
passport. What makes it smart is a magnetic strip with information on club memberships,
library usage, class schedules (for taking exams), restrictions (such as no alcohol),
emergency contacts, and medical conditions. If desired, it can also be set up as a debit
card to pay registration fees and fines or purchase items from the bookstore, vending
machines, and copy machines.
University administrators are excited about the increased control of the passport, but they
are not looking forward to the process of issuing approximately 60,000 new cards. If
applications could be processed at the rate of 60 an hour, the entire university could be
issued passports in a month’s time (with a little overtime). The passport issuing process
consists of the following activities:

Activity Description Time

A Review application for correctness 20
B Verify information and check for outstanding debt 70
C Process and record payment 30
D Take photo 20
E Attach photo and laminate 10
F Magnetize and issue passport 20

Additionally, activities A and B must be completed before activity C can begin. Activities C and
D must precede activity E, and activity E must be completed before activity F.
Required:
A. Is it possible to process one applicant every minute? Explain.

B. What would be the minimum number of workers required?

C. How would you assign activities to workers?

D. How efficient is your line?

Ans:-

 Step 1

Activity Time (in Predecessor

seconds)
 A 20 -------
B 70 -------
C 20 A, B
D 30 -------
E 10 D, C
F 20 E

A C E F

B D

 Step 2 : Compute Cycle time

Cycle time = Available production time
Demand per day
Cycle time =(60*60)/60 =60 sec
Scince the the cycle time less tha one of the task time which is 70, so we have to work over
time. Producting at the rate of 70 seconds would create 51.42, approximately 51 processed
passport applications, 9 processed application short. So we have to work over time of 10
minute(9*70/60)
70 min∗60 4230
Cycle time= = =70
60 60
 Step 3
total task time ∑ t 170
Compute the theoretical minimum number of workers. TN= = = =2.4
cycle time CT 70

 Step 4
Assign tasks to worker based on ranked target potential weight

Activity Most number Largest positional

following weight
A 3 70
B 3 120
 C 2 50
D 2 60
E 1 30
F - 20

Workers Available time Assigned Idle time

1 70 B 0
2 70 A 50
50 D 20

20 C 0
3 70 E 60
60 F 40

 Step 5
Measurement of efficiency (EFFB) = ∑t = 170 = 0.809 = 80.9%
(Nt)(CT) (3)(70)
The answer for
A. No, because completing all task takes 170 seconds which is 2.8 minutes.
B. 3
C. Worker assigned by ranked position weight heuristic
D. The efficiency is 80.9%
3. A postal office has a package processing center at its head office. The main subsystems in the
package processing center are unloading, sorting, and delivery. The center has 30 employees
who unload packages from big trucks that are used to transport packages from Airport to the
company’s head office. Another 20 employees then sort the packages to make the packages
ready for deliveries to different local postal offices in Addis Ababa, and 40 more employees
then load the Vans that are used for local deliveries. Un-loaders work at the rate of 12
packages per minute, sorters work at a rate of 15 packages per minute, and loaders take
approximately 10 seconds to load each package. Required:
A. Assuming that the subsystems are operating in series, what is the system capacity of
the package processing center?
 Ans:- The system's capacity will be equal to the capacity of the most limited in the line. The
system has a capacity of 6 packages per

B. Compute the systems efficiency of the package processing center, assuming that the
actual number of packages processed per minute during a particular observation was
200

Ans:- Actual output= 200

System capacity= 6
System efficiency= actual output = 200 = 33.3
System capacity 6

4. Select any service providing company i.e., hotel, hospital, school, clinic, restaurant, café,
beauty salon, And then prepare service blueprint for the company what you have selected. Your
blueprint shall incorporate the following.

A. Show the major physical evidences.

B. Shows customers and employees actions.
C. Indicate the interaction between customers and front-line employees.
D. Indicate the interaction between front-line employees and back stage employees.
E. Show the line of interaction, line of visibility, line of internal interactions.

Ans:- Cafeteria/resturant Blue print

Physical View Written Payment Tray plates Tables, Table to Trash

evidence location and visual cash card eating chairs, seat counter
decore menu tools music
lights
Line of
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------interacti
on

Custem Come to Order payment Que Receive Eat food Clean

resturant food food
or
action
Contact
employee
line of visibility
action

Welcome Bill Bill Delivery

creation delivery counter
 Fro
nt

Bac
k

Line of internal
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------interaction
Super Possession
Storage
processes of the space

Maintenance
Supply
equipment