Thank you for the comments and feedback on my first post; on the analysis of problems, am sure some of you can attest that it sounds like an easy process right: well, it isn’t especially if you are new to this process.
By default, we don’t behave optimally, and this course (Analysis of Business Problems)helps us achieve that as business managers. I would like to take you through the process of my first intensive week of analysis of business problem.
Firstly, intensive week as an MBA student was indeed “intensive”. The week started with a case study of “Can you analyze this problem”.
A brief summary and I would advise you read case too. It is about a factory that produces quarter panel. The quarter panel is the successor to the, and is the part most often damaged in collisions in traffic accidents. This plant has 3,000 employee and make not only quarter panel but many other smaller parts and components for two of the models sold by one of the Big three auto companies.
The panels are made on four separate production lines (1,2,3,4), each line headed by a huge hydraulic press that stamps the panel out of sheet-steel blanks. When the flat steel arrives at the plant from various supplies by rail, it is unloaded and carried to a machine which cuts identical-size blanks for all hydraulic presses.
This case is different in presentation as the problem can be identified in the discussions between the plant managers and line managers.
The key learning for me is avoid jumping into conclusions, as correlation is not necessarily causation. The line manager (James Farrell) for line 2 had a misunderstanding with joe valenti which led to the suspension of Valenti, after which the plant manager (Oscar Burger) called an emergency meeting that nearly 10% of the panels coming from line#1 and #2 were being rejected by quality control because of the burrs and other rough spot.
Another lesson, the fact that there’s a human factor doesn’t exclude the possibilities of other issues. I would have concluded logically that as a result of valenti’s of suspension the factory workers decided to sabotage the operation to revolt against that action or wanted to take advantage of the situation to get the attention of the management. I was wrong.
The cause of any problem is a change of source. ‘’Ask what changed” and be mindful of your bases, find the root cause of the case then find your problem.
the case also indicated, that for each line they had different number of stacks, running hours panel type and capacity of the machine. Which led us to know that it wasn’t a human sabotage but a relationship between the materials(stacks) and machines(process).
Line #3 did not have any burr because it used a different panel(cheeta) while line#1, #2, & #4 used panther panel. The running time and where each began to produce burr was few hours difference which indicated that the materials was the cause of the burr and not a human/sabotage situation.
Analysis of business problem address our need to pay attention to details and in those details lies our problems and also solutions to problems. The need to ask the right questions of what, why when, where and how.
See you on the next case study on my journey to understanding ABP.
