With hundreds of competitors in the boat business, Regal Marine must work to differentiate itself from the flock. As we saw in the Global Company Profile that opened this chapter, Regal continuously introduces innovative, high-quality new boats. Its differentiation strategy is reflected in a product line consisting of 22 models. To maintain this stream of innovation, and with so many boats at varying stages of their life cycles, Regal constantly seeks design input from customers, dealers, and consultants. Design ideas rapidly find themselves in the styling studio, where they are placed onto CAD machines to speed the development process. Existing boat designs are always evolving as the company tries to stay stylish and competitive. Moreover, with life cycles as short as 3 years, a steady stream of new products is required. A few years ago, the new product was the three-passenger $11,000 Rush, a small but powerful boat capable of pulling a water-skier. This was followed with a 20-foot inboard–outboard performance boat with so many innovations that it won prize after prize in the industry. Another new boat is a redesigned 52-foot sports yacht that sleeps six in luxury staterooms. With all these models and innovations, Regal designers and production personnel are under pressure to respond quickly. By getting key suppliers on board early and urging them to participate at the design stage, Regal improves both innovations and quality while speeding product development. Regal finds that the sooner it brings suppliers on board, the faster it can bring new boats to the market. After a development stage that constitutes concept and styling, CAD designs yield product specifications. The first stage in actual production is the creation of the “plug,” a foam-based carving used to make the molds for fiberglass hulls and decks. Specifications from the CAD system drive the carving process. Once the plug is carved, the permanent molds for each new hull and deck design are formed. Molds take about 4 to 8 weeks to make and are all handmade. Similar molds are made for many of the other features in Regal boats—from galley and stateroom components to lavatories and steps. Finished molds can be joined and used to make thousands of boats. Discussion Questions 1. How does the concept of product life cycle apply to Regal Marine products? 2. What strategy does Regal use to stay competitive? 3. What kind of engineering savings is Regal achieving by using CAD technology rather than traditional drafting techniques? 4. What are the likely benefits of the CAD design technology?
> Develop a northeast-corner rule and explain how it would work. Set up an initial solution for the Arizona Plumbing problem analysed in Example C1. Data from Example C1: The Northwest-Corner Rule: Arizona Plumbing wants to use the northwest-corner rule t
> All of the transportation examples appear to apply to long distances. Is it possible for the transportation model to apply on a much smaller scale, for example, within the departments of a store or the offices of a building? Discuss.
> The more sources and destinations there are for a transportation problem, the smaller the percentage of all cells that will be used in the optimal solution. Explain.
> Which starting technique generally gives a better initial solution, and why?
> How do you know when an optimal solution has been reached?
> Celebrity Cruises, with its reputation as a leader in the “premium cruise” industry, decided in 2013 to become an industry leader in environmental sustainability as well. Celebrity’s “Save The Waves” program was initially set up to increase compliance wi
> Identify the three “steps” in the northwest-corner rule.
> What are the steps in the intuitive lowest-cost method?
> Explain what is meant by the term degeneracy within the context of transportation modelling.
> How can the transportation method address production costs in addition to transportation costs?
> Explain the significance of a negative improvement index in a transportation-minimizing problem.
> How many occupied cells must all solutions use?
> What are the three information needs of the transportation model?
> Describe how and when making a decision tree will make you do the right decisions.
> What is the expected value with perfect information (EVwPI)?
> What is the expected value of perfect information (EVPI)?
> Frito-Lay, the multi-billion-dollar snack food giant, requires vast amounts of water, electricity, natural gas, and fuel to produce its 41 well-known brands. In keeping with growing environmental concerns, Frito-Lay has initiated ambitious plans to produ
> Explain how decision trees might be used in several of the 10 OM decisions.
> What is a decision tree?
> Discuss the differences between decision making under certainty, under risk, and under uncertainty.
> What is the equally likely decision model?
> Give an example of a good decision you made that resulted in a bad outcome. Also give an example of a bad decision you made that had a good outcome. Why was each decision good or bad?
> Why is a decision tree appropriate for making decisions under risk?
> Describe a case where a decision tree will not be the optimal model for decisions.
> Why are the maximax and maximin strategies considered to be optimistic and pessimistic, respectively?
> Identify the six steps in the decision process.
> During an argument as to the merits of preventive maintenance at Windsor Printers, the company owner asked, “Why fix it before it breaks?” How would you, as the director of maintenance, respond?
> When the Amway Centre opened in Orlando in 2011, it became the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold-certified professional basketball arena in the country. It took 10 years for Orlando Magic’s management to develop a plan for t
> What roles can computerize maintenance management systems play in the maintenance function?
> How does machine design contribute to either increasing or alleviating the maintenance problem?
> How can a manager evaluate the effectiveness of the maintenance function?
> What is the trade-off between operator-performed maintenance versus supplier-performed maintenance?
> How could simulation be a useful technique for maintenance problems?
> Explain the notion of “infant mortality” in the context of product reliability.
> How does one identify a candidate for preventive maintenance?
> Will preventive maintenance eliminate all breakdowns?
> What is the objective of maintenance and reliability?
> Discuss how the Japanese word for card has application in the study of JIT.
> Cruising is a growth industry, expanding by 6% to 7% annually for the past 30 years. Recognizing this growth opportunity, Celebrity Cruises, Inc., has enlarged its offerings in the premium “upscale experience at an intelligent price” segment of the indus
> What are the characteristics of supplier partnerships with respect to suppliers?
> What is kaizen, and what is a kaizen event?
> What are three ways in which Lean and quality are related?
> JIT attempts to remove delays, which do not add value. How, then, does JIT cope with weather and its impact on crop harvest and transportation times?
> What is level scheduling?
> What is TPS?
> What is JIT?
> Which Lean techniques work in both the manufacturing and service sectors?
> Does Lean production work in the service sector? Provide an example.
> Standardized, reusable containers have obvious benefits for shipping. What is the purpose of these devices within the plant?
> What is a Lean producer?
> When is Johnson’s rule best applied in job-shop scheduling?
> Which shop-floor scheduling rule would you prefer to apply if you were the leader of the only team of experts charged with defusing several time bombs scattered throughout your building? You can see the bombs; they are of different types. You can tell ho
> Explain the terms flow time and lateness.
> What is a due date?
> What are the advantages and disadvantages of the shortest processing time (SPT) rule?
> Name five priority sequencing rules. Explain how each works to assign jobs.
> Describe what is meant by “loading” work centres. What are the two ways work centres can be loaded? What are two techniques used in loading?
> List the four criteria for determining the effectiveness of a scheduling decision. How do these criteria relate to the four criteria for sequencing decisions?
> What is input–output control?
> In the fast food industry, standardization has always been a key to success—products that taste and look the same, no matter which location you visit, builds recognition and brand loyalty. But when a brand decides to go global, standardization is not eno
> What are the advantages to finite capacity scheduling?
> What are the steps of the assignment method of linear programming?
> State the four effectiveness measures for dispatching rules.
> What is the overall objective of scheduling?
> Identify the two categories of aggregate planning strategies and explain the difference between them.
> Explain what the term disaggregation means when applied in a manufacturing environment. What is the output of this process?
> What is revenue management? Provide examples of industries where revenue management is popular.
> List and briefly discuss the four techniques used to control labour as part of aggregate planning in the service industry.
> Even if we have substantial uncertainty in the parameters in the EOQ model, it is still quite a useful model. Discuss.
> What are the advantages of cycle counting?
> With the growth of Hard Rock Cafe—from one pub in London in 1971 to more than 163 restaurants in 68 countries today— came a corporate wide demand for better forecasting. Hard Rock uses long-range forecasting in setting
> Explain why it is not necessary to include product cost (price or price times quantity) in the EOQ model, but the quantity discount model requires this information.
> Which part of the cost in the EOQ is a linear function of the order quantity?
> Explain the major assumptions of the basic EOQ model.
> Identify and explain the types of costs that are involved in an inventory system.
> What is the implication of the Pareto principle?
> With the advent of low-cost computing, do you see alternatives to the popular ABC classifications?
> Why would it be advantageous to supply a regional warehouse from the central warehouse using a fixed period system?
> How are inventory levels monitored in retail stores?
> When demand is not constant, the reorder point is a function of what four parameters?
> What is “safety stock”? What does safety stock provide safety against?
> For its first two decades of existence, the NBA’s Orlando Magic basketball team set seat prices for its 41-game home schedule the same for each game. If a lower-deck seat sold for $150, that was the price charged, regardless of the oppo
> Explain what is meant by the expression “robust model.” Specifically, what would you tell a manager who exclaimed, “Uh-oh, we’re in trouble! The calculated EOQ is wrong; actual demand is 10% greater than estimated.”
> Suggest how we can set the time between deliveries in a fixed period system.
> Explain the following: All things being equal, the production order quantity will be larger than the economic order quantity.
> What is meant by “service level”?
> What should be considered if the order quantity is to be increased from the optimal to a discount point?
> Describe the four types of inventory.
> Describe some disadvantages of using a slow shipping method.
> Describe some potential pitfalls in relying solely on the results of a factor-weighting analysis for supplier selection.
> Describe some potentially useful categories to include in a factor-weighting analysis for supplier selection.
> Describe how the bullwhip measure can be used to analyse supply chains.
> South-western University (SWU), a large state college in Stephenville, Texas, enrols close to 20,000 students. The school is a dominant force in the small city, with more students during fall and spring than permanent residents. Always a football powerho
> It isn’t unusual for Western companies in the textile industry to outsource manufacturing to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Countries like China and India are manufacturing hubs for fashion products, supplying a large chunk of the world’s apparel. Howeve
> Jun records nonrefundable Federal income tax credits of $65,000 for the year. Her regular tax liability before credits is $190,000, and her TMT is $150,000. a. What is Jun’s AMT? b. What is Jun’s regular tax liability after credits?
> Calculate the exemption amount for the following cases in 2021 for a married taxpayer filing jointly and for a married taxpayer filing separately. In addition, use Microsoft Excel to express your solutions for the taxpayer who is married filing jointly.
> Ichiro, age 93, has accumulated substantial assets during his life. Among his many assets are the following, which he is considering giving to Koji, his grandson. Ichiro has been in ill health for the past five years. His physician has informed him that
> On December 28, 2021, Kramer sells 150 shares of Lavender, Inc. stock for $77,000. On January 10, 2022, he purchases 100 shares of the same stock for $82,000. a. Assuming that Kramer’s adjusted basis for the stock sold is $65,000, what is his recognized
> Thania inherited 1,000 shares of Aqua, Inc. stock from Joe. Joe’s basis in the stock was $35,000, and the fair market value of the stock on July 1, 2021 (the date of Joe’s death) was $45,000. The shares were distributed to Thania on July 15, 2021. Thania
> Ella and Emma are twin sisters who live in Louisiana and Mississippi, respectively. Ella is married to Frank, and Emma is married to Richard. Frank and Richard are killed in an auto accident in 2021 while returning from a sporting event. Ella and Frank j
