Individual Project Proposal

 I plan on teaching a group of eight girl scouts healthy eating. I will teach them how to choose the right snacks, rethinking the drinks that they choose and then pre and post testing them on the material. I was a girl scout for thirteen years.   

JIT

        Just in Time is a philosophy of manufacturing that produces the right part in the right place at the right time. Just in time is also referred to as JIT a concept of ideal production focusing to eliminate waste throughout the manufacturing process. “JIT does not mean to produce on time, but to produce just in time” (“Just-In-Time Manufacturing”).

1.     In 1910, Ford Automobile Company was founded in the United States by Henry Ford, who fashioned the first comprehensive manufacturing strategy known as the assembly line. Ford was the first U.S. firm to successfully implement JIT (A Brief History of Lean). In the 1930’s, right after the stock market crash in the U. S.,  Japan began production of the Toyota automobile manufacturing operation. Sakichi Toyoda applied the concept of stopping equipment automatically to control quality. Toyoda’s son, Kiichiro Toyoda, traveled to the United States to study Henry Ford’s operation and returned to Japan to adopt Ford’s assembly line into the Toyota production. Kiichiro added conservation of materials by limiting quantities of only items needed in the exact time that the items were needed, therefore laying the groundwork for the just in time production (JIT) system of manufacturing (History of Toyota).

        During WWII (1942-1945), Ford converted the Ford car production line to produce war materials at a very fast rate. Japan took note of the fast and efficient production line. After the bombing of Japan, the country was working at recouping their economy. Taiichi Ohno, who worked for Toyota manufacturing, traveled to the U.S. in 1956 where he discovered the pull system supermarkets that were not popular in Japan at the time. He was fascinated by the way the customers chose exactly what they wanted and the quantity.  Shoppers would come to the supermarket knowing there was a small stock but they felt no obligation to buy a large quantity because they knew the goods would be there when they needed them. Every day a stocker would restock the inventory so that exactly what was bought would be replaced (History of Toyota).

         It was simple, but effective, and done in a timely manner. He incorporated this concept into Japanese manufacturing and became known as the father of JIT (History of Toyota).

         Another important person in the development of JIT was Shigeo Shingo. He revolutionized modern Japanese manufacturing by taking charge of the industrial and factory improvements. He created additional functions that would reduce the setup time, smaller batches for parts, allow higher machine utilization and higher productivity (Vardeman, 23).

         W. Edward Deming further improved production in the United States, but he is better known for his work in Japan. He made a significant contribution to Japan for innovative, high quality products and economic power. He taught hundreds of engineers, managers, and scholars the statistical process control concepts of quality testing, and sales. He helped them reduce expenses while increasing productivity consequently increasing the demand for Japanese products. A number of Japanese manufacturers have applied his techniques (Edwards).   

2.     There are numerous advantages to the JIT system of management by directly improving productivity.  Products can be produced more efficiently, quicker and with better quality control. It reduces and eliminates waste, therefore improving productivity without causing overproduction and focuses on better quality control which directly decreases production costs. JIT uses a product value-driven production system based on demand-pull.  This means that all goods made are sold and the product is produced based on product demand. JIT can eliminate waste by decreasing the inventory costs, space needed for storage, number of employees needed to manage the inventory and leaving minimal inventory left unused or outdates. Because JIT is a pull system where products are produced according to customer desires a higher customer satisfaction occurs rather than products pushed at the customer to buy what has already been made (Just-In-Time Manufacturing (JIT). Through close customer communication the products are made at the demand of customer’s request requiring less need for storage space which reduces costs in rent, insurance and the buildup of unsold products (Just in time production (JIT).  JIT can be a great money saver for a company. The company can develop a closer relationship with customers; have less capital tied up in finished good inventory and raw materials allowing them to optimize their transportation and logistics operation.  There is less likelihood of the stock perishing or becoming obsolete or outdated and reduces lead time and inventory cost.  The principles of JIT manufacturing can have significant competitive advantages. The reduction of overproduction, transportation, processing, product defects and inventory waste can drastically increase the attractiveness of JIT (What is JIT?).

3.     There are disadvantages to JIT as well. This style of management requires a significant coordination and good relationships between retailers and suppliers.  A successful company needs an expensive high tech infrastructure to coordinate services and this directly increases the cost of the production. The company is very reliant on suppliers so if the materials are not delivered on time, the process could be delayed (Just-In-Time Manufacturing (JIT). Other factors that delay the production of materials could be lack of communication, labor strikes, market demand fluctuations, and stock outs. A culture of cooperation with management by every worker within the company and a commitment to the company goals is vital for success (Broyles, Beims, Franko, and Bergman).

        Because of the lean inventory it can be difficult to meet high demand and quickly complete unexpected orders. This can be very expensive for a company because they must rely on other retailers to deliver the goods they need to produce the product.  JIT is great for companies for reducing costs but it does not account for not having enough stored inventory to keep the supply chain moving. The increase in deliveries can be another disadvantage by having an adverse effect on the environment due to increased trucking causing higher cost of the product (Broyles, Beims, Franko, and Bergman). Although JIT production has an expectation and goal of high quality control the expectation can be so high that there is no room for errors and if an error does occur, production costs are directly increased (Just-In-Time Manufacturing (JIT)).           

  4.   Organization, orderliness, cleanliness, standardization and discipline must exist before JIT can be successfully implemented. Organization or proper arrangement means sorting available stock, identifying customer needs, and throwing out unnecessary inventory. Orderliness means keeping items such as work equipment and inventory organized and returned to the proper areas. Cleanliness is maintaining clean and neat equipment and work area. Standardization is having standard methods or operational procedures within the company for every employee to follow to ensure consistency. Discipline is every employee following the rules and making them a habit (Just-in-Time Management System).

5.     Like all systems of production, JIT can fail. One reason is the differences between Eastern and Western cultures (Cokins). These lifestyle differences can directly impact a company’s JIT management by the worker’s attitudes and approaches to work. JIT management demands shorter cycle time, causing pressure and stress, less time to solve problems and carrying out mandated actions expected by the company. JIT can work in either culture; however Western Culture supports being an independent thinker, being career driven and being an individualistic. This attitude can cause resistance, maverick work production, restlessness towards management and difficulty seeing the common goal. Eastern Culture is more family unit ordinated working together as a family towards a common goal.  This attitude causes adhesiveness and easier conformity to a JIT style of management (Cokins).  

        Worker’s resistance to change and feelings of loss of autonomy can cause failure. Getting the employees to buy into the program is important because without the dedication of the employees, the endeavor will most likely fail. Western culture of encouraging autonomy can cause a feeling by the workers of a JIT managed company as losing their individual, team and methods of autonomy. The partnership relationship between management and employees is an essential element. A mutual trust within the company needs to be built to produce an affect team and these partnerships need to be nurtured (Broyles, Beims, Franko, and Bergman).

        The traditional approach of push versus a pull for production is a long standing attitude that can meet resistant to change. The idea of having large stores of inventory has historically been the practice and the idea of lean manufacturing can be stressful to companies to sufficiently coordinate meeting customer demands in a timely manner (Smart, 2011).

6.    A push system of management is forecasting the prediction that people will buy a product based on supply and demand. An advantage to this system is having enough products on hand for the customers. A disadvantage is that the quantity of product inventory can be inaccurate, vary from year to year, and at times be over abundant (Smart, 2011).

        A pull system is based not on predicting how many products might need to be produced, but based on an individual customer’s order. An advantage to this system is there is no access inventory and it reduces the cost of storage. A disadvantage is ordering dilemmas, mixing up orders or the supplier may not be able to get the shipment out on time (Smart, 2011).

7.     Harley-Davidson is a company in the U.S. that has successfully implemented JIT. Harley-Davidson was created in 1903 by W. Harley, W. William, and A. Davidson.  In 1909, the company introduced its first trademark motorcycle. During WWI the demand for the motorcycles overseas grew tremendously and Harley-Davidson made over 90,000 bikes for the military elevating their production to record levels. Consequently Harley-Davidson became a leader in innovative engineering in the 1920’s (Lean in Harley-Davidson: Launching the Harley-Davidson Operating System).

        Today, Harley-Davidson has nearly 600 dealerships across the U. S. and is driven by a vision that the company is not satisfied with the status quo, but is always looking for new ways to improve. JIT was the driving force of Harley-Davidson’s quality improvement program. Success of the company includes inventory storage decreased by 75%, use of space decreased by 25%, number of motorcycles being assembled increased from 76% to 99%, scrap and rework reduced by 68% and productivity up by 50% (Long).              

         There are numerous advantages in the JIT system of management that outweigh the disadvantages.  It has been proven to be successful by the U.S. company Harley-Davidson and the Japanese company Toyota. Experts have commented that utilizing JIT manufacturing process outweighs the risks. 

Works Cited

A Brief History of Lean. (2007). Retrieved from http://strategosinc.com/just_in_time.htm?source=overture

Broyles, David, Jennifer Beims, James Franko, and Michelle Bergman. "Just-In-Time Inventory Management Strategy & Lean Manufacturing." Just-In-Time Inventory Management & Lean Manufacturing. N.p., 15 Apr. 2009. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. http://www.academicmind.com/unpublishedpapers/business/operationsmanagement/2005-04-000aaf-just-in-time-inventory-management.html

Cokins, G. (2011, September). Comparing Eastern and Western Management Styles. Business Finance. Retrieved from http://businessfinancemag.com/bpm/comparing-eastern-and-western-management-styles

Edwards Deming. VectorStudy RSS. Vector Study, 30 Dec. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. http://vectorstudy.com/management-gurus/edwards-deming

History of Toyota. (2013). Retrieved from http://toyotageorgetown.com/history.asp

“Just-In-Time Manufacturing.” Aidt.edu N.p., 11 September 2006. Web. Retrieved October 7, 2013 from http://www.aidt.edu/course_documents/Manufacturing_Skills/Just-In-Time%20Manufacturing/Just-In-Time.pdf

Just in time production (JIT). (2013). Retrieved from http://www.tutor2u.net/business/production/just-in-time.html

Lean in Harley-Davidson: Launching the Harley-Davidson Operating System. (2012). Retrieved from http://better-operations.com/2012/07/21/lean-in-harley-davidson-launching-the-harley-davidson-operating-system/

Leslie K. Duclos, Samia M. Sih, Rhonda R. Lummus, (1995) "JIT in services: a review of current practices and future directions for research", International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 6 Iss: 5, pp.36 – 52

Long, Fred. "A Case Study of Harley Davidson's Business Practices." A Case Study of Harley Davidson's Business Practices. N.p., 25 Nov. 2008. Web. 7th Oct. 2013. http://infotechdesign.net/itd/a-case-study-of-harley-davidsons-business-practices.html

Smart, Nigel G. "Lean Manufacturing Pull Vs Traditional Push." Ezine Articles. N.p., 2 Sept. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. http://ezinearticles.com/?Lean-Manufacturing-Pull-Vs-Traditional-Push&id=5274939

Vardeman, Stephen B. "The Impact of Dr. Shigeo Shingo on Modern Manufacturing Practices." N.p., 23 Feb. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. http://www.public.iastate.edu/~vardeman/IE361/f02mini/bumblauskas.pdf

What is JIT?. (2007). Retrieved from http://inventorysolutions.org/def_jit.htm

             

Matrix

     A matrix structure is where managers group people and resources in two ways by functions. Grouped workers can learn from each other, become more skilled, more flexible, and more productive. Members from different departments can work together to develop a product (Jones, Gareth, George, Jennifer).  A pro of this type of system is its delicate balance of power (Liu, Cui Shunji, Valjakka, Julius, Croonen Dirk). Other advantages include: leading to an efficient exchange of information, departments working close together and communicating with each other frequently to solve issues. The matrix structure encourages a democratic leadership style. This style incorporates the input of team members before managers make decisions. The ability to contribute valuable information before decisions can lead to employee satisfaction and increased motivation (Johnson, Rose).

     Some disadvantages include: dispensing power between workers, high cost, excessive turnover, and interpersonal conflicts (Liu, Cui Shunji, Valjakka, Julius, Croonen Dirk). A matrix structure has internal complexity and some employees can become confused about who is their direct supervisor. An employee within a large organization may receive different directions concerning the same thing from supervisors from other departments. The dual authority and communication problems may cause division among employees and managers. Miscommunication and ineffective managing can result in employee dissatisfaction and low morale. Prolonged issues may cause an organization to experience high employee turnover and it can be expensive (Johnson, Rose).   

     A product team structure is where employees are permanently assigned to a cross- functional team and report to a product team manager. It differs from a matrix structure by two or more people reporting to higher management and employees are assigned to a cross-functional team that brings new or redesigned products to the market (Jones, Gareth, George, Jennifer). A cross-functional team is a group of managers brought together from different departments to perform organizational tasks. Advantages include team members who support each other, make their own decisions, and rely on their own expertise to make changes in processes, policies and procedures. Self-contained teams stay focused on their tasks. Within a cross-functional team communication is better between members.

     Disadvantages include lack of management structure by design, effective project management and inefficient resource allocation. To be more successful this style of management needs team members that are competent, and highly trained team leaders (Duggan, Tara). Individual teams may develop ideas and products in isolation without realizing the impact on other company employees, customers, products or services. This leads to less organizational collaboration and sharing of best practices, which could result in higher costs, increased waste, and decreased customer satisfaction (Duggan, Tara).

      A multidivisional structure is composed of separate business units that work together to produce a specific product for a specific customer. Some advantages include: allowing a team to focus upon a single product or service, having its own president or vice president which makes it more likely the division will receive the resources it needs from the company; and it allows it to build a common culture which contributes both to higher morale and a better knowledge of the division's portfolio (Gillikin, Jason).

      Some advantages of a multidivisional structure include: allowing a team to focus upon a single product or service, having its own president or vice president which makes it more likely the division will receive the resources it needs from the company; and allows to build a common culture which contributes both to higher morale and a better knowledge of the division's portfolio (Gillikin, Jason).

       Some disadvantages include: some corporate employees may duplicate the activities or efforts of divisional employees and it can minimize flexibility within a company. There may be strict corporate policies from the main office that can limit certain divisional efforts or strategies. Multidivisional structures can cause competition among divisions and their incentive packages. Many managers and sales reps can earn bonuses that can be very costly (Stuttle, Rick). 

        I think that a product team structure can be the most effective for this web company. For example, within my high school, there was a group of workers that formed the student awareness team (SAT). Expert workers from each department would meet together every other week and compare interactions with troubled students. They would work together to develop a behavior management plan.  They had only one direct supervisor that attended the meetings.  He would keep the team on track and enforced short turnaround deadlines.  Every member of the team answered directly to only one supervisor. That supervisor would be responsible to report to higher level supervisors to validate functions and actions by the team.  All team members would meet in groups of two or three and communicate between meetings to update behavior plan implementation, devise new plans, and establish recommendations before the meeting. This would empower each team member and also hold each worker accountable. This approach keeps workers more satisfied within the working structure and clearly indicates which members are being productive and which are not. 

Bibliography

Duggan, Tara. "The Disadvantages of Team-Based Organizational Structure." Small Business. N.p., 2 June 2012. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-teambased-organizational-structure-22216.html.

Gillikin, Jason. "Advantages & Disadvantages of Divisional Organizational Structure." Small Business. N.p., 13 Nov. 2011. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-divisional-organizational-structure-611.html.

Johnson, Rose. "Advantages & Disadvantages of Matrix Organizational Structures in Business Organizations." Small Business. N.p., 5 July 2011. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-matrix-organizational-structures-business-organizations-26350.html.

Liu, Shunji Cui, Julius Valjakka, and Dirk Croonen. "Matrix Structure 1." Matrix Structure 1. Slide Share, 16 Jan. 2013. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. http://www.slideshare.net/JuuliusV/matrix-structure-1.

Suttle, Rick. "Multi-divisional Structure Disadvantages." EHow. Demand Media, 20 May 2011. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. http://www.ehow.com/info_8458169_multidivisional-structure-disadvantages.html.