COPELAND COMPANY Case Solution & Answer

Copeland Company Case Study Analysis

Q1

            For functional operations; the operational manager needs to look at the operational elements that are important for maintenance of an efficient operational process. This can include human resources, product development, budget and delivery of the project and customer management. After taking under consideration the Copeland Company’s structure; the operation manager needs to focus on several points, such as:

As Copeland wants to start a new product line, so it should first organize the team to evaluate the efficiency of new products and then create a product improvement plan. As he is responsible for all the operations, so he should look at the overall activities of the firm. There is also a need of reviewing the company’s financial statements to analyze the profit margins and budgeting system.

As a manager, I will look into the three main functions of operations:

Production Planning:

            The product detail will be analyzed, detailing on how the production will take place, and where it will be sited. The resources will be looked after along side the detailing on how these resources will be acquired.

 Production Control:

            As a product is manufactured; the operational manager must look at the product’s management. After delivering the product; the control of schedules, cost and quality is the major task for the operation management.

Continuous Improvement:

The maintenance of product is very important and it needs continuous improvement. For this Copeland needs to analyze the product’s data and performance within the region, and it also needs to evaluate how the product’s performance is in the Hartselle region.

 

Q2

Challenges Faced By Copeland

            Copeland Corporation has successful marketing approaches and it provides the best service strategies, but despite this, Copeland is facing intense challenges. The company has manufactured three new products and has transferred these products from the home plant to the new facilities. The company has applied the approach of “focused factory”, which has turned out to be a success, but due to this strategy; the Copeland home plant is facing the challenge of disorder and as well the burden of 13 product lines and a diverse production process. Over- productivity is a major issue in  the company as it is expanding its product line very frequently with an inclusion of having different operations at the main-plant, which is creating massive challenge for the company in processing the quality and control of the operations, differently.

The other challenge being faced by Copeland is the production concern. It is the responsibility of the management to push the employees to work better, efficiently and faster, but when the when there is extra burden lying on the employees’ shoulders; their efficiency declines at a significant rate. Due to the company’s aggressive production; the employees work more than their assigned duties, and the authority keeps pushing the work loadon employees, which might cause them to burn out and quit. Doing work more than capacity can cause a problem for the company’s products as well as for employees’ motivation.

Approaches To Overcome the Challenges

            Copeland has already applied many approaches, such as: TQM, six sigma, 5S JIT, and lean management, but none of these have worked well for the company. So, to overcome the problem of production concern; the operation management should set proper metrics. It should set the KPI’s metric to gauge the employee’s performances and to determine which area needs to have change in order to promote efficiency and productivity.

 

To overcome the other challenges of overproduction; the operation management should address the setup time, because doing so is essential for reducing the over production. It is cost-effective and can reduce the production runs significantly. The operation manager should apply the model “pull system” to strictly control the company’s overproduction.

Q3

The three new plants are very successful because they have applied the “focused factory” principle, which acts as a competitive weapon for the company. And due to an advanced design and reliable workhorse nature of the products; the company has achieved success. One of the main reasons behind this success is that Copeland has a very good marketing strategy to promote its products, and it provides unique services to the customers. Copeland has marked its position and has gained a strong position in the supermarket refrigerator segment as compared to its     competitors. Due to the company’ proactive performance and monitoring of manufacturing operations; the three new products have become successful in the market.

Q4

Further Information to Tackle the Complex Issues

            To tackle the further complex issues; following areas are required to be observed: Quality Problems

It focuses on how the company measures the quality of its product and what approaches are used to avoid the quality problems. It is a problem of the companies who don’t monitor their quality management as the profit center. They just ignore the inconsistent products.

There should be an audit of the potential suppliers who provider sources. The company has to inspect the products’ quality and isolate the defective product. There must be quality measurement on daily basis. There are two main approaches for quality assurance, i.e. product inspection and process inspection. The firm needs to apply these two approaches. These approaches can reduce the cost and minimize the wastage of resources.

 

• Customer Satisfaction

How the company satisfies its customer, as Copeland has gotten rid of the traditional product line, so most of its customers are concerned about the disruption of the products.

Transferring the product line can cause dissatisfaction among the customer, so, to avoid this, the company needs to inform its customers about the change it brings in its products line. The company should also have knowledge regarding what its customers expect from it. Listening to customers’ needs is very important for the company to successfully operate.

• Lack of Planning

This is a common issue in every business, but it can get complex with time if it is left unresolved for a longer period of time. So, how Copeland manages to avoid the lack of planning problem when there is a period of uncertainty. Sometimes, the trends become the change and economic downturns take place and put the company in a bad condition.

To make sure that the company can survive in worst situation; it should make planning its topmost priority. The long-term and short-term goals should be established and planned for multiple outcomes. This will create flexibility in the company. The other tool that should be used is forecasting, and it should be used in all decision-making procedures.

• Lack of Performance Monitoring

When there is a lack of performance monitoring, it causes inefficiency in the company’s operations and profitability. If the staff’s performance remains unchecked; it can cause a lack of productivity. If this issues is left unaddressed, then the company’s profitability will decline without knowing the root cause of the problem.

Performance indicators can be created for the company to manage the employee’s performance. There quire expectations and outcomes should communicated to the employees and their performance should be checked on daily basis in order to know the areas which they require improvement in.

Q5

Information is very important for knowing the company’s issues’ root cause because conducting a thorough investigation can give you the perspective of identifying and preventing the issues in the company. Through the information, we brainstorm about the problem. And then makes the checklists on which basis we identify the main cause of the issue. This is based on the timeline approach as well like within the period we have to identify the problem and come up with the solution. The sequence diagrams and determination of causal factors can give a sight to a company to resolve its problems.

There can be many problems in the company’s operation, but knowing the exact reason for this, is very difficult. So, the companies should go for in-depth analysis and review of operations. They even involve the employees in the analysis or investigation, to know the root cause of the problems. Employees are very important assets for the companies as they possess great knowledge about the company which makes their inclusion in the investigation process very important.

Gathering information is the systematic and logical approach which the companies use to avoid mishaps and to handle difficult situations. It can improve the product’s quality, safety, reliability and ensures that the product is growing in the market. This can reduce the cost of the company. To improve its t current performance; it is important for the company to know the root cause of problems lying in the company’s performance. If the company just estimates the cause and invests in that, then it can lose profitability and can also incur more cost due to a wrong investment in finding a solution. A true understanding of the problem will help the company in having smooth operation and having profitable return by selling quality products………………….

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