Student Analysis

VIDEO CASE 9: PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT OF GOODS AND SERVICES Ball Company Name: Ksenia Tarasova 1. What is the situation with manufacturers in your area? Are they firing workers or hiring more? What are some of the environmental factors affecting local plants? The Lansing region is an important notch in the Midwest manufacturing belt. Lansing’s downtown area continues to undergo a facelift that began in the late 1990s. Loft development is bolstered by grant monies if certain criteria are met.
One such project that is scheduled for completion in late 2006 is the $7 million conversion of the downtown Plaza One building into offices, retail stores, and about 50 apartments. In 2001 General Motors (GM) built its first new assembly plant in the United States since 1986, an innovative 1. 9 million-square-foot, $585 million Lansing factory whose 11,000 workers produce three different types of Cadillac automobiles. Nearby Delta Township witnessed the opening of a GM stamping plant in 2003 and another new assembly plant is expected to start operations in 2006.
Despite the 2004 departure of the historic Oldsmobile plant, the city received a huge boost by the 2001 opening of the new General Motors (GM) plant. Industrial leaders such as GM adapt progressive manufacturing processes and new technology. Many firms are following GM’s lead to institute advanced materials-handling techniques and to encourage participatory management, with the goal of improving product quality and increasing competitiveness. A variety of high-technology firms spawned at Michigan State University has pushed for rapid growth in that industry.

The creation of new jobs that feed into a prosperous economy is the purpose behind the Michigan Economic Growth Authority. Fiscally-responsible companies in the fields of manufacturing, research and development, wholesale trade, or office operations can make use of Small Business Tax credits. The Lansing area has two designated Renaissance Zones that, if a business locates inside the zone, allows for waiving a variety of taxes such as the single business tax, local real property tax, and utility users tax.
Michigan communities can abate up to 50 percent of local property taxes for up to 12 years. State law also exempts inventory, pollution control equipment, and certain tools, dies, jigs, and fixtures from local property taxes. State law also allows the city of Lansing to abate all new personal property taxes in certain geographic areas to spur economic development. Abatements include all millage, state and local. Eligible projects include manufacturing, mining, research and development, wholesale and trade, and office operations, but not retail businesses. . How many companies can you name that have in-sourced manufacturing to the United States? Why do you suppose they chose the U. S. and the specific states they did to produce those products? One of I know it is a Dart Container. According my Internet research, the Dart story begins with a small machine shop in Mason, Michigan known as Dart Manufacturing Company. Established in 1937, this modest business prospered through the manufacture of such products as plastic key cases, steel tape measures, and identification tags for the armed services.
Subsequent experimentation with expandable polystyrene in the late 1950s led to a line of high quality insulated foam cups, and Dart Container Corporation was born. Since 1960, Dart Container has been a leading manufacturer of insulated foam cups and containers. Today, they are the largest such manufacturer in the world, supplying a comprehensive line of single-use food and beverage packaging productions to national and international foodservice markets.
Their goal is to provide customers with the products they need-products that meet the demands of today’s varied food and beverage applications while maintaining the highest level of quality and service available in the industry. To ensure this, they personally manage each step of product manufacturing and distribution-from the processing of raw materials all the way through to the delivery of finished products on our own fleet of trucks. 3. What are CAD, CAM, and JIT? CAD is computer-aided design that use of computers in the design of products.
CAM is computer-aided manufacturing that use of computers in the manufacturing of products. Just-in-Time Manufacturing (JIT) JIT is a method of production that is used to meet customers’ needs with the minimum of delay and without the need to store large amounts of stock. (Dead capital) JIT uses computer-aided stock control in which materials are delivered from outside, just before they are needed at each stage of manufacturing. Automated stock-control ensures that materials and components are well stocked and available on demand (“just in time”) when they are needed, thus reducing waste and dead capital. . Have you given any thought to the future of manufacturing in the United States? What industries might benefit from the government’s stimulus package? What evidence have you seen of companies adapting to the new challenges of foreign manufacturers There is a several Industries That Benefit From The Stimulus Plan: Construction: This is, by far, the largest area to be affected with the stimulus plan. Obama’s plan is to help stabilize the nation’s infrastructure. The country’s infrastructure needs fixing and this portion could save or create 1. 85 million jobs.
Education: Government wants to promote the hiring of more teachers and special programs and extra-curricular activities that have fallen by the wayside in these economic times. In addition to new teachers, look for it also to help the book, clothing, uniform, athletic, and paper industries. Medical Technology: There are huge opportunities in this industry. As the nation moves to using more computers, doctors need to keep up on changes and advancements to keep us healthy. There are more people that need medical treatment as the “baby boomers” come of age and obesity is everywhere.
Problems with drug interactions can be avoided with better information and the stimulus plan realizes this need to the tune of $19 billion for updating health information. Computer programmers and educators, plus new medical personnel to use this equipment will be benefits. Green Companies: Everyone is going green and the government wants to promote this. As car companies search for a better way to create a hybrid car and homes are shrinking their carbon footprint, America is trying to avoid the $4 gallon of gas and the rising heating and cooling costs.
The stimulus package proposes to give money to these companies that are accomplishing the reduction of energy expenditure. People affected by this are energy companies and their workers, construction companies, architects, HVAC businesses, manufacturers and more. What is Ball doing to stay competitive? ·Focusing more on customers ·Maintaining close relationships with suppliers and partners ·Practicing continuous improvement ·Focusing on quality ·Saving money through site selection ·Utilizing the internet ·Adopting new production techniques. 5. The video mentions the loss of U.
S. manufacturing to overseas locations. What is this called? What is the opposite trend that has occurred in the U. S. with companies like Toyota and Honda? According Internet research (http://www. ukdissertations. com/dissertations/business/car-automobile-toyota. php#ixzz2QC0VjRPE): Toyota Motors Corporation (TMC) has become one of the biggest car manufacturers of the world from a humble start seventy years ago (Toyota, 2008). Toyota’s has been one of the most phenomenal success stories in the ultra-competitive automobile industry and can be a great benchmark for any company.
GM and Ford are cutting thousands of jobs and closing plants, while Toyota is building one new plant each year. Ford in particular has found the going tough and a $12. 7 billion deficit in 2006 coupled with significant losses among its subsidiaries signals the most miserable year of the company’s existence. As GM and Ford have racked up huge losses in the past few years, their financial ratings have shrunk. Toyota is now worth 10 times as much as GM on the stock market.