Problems in the Computer Assembly Division Essay

1.A clear statement of the problem As the assembly unit supervisor of a small computer manufacturing firm located in the southeast, I am in charge of a five- person operation responsible for assembling personal computers. My production goals include assembling 80 personal computers per day and ensuring 95% of these computers pass the operational inspection of the quality assurance unit. Over the past several weeks I have noticed that my team is not completing enough computers, and the average fell down to only 62 computers a day. Also, 15% of the computers assembled have been returned, as they are failing to meet the quality assurance standards. Furthermore, there is an issue with the supply parts, which I was told come in defective. There are also very serious problems associated with my subordinates. Bill and Morgan are taking advantage of time, coming to work late and taking longer lunch hours than permitted. There is also a substantial drop in the communication among the group members, as Morgan, Julie and Bill ex clude Fred and Sherry from their conversations. Lastly, workers feel favoritism toward Julie and Morgan, and Sherry announced that she wants to leave because of all the infighting in the assembly unit. It all comes down to the problem relating to the performance and the morale of my work unit. 2. Stakeholders a.you: in charge of a 5 person operation, goal of 80PC with 95% good b.Fred: assembles all hard drives, retired army sergeant, 16 years experience in electronics, 6 years assembling hard drives, claims to not be getting reliable parts from supplies so repairs parts self instead of waiting, has been keeping to himself c.Bill: assembles CD ROMs and floppy disks, new out of school, first full time job, 20 years old, in assemble unit for 1 year, takes longer than permitted lunch breaks but claims to stay later, talks only to Julie and Morgan d.Sherry: assembles mother boards, single mom of 2, completing bachelor’s degree in 3 months, has been with company for 4 years, has threatened to leave. She is an outstanding employee e.Julie: final assembly, 6 month experience, 22 years old, sister in law of owner, thinks Fred is doing a slow and shoddy job, talks to Morgan during first 2 hours, seems bored, singled out by owner with a 5% pay increase, talks only to Bill and Morgan f.Morgan: 5 years experience, only attended company’s operational inspection course, 6 months working in your unit, performs final inspections, comes late but claims to stay late, given days off to attend high school reunion, talks only to Bill and Julie g.Owner: concerned with morale and performance of work unit, man of action, wants specific plan 4.What if to solutions a.If we rotate the jobs, team members will be forced to learn something new, thus decreasing boredom. However, some employees may not have the proper training to do so. b.if we have Fred train Bill and Bill train Fred, then both will experience new jobs, while being forced to actually communicate with each other c. if we make Julie in charge of both the final assembly and inspection, then she will have more to do and not get bored. However, she might lack the education needed to fulfill two jobs, and thus might be sending out bad parts d.If we make sure people start on time and take proper lunch breaks, then people will be not be forced to rush through work. However, this may cause boredom because people will feel the pace is too slow.