Strategy: Discussion Questions

Chapter 02 - Strategy
CHAPTER 2
STRATEGY
Discussion Questions
1. What is meant by a “triple-bottom-line” strategy? Give an example of a company that has

adopted this type of strategy.
A triple-bottom-line strategy places emphasis on a company’s environmental and social

responsibilities as well as the traditional bottom line of economic prosperity. It recognizes that
the long-term health of the firm is interdependent with the health of the environment and the
betterment of society. There are many examples – one if Kraft Foods. For details see their 2010
report:
http://www.kraftfoodscompany.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/pdf/kraftfoods_responsibility_rep
ort.pdf
2. Find examples where companies have used features related to environmental sustainability to
“win” new customers.
Car companies use environmental concerns in marketing ads. The development of hybrid and
flex-fuel cars is one way they have operationalized those concerns. Consumer goods companies
display the “made with recycled material” logo on the packaging. Bottled water manufacturers
are using and advertising bottles made with less plastic.
3. What are the major priorities associated with operations and supply chain strategy? How has
their relationship to each other changed over the years?
The four major imperatives are cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility. In the sixties, these four
imperatives were viewed from a tradeoffs perspective. For example, this meant that improving
quality would result in higher cost, and in many cases that was true. However, advances in
manufacturing and information technologies since then have reduced the size of those tradeoffs,
allowing firms to improve on several or all of these imperatives simultaneously, gaining greater
competitive advantage than was possible 50 years ago. The problem now becomes one of
prioritizing and managing towards orderly improvement.
4. Why does the “proper” operations and supply chain strategy keep changing for companies that
are world-class competitors?
The top three priorities have generally remained the same over time: make it good, make it fast,
and deliver it on time. Others have changed. Part of this may be explained by realizing that world
class organizations have achieved excellence in these three areas and are, therefore, focusing
attention on some of the more minor areas to gain competitive advantage. The changes in the
minor priorities may result from recognizing opportunities or from changes in customer desires or
expectations.
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5. What is meant by the expressions order winners and order qualifiers? What was the order
winner(s) for your last purchase of a product or service?
Order winners are dimensions that differentiate the product or service or services of one firm from
another. Order qualifiers are dimensions that are used to screen a product or service as a
candidate for purchase. Order qualifiers get a company’s “foot in the door.” Order winners are
what make the sale. Obviously, answers will vary for the order winners from your last purchase.
6. Pick a company that you are familiar with and describe its operations strategy and how it relates
to winning customers. Describe specific activities used by the company that support the strategy.
Student answers will vary widely based on their experiences and views. It might be helpful for a
classroom exercise to assign certain companies to a number of students/teams and compare their
answers in class.
7. At times in the past, the dollar showed relative weakness with respect to foreign currencies, such
as the yen, mark, and pound. This stimulated exports. Why would long-term reliance on a lower
valued dollar be at best a short-term solution to the competitiveness problem?
This approach is dependent on economic policies of other nations. This is a fragile dependency. A
long-term approach is to increase manufacturing and service industry productivity in order to
regain competitive advantage. At a national level, solutions appear to lie in reversing attitudes.
At a firm level, competitive weapons are consistent quality, high performance, dependable
delivery, competitive pricing, and design flexibility.
8. Identify an operations and supply chain - related "disruption" that recently impacted a company.
What could the company have done to have minimized the impact of this type of disruption prior
to it occurring?
The March 2011 tsunami that struck Japan was geographically concentrated but had global
impact on multiple firms, many of which had no physical presence at all in the affected area.
Examples include firms that had sole source agreements with suppliers in the affected area. The
tsunami left these companies scrambling to find new suppliers to feed into their supply chains.
These firms could have reduced the impact of the tsunami by having a few high-quality,
dependable suppliers located in different geographical regions. There are many other examples
that could be taken from this one event. A simple Internet search will provide plenty of material
for discussion.
9. What do we mean when we say productivity is a “relative” measure?
For productivity to be meaningful, it must be compared with something else. The comparisons
can be either intra-company as in the case of year-to-year comparisons of the same measure, or
intercompany as in the case of benchmarking. Intercompany comparisons of single factor
productivity measures can be somewhat tenuous due to differences in accounting practices
(especially when comparing with foreign competitors) and the balance of labor to capital
resources. Total factor productivity measures are somewhat more robust for comparison
purposes.
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Objective Questions
1. Shell Oil Company’s motto “People, Planet and Profit” is a real-world implementation of what
OSCM concept?
Triple bottom line
2. A firm’s strategy should describe how it intends to create and sustain value for
________________________.
its current shareholders
3. What is the term used to describe individuals or organizations that are influenced by the actions
of the firm?
Stakeholders
4. How often should a company develop and refine the operations and supply chain strategy.
At least yearly
5. What is the term used to describe product attributes that attract certain customers and can be
used to form the competitive position of a firm?
Competitive dimensions
6. What are the two main competitive dimensions related to product delivery?
Delivery speed and delivery reliability
7. What are the two characteristics of a product or service that define quality?
Design quality and process quality
8. A diagram that shows how a company’s strategy is delivered by a set of supporting activities is
called a _____________________________.
activity-system map
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9. In implementing supply chain strategy a firm must minimize its total cost without compromising
the needs of its ____________________________.
Customers
10. What is defined as the likelihood of disruption that would impact the ability of a company to
continuously supply products or services?
Supply chain risk
11. Risks caused by natural or manmade disasters, and therefore impossible to reliably predict, are
called ______________________.
Disruption risks
12. Match the following common risks with the appropriate mitigation strategy.
E Country risks A: Detailed tracking, alternate suppliers
D Regulatory risk B: Carefully select and monitor suppliers
A Logistics failure C: Contingency planning, insurance
C Natural disaster D: Good legal advice, compliance
B Major quality failure E: Currency hedging, local sourcing
13. The assessment of the probability of a negative event against the aggregate severity of the
related loss is called _____________________________.
Risk mapping
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14. As Operations Manager, you are concerned about being able to meet sales requirements in the
coming months. You have just been given the following production report.
JAN FEB MAR APR
Units Produced 2175 1675 2675 2875
Hours per Machine 307 186 382 307
Number of Machines 4 6 5 6
Find the average of the monthly productivity figures (units per machine hour).
To answer this we need to realize that the measure of hours given is per machine, so we have to
multiply that by the number of machines in each period to get the total machine hours in each
period. Those figures are used in the calculations below.
Average productivity: (2175/1228 + 1675/1116 + 2675/1910 + 2875/1842)/4
Average productivity (1.77+1.50+1.40+1.56)/4= 1.56 units per machine hour
15. Sailmaster makes high-performance sails for competitive windsurfers. Below is information
about the inputs and outputs for one model, the Windy 2000.
Units sold 1,224

Sale price each $1,707
Total labor hours 46,681
Wage rate $12/hour
Total materials $60,500
Total energy $4,012
Calculate the productivity in sales revenue/labor expense.
We have to do some interim calculations here. Sales revenue is calculated by multiplying

units sold by the unit sales price. Labor expense is calculated by multiplying labor hours by
the wage rate.
(1224*1707) / (46681*12) = 3.73
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16. Live Trap Corporation received the data below for its rodent cage production unit. Find the total
productivity?
Output Input
49,000 cages Production time 644 labor hours

Sales price: $3.90 per unit Wages $7.90 per hour
Raw materials (total cost) $31,500
Component parts (total cost) $15,250
Total productivity could be expressed two ways here based on how you express output: in
units sold, or dollars of sales.
Units sold:
49,000 / ((644 * $7.90) + 31,500 + 15,250) = 0.95 units sold per dollar input
Dollars of sales:
(49000*3.9) / ((644 * $7.90) + 31,500 + 15,250) = 3.69 dollars in sales per dollar input
17. Two types of cars (Deluxe and Limited) were produced by a car manufacturer last year.
Quantities sold, price per unit, and labor hours follow. What is the labor productivity for each car?
Explain the problem(s) associated with the labor productivity.
QUANTITY $/UNIT
Deluxe car 4,000 units sold $8,000/car
Limited car 6,000 units sold $9,500/car
Labor, Deluxe 20,000 hours $12/hour
Labor, Limited 30,000 hours $14/hour
Labor Productivity – units/hour
Model Output Input Productivity

in Units in Labor Hours (Output/Input)
Deluxe Car 4,000 20,000 0.20 units/hour
Limited Car 6,000 30,000 0.20 units/hour
Labor Productivity – dollars
Model Output Input Productivity

in Dollars in Dollars (Output/Input)
Deluxe Car 4,000($8,000)= 20,000($12.00)= 133.33
$32,000,000 $240,000
Limited Car 6,000($9,500)= 30,000($14.00)= 135.71
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$57,000,000 $420,000
The labor productivity measure is a conventional measure of productivity. However, as a partial

measure, it may not provide all of the necessary information that is needed. For example, increases in
productivity could result from decreases in quality, and/or increases in material cost.
18. A U.S. manufacturing company operating a subsidiary in an LDC (less-developed country) shows
the following results:
U.S. LDC
Sales (units) 90,000 20,010
Labor (hours) 20,105 15,120
Raw materials (currency) $19,550 FC 21,000
Capital equipment (hours) 63,000 5,120
a. Calculate partial labor and capital productivity figures for the parent and subsidiary. Do
the results seem misleading?
Labor Productivity
Country Output Input Productivity

in Units in Hours (Output/Input)
U.S. 90,000 20,105 4.48 units/hour
LDC 20,010 15,120 1.32 units/hour
Capital Equipment Productivity

U.S. 90,000 63,000 1.43 units/hour
LDC 20,010 5,120 3.91 units/hour
Yes. You might expect the capital equipment productivity measure to be higher in the U.S.
than in a LDC. Also, the measures seem contradictory. Each plant appears to be far more
productive than the other on one measure, but much worse on the other.
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b. Compute the multifactor productivity figures for labor and capital together. Do the
results make more sense?
Multifactor – Labor and Capital Equipment

U.S. 90,000 20,105 + 63,000= 1.08 units/hour
83,105
LDC 20,010 15,120 + 5,120= 0.99 units/hour

20,240
Yes, labor and equipment can be substituted for each other. Therefore, this multifactor
measure is a better indicator of productivity in this instance.
c. Calculate raw material productivity figures (units/$ where $1 = FC 10). Explain why these
figures might be greater in the subsidiary.
Raw Material Productivity

in Units in Dollars (Output/Input)
U.S. 90,000 $19,550 4.60 units/$
LDC 20,010 FC 20,010/$10 = 9.53 units/$

$2,100
The raw material productivity measures might be greater in the LDC due to a reduced cost
paid for raw materials, which is typical of LDC’s, especially if there are local sources for the
raw materials.
19. Various financial data for the past two years follow. Calculate the total productivity measure
and the partial measures for labor, capital, and raw materials for this company for both years.
What do these measures tell you about this company?
Last Year This Year

Output: Sales $201,005 $202,015
Input: Labor 30,010 40,010
Raw materials 34,775 44,785
Energy 4,870 5,890
Capital 49,700 49,700
Other 1,870 3,005
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Total Productivity
Year Output Input Productivity

Last Year $201,005 $30,010 + 34,775 + 1.66
4,870 + 49,700 + 1,870
= $121,225
This Year $202,015 $40,010 + 44,785 + 1.41
5,890 + 49,700 +3,005
= $143,390
Partial Measure – Labor
Year Output Input Productivity

Last Year $201,005 $30,010 6.70
This Year $202,015 $40,010 5.05
Partial Measure – Raw Materials
Output Input Productivity

Year
$34,775
Last Year $201,005 5.78
This Year $202,015 $44,785 4.51
Partial Measure – Capital

Year
$49,700
Last Year $201,005 4.04
This Year $202,015 $49,700 4.06
The overall productivity measure is declining, which indicates a possible problem. The partial
measures can be used to indicate cause of the declining productivity. In this case, it is a
combination of declines in both labor and raw material productivity, which were somewhat
offset by an increase in the capital productivity. Further investigation should be undertaken
to explain the drops in both labor and raw material productivity. An increase in the cost of
both of these measures, without an accompanying increase in the selling price might explain
these measures.
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20. An electronics company makes communications devices for military contracts. The company
just completed two contracts. The navy contract was for 2,600 devices and took 25 workers four
weeks (40 hours per week) to complete. The army contract was for 5,567 devices that were
produced by 37 workers in four weeks. On which contract were the workers more productive?

Contract
Navy 2600 25(4)40 = 4000 0.65
Army 5567 37(4)40 = 5920 0.94
The workers were more productive on the Army contract.
21. A retail store had sales of $45,100 in April and $55,200 in May. The store employs eight full-
time workers who work a 40-hour week. In April the store also had seven part-time workers at 13
hours per week, and in May the store had eight part-timers at 17 hours per week (assume four
weeks in each month). Using sales dollars as the measure of output, what is the percentage
change in productivity from April to May?

Month Percentage Change
in Dollars in Hours (Output/Input)
(8(40)+7(13))*4 =
April $45,100 27.43
1644
May $55,200 1824 30.26 (30.26-27.43)/27.43 = 10.32%
22. A parcel delivery company delivered 103,700 packages last year, when its average
employment was 82 drivers. This year the firm handled 112, 780 deliveries with 93 drivers. What
was the percentage change in productivity over the two years?

Year Percentage Change
in Packages in Drivers (Output/Input)
Last 103,700 82 1264.63
This 112,780 93 1212.69 (1212.69 -1264.63)/1264.63 = - 4.11%
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23. A fast-food restaurant serves hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and chicken sandwiches. The
restaurant counts a cheeseburger as equivalent to 1.28 hamburgers and chicken sandwiches as
0.79 hamburger. Current employment is eight full-time employees who work a 40-hour week. If
the restaurant sold 750 hamburgers, 915 cheeseburgers, and 510 chicken sandwiches in one
week, what is its productivity? What would its productivity have been if it had sold the same
number of sandwiches (2,175), but the mix was 725 of each type?
Output in
Input Productivity
Part Hamburger
in Hours (Output/Input)
Equivalents
750 Hamburgers
915 Cheeseburgers (1.28) 2324.10 320 7.26
510 Chicken Sandwiches (.79)
725 Hamburgers
725 Cheeseburgers (1.28) 2225.75 320 6.96
725 Chicken Sandwiches (.79)
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Chapter 02 - Strategy

1. What is meant by a “triple-bottom-line” strategy? Give an example of a company that has

A triple-bottom-line strategy places emphasis on a company’s environmental and social

9. What do we mean when we say productivity is a “relative” measure?

Triple bottom line

its current shareholders

Delivery speed and delivery reliability

Design quality and process quality

Supply chain risk

E Country risks A: Detailed tracking, alternate suppliers

D Regulatory risk B: Carefully select and monitor suppliers

A Logistics failure C: Contingency planning, insurance

C Natural disaster D: Good legal advice, compliance

B Major quality failure E: Currency hedging, local sourcing

JAN FEB MAR APR

Units Produced 2175 1675 2675 2875

Hours per Machine 307 186 382 307

Average productivity: (2175/1228 + 1675/1116 + 2675/1910 + 2875/1842)/4

Average productivity (1.77+1.50+1.40+1.56)/4= 1.56 units per machine hour

Units sold 1,224

Calculate the productivity in sales revenue/labor expense.

We have to do some interim calculations here. Sales revenue is calculated by multiplying

(1224*1707) / (46681*12) = 3.73

49,000 cages Production time 644 labor hours

Labor Productivity – units/hour

Model Output Input Productivity

Limited Car 6,000 30,000 0.20 units/hour

Labor Productivity – dollars

Model Output Input Productivity

Limited Car 6,000($9,500)= 30,000($14.00)= 135.71

The labor productivity measure is a conventional measure of productivity. However, as a partial

Country Output Input Productivity

LDC 20,010 15,120 1.32 units/hour

Capital Equipment Productivity

Country Output Input Productivity

LDC 20,010 5,120 3.91 units/hour

Multifactor – Labor and Capital Equipment

Country Output Input Productivity

LDC 20,010 15,120 + 5,120= 0.99 units/hour

Raw Material Productivity

Country Output Input Productivity

LDC 20,010 FC 20,010/$10 = 9.53 units/$

Last Year This Year

Year Output Input Productivity

Partial Measure – Labor

Year Output Input Productivity

This Year $202,015 $40,010 5.05

Partial Measure – Raw Materials

Output Input Productivity

This Year $202,015 $44,785 4.51

Partial Measure – Capital

Output Input Productivity

This Year $202,015 $49,700 4.06

Output Input Productivity

Army 5567 37(4)40 = 5920 0.94

The workers were more productive on the Army contract.

Output Input Productivity

Output Input Productivity

This 112,780 93 1212.69 (1212.69 -1264.63)/1264.63 = - 4.11%

(12241707) / (4668112) = 3.73