Unit 8 Problems

Name

Institutional Affiliation

Unit 8 Problems

Problem 6

A. Sequence the jobs using (1) FCFS, (2) SPT, (3) EDD, and (4) CR. Assume the list is by order of arrival.

1. First      Come, First Served (FCFS)

Sequence

Job   Time

Flow   Time

Due   Date

Lateness

A

14

14

20

0

B

10

24

16

8

C

7

31

15

16

D

6

37

17

20

TOTALS

37

106

44

The sequencing of the jobs based on the First Come, First Served (FCFS) basis is A – B – C – D, and the chart shows that shows that jobs B, C, and D will be late by a total of 44 days. 

1. Shortest      Possible Time (SPT)

Sequence

Job   Time

Flow   Time 

Due   Date

Lateness   

D

6

6

17

0

C

7

13

15

0

B

10

23

16

7

A

14

37

20

17

TOTALS

37

79

24

The sequencing on the jobs based on the Shortest Possible Time is D – C – B – A, and the chart shows that jobs B and A will be late by a total of 24 days. 

1. Earliest      Due Date (EDD)

Sequence

Job   Time

Flow   Time

Due   Date

Days   Tardy

C

7

7

15

0

B

10

17

16

1

D

6

23

17

6

A

14

37

20

17

TOTALS

37

84

24

The sequencing of the jobs based on the Earliest Due Date (EDD) is given as C – B – D – A, and the average completion time is 42 days. 

1. Critical      Ratio

Sequence

Job   Time

Flow   Time

Due   Date

Tardiness

A

14

37

20

17

C

7

44

15

29

D

6

50

17

33

B

10

60

16

44

TOTALS

37

191

123

All the critical ratios are greater than 1, and this indicates that all the jobs will be completed in time if scheduled as A – C – D – B. 

B. For each of the methods in part a, determine (1) the average job flow time, (2) the average tardiness, and (3) the average number of jobs at the work center. 

1. Average      time flow 

a) FCFS = average completion time/number of jobs = 106/4 = 26.5 days. 

b) SPT = average completion time/number of jobs = 79/4 = 19.75 days

c) EDD = average completion time/number of jobs = 84/4 = 21 days 

d) CR = average completion time/number of jobs = 191/4 = 47.75 days 

1. Average      tardiness 

a) FCFS = 44/4 = 11 days

b) SPT = 24/4 = 6 days 

c) EDD =24/4 = 6 days 

d) CR = 123/4 = 30.75 days 

1. Average      number of jobs 

a) FCFS = 106/37 = 2.865

b) SPT = 79/37 = 2.135

c) EDD = 84/37 = 2.270

d) CR = 191/37 = 5.162

C. Is one method superior to the others? Explain. 

None of the methods is superior than the others because they each have their inherent weaknesses in addition to their strengths. For example, using the FCFS and SPT priority rules results in the increased delays in jobs that require longer times to complete while the EDD approach tends to ignore the processing times during the scheduling. However, the CR method has the most weaknesses in scheduling of the jobs. 

Problem 11

Given the operation times provided: 

a. Develop a job sequence that minimizes idle time at the two work centers. 

The determination of the job sequence that would reduce the idle time at the two work centers is completed using the Johnson’s as shown in the table below: 

Developing   the Job Sequence

Iteration

Job   Sequence

Comments 

A

D

The   shortest job time is 12 minutes for D at Center 2, and thus D is scheduled   last. 

B

B

D

D   is then removed from the table of eliminated times and the next least job   time is observed as 16 minutes for B at Center 1. Thus, B is scheduled first.   

C

B

A

D

B   is then eliminated from the table and the next least job time is 20 minutes   for A at Center 1 and is there scheduled next. 

D

B

A

F

D

A   is then eliminated from the table and the next least time is 24 minutes for F   at Center 2 and this is scheduled next. 

E

B

A

E

F

D

F   is then eliminated from the table and the next least time is E at Center 2   and this is scheduled next. 

F

B

A

C

E

F

D

E   is then eliminated from the table and the last least time is 43 minutes at   Center 1 and it is scheduled the earliest. 

Thus the job sequence that reduces the idle time at Centers 1 and 2 is given as B – A – C- E – F – D

b. Construct a chart of the activities at the two centers, and determine each one’s idle time, assuming no other activities are involved. 

The chart of activities for the two centers is shown below: 

0

16

0

36

79

114

156

216

B

A

C

E

F

D

B

A

C

E

F

D

16

46

73

79

130

158

218

216

228

From the chart, the idle time at Center is given as 0 minutes while the total idle time at Center 2 is given as ((16 – 0) + (79 – 73) + (216 – 182)) = 16 + 6 + 34 = 56 minutes. 

CASE STUDY I:

CULTURAL DIVERSITY AT NIKKO HOTELS INTERNATIONAL

Nikko Hotels international is a subsidiary of the Japan Airlines (JAL) Development Company, Ltd. It was created as JAL’s diversification and globalization strategy to strengthen the company’s marketing and financial position. Known for its aggressive global marketing and application of new technology in hotel operations, the company is determined to establish a worldwide network of hotels comparable in number to Hilton, Sheraton, and inter-Continental. It has forty-four properties in its worldwide portfolio by 1997. Relating to the theme of this chapter, this case study focuses on the cultural diversity of Nikko’s management team and the cultural adjustment made by Nikko’s executives when they first entered the U.S lodging market.

The decision to enter the U.S hotel market was intended to establish Nikko’s identity and reputation in the large and competitive U.S travel market. But, Nikko’s entry into the market presented some cultural challenges to the company, particularly the transfer of a corporate culture based on Japanese cultural values to a multicultural workplace in the United States.

The first hotel Nikko hotels International acquired in the United States was the Essex House in New York City. The famous Essex House was to be a springboard for Nikko’s future growth. Nikko’s executives believed that if they could do well with the Essex house in the competitive New York market, they would do well in other markets in the United States. Nikko’s strategy and management operation would be tested in this major world commercial city and adjusted to the competitive and changing requirements of the U.S. lodging market.

The Essex House was originally managed by Marriott Corporation. When Nikko took over the ownership and management, all on-site Marriott managers and staff were invited to stay with the new company. In response to Nikko’s invitation, six managers decided to stay. These six director of rooms, an Austrian director of food and beverage, an Irish director of human resources, a Lebanese chief engineer, and a north American director of marketing. A Japanese controller was later added to this executive management team, which represented a highly diversified cultural group of managers.

Because of the diverse group, the corporate office of hotel Nikko (USA) Inc. decided to develop an executive team building program. With the assistance of several professors at Cornell University, Nikko Executive Team Development Program was formulated for executive leadership exercises and stimulations. This program included an overview of the hotel development trends in the United States and a perspective on Japanese management. The end result of this four-day retreat was to create a Nikko Mission Statement.

The executive retreat was held in May 1985 in Ithaca, a city in upstate New York. The participants were divided into small working groups to discuss group leadership issues and the hotel’s mission statement. The president of the company, Yasuyuki Miura, did not participate in the group work, which was natural for a Japanese company president. After the group sessions, the teams reconvened to present their discussion results. At the time, Miura came to the presentations and commented on them in a manner that the non-Japanese executives found annoying.

The managers began to complain: “If you have already formed your own mission statement, don’t waste our time and energy, just give it to us! We don’t like being tested like Students.” “On the other hand, if you don’t have on yet and would like to contribute, why did you join us from the start?”

Miura was shocked to hear these sharp criticisms from his subordinates. It took a few minutes before he could control himself. He then told the mangers: “Okay, you guys go to the student pub and keep complaining and accusing me over as much as you can drink. It’s on me. My poor Japanese executives will accompany you and listen to you patiently. Who knows, they may even agree with you. In the meantime, I will go to my room and do my homework like a good student. First thing tomorrow, I will tell you about my career, experiences, management philosophy, and aspirations. If that is acceptable to you, let’s begin again.”

The managers drank happily that night, while Miura worked very hard. The next day, Miura began his speech to the executive team in a frank and all humble manner. He described the global strategic development by JAL, and explained why Nikko had come to the United States. Then he shared with the executive team his twenty-seven-year experience with JAL, and concluded with an appeal for cooperation. After this speech, he joined the executive team as a working participant to develop the Nikko Mission Statement.

This executive retreat was a great experience for all the executive and managers since they all worked hard to find common ground. After heated discussions and sincere attempts to reach a consensus, the team formulated the Nikko Hotels Mission Statement in the most participatory manner. The statement reads:

At Nikko Hotels, our guests always find:

dedicated employees,

attentive service,

quality facilities,

together in harmony.

Case Study Source

Yasuyuki Miura, “Success Strategy: Nikko Hotels International Smiles a hearty Smile,” In World-Class Service, eds. Germaine W. Shames and W. Gerald Glover ) Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press,1989), pp. 35-43.

Case Study Questions

1. Why did Japan Airlines Development Company decide to develop a hotel company in the mid-1980s?

2. Why did Nikko Hotels International choose the Essex House in New York City as its first property in the United States?

3. Can you describe the cultural diversity of the management team at the Essex House?

4. What was the purpose of the executive retreat?

5. When did Miura join the managers at the executive retreat?

6. How did he annoy the non-Japanese managers during their presentations?

7. Why was Miura shocked to hear complaints from his managers? What did he do after he regained control of himself?

8. What happened the next day?

9. What is the mission statement for Nikko Hotels?

10. Can you explain what cultural blunder Miura committed during the executive retreat and how he ridged the cultural gap and brought the team together?

Unit VI Scholarly Activity

Select an existing company, possibly a publicly held company in order to find easily accessible information. Research the company and compile a SWOT analysis identifying a minimum of four elements under each of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Explain each element with an eye on how this affects the company overall. Once the table has been compiled, address the following questions:

1. How does this tool assist the marketing and management teams to solve problems within the company?

2. Based upon your research and this SWOT analysis, what recommendations would you make for the management

team?

Write a researched argument about an issue affecting your future career field or your major field(major：Elecrical Engineering). This paper is your own argument, but you should take into account what you’ve learned during this course:  begin by showing the conversation your paper is responding to (“they say,” which should include clear positions on the topic), have a clear statement of your own argument about the issue (“I say”), include quotes and incorporate them smoothly (both in the “they say” and “I say” paragraphs), point out possible objections to your argument, use appropriate transitions, and explain why the issue matters (so what? who cares?).  You must use at least 5 sources and at least 2 must be from academic peer reviewed journals.  You should also give your argument a clear title at the beginning of your essay.
No plagiarism: Review the definitions of plagiarism, and remember that plagiarism also includes submitting a paper from another class for this class.

Recommended structure:  For this paper you have 5-6 pages to work with and you need to include, in effect, five major parts:

1. Introduction: includes an overview of the conversation (names of key authors and the issues you’re bringing up), a brief statement of your argument (or thesis statement), and a brief explanation of why your argument matters
2. summary of 2 or 3 authors or arguments, with quotes as evidence
3. summary of how they agree/disagree; provide quotes if necessary
4. your own opinion and your reasons for your opinion (which includes at least one naysayer); provide quotes as evidence
5. Conclusion: includes a return sentence, a restatement of your argument, and a developed explanation of why your argument matters

Note that these are five parts, not paragraphs (exceptions: the introduction and the conclusion are usually one paragraph each).  What could this look like?  Here’s an example:  After the brief introductory paragraph (where you introduce your topic, an overview of the conversation you’re entering, a sense of your argument and briefly why your argument matters), you might have a summary of one author (1 paragraph), then a summary of the second author (1 paragraph), and a summary of another author or position (1 paragraph).  Then you might have one paragraph that explains how they agree or disagree (though you can already allude to that in the summary paragraphs through phrases like “Unlike X, Y asserts that…”).  Note that the paragraph that explains how the authors or arguments agree or disagree is still “they say,” since you’re not yet putting forward your own opinion on the issues.  At that point you’ll have written about 3 pages.  Then you write your own argument (“I say”) in relation to the conversation you’ve set up (about two pages).  At that point you’ve written about 5 pages.  Then you end with a concluding paragraph, where you wrap it up with a return sentence and again explain why it matters. 

Keep in mind that this way of structuring your argument is only a suggestion; it doesn’t have to be exactly like that.  But hopefully this gives you an idea of what this kind of paper could look like.

I need to get three documents in the end:

1. Argumentative Paper Topic Proposals 

• Do a little research and see what scholars or stakeholders are saying about a topic relevant to your field, your major, your community, or an issue covered in the readings for this class.  Keep in mind that you are looking for ongoing conversations (that is, arguments), not just facts, so you want to choose a topic that has some kind of debate surrounding it.  Skim a few articles (no need to read in-depth at this point, but you might want to save your sources for later use).  Once you’ve read the articles, use the They Say, I Say format to write a paper proposal (length:  one paragraph, meaning at least three sentences).  Attach this document as a Microsoft Word document.
• Here is the structure for this assignment:
• X says___________________whereas Y says________________________.   I will argue ___________________.
• Note: Your paragraph should have enough detail to show you’ve read something.  Use specific details.  Also note that you are writing for academic purposes, so your tone will be more formal than conversational.
• Here is an example (Note that the topic here is “writing” and the “I say” part of the argument reflects this emphasis.  Your topic probably will not be about “writing” and therefore should have quite a different “I Say” section):
• Scholars such as Kenneth Burke and April Brannon have discussed the role of listening in writing.  Burke believes all writing is an act of listening in which the writer situates himself in the “conversation of mankind” while Brannon calls for increased attention to listening, as opposed to voice-claiming, in composition classes.  I intend to investigate the role of listening in writing.  I believe this is a worthy topic because no writing exists in a vacuum, and it is important to acknowledge ongoing conversations and to respond to them in a rhetorically sophisticated way.
• After the paragraph, list your sources using the appropriate format (MLA or APA).

2. Find two academic articles and create a mini annotated bibliography. 

• Below are two examples from an annotated bibliography.  (Note that Titanium has messed up the formatting, particularly indentations.  Make sure your assignment is properly formatted).
• Graff, Gerald. Birkenstein, Cathy. “They Say, I Say”: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing.  New York: Norton & Company, 2006.
• Summary: Graff and Birkenstein seek to make academic writing more accessible by providing templates that allow writers to think critically about texts.  [P] While the authors acknowledge that the templates seem formulaic, perhaps something like the cousin of the five paragraph essay, they argue that their approach is actually an antidote to formulaic writing because it helps writers think critically and creatively about topics. Moreover, they believe their method is inherently democratic and argue, [Q] “This approach to writing therefore has an ethical dimension, since it asks writers not simply to keep proving and reasserting what they already believe but to stretch what they believe by putting it up against beliefs that differ, sometimes radically, from their own” (xxvi).
•             Comparison:  Written for a general audience, this book is not marred by jargon and is easily accessible.  Like LaMott’s book, this book functions as a how-to for writing.  However, unlike LaMott’s book, the authors present a philosophical discussion of academic writing that helps them assert that this type of writing is highly significant. 
• LaMott, Anne. Bird by Bird. New York: Random House, 1994.
• Summary: Using a funny and down-to-earth voice, Lamott offers advice on how to be a writer.  She organizes her book into five sections: writing, the writing frame of mind, help along the way, publication and other reasons to write, and the last class.   Each section consists of short chapters that deal with various aspects or issues surrounding writing such as getting started, drafting, and revising.  [P] LaMott’s work provides a discussion of the internal struggle that often occurs when writing and describes the struggle as something akin to having “voices” in your mind that try to distract you (7).  Her book is by no means a “research” report on writing, and her claims are not factual.  However, she does present some very real issues surrounding writing in an eloquent and engaging way; her book is aimed at the general reader and indeed was a NYTimes best seller).  [Q] She states, “Writing can give you what having a baby can give you; it can get you to start paying attention, can help you soften, can wake you up” (7).
• Comparison:  Unlike Graff and Birkenstein, LaMott does not discuss secondary sources.  Her more general aim is a personal appreciation of writing, not a philosophical consideration of the topic.  

3. The final draft of the paper.

• Grading Guide:  
• Introduction (10 points)
• Includes an overview of the conversation (names of key authors and the issues you’re bringing up), clear “I say” statement (thesis) placed in relation to authors, and a brief explanation of why your argument matters
• “They say” (20 points):  Shows conversation paper is responding to
• Summary includes basic information about authors as well as the full title of essays; summaries do not agree or disagree with authors (summaries inhabit worldview); summaries use sophisticated signal verbs to summarize authors’ points; no listing or “closest cliché” (pp. 31, 35, 33)
• Quoting (20 points): Uses quotes correctly and appropriately
• Quotes used to present “proof of evidence” (p. 42) in summary of authors’ arguments — Quotes should not be “orphans” (p. 43) — Quotes should be framed appropriately (“quotation sandwich”) (p. 46) — Quotes should be Introduced with appropriate verb (p. 47) — Quotes should present “proof of evidence” (p. 42) — Indicates page number of quote (p. 48)
• “I Say” (20 points):  Clear statement of your own argument
• Clearly distinguishes “they say” from “I say” – Clearly signals who is saying what: Uses at least one template from pp. 72-75 — “I say” includes clear reasons for argument that are not simply summaries of authors’ arguments – Clearly plants naysayer to support “I say” argument (use at least one template from pp. 82, 83,84-85, 89).
• Conclusion (10 points)
• Includes at least one “return sentence” in the conclusion to remind reader of what “they say” (p. 27); includes a restatement of thesis or “I say”; includes a developed explanation of why your argument matters (uses templates from pp. 95-96, 98-99).
• Bibliography or Works Cited (10 points)
• Includes proper bibliographic form — no annotations included here — includes 5 sources; 2 must be peer-reviewed
• Editing and tone (10 points)
• No editing errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting); Uses proper tone (formal where appropriate, informal where appropriate)

The file is the book we learnt in this class and the quatation styles.