Discuss the six key current challenges in operations management (OM) that managers need to understand
• Technology has been one of the most important influences on the growth and development of OM. Applications in design and manufacturing as well as the use of information technology in services have provided the ability to develop innovative products and more effectively manage and control extremely complex operations. As technology continues to evolve, OM needs to find ways to leverage and exploit it.
• Globalization has changed the way companies do business and must manage their operations. With advances in communications and transportation, we have passed from the era of huge regional factories with large labor forces and tight community ties to an era of the "borderless marketplace.". Value chains now span across many continents. Operations managers must continue to find better ways to manage and improve global value chains to compete against those of competitors.
• Consumers' expectations continually rise. They demand an increasing variety of high-quality goods with new and improved features that are delivered faster than ever—along with outstanding service and support. OM faces the challenge of ensuring that these multidimensional and often conflicting expectations are met.
• Engaging the workforce is increasingly important to achieve high-performing work environments in order to accomplish the mission and vision of today's organizations. This requires continual learning, new decision-making skills, more diversity, and better performance management. OM must be able to incorporate these new dimensions into job designs and daily management.
• Quality continues to be a challenge, despite the fact that organizations have focused on it intensely for more than a half century. Despite significant advances, organizations cannot take quality for granted and must continue to focus on it when designing goods and services, operations, and management systems.
• Innovation and agility are imperative to compete in today's business environment. Manufacturers must stay ahead of consumers' needs by increasing product innovation, speeding up time-to-market, and operating highly effective global supply chains. However, many emerging concepts, such as sustainability and green manufacturing, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, new methods of energy generation, and robotic medical equipment, provide new and exciting opportunities for revitalizing manufacturing through OM.
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A company can produce a product the first time at a cost of $2,500. If its 85 percent learning curve allows the company to reduce its costs on each product, what is the total cost of producing 400 units of the new product?
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
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