1. What things could you learn about a company’s culture by observing the layout and design of its production facility? Discuss both goods and services operations.

Company’s culture is a set of shared values and norms that support the management system and that guide management and employee behavior. Observing both the layout and the design of a company tells one a lot about the company’s culture. The culture of the company is defined by individual’s practice of shared values and norms in a workplace. For instance, if a production facility is utilizing the cellular layout or the mixed-model assembly lines, it promotes a teamwork environment; Cellular layout being a method of arranging a facility so that parts with similar shapes or processing requirements are processed together in work centers. Both layouts bring employees together for productions processes. In service operations, such as a bank, corporate culture is portrayed clearly with the way the office is situated. JP Morgan Chase Bank is one bank that is located both in United States and internationally with each office building being designed to embrace certain corporate culture. Most of the United States offices are designed with open floor plans and low-level cubicles that promote team environment. My personal experience has showed me that having an open floor plan allows one to share ideas with their co-workers, other employees more openly. It also allows one to gain knowledge of the actual service being provided by the company. Whether a company is a production facility or a bank that is located globally, more insight on the company’s corporate culture can be shown with the environmental design.

2. To get the project underway, you’ll first need to resolve several issues. For instance, what criteria should Microsoft departments use for evaluating suppliers? List four to six of these criteria (such as on-time delivery). How often should suppliers be evaluated? Why? What response should Microsoft expect from suppliers after their evaluation? What will you do to encourage positive response?
(40 points). This assignment should be at least one page long but no more than two pages.

In order for any company to function at the best of its ability, it has to have the best starting force, the production process. Production process consists of six important tasks, establishing the supply chain, forecasting demand, planning for capacity, choosing a facility location, designing a facility layout, and scheduling work. Managers must first prepare estimates of future demand for the company’s products, other known as production forecasts. Next, a business ‘s volume of manufacturing or service delivery must be considered; also known as capacity planning. Third step consists of finding a facility location that minimizes regional costs (land, construction, labor), transportation costs, and raw material costs. After the location has been selected, facility layout must be decided on including the arrangement of production work centers and other facilities needed for processing of goods and services. Lastly, managers need to create a master production schedule. When a supplier is being