Question

Steps to prepare a group report:

1) Please thoroughly study/review pages 111 to 114 from the textbook for this group report. Each student is expected to bring one example from real-life and/or past workplaces or your own observations of a situation or a process, which you find to be similar to one of the cases described on pages 112-113 and which could be improved, or was improved through one of the proposed solutions on those pages, as per your observations.


2) Each student must document his/her/their example in 1-2 pages max (and then the group must work together to prepare a group report with proper formatting). For each example, please describe the process at a high level (and/or in more detail if available), and then articulate the situation that needed improvement. Afterwards, explain which one of the cases from those noted on pages 112-113 could be applicable to that process in that situation and could have made a difference toward improving that process/situation. If you observed and/or participated in some improvement activities for that process/situation as well, please describe what activities or solutions were applied, and mention the case from pages 112-113 to which your observed improvement was relevant.


In summary:


Each group is needed to submit one written report which must include 1 example provided by each student in your group. Each example must describe certain things, and must follow a structure that explains and covers the following aspects:


1) What is the situation or your observed scenario/process (describe it at a high level but provide more details such as process metrics, observed issues, challenges, etc. )


2) Which of the cases from pages 112-113 applies or was applicable to enable some improvements in that scenario/example that you have provided. Explain how applying that solution (from pages 112-113) improved, could improve, or could have improved that process, and provide your observation and high-level analysis. Here is an example from a past report submitted by the students:


Example: "I am an international student and work at Tim Hortons. A year ago, the restaurant was only serving through the skip-the-dishes and/or directly to the customers, and it was not getting much income. Accordingly, this was an issue of External bottlenecks, which means that while the staff had the capacity to serve more people, there was not enough demand coming their way. After a while, Tim Hortons started accepting orders from Uber eats and Doordash delivery, as a result of which, the restaurant is getting higher profits which also helps maintain the market position and address the issue of external bottlenecks (NOTE: if you have some ballpark numbers to add here, it will be great to give the audience a sense of how much improvement was obtained in throughput as a result). However, a downside of these increased delivery channels was an increased wait time for the customers and an increased burden on employees as they needed to do more hard work (and obviously this caused an internal bottleneck to emerge). Tim Hortons could address this issue through the following actions, which is an example of spiral improvements and shifting the bottlenecks as per what is described on page 113:


- Increase the number of resources


- Look for ways to speed up the processes


- Provide incentives to encourage happy hours and outside the peak hours ordering to level the capacity and move work off the bottlenecks

Answer 1

Preparing a group report can be a collaborative and organized process. Here are step-by-step guidelines to help you and your group members prepare the report:

Step 1: Individual Research and Example Collection

Each student in the group should thoroughly study and review pages 111 to 114 of the textbook. They should look for cases described on pages 112-113 that pertain to process improvement in various scenarios. Additionally, each student needs to bring one real-life example, observation, or past workplace experience that resembles one of the cases described in the textbook and could be improved through similar solutions.

Step 2: Documenting Individual Examples

Each student should document their example in 1-2 pages (maximum). The report structure for each example should include the following aspects:

a) Situation Description: Describe the scenario or process in detail. Explain the high-level process and, if possible, provide process metrics, observed issues, challenges, etc. Give the readers a clear understanding of the situation that needed improvement.

b) Applicable Solution: Identify and explain which of the cases from pages 112-113 can be applicable to enable improvements in the provided example. Elaborate on how applying that particular solution (from pages 112-113) could, could have, or did improve the process/situation in question. This should be based on your observations and high-level analysis.

c) Improvement Activities (If Applicable): If you observed or participated in any improvement activities for that process/situation, describe them in detail. Explain what actions or solutions were applied to address the identified issues. Make connections to the relevant case from pages 112-113 that the observed improvement aligns with.

Step 3: Group Collaboration and Formatting

Once each student has documented their example, the group should work together to compile the individual reports into one cohesive group report. Ensure proper formatting, consistency in writing style, and a logical flow of information.

Step 4: Introduction and Conclusion

Write an introduction to the group report, providing an overview of the purpose and content. In the conclusion, summarize the key findings and insights from the individual examples and their relation to the cases on pages 112-113. Highlight any common themes or patterns that emerged.

Step 5: Review and Edit

Review the group report collectively to check for clarity, coherence, and accuracy. Make sure all relevant information is included and that the report adheres to the given guidelines.

Step 6: Submission

Once the report is finalized and reviewed, submit it as per the instructor's instructions.

By following these steps, your group can create a well-structured and insightful report that effectively demonstrates the understanding of process improvement concepts and their application in real-life scenarios. Good luck with your group report!