Suppose you are working for a multinational company that has a couple of manufacturing plants in Puerto Rico. The company has been restructuring their operations worldwide and reducing operational costs by cutting 4,000 employees from different sites. Your plant was forced to layoff 45 employees out of 380 because of the company cost reduction plan. Although, the plant manager is assuring the employees that there will not be more layoff and the plant is meeting its production targets, there are many rumors going on throughout the plant, including shutting down the plant and moving the operations to Asia or Ireland.
You, as the plant industrial engineer, are working on several cost reduction projects. While revising the time standards of one assembly line, you realize that by installing some new machines in the market and doing some simple changes in the standard procedures, the company could have a net benefit of up to $250,000 annually. However, implementing the changes will result in the reduction of 20 positions from the production lines. What would you do? Do you keep the project to yourself (and work only on the projects that have being assigned to you) or do you communicate your ideas to your boss? Why?
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8 comentarios:
As the industrial engineer i would notify my boss but would tell him that i need to investigate and test enough times to be 100 % sure of my recommendation. I would not keep the project to myself because i could risk the jobs of the whole company. I mean this because if the company is at risk of leaving then anything i could do to reduce cost would be an incredable help. Also this would be an extremly beneficial oportunity for me to show the bosses that i am an important assest to their company. In other words if they think my work is good and the company moves then they will take me along with them.
Known the situation of the company, and as the industrial engineer of the plant, I would notify to my supervisor of the new cost reduction project that I been working through. If he approves the project, definitely the project must go on. I know that this implicate the reduction of approximately 65 employees on layoff, but independently of this fact, the decision is totally ethical. This is the opportunity to improve the process, process that is important to the company. Also, it’s my job develop that kind of project. The purpose of why I’m in the company as an industrial engineer is to reduced cost associated with new technologies, improved efficiency, increased ability to do more with less, helping the company produce more products quickly, be more efficient and more profitable in the business practice, those are my responsibilities.
I know that exists other alternatives or strategies to help the company reduced their cost, like: Quality Cost Reduction, Cost Reduction by Design, Lean Production Cost Reduction, Overhead Cost Reduction, Supply Chain Management Cost, etc. in the critical point where the company is stand up, this project, installing some new machines in the market and doing some simples changes in the standard procedures (that is a concept of automation assembly line process) is the best efficient way to reduced cost and truly see the benefits in a year. If at the end, then implemented the project, the managements decided shutting down the plant and move their operations to Asia or Ireland, that’s other story. I hope that for my performance and contribution to the company they decided take me with them.
The personal reduction is a delicate decision, but actually, all of us know the difficult to maintain in operations a plant. As an industrial engineer of the plant, I was contracted to eliminate waste, apply lean manufacturing, and optimize processes, and after this chores, is possible that many employments would be affected. My responsibility is to inform all the results to the plant manager and my work team, to the implement and make decisions. Also, as industrial engineer, I make a plan to relocate many people in other tasks and avoid the layoff, if is necessary.
S00517228
First I would tell to my supervisor about the project of cost reduction that I have in mind. In a preventative way I will show hive the benefit that will give the company a net income of $250,000 annually, trying to convince him in a motivated way. I now that are 20 positions more to layoff and the plant manager give his word to assure no more layoff; So in this case relocation in one option, but the plant future or the work of the other people is weighted more that 20 job. In the word of business like the private sectors do, making money is the way of survivor, and my goal is to use my engineer knowledge to let the company stay in business operation in the island.
As an Industrial engineer I will analyze the effect that will cause if the company performs the reduction of personal, then I will inform this to my Boss and explain all the alternatives can be done to avoid the reduce of the employees. The analysis will contain some recommendation applying all the knowledge that I have about Lean Manufacturing, 6 Sigma, production planning, etc. Also I think it will best for the company if they can keep the personnel or relocate them. As well I will recommend my boss to not close the plant, and to support that recommendation I will perform a cost and benefit analysis that the company will have if they keep the plant. Therefore my principal goal is to perform all this analysis in the shorter time possible, so the company will not have to wait to make a decision.
(S00112206)
As the industrial Engineer I would treat this case with much care because if the company implement this project could has 20 employees less, but at the same time this project could have a net benefit of up to $250,000 annually, is to take under consideration the implementation doing something to replaced in another areas the headcount. The approach that I could have to this project is the opportunities areas in which these 20 employees could be relocated whiting bringing more benefits for the company, and once I have all the reallocations for the employees, I will explain the idea of the project to my company. The only thing to take in consideration about the project will be that the metric for this project can’t be reducing head count; the metric that will be substituting it, can be some kind of improvements in the areas that the headcount is going to performed. Once I have this ailing the benefits will come not just $250,000 annually, is going to be better and each employee is going to keep their works.
In this kind of cases, as industrial engineer of the company, I would have to speak to the high management, or the boss, about these new changes for the cost reduction. Taking out those 65 employees will be his decision, so the constraint for the implementation of my project will be boss acceptance and the budget limit. Maybe some of these employees, not everyone, could be moved to work in other activities inside the plant. If it is proven that theses changes will have benefits for the future of the company, then it will be feasible for the boss. This project is an opportunity for me to demonstrate the management that I am a baneful employee for the company. The relocation of the company will be more expensive than changing the processes inside the plant, but it will expand the global commercialization, so this plant could have more gains.
As engineer I have see company for company‘s benefit but as person also I must guard by the future of the employees to who I have position. First that would do would be to inform to the head on the benefits into this implementation but the consequences of these, according to the sight that this it gives then it would take action from the situation but trying about accommodating to the greater amount of these human resources in areas which could be of benefit and thus the results would not be so painful my as to be human.
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