One of the most crucial aspects of an Organization is Structure, which influences most of the day to day operations within the organizations. Organization structure determines their success and failure of an Organization in achieving its goals.
Automobile manufacturer Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on his family's farm in Dearborn, Michigan. From the time he was a young boy, Ford enjoyed tinkering with machines. American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. Farm work and a job in a Detroit machine shop afforded him ample opportunities to experiment. He later worked as a part-time employee for the Westinghouse Engine Company. By 1896, Ford had constructed his first horseless carriage which he sold in order to finance work on an improved model.
Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company in 1903, proclaiming, "I will build a car for the great multitude." Ford left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation but arranged for his family to control the company permanently.
2.7Assembly line & Mass production:
Assembly line: - It is a manufacturing process in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned logistics to create a finished product much faster than with handcrafting-type methods.
An implementation of a building of a car using Assembly line production method :
Consider the assembly of a car: assume that certain steps in the assembly line are to install the engine, install the hood, and install the wheels.Only one of these steps can be done at a time. In traditional production, only one car would be assembled at a time. If engine installation takes 20 minutes, hood installation takes 5 minutes, and wheel installation takes 10 minutes, then a car can be produced every 35 minutes.
In an assembly line, car assembly is split between several stations, all working simultaneously. When one station is finished with a car, it passes it on to the next. By having three stations, a total of three different cars can be operated on at the same time, each one at a different stage of its assembly.
After finishing its work on the first car, the engine installation crew can begin working on the second car. While the engine installation crew works on the second car, the first car can be moved to the hood station and fitted with a hood, then to the wheels station and be fitted with wheels.
After the engine has been installed on the second car, the second car moves to the hood assembly. At the same time, the third car moves to the engine assembly. When the third car’s engine has been mounted, it then can be moved to the hood station; meanwhile, subsequent cars (if any) can be moved to the engine installation station.
Assuming no loss of time when moving a car from one station to another, the longest stage on the assembly line determines the throughput (20 minutes for the engine installation) so a car can be produced every 20 minutes, once the first car taking 35 minutes has been produced.
Mass production: - Mass production of assemblies typically uses electric-motor-powered moving tracks or conveyor belts to move partially complete products to workers, who perform simple repetitive tasks. It improves on earlier high-throughput, continuous-flow mass production made possible by the steam engine.
Mass production systems are usually organized into assembly lines. The assemblies pass by on a conveyor, or if they are heavy, hung from an overhead monorail.
Mass production was popularized in the 1910s and 1920s by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company, which introduced electric motors to the then-well-known technique of chain or sequential production and, in the process, began a new era often called the "second industrial revolution." Ford's contribution to mass production was synthetic in nature, collating and improving upon existing methods of sequential production and applying electric power to them, resulting in extremely-high-throughput, continuous-flow mass production, making the Model T affordable and, as such, an instant hit.
Conclusion: -
The economies of mass production come from several sources. The primary cause is a reduction of nonproductive effort of all types. In craft production, the craftsman must bustle about a shop, getting parts and assembling them. He must locate and use many tools many times for varying tasks
The probability of human error and variation is also reduced, as tasks are predominantly carried out by machinery. A reduction in labour costs, as well as an increased rate of production, enables a company to produce a larger quantity of one product at a lower cost than using traditional, non-linear methods.
Q. Evaluate the role of enterprise recourse planning in an enterprise.
3.1 Introduction to ERP:-
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an integrated computer-based system used to manage internal and external resources, including tangible assets, financial resources, materials, and human resources. It is a software architecture whose purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. Built on a centralized database and normally utilizing a common computing platform, ERP systems consolidate all business operations into a uniform and enterprise-wide system environment.
To be considered an ERP system, a software package has the following traits:
Should be integrated and operate in real time with no periodic batch updates.
All applications should access one database to prevent redundant data and multiple data definitions.
All modules should have the same look and feel.
Users should be able to access any information in the system without needing integration work on the part of the IS department.[
ERP systems are cross-functional and enterprise-wide. All functional departments that are involved in operations or production are integrated in one system. In addition to areas such as manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, and information technology, this typically includes accounting, human resources, marketing and strategic management.
Need for ERP in an Enterprise:-
In the absence of an ERP system, a large manufacturer may find itself with many software applications that cannot communicate or interface effectively with one another.
If your company is experiencing rapid growth and the corresponding strain on legacy systems, or if you’re starting a new process -- such as manufacturing -- from scratch, you may benefit from an ERP system, experts say. Such a system maintains in a single database the information gleaned from a variety of business functions, such as financial, manufacturing, human resources, and customer management.
As such, ERP systems offer a bird’s-eye view into the working of the company and allow users to cross-reference business functions.
ERP systems connect the necessary software in order for accurate forecasting to be done. This allows inventory levels to be kept at maximum efficiency and the company to be more profitable.
Integration among different functional areas to ensure proper communication, productivity and efficiency
Design engineering (how to best make the product)
Order tracking, from acceptance through fulfillment
The revenue cycle, from invoice through cash receipt
Managing inter-dependencies of complex processes bill of materials
Tracking the three-way match between purchase orders (what was ordered), inventory receipts (what arrived), and costing (what the vendor invoiced)
The accounting for all of these tasks: tracking the revenue, cost and profit at a granular level.
Conclusion :
ERP systems offer a bird’s-eye view into the working of the company and allow users to cross-reference business functions.
Your goal should be to apply functional richness to the enterprise plan of record. Incorporating a process workflow, for example, should enable companies to streamline a chaotic activity. And at the end of the process, all departments will be able to work off the same plan. (See the accompanying Field Report on Enterasys Networks below.)
Planning alignment can be a major achievement on your way to performance management excellence. Reducing planning cycle time lets organizations adjust plans to changing conditions, rather than forcing them to adhere to tools that are out of date and built on piecemeal information. Thus ERP plays a critical role in the planning and managing Business in modern world.
Q. The EU mark t has developed a single market through a standardized systemof lawas which apply in all member states, ensuring the free movement of people, goods, services and capital.
4.1 Introduction of EU:-
The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 upon the foundations of the European Communities.
The EU has developed a single market through a standardized system of laws which apply in all member states, and ensures the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital including the abolition of passport controls by the Schengen Agreement between 22 EU states.
Single market system:-
A single market is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a customs union with common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of production (capital and labor) and of enterprise. The goal is that the movement of capital, labor, goods, and services between the members is as easy as within them.
The physical (borders), technical (standards) and fiscal (taxes) barriers among the member states are removed to the maximum extent possible. These barriers obstruct the freedom of movement of the four factors of production.
To remove these barriers the member states need political will and they have to formulate common economic policies.
Q .Asses the benefits and limitations of EU.
Benefits of EU:-
A single market has many benefits. With full freedom of movement for all the factors of production between the member countries, the factors of production become more efficiently allocated, further increasing productivity
Efficient firms can benefit from economies of scale, increased competitiveness and lower costs, as well as expect profitability to be a result. Consumers are benefited by the single market in the sense that the competitive environment brings those cheaper products, more efficient providers of products and also increased choice of products.
What is more, businesses in competition will innovate to create new products; another benefit for consumers.
Limitations of EU:-
Transition to a single market can have short term negative impact on some sectors of a national economy due to increased international competition.
Enterprises that previously enjoyed national market protection and national subsidy (and could therefore continue in business despite falling short of international performance benchmarks) may struggle to survive against their more efficient peers, even for its traditional markets.
Ultimately, if the enterprise fails to improve its organization and methods, it will fail. The consequence may be unemployment or migration.
Q. What are your views about enhancing globalization.
4.2 Globalization:
Globalization describes a process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network of communication, transportation, and trade. The term is sometimes used to refer specifically to economic globalization: the integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capitalflows, migration, and the spread of technology
Views on enhancing Globalization:-
Contributes extensively to development and innovation of ideas. I.e. business, science, medicine, fashion, etc. and lifestyles-also pose a threat to unique culture in general, by mixing, popularizing and sharing foreign or "modern" culture to those who previously had some cultural identity!
Human communities worldwide have tended to move gradually to develop closer associations over a long time. However, lately the speed of the movement appears to have considerably accelerated.
Globalization undoubtedly, appears to be one of the most prominent aspects of the present century. Consequently, laws, economies, and social engagements seem to now form at the global level.
appears to challenge the equalization of opportunities for disabled people is war and its associated political upheavals
war and political upheaval have ironically also, had a positive impact on the lives of disabled people.
5.References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation on 07th August, 2010.
http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/a_motivation.htm 07th August, 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford
http://inventors.about.com/od/fstartinventors/a/HenryFord.htm
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/hf/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_line
http://www.csoonline.com/article/216940/The_ERP_Security_Challenge.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_resource_planning#Commercial_applications
http://www.oracle.com/appserver/business-intelligence/hyperion-financial-performance-management/docs/hyperion-enterprise-planning-whitepaper.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization
