Hazel is the operations manager of her business. Among her responsibilities are forecasting, inventory management, scheduling, quality assurance, and maintenance. a. What kinds of things would likely require forecasts? b. What inventory items does Hazel probably have? Name one inventory decision she has to make periodically.
Hazel had worked for the same Fortune 500 company for almost
15 years. Although the company had gone through some tough
times, things were starting to turn around. Customer orders were
up, and quality and productivity had improved dramatically from
what they had been only a few years earlier due to a companywide quality improvement program. So it came as a real shock
to Hazel and about 400 of her coworkers when they were suddenly terminated following the new CEO’s decision to downsize
the company.
After recovering from the initial shock, Hazel tried to find
employment elsewhere. Despite her efforts, after eight months
of searching she was no closer to finding a job than the day she
started. Her funds were being depleted and she was getting more
discouraged. There was one bright spot, though: She was able to
bring in a little money by mowing lawns for her neighbors. She got
involved quite by chance when she heard one neighbor remark
that now that his children were on their own, nobody was around
to cut the grass. Almost jokingly, Hazel asked him how much he’d
be willing to pay. Soon Hazel was mowing the lawns of five neighbors. Other neighbors wanted her to work on their lawns, but she
didn’t feel that she could spare any more time from her job search.
However, as the rejection letters began to pile up, Hazel knew
she had to make a decision. On a sunny Tuesday morning, she
decided, like many others in a similar situation, to go into business
for herself—taking care of neighborhood lawns. She was relieved
to give up the stress of job hunting, and she was excited about the
prospect of being her own boss. But she was also fearful of being
completely on her own. Nevertheless, Hazel was determined to
make a go of it.
At first, business was a little slow, but once people realized
Hazel was available, many asked her to take care of their lawns.
Some people were simply glad to turn the work over to her; others
switched from professional lawn care services. By the end of her
first year in business, Hazel knew she could earn a living this way.
She also performed other services such as fertilizing lawns, weeding gardens, and trimming shrubbery. Business became so good
that Hazel hired two part-time workers to assist her and, even
then, she believed she could expand further if she wanted to.
Hazel is the operations manager of her business. Among
her responsibilities are
a. What kinds of things would likely require forecasts?
b. What inventory items does Hazel probably have? Name one
inventory decision she has to make periodically.
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