Resource Planning

Reflect on the readings for this module as well as those from previous modules when you consider this module’s discussion question. In your response, take into account the time constraints on modern businesses in terms of time to market and demand for innovation. As an aside, and not as part of the assignment, you may wish to consider how your answers would or would not change if you were considering a craftsmen-type or vertically-integrated business.

Based on the above information and on your reflection of the readings for the course, respond to the following:

• If continuous improvement is the key to remain competitive, then why do firms codify so many processes into enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems?
• Does this limit innovation and if so, how can that risk be reduced? If you were an ERP vendor what would be your perspective?

Write your initial response in approximately 300–500 words. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

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Operations Management: Solutions to Business Challenges

©2012 Argosy University Online Programs

Company Profile—Apple Inc.

Apple did not invent the digital music player or the cell phone, yet it has made a name all over the world by
reinventing both products through stylish design and cutting-edge technology.

Growth

Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak founded Apple Computer in 1976. Their first computer was called the
Apple I. Once Apple was incorporated in 1977, Jobs and Wozniak introduced the Apple II computer. Apple
went public in 1980. As investors were eager to buy stock in a company with cutting-edge technology, all of
Apple’s shares were sold in a few minutes.

In 1983, Apple introduced the Lisa computer, which was the underpinning for the Macintosh computer. Lisa
and Macintosh had introduced graphical user interfaces (GUI) to the consumer market that were easy to
use.

Jobs tried to take over Apple in 1985, but President and CEO, John Sculley, stopped him with the support
of the board. Jobs resigned and Wozniak left to start his own company soon after (Marino & Gamble, 2012).

Products

Apple Computer stands out from similar companies with their unconventional business ideas that constantly
redefine the standards for products, marketing, and industry innovation techniques. The company has
become well known through their commitment to challenge possibilities of the computer industry. Their goal
has always been to make their products more user-friendly and to encourage an open-minded approach
when developing new technologies and services (Innovation Leaders Limited, n.d.).

Apple’s primary goal is providing powerful and user-friendly products and solutions with a focus on design.
This drives Apple to remain a world leader in media and technology. This philosophy brought to the world
such successful products and services as the McIntosh, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and iPad (Morningstar,
2012).

The company considers the look and feel of their offices to be as important as that of their products and
services. The human capital and the working environment are key components to achieving the success
that Apple has enjoyed for many years.

References:

Innovation Leaders Limited. (n.d.). Profile: Apple. Retrieved from
http://www.innovationleaders.net/apple_company_profile.html

Marino, L., & Gamble, J. E. (2012). Apple in 2010. In A. Thompson, M. Petaraf, J. Gamble, & A. Strickland
III (Eds.), Crafting and executing strategy: The quest for competitive advantage, concepts and
cases. (18th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin

Morningstar. (2012). Apple, Inc. AAPL. Morningstar Equity Research. Retrieved from
http://www.nasdaq.com/MorningStarProfileReports/AAPL_USA

http://www.innovationleaders.net/apple_company_profile.html

http://www.nasdaq.com/MorningStarProfileReports/AAPL_USA

In this module, you will revisit quality management and learn about a few tools to create scalable, replicable, and high-quality processes. Additionally, you will examine how a firm’s strategy and structure intertwine at the operational level. As you see how strategy, structure, and operations interact, you will learn how they may be structured to create value, or destroy it, and how operational excellence and innovation foster speed to market, quality, and customer satisfaction.

Imagine a large Fortune 500 company with the resources to explore virtually any business opportunity. What happens when such a firm delves into a new business or dramatically changes the course of its business? How does a large corporation successfully start a new business venture? A company’s capability to adapt to dramatic changes in direction and strategy depends on its skill in sound operations management.

Managers of corporate functions have the challenge of optimizing their unit’s performance while also maintaining and promoting strategic fit under the challenge of a new venture. The key question remains: How does an organization implement strategy? Designing the product or service to fulfill a market need is a challenge that requires extensive customer understanding. Delivering the value proposition to the target customer is a more complex test of evolving existing processes and designing new ones while sustaining quality initiatives.

The following are critical questions of designing operating processes to pursue new ventures:

· What are the key inputs for success and how does an organization source them?

· What processes should be performed within the company?

· Which processes should be outsourced to vendors?

· What is the most effective means of getting our product or service to our target customers?

· What is the role of information technology in meeting these new business requirements?

· What is the impact to the current corporate structure?

· What is the role of our human capital in this new business