OPS 350 Week 5 Discussion 1

Post a total of 3 substantive responses over 2 separate days for full participation. This includes your initial post and 2 replies to other students.

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

This case (pages 132-133) highlights the work of Starwood's Six Sigma Black Belts. In the textbook case, the emphasis centers on the creation of the Sheraton Service Promise program. This program was developed in response to low guest satisfaction scores dealing with problem resolution during a guest's stay. The case describes the situation, and how the Black Belts applied the Six Sigma "DMAIC" model (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) to devise the best solution.

In the case, the Black Belts are at it again, this time analyzing the front desk check-in/check-out process at The Phoenician resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. Check-in service times were exceeding the company standard of three minutes or less, so a team was assembled to determine the best solution. Again, the Six Sigma DMAIC model was employed.

Discuss

1.      Implementing Six Sigma programs take considerable time and commitment from an organization. Using the implementation points in this chapter, such as top-down commitment, measurement systems to track progress, tough goal setting, education, communication, customer priorities, describe the degree to which Starwood has successfully addressed each one with the redesign of the Sheraton Service Promise program.

2.      How might the new Sheraton Service Promise process help Starwood avoid the four costs of poor performance and quality?

3.      Starwood is the first major hotel brand to commit to a dedicated Six Sigma program for improving quality. Why might an organization be reluctant to follow this type of formalized methodology? What other approaches could Starwood or its competitors use?

Reply to at least two of your classmates. Be constructive and professional in your responses.

Substantive Post Criteria

Please remember the criteria for a substantive post. A substantive post demonstrates substance and contribution to the understanding and application of ideas by doing one or more of the following:

Reflection about meaning: Describe what something means or new insights it provides or raise a question as a seed for clarification or further discussion.

Analysis: Discuss relevant themes, concepts, main ideas, components, or relationships among ideas. Or, identify hidden assumptions or fallacies in reasoning.

Elaboration: Build on ideas of others or ideas found in the readings by adding details, examples, a different viewpoint, or other relevant information.

Application: Provide examples of how principles or concepts can be applied to actual situations or discuss the implications of theory for practice.

Synthesis: Integrate multiple views to provide a summary, a new perspective, or a creative refashioning of ideas.

Evaluation: Assess the accuracy, reasonableness, or quality of ideas.

Example:

A case can be made that several competitive priorities are not considered in the EOQ model. It is sometimes difficult to place a dollar value on these competitive advantages, but the advantages invariably go to the low-inventory, small lot-size firm (Krajewski, Malhotra, & Ritzman, 2016, p. 342). As the supply chain manager, if the EOQ is too large, what is the "ideal" lot size?

Krajewski, L. J. Malhotra, M. K., & Ritzman, L.P. (2016). Operations management: Processes and supply chains (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

**Please remember each substantive post must incorporate a reference and an in-text citation from the course materials or outside research to illustrate comprehension.