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ASSURANCE OF LEARNING EXERCISES
1. Implementinganewordierentstrategycallsfornewresourceallocations.Usingyouruniversity’saccess
to LexisNexis or EBSCO, search for recent articles that discuss how a company has revised its pattern of
resource allocation and divisional budgets to support new strategic initiatives.
Response:
The responses provided by students will vary greatly. However, one example would be Exelon Corporation.
www.exeloncorp.com. This company has completely aligned its organizational chart and value chain to
support its corporate strategy. In the company’s website, the student will nd that the Exelon family of
companies includes Exelon Generation, Exelon Transmission Company, ComEd, and PECO which share
a corporate services and support unit, Exelon Business Services Company. With a nationwide reach and
strong positions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, it appears Exelon has designed its organizational
2. Policiesandproceduresfacilitatestrategyexecutionwhentheyaredesignedtotthecompany’sstrategy
and objectives. Using your university’s access to LexisNexis or EBSCO, search for recent articles that
discuss how a company has revised its policies and procedures to provide better top-down guidance to
company personnel on how to conduct their daily activities and responsibilities.
Response:
The responses provided by students will vary greatly. However, one example would be British Petroleum
following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Partly spurred by government pressure, BP has undertaken an overhaul
3. Illustration Capsule 11.1 discusses Charleston Area Medical Center’s use of Six Sigma practices. List three
tangiblebenets providedby theprogram. Explainwhy acommitmenttoquality controlis particularly
important in the hospital industry. How can the use of a Six Sigma program help medical providers survive
and thrive in the current industry climate?
ACTIVITY
This Assurance of Learning exercise is available as a Connect Assignment. The assignment can be
graded and posted automatically.
Response:
The student should identify that the company was able to imbed the Six Sigma practices into each of its
worldwide manufacturing facilities, resulting in a worldwide culture of lean manufacturing and production
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within the top level management but also in the group of ‘networkers’ that carry positive change across the
organization.
The student should identify that through advanced statistical methods, Six Sigma programs can improve
quality by reducing defects and variability in the performance of business processes. This is particularly
important in this rapidly changing business environment.
Thethreetangiblebenetswere:
Finally, CAMC was able to develop competitive advantage in the healthcare industry through this
organizational commitment which resulted in better services for patients.
4. Read some of the recent Six Sigma articles posted at isixsigma.com. Prepare a one-page report to your
instructordetailinghowSixSigmaisbeingusedintwocompaniesandwhatbenetsthesecompaniesare
reapingfromSixSigmaimplementation.Further,discusstwotothreecriticismsof,orpotentialdiculties
with, Six Sigma implementation.
Response:
Responses provided by individual students will vary. iSixSigma named Starwood Hotels and Resorts the No.
1 Best Place to Work for Six Sigma practitioners in 2009 (http://www.isixsigma.com/index.php?option=com_
k2 &view=item&id=982:starwood-hotels-resorts-tops-best-places-to-work-list&Itemid=236). A review of
this link provides a succinct summary of Starwood’s approach which is based on a three-pronged strategy
to measure quality: improving the Guest Satisfaction Index (an independently determined numerical value
The student might review “A Dark Art No More,” Economist 385,no.8550(October13,2007),p.10and
Brian Hindo, “At 3M, a Struggle between Eciency and Creativity,” Businessweek, June 11, 2007, pp.
8–16 and discuss potential problems with Six Sigma. This might include that Six Sigma techniques can
stieinnovationandcreativity.Whilethe essenceofSixSigmaisto reducevariabilityinprocesses,the
andcontrolprinciplestocreativeactivitiesatGooglewouldchokeoinnovationaltogether.
5. Company strategies can’t be executed well without a number of support systems to carry on business
operations. Using your university’s access to LexisNexis or EBSCO, search for recent articles that discuss
how a company has used real-time information systems and control systems to aid the cause of good strategy
execution.
Response:
Responses provided by student will vary. One suggested response is Raytheon Inc. which not only uses real-
time information systems and control systems in their operations, they have found a way to sell the product
tootherrms.Thecompany’sIntelligenceandInformationSystemsdivisionoersawiderangeofsolutions
for gathering and analyzing information.
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Microsoft, CISCO, SAP, and IBM.
6. Illustration Capsule 11.2 provides a sampling of motivational tactics employed by several prominent
companies (many of which appear on Fortune’s list of the 100 best companies to work for in America).
Discuss how rewards at SAS, Salesforce.com, DPR Construction, and Hilcorp aid in the strategy execution
eortsofeachcompany.
ACTIVITY
This Assurance of Learning exercise is available as a Connect Assignment. The assignment can be
graded and posted automatically.
Response:
Studentresponseswillcenterprimarilyontheincentiveprogramsthatthesermsuseinordertoimprove
employee performance, satisfaction, and drive towards corporate goals.
Key examples: