Controlling

Learning Goal: I’m working on a management writing question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

BMGT 364 Project 4 (Week 7) – Controlling

Project 4 is due on Tuesday of Week 7 at 11:59 p.m. eastern time.

Purpose

In this project, you will understand the importance of the control function in a manufacturing business. You will compare actual performance with desired production standards, measure progress toward company goals, and address deviations in performance through corrective action.

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Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment

• Develop measures and assess outcomes against plans and standards to improve organizational effectiveness.

How to Set Up the Paper

• Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced using 12-point font. The final product will be 5-6 pages in length, excluding the title and reference pages.
• Create a title page with a title, date, course number and section, your name, and the instructor’s name.

Scenario

The following chart displays the results of the first year’s production of the, Lacks Tracks Cycles, an electric-powered chopper-style motorcycle produced by Lacks Tracks Cycles to compete with Harley-Davidson’s Electra Glide. The metrics table below was created from data supplied by Lacks Tracks Cycles five (5) plants. The purpose of the table is to provide data for management to decide what controls and actions are needed to increase production efficiency.

You recently joined the Lacks Tracks Cycles’ headquarters staff as a quality assurance associate. Your manager has requested you to analyze the first year’s motorcycle production results. This information will be used by management to evaluate and improve overall production efficiency.

Lacks Tracks Cycles is known for producing high-quality products at reasonable prices. They plan to compete against Harley’s top-end model by developing superior production efficiency that will allow them to price significantly below Harley Davidson’s Electra Glide model.

The chart below lists the desired production standards and the actual production metrics for each stage of the electric motorcycle’s manufacturing process that must be completed to determine the overall production efficiency at each of Lacks Tracks Cycles’ five (5) production facilities.

A comparison of the production standard to the actual production outcomes using all the relevant metrics allows management to determine which of its facilities is the most efficient producer of the electric motorcycle. This knowledge will help Lacks Tracks Cycles’ management team to determine what controls need to be put into place at their various production plants to match the production efficiency of their most efficient plant. More efficiency means higher production at lower per unit (cycle) costs.

Metrics	Standard	Maryland	Delaware	New Jersey	Texas	Alaska
Total Cost to Manufacture (per unit)	13,500	15,250	14,100	12,750	16,000	14,250
Manufacturing Cycle Time (time to complete a single vehicle – in hours)	15	18	16	12	12	14
Yield (percentage of cars produced to specifications first time without rework)	98%	99%	97%	96.50%	97.50%	95.15%
Defective Rate/Recall Rate	2%	1%	3%	3.50%	2.50%	4.85%
Scrap Rate	2%	3%	4%	2.50%	2%	1.90%
Average Production Downtime	0.50%	1%	1.50%	0.75%	0.50%	0.75%
Training Time (hours per month)	8	6	3	5	7	4
Shipping Problems/Damage (per 10,000 units)	1	2	4	2	1	3
Safety Incident per Employee	1.50%	2.25%	0.75%	3%	2%	1.90%
Number of units manufactured per year	45,000	43,000	27,000	42,500	48,000	45,500
Utilization Rate (Capacity rate facility is utilizing during available production time)	81.82%	78.18%	49.09%	77.27%	87.27%	82.73%

Use only the BOLDED centered and left-justified headings to write your paper.

Introduction

• Write an Introduction paragraph. The introduction paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper and will describe to the reader the intent of the paper, explaining the main points covered in the paper. This intent should be understood before reading the remainder of the paper so the reader knows exactly what is being covered in the paper. The introduction is often written after the paper is completed. (Use in-text citations, as needed, and include the references in the Reference section.)

The body of the paper will cover the following:

Controls

• Explain what control means in a business setting. (Use headings below and in-text citations as required.)
• Explain why Lacks Tracks must be concerned with the actual production metrics at its plants. (Use headings below and in-text citations as required.)

Control Defined

Importance of Lacks Tracks Production Metrics

Standard Specifications

• Compare the metrics table standards to the actual performance outcomes at each of the five (5) plants and explain your findings for each plant. (Use headings below and in-text citations, as appropriate.)
• Identify the four (4) most important and common deviations from the standards among the plants and explain why this data is important to Lacks Tracks management. (Use headings below and in-text citations, as appropriate.)
• Using course materials, identify and explain two (2) types of controls that could be used by Lacks Tracks management to attempt to correct the deviations from standards at its plants. (Use headings below and in-text citations, as appropriate.)

Metrics Table Plant Performance Comparisons

Four Most Significant Deviations

Two Recommended Controls

Total Quality Management

• Explain why implementing a Total Quality Management (TQM) program could improve operational efficiency at Lacks Tracks. (Use in-text citations, as appropriate.)

Conclusion

Create a concluding paragraph. The conclusion paragraph highlights the major findings covered in the paper. (Use in-text citations, as appropriate.)

References

Review the Paper

Read the paper to ensure all required elements are present.

The following are specific requirements that you will follow. Use the checklist to mark off that you have followed each specific requirement.

Checklist	Specific Project Requirements
	Proofread your paper.
	Read and use the grading rubric while completing the paper to ensure all requirements are met to lead to the highest possible grade.
	Third-person writing is required. Third-person means that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us� (first-person writing), nor is there use of “you or your� (second-person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person.
	Contractions are not used in business writing, so do not use them.
	Paraphrase and do not use direct quotations. Paraphrase means you do not use more than four consecutive words from a source document. Removing quotation marks and citing is inappropriate. Instead, put a passage from a source document into your own words and attribute the passage to the source document. There should be no passages with quotation marks. Using more than four consecutive words from a source document would require direct quotation marks. Changing words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having quotation marks. If more than four consecutive words are used from source documents, this material will not be included in the grade.
	You are expected to use the research course materials to develop the basis for your analysis and support your reasoning. There should be a robust use of the course material. The material used from a source document must be cited and referenced. A reference can only be included in your Reference list if used for an in-text citation.
	Use in-text citations and provide a reference list that contains the reference associated with each in-text citation.
	You may not use books in completing this problem set unless they are part of the course material. Also, you cannot use as references a dictionary, Wikipedia, Investopedia, or similar sources.
	Provide the page or paragraph number in every in-text citation. Since the eBook does not have page numbers, you must include the chapter title, section heading, and paragraph number. For citations using a video, you must provide the minutes and second of the cited material.

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Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder

The assignment submitted to the Assignment Folder will be considered the student’s final product and therefore ready for grading by the instructor. It is incumbent upon the student to verify the assignment is the correct submission.

NOTE: All submitted work is to be your original work. You may not use any work from another student, the Internet, or an online clearinghouse. You are expected to understand the Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy and know that it is your responsibility to learn about instructor and general academic expectations concerning proper citation sources as specified in the APA Publication Manual, 7th Ed. (Students are held accountable for in-text citations and an associated reference list only.)