The abundance of decision making tools and techniques that Northwestern Manufacturing Company or NMC can utilize in the process of bettering their business are astounding. From the use of qualitative tools such as brainstorming and decision trees to quantitative tools like statistical based charts using a what-if analysis. For Northwestern Manufacturing Company to stay competitive, both these descriptive and statistical based approaches should be thoroughly examined during the decision making process.
Qualitative tools are typically descriptive in in that the data provided are expressed in the form of personal knowledge of team members. One way for NMC to produce large amounts of ides is through the use of brainstorming. Such thinking often leads to out of the box ideas that can point to productive conversation and further action. Looking back to the developed problem statement, some brainstorming sessions that Northwestern Manufacturing Company should hold are as follows:
1. If our facilities are only utilized to 55%, in what possible ways do we increase those percentage ratings?
2. How do we …show more content…
Brainstorming sessions on the topic of keeping skilled workers employed is reaching out to the market to see what workers are paid in local similar positions. Ideas such as providing meals, and bonuses for achieving specific goals could also be additional topics of debate. The idea behind brainstorming is to get as many ideas laid out; the goal should be quantity and not quality. During the progression, criticism of ideas should be non-existent, and the team leader should be encouraging the use of imagination to develop ideas to the problem being discussed. (Manktelow & Carlson,
Qualitative tools are typically descriptive in in that the data provided are expressed in the form of personal knowledge of team members. One way for NMC to produce large amounts of ides is through the use of brainstorming. Such thinking often leads to out of the box ideas that can point to productive conversation and further action. Looking back to the developed problem statement, some brainstorming sessions that Northwestern Manufacturing Company should hold are as follows:
1. If our facilities are only utilized to 55%, in what possible ways do we increase those percentage ratings?
2. How do we …show more content…
Brainstorming sessions on the topic of keeping skilled workers employed is reaching out to the market to see what workers are paid in local similar positions. Ideas such as providing meals, and bonuses for achieving specific goals could also be additional topics of debate. The idea behind brainstorming is to get as many ideas laid out; the goal should be quantity and not quality. During the progression, criticism of ideas should be non-existent, and the team leader should be encouraging the use of imagination to develop ideas to the problem being discussed. (Manktelow & Carlson,