Operations Management (Assignment) Group 1 (Caandoy, Estrera, Gorgonio, Loyola,

Maravilla, Solayao, Vergara, Villanueva) 1. In what ways are Hazel’s customers most
likely to judge the quality of her lawn care services?  Hazel’s customers will
judge her work based mainly on the appearance of the lawn after her service (e.g.
landscape, height of the grass, the health of the plants and the absence of
unwanted weeds)  Her work will also be judged based on her efficiency in doing her
work, taking into consideration the productive hours spent in doing the service and
the waiting time before Hazel could render the service

2. Hazel is the operations manager of her business. Among her responsibilities are
forecasting, inventory management, scheduling, quality assurance, and maintenance.
a. What kinds of things would likely require forecasts?             No.
of customers who would want their lawn to be mowed The frequency of customers in
requiring the service The expenses that will be incurred during a certain period
How much supplies/equipments in lawn mowing to be ordered When to order the
supplies/equipments needed

b. What inventory items does Hazel probably have? Fertilizers Herbicides Grass
seeds Pesticides Tools in gardening (e.g. rake, grass cutter, spade, etc) Fuel for
her lawn mowers

Name one inventory decision she has to make periodically. The lead time or when to
order and the EOQ or how much to order supplies
c. What scheduling must she do? What things might occur to disrupt schedules and
cause Hazel to reschedule?  Arranging the schedule of when to serve which customer
to avoid overlapping of time in serving the customers, considering the amount of
time needed in finishing a job before she can start with another.  The things that
might occur to disrupt schedules and will cause Hazel to reschedule are fortuitous
events such as storms, floods, earthquake and other calamities. Other reason may
include rain or bad weather, equipment failure, and if she gets sick or has a
family emergency. d. How important is quality assurance to Hazel’s business?
Explain.  Quality assurance is of utmost importance because it is one of her edges
in competing with professional lawn care services. Since lawn mowing services are
almost the same for every competitor, the quality of her work will be her
competitive advantage. e. What kinds of maintenance must be performed?      
Storing equipment in places which minimizes corrosion or deterioration Checking if
the tools are in well condition; equipment maintenance Storing fertilizers in a dry
place and checking their expiration dates, if any Keeping abreast of new methods in
lawn mowing Making sure that the facilities are clean Proper communication with the
customers via telephone lines

3. What are some of the trade-offs that Hazel probably considered relative to: a.
Working for a company instead of for herself?   If she works for a company, work
is standardized and is well-defined whereas if she works for herself, she is not
entirely sure of what to do If she works for a company her work is more formalized
(she has to obey company rules and policies) while if she is self-employed, she can
set her own policies and she has more control of her time
b. Expanding the business?     More capitalization is needed to finance the
expansion. This would mean more customers to serve but higher cost will be
incurred. More workforce to employ to meet the increasing demand. Higher revenues
will be earned but there is no guarantee that demand would not be as high as she
expected, in which case higher carrying or holding cost the inventory may be
incurred  Most of her time will be spent on her business instead of other things
that she wish to do c. Launching a Web site?   She will widen the scope of her
market but high maintenance cost of the site will be incurred. Her business will be
more accessible and more efficient in responding to customers’ needs, but there is
a probability that she might be able to meet the needs of the increased demand.

4. The town is considering an ordinance that would prohibit putting grass clippings
at the curb for pickup because local landfills cannot handle the volume. What
options might Hazel consider if the ordinance is passed? Name two advantages and
two drawbacks of each option. 1. Provide a new kind of service wherein she will
offer to pick up grass clippings and dispose them properly.  Advantages: -She can
utilize the grass clippings as fertilizers for her business by decomposing them.
-She can also earn higher revenues by selling fertilizers made out of grass
clippings  Disadvantages: -She will incur costs in finding a space to
store/decompose the grass clippings
-She will need one or more vehicles to collect and transport the grass clippings.
2. Expand her business through backward integration. She will breed goats, cows and
other grass-eating animals and feed them the grass-clippings.  Advantages: -she
may generate higher revenues by selling these animals at a reasonable price (with
minimal costs on feeds because of the grass clippings) -She will have a wide range
of business.  Disadvantages: -Additional capitalization is needed. -She may not be
able to focus on her lawn mowing business.