Harvey Case Study

Case Analysis 1 by

Nga Hang Vu

Submitted to Professor Josh Dwight

BSM405

City University of Seattle

March 5, 2017

Summary

Hazel had worked for Fortune 500 company for almost 15 years.  Things were starting to turn around after they had gone through some hard times. Thus, Hazel  and 400  of  her  coworkers had shocked  when  they  were  suddenly  terminated  following  the  new  CEO’s  decision  to  downsize the company. After that, Hazel tried to find employment elsewhere.  She was getting discouraged and her funds were being depleted after eight months of searching. There was one bright spot: one day, she decided to go into business taking care of neighborhood lawns for herself. Hazel was determined to make a go of it. From business was a little slow at first, by the end of her first year in business, Hazel knew she could earn a living this way. She also performed other services and business became so good that Hazel hired two part-time workers. Even then, she believed she could expand further if she wanted to.

Answer the questions:

1. In what ways are Hazel’s customers most likely to judge the quality of her lawn care service?

There are many ways Hazel’s customers most likely to judge the quality of her lawn care service. The first way is by the quality of service. If the quality of service is good, customers will be satisfied whereas if it is bad, they will be unhappy and find a better care taker. The second way is by the cost of service. With a reasonable price and good quality services provided, customers will be happy and feel that the money that they are paying for is worth it. The last way is the final outcome. Good result that Hazel has done to the lawn, the customers will feel happy and tend to introduce Hazel's business to their friends or relatives.

1. Hazel is the operations manager of her business. Among her responsibilities are forecasting, inventory management, scheduling, quality assurance, and maintenance.

1. What kinds of things would likely require forecasts?

There are many things that would likely needs to be predicted. Weather is the most important thing. She needs to prepare all the things depend on the weather such as: she will accomplish anything if it is sunny; however, if it is raining, she have to bring the raincoat. etc. Besides, she have to predict what kind of equipment she will be needed. She would need more equipment if her business growing rapidly. Moreover, forecasting the cost of equipment and the number of worker needed in her business are necessary as well.

1. What inventory items does Hazel probably have? Name one inventory decision she has to make periodically.

Her equipment includes lawn mowers, weed-whackers, grass seeds, and gardening tools. She also needs an inventory of gasoline, oil, fertilizer, and replacement parts. Moreover, she needs computer systems that can record daily business deal and a small truck to transport her equipment.

1. What scheduling must she do? What things might occur to disrupt schedules and cause Hazel to reschedule?

Hazel must schedule the times based on the time she and her employees will take care of customer's lawns. She has to ensure the reasonable time to finish each lawn per day so as to customer satisfaction. Maybe personal issues or inclement weather could disrupt schedule and cause Hazel to reschedule.