ASSIGNMENT 2

Assignment 2

Assignment 2

Introduction

Southern Pulp and Paper Company was established in 1949 and currently operates 12 mills that span across five states in the Southern East United States. SPPC took Toccoa Mill under its ownership in 1959 due to the diverse range of products that it brought into SPPC portfolio. Toccoa mill had diverse operations that allowed it to manufacture paper pulp and bleached boards. Toccoa mill had been operational since 1941, and there had been considerable capital investments ever since to keep the machinery in top notch condition. However, the company was facing several issues relating to machine performance and employee satisfaction.

This paper aims to provide a broader understanding of the major issues that were being faced by the Toccoa Mill administration. It provides financial analysis of the $15 million investment that is being proposed to solve the operational problems with machine #5 and #6. Furthermore, an alternative plan to computerization is proposed that makes use of the tools and techniques proposed by operational management.

The Task (i)

Following is a list of the major issues that are being faced by Southern Paper Toccoa Mill

Toccoa Mill is facing serious issues due to a lack of morale and motivation among the employees. There are many employees who have been working for the company for a long period and feel unattended. They have developed a strong association with the company and want to contribute to improve the performance and efficiency. They are closest to the machines that are the root cause of the inefficiency in the company. However, the management seems uninterested in listening to what these employees have to say in order to solve the problem. This has led to a lack of belief in the hearts of employees regarding the decision that is going to be made.

The primary reason that this issue is on the top of list is that employees are the most valuable asset of any business (MORI, p4-5). The company needs an environment where creativity, inspiration and professionalism prevail; however, this is not achievable unless the employees have a strong sense of connection with the company. The employees have valuable feedback for the management but they are never asked for their contribution. Southern Pulp and Paper need to address these issues otherwise; it risks the chance of employee participation and loyalty in the future. The company should introduce a feedback mechanism in the organization to collect as much information as possible to make a strategic decision.

There are various inefficiencies present in the current scheduling process at the company. The centralized scheduling might have worked in the past but it needs rethinking in order to offer better control and compliance at the factory level. The scheduling superintendent who is working at the company needs to consult with the planner at the head office in order to make necessary changes. Considering the number of grade changes and the cases of emergencies that arise on monthly basis at machine #6, there is a lot of time that is being lost in ...