Assignment
Ahmed is the new general manager of Harrisburg Ford. He oversees the sales of new and used cars and the follow-up service with customers. Since this is a highly competitive industry Ahmed is fully aware that it is imperative that he seize every opportunity to continuously improve the performance of his team members and the services they render. The specific areas Ahmed is responsible for managing include: the sales department, financing unit, service department, and the after-sales customer support unit.
In the spirit of continuous improvement, Ahmed and his team, conducted several activities to gather data for their improvement efforts. These activities included on-line customer surveys, in-person follow- up calls, supply chain analysis and the analysis of sales and service-related data. Several ideas emerged from these actions. These included:
A. Potentially providing better financing rates
B. Possibly adding more suppliers as options to purchase parts and materials
C. Consideration of Introducing changes in the approach of salespeople in their selling techniques
D. Possibly introducing a service called 'collect and return service' for businesspeople and business cars
E. Potentially introducing a free shuttle van to connect with the nearby shopping center and adding a pick-up and drop-off service for customers who bring their own cars for service.
Ahmed recognizes that these improvements can be done all at once. Plus, he knows, being a smart Agile Lean leader that the improvements must be well-communicated to the team and properly documented for future planning. He realizes this is important and must be done regularly to facilitate continuous improvement efforts.
Place yourself in Ahmed's position and understand the need to make some decisions. In this assignment you are to discuss the following:
A. Determine and describe how Ahmed could select which of the five potential actions listed above should be undertaken first. Suggest different strategies Ahmed could use to examine which opportunity to select. Explain your reasoning.
B. Using your selection in question 1 above, describe any data to be collected and how this data can be obtained.
C. Which continuous improvement technique(s) should Ahmed use? How can Ahmed involve his team and gain buy-in for the selection of the continuous improvement effort?
D. To facilitate identifying the progress, or lack thereof, regarding the selected continuous improvement project what monitoring systems should Ahmed use?
E. Make Lean Change Canvas illustrating the actions reflected in items A - D.
F. Describe the challenges you foresee in introducing the changes in the organization and how would you overcome these challenges utilizing ADKAR and Kotter's Eight Steps.