BA 302 — Extra Credit 3

Making things better!

  • Purpose:
  • The purpose of this extra credit assignment is to help students improve their business process management skills through an application of classroom theory to real-world situations.
  • Scope:
  • The scope of this assignment covers terms, concepts and ideas introduced throughout the first seven weeks of BA 302. It builds upon the previous two Extra Credit Assignmentsoffered earlier in the term.
  • Assignment Value:
  • This is a pass or fail assignment worth a total of 8 points.
  • To earn 100% (10 points on this assignment) students must:
  • Attempt to answer each question accurately and completely.
  • Answering all but one question results in a fail score.
  • Not answering the full scope of each question results in a fail score.
  • Inaccurately answering a question (e.g. bluffing) will result in a fail score.
  • Be technically correct
  • Use correct approaches as defined by the text, class materials or other objective resources (must cite anything not used in class).
  • Use appropriate grammar, sentence structure, usage and punctuation.
  • Submit a typewritten report; handwritten submittals are not accepted.
  • Use course-relevant terminology.
  • Base the responses on a current real-world company.
  • Turn the extra credit in on time.

What to do:

  1. For this extra credit, you are expected to evaluate your understanding of course concepts by applying what you have gleaned throughout the first eight weeks of the class. To get started:
  2. Review the course notes available via the syllabus.
  3. Brush up on assigned reading credits from the textbook.
  4. Review the linked reference document available via the syllabus from the April 9 class.
  5. Revisit or review the business processes in the company you selected in Extra Credits 1 & 2. To succeed with this assignment, you are expected to observe the process so that you can accurately identify the “As Is” business process. If you selected an on-line only company in the previous Extra Credit assignments, you will need to pick a new business for this assignment where you can observe the sales transaction process.
  6. Clearly identify the customer for this customer.
  7. Use the internet to research the company and its relevant industry in order to answer the questions.
  8. If you did not complete Extra Credits 1 or 2, select a brick and mortar company in your local community and review the requirements for Extra Credit 1 so you understand the basic business processes involving the customers.
  9. As you research or observe transactions between this company and its customers, think about what we have studied in this class and answer the questions below.

Questions:

  1. Provide a one paragraph summary of the company.
  2. Define the primary good or service this company offers.
  3. Clearly define the customer(s) who purchase these goods or services.
  4. In some cases, the customer may be another company.
  5. Create an activity diagram for the AS IS process. This is the process you observe before making any recommendations for improvement. Clearly identify and label all elements you observe. NOTE: It may not be possible to see all the elements involved in the total sales fulfillment process. In this case, identify the assumptions you are making regarding who would realistically perform those tasks. You may want to use internet resources to help you better understand what other elements may be involved in the AS IS process.
  6. Describe the efficiencies and inefficiencies in the process. You must address both. This will likely be a minimum of 1 ½ page discussion.
  7. Describe what changes you would make to improve the process, based on the inefficiencies you noted. You must correlate each improvement to a specific inefficiency and detail how your recommendation will improve the process. HINT: review the original definitions of “efficiency” discussed very early in the class. This will likely be 1 page long (2 – 3 paragraphs, even for the most ideal business out there).
  8. Create an activity diagram for the IMPROVED process. This diagram must be supported by your written analysis and recommendations.