Case 4

OPERATIONS DECISIONS

Assignment Overview

Case Topic: Nissan Motor Company Ltd.: Building Operational Resiliency

Please thoroughly review the case details from the reference below. This is a very interesting case giving you the real world information on the various aspects of operational decisions.

William Schmidt, David i-Levi “Nissan Motor Company Ltd.: Building Operational Resiliency” MIT Sloan Case. MIT Sloan School of Management. Case: 11-116, 2013

If the hyperlink above doesn’t work directly (you don’t need to register to MIT site), please copy the link below to your browser to open the case page: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/LearningEdge/operations-management/nissan-motor-company/Pages/Nissan-Motor-Company.aspx

Japan’s March 11, 2011 Great Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami was among the most damaging natural disasters on record. This case examines the organizational structure and operational decisions that allowed Nissan Motor Company to recover from the disaster more rapidly than its peers. In doing so, Nissan was able to increase production and capture market share from its slower-to-recover competitors.

Case Assignment

1. The case identifies several aspects of the Nissan response that were particularly beneficial. Expand on the points made in the case to identify the potential costs and benefits of these actions.
2. What else could Nissan have done to prepare for and respond to the disaster? Try to articulate the costs and benefits of your suggestions.
3. What could Nissan have done to assess the risk of disruption in their supply chain?
4. How did Nissan’s product line strategy help or hurt its ability to respond to and recover from the disaster?

Assignment Expectations

• Use the information provided in the Background readings. Please do any additional research as necessary.
• Review the information in the case study and become familiar with the details
• There is no set response to the case questions so don’t hesitate to think outside the box.
• It is essential to provide a well written paper with detailed analysis.

READ the information provided by the resources and references on the Background page. Understand the importance of supply chain management and its link to operations strategy.

NOTE: Cite the references in the Background, as well as additional references you use in your case paper.

The report should be 5–6 pages and submitted by the module due date.