wk 4 procurement systems

Question 1

what is systems management?

Answer 1

“a set of identities together with the relationships between them and their environment”

Question 2

What systems are in traditional procurement?

Answer 2

entities
relationships
environment

Question 3

what is an entity?

Answer 3

components of a system which make the total procurement system eg client contractor and designer

Question 4

what is a relationship in procurement?

Answer 4

supervision, contracts, communication

Question 5

what is the in the environment in procurement?

Answer 5

eg external entities such as funding bodies

Question 6

case study - what entities are involved in the partnership?
What relationships are between them?

Answer 6

RS - designer (contracting and communicating)
Crown - client, manufacturer (communicating and contracting)
No contractor

Question 7

what is an open system?

Answer 7

operates freely with surrounding environment eg construction industry
less predictable and more difficult to control and manage
influenced by variable inputs
has greater impact on society

Question 8

what is a closed system?

Answer 8

receives no input - normally purely academic

Question 9

case study - what features characterise it as a closed/open system?

Answer 9

open - producing product for consumers
hiring labour and procuring materials
however, closed in the sense that they do not openly tender design contracts

Question 10

9 characteristics of a system

Answer 10

component
interrelated
boundary
purpose
environment
interface
constrain
input
output

Question 11

what are the components in the case study

Answer 11

RS and crown

Question 12

what are the interrelated relationships in the case study

Answer 12

crown and RS - personal

Question 13

what is the boundary in the case study

Answer 13

they designed a lot of components in house

Question 14

what is the environment of the case study

Answer 14

New Bremen - rural town
very closed
know what the clients want as employees grew up on farms
good stability of workforce and ethic

Question 15

what is a constrain in the procurement in the case study

Answer 15

poor communication between employees - no email
ageing products
office of occupation safety hazards
money pg 5

Question 16

what do flow charts show? (5)

Answer 16

tasks
decisions
inputs
outputs
responsibility

Question 17

4 types of procurement management tools

Answer 17

flow charts
decision tables
document analysis
linear response analysis

Question 18

what are the advantages of flow charts (4)

Answer 18

easily shows operation of the system
clear communication
can see where the system is failing
can show how the system changes over time

Question 19

weaknesses of flow charts (3)

Answer 19

can be too big to show over one paper - defeats the point
some decisions are more complex than yes/no have a range of responses
no weighting of decisions

Question 20

example of a flow of work in the case study

Answer 20

crown call in RS as soon as they have an idea of a product. both RS and crown assess the user needs, and RS designs the product

Question 21

what are the 4 corners of a decision table

Answer 21

conditions
rules
actions
outcomes

Question 22

where do decision tables work best

Answer 22

for a limited set of conditions

Question 23

benefits of decision tables

Answer 23

easily map out all possibilities
standardise responses to make consistent actions
simplifies decision making

Question 24

weaknesses of decision tables

Answer 24

focuses on outcomes rather than the process
not useful for when the decision making process is not precise or conditions are poorly defined
limited flexibility on outcomes

Question 25

examples of decisions in the case study

Answer 25

RS or crowns responsibility in design?
pg 15 - Tom Bidwell frustrated that crown could not make decisions fast enough

Question 26

what is document analysis

Answer 26

lays out all information, and where it is

Question 27

benefits of document analysis (3)

Answer 27

can see what info is duplicated
makes procurement more efficient
optimises data collection

Question 28

weaknesses of document analysis (2)

Answer 28

harder on larger jobs
no record of informal data storage eg word of mouth

Question 29

examples of documents exchanged in the case study

Answer 29

standards for forklifts
product files
invoices
H&S files

Question 30

What does linear response analysis do?

Answer 30

maps duties of individuals and tasks

Question 31

benefits of linear response analysis (3)

Answer 31

clearly identifies the roles of individuals for each activity
no gaps in responsibility
every task is manned correctly

Question 32

weaknesses of linear response analysis

Answer 32

not good for complex projects - can make interpretation of roles difficult

Question 33

case study - examples of responsibilities

Answer 33

design ideas
H&S monitoring
customer info & research