Optimizing Business Systems in China
Intensive Workshop (suitable for managers and others who lead in business)
Taught by Pradeep Kumar.  Click here for Pradeep's profile.

Staying competitive in business is always challenging, but doing business in China presents a unique set of obstacles that can slow a business down or even bring it to a halt.  This course seeks to identify these challenges and to present a systematic approach to overcoming them according to each individual company's greatest advantage.  This course is intended for managers in leadership positions who are responsible for optimizing systems and maximizing productivity, from strategy to execution.  We will focus on real-life business challenges presented by the students in the class as our "case studies".  A one or two page summary of these challenges will be submitted by participants to the facilitator before the beginning of the term.  We will explore a variety of proven methodologies for prioritizing, streamlining systems, waste reduction, identifying bottlenecks, etc. including TOC, LEAN, 6Sigma, CCPM, TQ, and a range of others.  This is a broad-scoped course covering nearly every aspect of production and its overlaps with HR issues as they pertain to optimizing systems in a Chinese business environment.  Areas to be covered include:

China's competitive environment:
The challenges (Delivering quality at low price, Skilled people in short supply, Attrition, Copying of product, Loyalty of customers and Suppliers, etc.)  Difficulty in meeting these challenges (direction of solution – simple approaches that can be easily applied).

Framework of learning – simple model of work process (customer and activities defining work processes, nesting of processes, sub processes and superior processes) and system (cause and effect relationships).  Three positions that are important – owner of the sub process, business system owner, and knowledge personnel.  Methods for achieving goals.

Understanding conflicts in a business:
Operations, Sales, Project, Marketing, Measurements, Distribution, Delegation, Communication, why they happen and how to address them (clouds and injection, etc.) – chain, policies, priorities, traditional beliefs, efficiency paradigm, etc.

Bringing operations under control to increase predictability:
Improving Responsiveness – DDP improvement
Job Shop simulation

Quality of service and products:
Meeting customer needs by quality management (Deming, 6 sigma)
Building Quality – Measuring defects, TQ tools, 'why why' analysis, activity boards, small team activities
Measuring Quality – Defects, Specs, variability
Drivers of Quality – process management
Where to Start - Holes in buffer
How to use TQ tools for building quality

Reducing waste from system:
LEAN based suggestions and how it creates value – value, value chain, flow, pull, perfection.
Work Process wastes (ops, transport, waiting, etc.)

Reducing Inventory and Investment:
Breakthrough improvement in working capital management (inventory) pull, dbr, short cycle
WIP management, Ideal Location of ongoing constraint
Cycle time, touch time concept
Buffer size for constraint management

Growing Sales:
Relationships amongst customer issues and needs, CRT
Availability issues that hinder sales
Inventory conflict
Price conflict
How to create value
Increasing demand of your products – mafia offer, etc.

New Products in 'half the current lead time':
Project time reduction by applying CCPM
Manual simulation of safety for selecting number of dice throws to achieve a number - how
safety is needed in each task
Multi tasking and waste
Buffer management for projects

Capacity management for increasing thru put:
Measurements play key role in behavior – additive case
Capacity increase – GOAL
Discussion on measurements - 527 model
Balance Score Card – weights of measures

Enhancing Employee Happiness:
Building long term growth strategy
Creating Enabling Environment
Key management skills (Delegation, Team Building, Communication).

Course Title: Doing Business in China
Tuition Fee: RMB 6500

Spring Session 2012: March 5th to April 19th

Section A: Monday and Thursday evenings (6:30 PM - 9:00 PM)
7 weeks from March 5th to April 19th (Course Code: DB103)
Location: ELC Learning Center

Section B: Saturdays 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (lunch 12:00 to 1:00)
5 weeks from March 10th to April 7th (Course Code: DB104)
Location: ELC Learning Center

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS COURSE

Registration Procedure:
Please register online first to reserve your place.  You will then receive a confirmation email with further details.  Next, payment must be made on site at the ELC Learning Center during the payment dates shown below (you can come in person or send someone).

Tuition payment for the Spring Session 2012 will take place from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, from Monday, February 20th through Monday, February 27th, 2012.  Payments will be received in the Registration Office at the ELC Learning Center.  Click here for map.

Please note: classes are kept small for the students' benefit (generally between 8 and 12 people).  Register early to reserve your place.  Payment must be received on time to complete your enrollment and maintain your reservation in the class(es) for which you have registered.  (Any course that does not meet sufficient enrollment may be cancelled and a full refund provided upon presentation of your original receipt.)