| Course | BUSI 3010 Operations Management |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion post |
| Length | About 520 words, 3 pages |
| Format | Discussion post, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUSI 3010 Week 1
Week 1 Discussion: Describe One Real Operation
From Template to Installed Countertop in Fourteen Working Days, Not Ten: Describing a Stone Fabrication Shop's Kitchen Job Closely Enough to Argue About Where the Time Goes
The operation I know best is a single kitchen countertop job at Red River Stone & Surface, a composite countertop fabrication shop in Fargo, North Dakota, with 28 employees, where I schedule production. What enters is a signed order with a deposit, a cabinet layout and a choice of quartz or granite. What leaves is a finished, installed countertop, usually about 55 square feet cut from one or two slabs. The shop promises installation ten working days after the templating visit; over the last six months, the average has been fourteen.
The job moves through eight steps. A templater visits the home and records the cabinet tops with a laser device. A programmer lays the pieces out on a photo of the actual slab. A yard worker pulls the slab from the rack with a gantry crane. The bridge saw cuts the pieces. The CNC machine shapes the edges and cuts the sink and cooktop openings. Two polishers finish the edges by hand. A lead fabricator checks each piece and prepares the seams. Finally, a two-person crew installs the top in one day.
Everyone in the shop says templating is the slow part, because customers wait a week for a templater and complain about it. I am not convinced. Jobs waiting for the CNC machine stack up on carts beside it most afternoons, while the saw and the polishers sometimes stand idle. If that is right, adding a templater would just move the queue to the CNC sooner. Schmenner and Swink (1998) argue that operations theory should explain why some processes are more productive than others, and their emphasis on swift, even flow is a reason to look at where work waits, not at what customers complain about. By the queuing result in Little (1961), more jobs sitting in a system at a steady pace of work means longer stays for each job, so the carts by the CNC are a clue to where the extra four days come from.
Would you start by timing the CNC, or by counting the carts in front of each station for a week?
Reply to Tamika
Tamika, your pharmacy refill line is a good choice, but where does it start? If it starts when the refill request arrives, the waiting time for insurance approval is inside the operation; if it starts when the pharmacist begins filling, it is not. That choice changes your duration from "twenty minutes" to "about a day." Hopp and Spearman (2004) define much of operations improvement around controlling work in process, which only makes sense once the start and end are fixed.
Reply to Ben
Ben, you say the returns desk is slow "because of staffing." Your post also says each return needs a manager's approval code. How many approvals happen per hour, and how many managers are on the floor? If approvals take longer than the scanning, staffing at the desk may not be the issue.
References
Hopp, W. J., & Spearman, M. L. (2004). To pull or not to pull: What is the question? Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 6(2), 133-148. https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.1030.0028
Little, J. D. C. (1961). A proof for the queuing formula: L = λW. Operations Research, 9(3), 383-387. https://doi.org/10.1287/opre.9.3.383
Schmenner, R. W., & Swink, M. L. (1998). On theory in operations management. Journal of Operations Management, 17(1), 97-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-6963(98)00028-X
Reading the BUSI 3010 Week 1 instructions
In the first week, the course asks you to describe one real operation you know, in enough detail that its inputs, steps and outputs could be disputed by someone else. Pick something narrow, such as a refill line, a returns desk or one production cell, rather than a whole company. State what enters, what leaves and roughly how long the operation takes. Then list the steps in order, with the person or machine performing each, so classmates can check the sequence. A good post also names where people think the operation is slow and offers a reason to doubt or confirm it. Close with one reading-based idea and something to ask the group; later in the week, two replies probe other students' operations.
Inside the BUSI 3010 Week 1 example
The post opens by naming the job, the shop and the writer's role, then states the input (a signed order, a cabinet layout and a stone choice) and the output (an installed countertop of about 55 square feet). It gives the promise of ten working days and the six-month average of fourteen. The second paragraph lists eight steps from laser templating through installation, each tied to a role. A third paragraph challenges the shop's belief about templating by pointing to carts piling up beside the CNC, citing Schmenner and Swink on even flow and Little on the link between work waiting and time spent in a system. The reply to Tamika asks where her pharmacy operation begins, citing Hopp and Spearman. The reply to Ben asks how many manager approvals the returns desk needs per hour.
Where the marks sit in the BUSI 3010 Week 1 rubric
Marks in the opening week go to precision. A post that states inputs, outputs and a duration, and lists steps with owners, gives classmates something to test; a post describing an operation in general terms does not. Graders look for a clear boundary, meaning where the operation starts and ends, because every later calculation depends on it. Challenging a common belief about the operation, with a reason, shows the analytical habit the course builds. Concepts from the reading should explain why a detail matters, such as why work waiting in one place signals a constraint. Replies earn credit when they press on something specific in the classmate's description, such as a missing boundary or an untested assumption, rather than agreeing or adding a personal story.
Common BUSI 3010 Week 1 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Choose an operation you can describe from memory in one paragraph, from the moment work arrives to the moment it leaves. Write down its input, output and typical duration before anything else. List the steps as actions with a person or machine attached. Then ask where people say it is slow and whether you have any evidence for that. Weak posts describe a whole department, leave the start and end unclear or list steps without saying who does them. Others accept the common complaint without question. In replies, ask for one missing fact that would make the classmate's operation measurable. Describe the input, output and steps of an operation at your job, and a model post can be drafted around it.
Get a BUSI 3010 Week 1 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 1 prompt, the rubric, and a few lines about the operation you want described, and a BUSI 3010 post built around it returns inside 24-48 hours, the first sample at no cost. Nothing generic stands in for an observed operation, so the post that arrives describes the one you name and leaves the rest of the workplace out.
More BUSI 3010 papers and BS in Business Administration samples
- BUSI 3010 Week 2: Swimlane Process Map
- BUSI 3010 Week 3: CNC Capacity Calculation
- BUSI 3010 Week 4: Bottleneck Analysis
- BUSI 3010 Week 5: Calculation Check Peer Replies
- BUSI 3010 Week 6: Quality Defect Memo
- BUSI 3010 Week 7: EOQ and Reorder Point Analysis
- BUSI 3010 Week 8: Forecast Method Comparison
- BUSI 3010 Week 9: Shop Floor Layout Proposal
- BUSI 3010 Week 10: Process Improvement Proposal
- BUSI 3010 Week 11: Integrated Operations Report
BUSI 3010 Week 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free BUSI 3010 Week 1 sample paper?
Everything is here: the countertop post, its two replies and the margin comments, with no charge.
What operation does the BUSI 3010 Week 1 example describe?
One kitchen countertop job at a composite stone fabrication shop, from a signed order to an installed top.
How long does the operation take?
The shop promises ten working days from templating to installation; over six months it averaged fourteen.
Why does the post doubt that templating is the slow step?
Because jobs pile up on carts in front of the CNC machine most afternoons while other stations sometimes stand idle.
What do the replies ask classmates?
Where a pharmacy refill operation starts and ends, and how many manager approvals a returns desk needs each hour.