Figure 1: The Manufacturing Game "Thingamajig"

You are an entrepreneur and partner in a small manufacturing company. Your company specializes in the fabrication and delivery of quality custom made components to the aerospace industry. Presently, you have a valuable opportunity to supply quality Thingamajigs to Acme Aerospace. Your role as entrepreneur and full partner in this small business is to plan, organize, staff, direct, control, and "pitch in" any way you can in order to deliver quality components on time while making a reasonable profit.

Your goal is:
To operate a profitable manufacturing business, i.e., "Business Success!"

Your objectives as relate to the Acme Aerospace opportunity are:

• to manufacture and deliver your contracted number of quality
  "Thingamajigs" to Acme Aerospace on time
• to make a profit
• to predict profitability

"Thingamajig" requirements:

• Must be assembled per Engineering Drawing #Z737
• "Thingamajig" components and Cost of Materials:

  1 button	@ $0.03 each
  1 paper clip	@ $0.02 each
  1 large rubber band	@ $0.01 each
  1 small rubber band	@ $0.01 each
  1 spring activated clothes pin	@ $0.03 each
  Total cost of one	"Thingamajig $0.10

• � Manufacturing Team Labor Rate: $60/hour or $1/minute
• � Acme Aerospace will buy quality "Thingamajigs" @ $1.50 each
  for the first 10 and $1 each for any over 10

You must:

• Determine the number of Quality "Thingamajigs" your company
  can supply Acme in 10 minutes
• Predict profitability
• Manufacture
• Calculate results

Scoring:

• If the number contracted with Acme is delivered and
  your profit prediction is met or exceeded: Business Success
• If the number contracted with Acme is delivered but
  your profit prediction is not accomplished: Unhappy Shareholders
• If the number contracted with Acme is not delivered, Business Failure

You are now ready to meet with your partners and other manufacturing team members. Be prepared to determine your Goal/Objectives in terms of:

Number of "Thingamajigs" Contracted =
Prediction of Profitability =

Copyright@1995 by Charles D. Collins, Peter E. Gunterman, and Suzanne H. Zolnick for use by The House of Seagram, Manufacturing Division.

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