Problem Solving with Quantitative Methods / Decision Making

Contents

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. The FAG Kugelfischer Company

3. Problem Solving
3.1. Forecast
3.2. Production
3.3. Roller Manufacturing
3.4. Inspection and Packaging

4. Evaluation
Appendix A, B, C
Appendix D

Bibliography

Abstract :

The business world is full of decisions, which are always (more or less) important to guarantee the success of a specific organization.

There are many techniques that help people solve the problems they have.

This assignment will deal with Quantitative methods of Decision Making.

It will describe a German company that is one of the world leading companies in that sector. After explaining its business and activities I will show up a problem within this organization an offer an adequate solution of the presented problem in form of a business report.

1. Introduction

Decisions are made by people almost every second. Organisations do that in their business as well. First of all it does not matter if they are short-term or long-term decisions. Most of the daily business decisions are made by lower management and do not possess a high risk level. But there are decisions that are very important for the future success of a company so that the upper management deals with that kind of decisions.

Decision making is an activity that lies at the heart of management. The assumption of a management role places an individual in the mainstream of an organisation’s decision- making activity with authority to make decisions and to organise and develop the organisation’s decision-making capability.^[1]

The quantitative approach to problem solving plays a very important role in the decision making process.

Concerning the assignment I chose the FAG Kugelfischer AG & Co. KG because during an internship in a consultancy I worked on a project for that company. All information about that company is based on the researches during that project and on internet research. Because of data security I will use fictitious figures in the problem I’m solving.

2. The FAG Kugelfischer Company

For more than 100 years, FAG Kugelfischer has been one of the leading manufacturers of precision rolling bearings for the automotive, mechanical engineering and aerospace industries.^[2]

In Schweinfurt (Germany), a 34-year old technology freak made the breakthrough. Friedrich Fischer developed the ball grinding machine. It enabled the absolutely precise spherical grinding of large numbers of hardened steel balls. Thanks to this innovation, the ball bearing set out from Schweinfurt to conquer the industrial world. Last year the company achieved total sales of more than €2.2 billion. It employs a staff of over 18,000 at 25 sites worldwide. Approximately 5,000 of these employees work in Schweinfurt, which is home to the FAG headquarters. Since 1 January 2002, FAG has belonged to INA Holding Schaeffler KG, Herzogenaurach, Germany. Their rolling bearing activities taken together, the two companies take second place among the bearing manufactures worldwide. The management company FAG Kugelfischer Georg Schäfer AG performs the function of a holding company to which all German and international FAG subsidiaries are affiliated.

At the turn of the years 2002/2003, the operative business was transferred into the newly founded FAG Kugelfischer AG & Co. KG. In spite of the central leadership, however, these functions are carried out decentralized within the individual business units.

A rolling bearing is a machine element that transmits, with a minimum of friction, a load between two surfaces moving in opposite directions.

It consists of two rings: inner ring and outer ring. Between these rings the rolling elements run in raceways. To prevent mutual contact between the rolling elements, they are guided and evenly spaced by a cage.

At the beginning of the 20th century the most dominant bearing type was the ball bearing.

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^[1] Jennings/Wattam (1998), Decision Making. An Integrated Approach, p.1.

^[2] All information about the company are from my own experience and internet research on

www.fag.de