An Evaluation of the Dilemma at Benevento Foods
Marco Benevento, the owner of Benevento Foods, a manufacturer and distributor of food products to hotels and restaurants, has received a complaint from one of his customers that several pieces of rubber have been found in one of the baking mixes. The customer is placing all incoming orders on hold until the issue is resolved. Adding to the situation, the annual BRC Food Safety audit is scheduled for the end of the month. Mr. Benevento knows that you are working towards completing your MBA and wonders if there are any techniques you have learned that may help to identify the causes of the quality issue. As you begin to tell him about systems thinking and root cause analysis, he is impressed and asks you to take charge of finding the root cause(s) of the quality issue and to provide him with recommendations for improvements. After reviewing the case, you will compile a business report, using the template provided, with the following three sections, including specific examples from the case, as well as relevant citations from the Learning Activities, the Walden Library, and/or other appropriate academic sources to support your evaluation.
Click each of the items below for more information on this Assessment.
Part 1: Thinking in Systems (3–4 pages)
In Part 1 of your business report, you are to evaluate the workings of Benevento Foods—including production, quality control, and maintenance processes—through the lens of systems thinking. Through your evaluation, you should address the following:
Justify the value that systems thinking can bring to an organization’s operations.
Identify two to three areas where Benevento Foods applied key principles of systems thinking and where this thinking appears to be lacking. Explain why.
By applying the concept of a learning organization, evaluate the core issues that you think led to the dilemma. Note: Be sure to consider the 11 laws of systems thinking as you perform your evaluation.
Apply the concept of moral imagination to the scenario and explain how it could help bring positive change within the organization. Be sure to consider who the stakeholders are and explain how the framework would impact them.
Part 2: Understanding Cause and Effect (3–4 pages)
For Part 2 of your business report to the company owner, you are to use a systems approach toward the dilemma at Benevento Foods and address the following:
Develop a robust effect-cause-effect logic tree diagram using the 5-Whys tool to identify the root cause(s) of the quality issue. The diagram itself can be drawn by hand or with software. (Note: Tables are not appropriate; it must be in the form of a diagram.)
In addition to the diagram, explain the effect-cause-effect flow leading to the root cause(s). (Reminder: The concept of systems thinking and its associated tools are new to the owner.)
Create an appropriate causal loop diagram to capture the fundamental system behaviors, outcomes, and causes of the quality issue at Benevento Foods. The diagram itself can be drawn by hand or with software. (Note: Tables are not appropriate; it must be in the form of a diagram.)
In addition to the diagram, explain the causal loop flow of the diagram. (Reminder: The concept of systems thinking and its associated tools are new to the owner.)
There are both detailed and dynamic complexities at work at Benevento Foods. Through a systems thinking viewpoint, evaluate the complexities that have led to the identified dilemma.
Part 3: Recommendations for Improvement (2 pages)
In Part 3 of your business report, you are to provide the owner with a summary of your findings and your recommendations to include the following:
Based on your evaluation, summarize the dilemma at Benevento Foods, including the identified root cause(s) of the quality issue and systemic issues that you discovered.
Develop a set of at least three immediate recommendations, based on your evaluation, to improve the quality of the product.
Develop a set of at least three recommendations for longer term improvements based on systems thinking
