The purpose of the paper is for the student to explore current issues in one area of operations management covered in the text. I do not want you to write a book report, but rather explore a topic from a new viewpoint. This may be related to your work or personal life. The information should be current and relevant. I cannot emphasize enough that your paper is to present new information. Do not summarize what is in the textbook. I am looking for you to provide new insights based on your synthesis of what you've read. Review the attached document which has suggestions for research topics

Possible Avenues to Explore For Research PaperDiscuss how operations has evolved from the Industrial Revolution to the Digital RevolutionChoose an industry to explore. Discuss the customers, suppliers, main competitors and supply chain. What type of inventory is held. How are products/services distributed.Read about Smart Cities Initiative and other smart technologies. Write on the impact of new digital technologies on business operations, supply chains and consumers.Describe the impact that the creation of the Malcolm Baldrige Award has had on quality improvement in the United States.Write about quality management in three different companies; compare similarities and differences. Quality Progress has many articles on different companies.Discuss the history of quality management programs (Deming, Juran, Crosby, Ishikawa) and how they have impacted productivity in the last 50 years.The Japanese are generally credited with starting the global quality revolution that in the 107-‘s became an integral part of corporate culture and eventually led to the development of quality improvement programs systems like TQM and Six Sigma. Research about what japan did to initiate the quality movement and why it differed from what was being done in the US.Research the use of SPC, lean and six sigma in the healthcare industry.Read about benchmarking at the American Productivity and Quality Center and the Benchmarking Exchange. Discuss what is benchmarking, what types of things do different industries benchmark. How are studies conducted? Access one of the free benchmarking reports and summarize.Search the internet for companies that publish sustainability reports. What are the main components, how do their approaches differ? Look across industries and at least three companies.Design of new products: Look at robust design, CAD/CAE and CAM. How can design team improve the quality of design? What are some failures in new products or services that led to success stories?Read about issues in outsourcing then examine the website of companies for their outsourcing strategies and supplier policies. Discuss advantages and disadvantages.Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of virtual teams. What challenges do they face and how can managers be successful in a virtual environment.Write a report on human resource management in three different companies. How do they compare, what are advantages and disadvantages of each? How do the companies achieve and sustain workforce diversity/Discuss specific problems that US companies with suppliers in China, or elsewhere abroad, have with workplace sustainability issues and their efforts to overcome these problems.Supply Chain Management Review is a trade magazine with many examples of Supply Chain management. Research different companies supply chains and compare.Write on the transportation and distribution channels in a supply chain.Discuss the differences in supply chains between companies that build-to-order and mass production.Explain why RFID offers enhanced opportunities, who is using RFID tagging, who isn’t and why not. Talk about the success and failures of RFID tagging. Should companies switch from barcode technology to RFID?Study the website of the World Trade Organization (WTP) which has large databases about member countries trade statistics. Access a trade profile for a country and compare to the US> Discuss the differences and explore in further detail.Write about the North American Free Trade Agreement, including its history, what it is what it does and its effectiveness in promoting trade between its member companies.Explore different types of layouts for service or manufacturing companies. Does layout make a difference? What are the goals of facility layout? Provide examples of different layouts and discuss if they are appropriate or how they might be improved. Look for layout software packages on the internet; what do they do?What is the bullwhip effect and what are its causes? Identify some of the tactics used within a supply chain to diminish the bullwhip effect. Look at the role of good forecasting and inventory management. 12/30/16Discuss the latest trends in logistics; the movement of goods. How are companies reducing supply chain costs through improved logistics? Provide examples, discuss different modes of transportation. What software packages are available to assist firms with distribution of goods?