Complacency-Not Asking Questions

question 13

Essay

Complacency-Not asking questions. See Table 3.3 for additional information. Also, students should provide an appropriate example for each conceptual block.
Mini-Case: The Minivan Story. In the May 30, 1994, edition of Fortune magazine, the story of the minivan was told. In the earlier years of the passenger vans, only hippies seemed to appreciate the attributes of the van. However, in the 1970s, all three U.S. automakers began to study ways to modernize and broaden the appeal of their vans. Listening to customers helped Chrysler avoid two crucial design errors: (1) it rejected the long, wedge-shaped nose design and (2) it rejected the design that placed the engine under a hump in the floor (blocking passage from front to back seats). Also, while Chrysler continued to push for front-wheel drive, both Ford and GM handed responsibility of the minivan to the truck divisions, which continued to focus on rear-wheel drive. GM's problems were compounded by the fact that in 1985 station wagons were a significant part of its sales. In the 1990s, both GM and Ford developed front-wheel drive minivans and neither were housed in the truck division. Learning from their mistakes, both GM and Ford devised a new-product development process.
-Explain specific techniques related to defining problems and generating alternatives that can enhance the creative problem-solving process.

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Definitions:

Poisson Random Variable

A type of random variable that expresses the probability of a given number of events happening in a fixed interval of time or space, assuming events occur with a known constant mean rate and independently of the time since the last event.

Average Number

The arithmetic mean, calculated as the sum of all values in a set divided by the number of values in the set.

Event Occurs

Indicates the happening of a specific condition or outcome within a statistical experiment.

Standard Deviation

A measure of the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values; a low standard deviation indicates that the values are close to the mean.