Summative Assessment: Gemba Walk and Opportunities for Improvement

 

Now that you have completed your SWOT Analysis, select and analyze the areas in need of improvement, and narrow down the list of places to do your Gemba walk.  

Use your SWOT analysis to focus your Gemba walk. Identify and analyze weaknesses and threats to review during your walk. 

While completing your walk, look for ways to eliminate inefficiencies, reduce waste, improve a product, or streamline a process. 

Write a 750-word Opportunities for Improvement Recommendation report for management on your observations and recommendations from your Gemba walk, based on your SWOT analysis from Week 3. Complete the following in your report: 

• Include a summary of the organization (e.g., products or services, mission, and vision). 
• Provide context (where did you focus your Gemba, and why?). 
• Explain how you utilized your SWOT analysis to focus your Gemba walk. 
• List your Gemba observations: 
• What was the goal of your Gemba? 
• Where did you go? 
• What did you observe? 
• Who did you observe? 
• Prepare an analysis of your observations. 
• List key takeaways, providing evidence for each. 
• Choose 1 long-term and 3 short-term opportunities to eliminate inefficiencies, reduce waste, improve a product, or streamline a process within the organization.  

Cite any references that support your work (e.g., trade or industry publications, government or agency websites, scholarly works, or other sources of similar quality).