The Sand Cone Model

Biblical Integration The Sand Cone Model describes business improvement as a process which should be based on improving specific competitive dimensions in a different order (Meredith & Shafer, 2013). For instance, a business which is struggling with quality outputs should place an emphasis on improving the quality of its outputs first. Businesses that produce high quality outputs are successful over the long term. Matthew 7:24-25 (ESV) states, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” When a business builds its foundation on

Businesses that are attempting to improve multiple processes simultaneously over a long period of time should reference the sand cone model before implementing business process improvements. Businesses experience lasting and cumulative improvements when the sand cone model is used to assign priorities to business improvements. The sand cone model emphasizes that businesses should focus on quality as the base of the sand cone and use quality performance as the first layer of business improvement. An emphasis on quality can be applied to many business operations. Real-world businesses can and should focus on quality at all levels of the organization. When businesses effectively utilize the sand cone model they are able to make improvements in quality performance and simultaneously improve other aspects of the business such as, dependability, speed, and

(2011). Building factory fitness. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 31(9), 916-934. doi:10.1108/01443571111165820. Retrieved from http://www.liberty.edu:2048/login?url=http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.liberty.e du:2048/doi/full/10.1108/01443571111165820 Kasra Ferdows is a researcher from Georgetown University in Washington, DC and Fritz Thurnheer is a consultant from the Hydro Aluminum Extrusion Group in Lausanne, Switzerland. Ferdows and Thurnheer examined the difference between factory fitness and leanness. The article examined how the Hydro Aluminum Extrusion Group designed, launched, and managed a comprehensive factory fitness program in 42 locations across five continents between 1986 and 2001. Importantly, the factory fitness program was based on the sand cone model, but was slightly modified to fit the business strategy of the Hydro Aluminum Extrusion Group. The sand cone model was used to avoid tradeoffs between the manufacturer’s production capabilities. Over a long period of time the sand cone model can be used to improve multiple production capabilities