Report Factory Man

Factory Man

The Factory Man is an incredible story of one man’s fight to save his family legacy. John Bassett III (JB) leads an incredible life of struggle and triumph in his discovery of the truth behind globalization. His story validates the importance of many topics we have discussed in Operations Management. He reveals the importance of decisions such as: (JIT) Just in Time, (TQM) Total Quality Management, Respect for People, (CQI) Continuous Quality Improvement, and the forethought that should go into globalization. His philosophy for operations management would become known by insiders as Bassett Furniture 101.

In the first chapter of our class text book the question is asked, “Why Operations Management?” Beth Macy’s book gives a clear picture as to why operations are vitally important. For many years the United States has been the leader in manufacturing and production of new products. U. S. companies had little concerns over the competition. However, in 1994 when the North American Free Trade Agreement was passed, many U.S. companies realized their need to focus on operations in order to compete with the global market. Bassett was one of those companies.

Once China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, cheaper versions of American-made furniture were being shipped to the United States. Bassett Furniture, along with others, were hit so hard that the people of Henry County, where many of the factories were located, called it “the 58 virus”, because the factories located along U.S. Route 58 from Bassett to Galax, Virginia to High Point, North Carolina were some of the hardest hit and over twenty thousand people lost their jobs in Henry County alone (Macy 12).

Bassett Furniture was one of the largest manufacturers of quality wood furniture in the United States. The company was based in Bassett, Virginia and led the industry for many years. JB was a hardworking, determined third generation furniture maker that was squeezed out of his...