Introduction
(Russell & Taylor, 2011) define operations management (OM) as the design, operation and improvement of productive systems. In other words, OM is concerned with certain processes that aim to monitor and manage tasks to achieve a desired outcome. OM is crucial to the success of companies as it aims to increase productivity and quality. By increasing productivity, the profit margin of a company will increase; and increased quality leads to customer satisfaction and in turn, increased market share. This report will aim to analyse what actually happened in carrying out the operational changes in the Little Chef case study. This will be done by using ‘Quality Management’ and ‘Information Technology’ frameworks of OM to identify possible gaps to explain why these gaps occurred and what should have been done as an alternative to evade them based on the recommendations provided.
Customer Benefit Package
Collier and Evans (2007) define a Customer Benefit Package (CBP) as a clear set of tangible (goods-related) and intangible (service-related) features which the customer acknowledges and is willing to pay for, uses or experiences. In other words, a CBP is essentially an outline of what a company offers (goods or services) to its customers; this outline is designed to meet or exceed the expectations of a customer. The British roadside restaurant Little Chef, offers fast food as the ‘goods’ and hospitality as the ‘service’ component. Unfortunately the management team at Little Chef and Heston Blumenthal made some decisions that they thought met the needs and wants of their customers. Rather their decisions created gaps between what Little Chef offered and what the customers expected. As a result the CBP Little Chef offered did no...
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Operations refers to the transformation of raw materials(inputs) into finished products(outputs). The operations process is one of the key business functions and is a crucial component to business success. Like every business, Qantas is affected by many internal and external influences requiring it to have effective strategies to respond to these influences. Businesses that are able to adopt and utilise effective operational strategies are able to quickly adapt and either reduce or take advantage of these influences that impact the business. The effectiveness of these strategies can measured by Qantas’ performance and whether or not it is able to hold it’s competitive advantage. How well these strategies respond to the influences on operations will determine the level of success that Qantas achieves.
Operations management is essential for the survival and success of any organization. According to Heizer & Render (2011), operations management (OM) is the set of activities that creates value in the form of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs. Operations managers today contend with competition, globalization, inflation, consumer demand, and consistent change in technology. Managers must focus on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes such as cost, dependability, distribution, flexibility, and speed. The intent of this paper is to discuss the processes and operations management of the Kroger Company.
Ways in which Operations Management have evolved are the incorporation of internet technologies, more efficient machines, and the scope itself. This is not an exhausted list by any means, but these three aspects are highly important as it relates to the changes in Operations Management over the past fifty years.
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At present, every organization believes that operations management plays a pivotal role in establishing and maintaining global leadership, and is a part of the overall organizational strategy. The strategic part that operations management plays in hierarchical execution can be seen as more companies are moving towards dealing with their operations from a value chain viewpoint. There are many reasons that support, operations management an important element for the success of the business. It encompasses manufacturing and services, and its essential in adequately and effectively dealing with the productivity as every company ought to have high productivity which can prompt economic growth and development and help the company’s work force in getting high wages, as well as lead to a rise in organization's profit. Operations management is likewise imperative as it plays a major role in any company’s
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1.1. A framework for analyzing operations management within businesses Operations management is a multi-disciplinary field that focuses on managing all the aspects of the business’s operations. The framework for operational management is a way to present thinking about the relationship between the main function which are including in service operation: • External environment: A management’s task is to understand the need of the customer and what they want and sizing up the opportunity and threats by competitors. Define the product and compare with the similar product, segmenting market, develop a product concept and marketing. This is particular strategic approach to provide unique quality of the product in high competitive environment.
Establishing policy is one of the most important responsibilities of an operations manager. It aligns with the firm’s goals and objectives. He or She needs carry out standards of performance, safety policies and procedures and make policy changes if necessary. Meanwhile, operations managers must consult with legal department to ensure policies in accordance with local rules and regulations (Lewis,
To begin with, I would like to emphasise the fact that operation management in the business industry is very important. Operation management is the management of the process that produce or deliver services or goods. It essential to say that the organisations transmit the input into output. Interestingly operation management has two aims, firstly the supply chain management which is the management of the interconnection of organisation that relate to each other through upstream and downstream linkages between the process. It is produce value to ultimate customer in the form of products and services. The second one is logistics, logistics in the process that an organisation make in order to get the correct materials with perfect quality to the right customers or places. As the result of this transformation business management has four characteristics: VOLUME- VARIETY – VARIATION – VISIBILITY. Furthermore there are five operations performance
One of the challenges for the operations manager in any business is the scheduling of key production activities. There are numerous variables that need to be considered in this planning process. These factors include production capacity, customer demand, supplier performance, design completion, cash flow, and staffing (Heizer, 2011). All these factors come together to create a production plan that can fluctuate based on many external forces. The idea of the master production schedule and the sales and operations plan is to help forecast and meet the required production levels. The goal is to maximize efficiency and profitability through anticipating demand and adjusting production schedules accordingly. The Sales and Operations Plan (S&OP) and the Master Production Schedule (MPS) are two tools used in operations management to assist in the scheduling process.
OPERATION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT All organizations have operations.” A manufacturing company may conduct operations in a foundry, mill, or factory. Our interest is in the management of operations, or operations management (OM), including the usual management cycle of planning, implementing, and monitoring/controlling. The driving force for OM must be an overriding goal of continually improving service to customers, where customer means the next process as well as the final, external user. § Since there is an operation element in every function of the enterprise, all people in all jobs in every department of the organization should team up for improvement of there own operations management elements. Teaming Up with Customers What happens when suppliers and customer are disconnected? Consider design work, for example. Whether we speak of goods or services, time- and distance separation in the supplier-customer connection invites trouble. Question: “What’s your Job?” Question: “But isn’t your job to serve the customer?” In grocery stores, where the supplier-relationship is immediate, the operations manager system is hard pressed to maintain a customer focus. The customer is the next process, or where the work goes next. A buyer’s customer is the associate in the department to whom the purchased item goes; a cost accountant’s customer is the manager who uses the accounting operations-where the design will be produced or the service provided. It is also clear that throughout the organization, people not only have customers, they are customers. Let’s turn our attention to what customers want. A Short List of Basic Customer Wants The requirement is a recipient’s or customer’s view of a good or service. A close partnership with the customer’s actual requirements. A close partnership with the customer helps create good specifications, increasing the supplier’s ability to fulfill the customer’s needs. What else do customers want? Customers have six requirements of their providers: High levels of quality. High levels of service. Low costs. OPERATIONS STRATEGY An organizational commitment with wide ranging effects, such as continuing improvement in meeting customer needs, is called a strategy. Strategy itself is necessary because of competition, and successful strategy ensures that company strengths match customer requirements. Integrated Business Strategy To accomplish its aims, the business team must plan strategy in all four-line functions. A comprehensive strategic business plan deals with issues affecting the whole organization: employees, markets, location, line of products and services, customers, capital and financing, profitability, competition, public image and so forth.
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Operations Management is the term we use for the management of the resources necessary to produce and deliver the products and services required by customers. These resources include labor, materials and also capital equipment. Operations management include inventory management, quality control, production scheduling, and follow-up services. For example in clothing factories they transform raw materials, fabric, thread, and other resources into pants, shirts, skirts, and dresses in order for people to have clothing (Bethel University, 2011). This is called the process of fabrication and assembly.
Operations management is simply defined as “The design, operation and improvement of the internal and external systems, resources and technologies that create product and service combinations in any type of organization.” [Robert H. Lowson p.5]