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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The assigned reading for forum 8 discussed operations management. The text provided significant discussion around TPS, Six Sigma, the House of Quality Matrix. Further study included the stages of product development, project management process, and supply chain management. According to Satterlee (2013), operations management considers the acquisition, development, and utilization of resources. Determining the location of manufacturing plants, supply chains, production management, production scheduling, inventory management, and equipment maintenance policies are all decisions that are made by operations management.
Ebert Ronald J and Griffin Ricky W. (2011). Operations Management and Quality (8th edition) Business Essentials.(pp.128-132), Boston [Mass];London: Pearson.
Operations management is considered as a psychology which cannot be overlooked in this 21st century to attain desired performance in any organization. This type of management relates to zones like planning, process design and control issues involving capacity and quality. After a very thorough research and thinking I choose COSTCO which is one of the leading whole sale and retail service providers. Costco wholesale is a multi-billion dollar company and a global retailer for eight countries. Washington CEO magazine named Costco as one of the three leading companies in the state of Washington. Costco opened the first ware house in Seattle and became the first company to grow from zero to $3 billion in sales in six years. This company follows
Within the last thirty years, the scope of Operations Management has shifted quite a bit. This shift began to take on more of a quality focused approach (Heyl, 2011, pg.18). Manufacturers had gone through the years of development, and had insight on what they could do to operate cost effectively. With some new technologies/systems developing like the Electronic Data interchange (a standard format for exchanging business data...
Vonderembse, M.A. & White, G. P. (2013). Operations Management. San Diego, Ca: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
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.
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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
University of Phoenix(Ed.).(2003) Operations management for competitive advantage[University of Phoenix custom edition e-text]. New York: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved February 01, 2005, from university of phoenix, Resource, MGT554- operations management website: https://mycampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp
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
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.
Slack, N., Chambers, S., Johnston, R., Betts, A.,(2009). Operations and process management: Second edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited
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,
Supply chain management has been defined as that process that involves the management of information, materials, and all the finances that are handled within and across the entire supply chain process (Christopher, 2016). The management is usually done through out the entire supply chain management from that moment when the suppliers are involved through all the manufacturing activities, different distribution activities, and the way that the products are served to the final product consumer (Turban, et al., 2002). The process also includes all the activities that different organizations offers to their customers as after sale services for purposes perfecting their services and products towards their highly valued customers (Christopher,
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.