Operations & Project Management

This project report involves implementation of operations management principles, continuous improvement plan. Concept of project life cycle is discussed with review and its effectiveness in the application of a particular project.

TASK 1

P1 Review and critique of the implementation of operational management principles in an organisation

Company Overview

Associated British Foods is a multi-national company which has its operations all around the world. It basically has a work of food-processing and produces emulsifiers, enzymes and lactose. The organisation aims to provide healthy and nutritious food items to its customers which are also affordable for them (Arriagada, and et.al., 2016).

Operations and Operations Management

Operations in simple terms defined as an activity through which different types of raw material are converted into finished goods so that level of earning can be improved (What is Operations Management?. 2019). On the other hand, operations management ensures that all the available resources are utilised in such manner that level of productivity can be improved. Operations management leads to managing outcome, production and resources so that results can be generated as planned. Want to get Assignment Example ? Talk to our Experts !

Principles of Operations Management

As a retailing organisation Associated British Foods in order to manage various operations appoints operations manager. Different principles of operations management is applied by these managers so that activities can be managed effectively.

Variance- This principle means differences created between various processes of an organisation. It can be good for a company because proper management of variances leads to increased creativity (Artto, Ahola and Vartiainen, 2016). Associated British Foods implements this principle in its processing to get ahead of its competitors in the market.

Organisation- According to it, processes are interconnected in a firm and thus their elements must have predictability and consistency to achieve the desired level of profits. In context of Associated British Foods they can implement this principle by maintaining an inter-connectivity between different steps of manufacturing which will help them in increasing efficiency, effectiveness and productivity.

Change- This principle is essential as change is quite necessary in an organisation because if it has to stay in market it has to be dynamic in nature to constantly adapt to them. For Associated British Foods this is important as it has to constantly alter its operation methods because of the ever-changing needs,demands and tastes of consumers.

Accountability- This means that managers have to set goals, targets and objectives whether short-term or long-term in front of their subordinates so that they can strive to achieve them (Fleming and Koppelman, 2016). It is essential for success of a company that its workers are working properly to achieve the desired outcomes. Associated British Foods can implement.

Analysis of principles in order to meet organisational requirements

Operations Management is essential for any company to properly manage its operations and processes. This is required for smooth functioning of the organisation so that it functions like a well-oiled machine. Application of these principles is required for a concern to function effectively and efficiently. Associated British Foods has to analyse these principles and see the departments where it can apply them so that it can achieve maximum productivity in its business model.

The analysis of principles is given as follows-

• This is the first requirement for Associated British Foods as the differences created between various processes can help it to become dynamic and creative which will thereby help in producing innovative goods which are desired by consumers in market. Thus, a variety of products must be included by company in its product line and also it must reduce its operational cost which will enhance its overall earnings.
• Another requirement is that the company must maintain a uniformity and consistency in its processes as it will help it in getting to the desired level of profit (Lee, 2018). For proper implementation of this principle it is essential that it focuses on increasing overall efficiency, effectiveness and productivity of operations so that goals and targets can be achieved easily
• Third requirement is that firm must become dynamic and flexible in an ever-changing market where consumers constantly demand creative and innovative goods and services. Thus, it is required that focus should be enhanced on R&D department so that ideas related to new products are generated.
• In addition to this, accountability is something which is required in every company. When authority is delegated from senior to subordinate it comes with a responsibility for subordinate but accountability still stays with the senior only (Martens and Carvalho, 2017). Thus, it can be concluded that accountability must be made for different tasks in an organisation to facilitate achievement of goals. Worried for Assignment Help ? Get our experts Help Now!

Different approaches to operations management

Taylor's Scientific Management Theory- It is a scientific theory which describes how efficiency, effectiveness and productivity of different tasks in an organisation can be achieved. The major principles of this theory are as follows-

Science, not the rule of thumb- It states that scientific methods must be used for decision-making in a firm instead on unscientific methods or rule of thumb approach.

Harmony, not discord- It says that there must be unity among workers so that conflicts can be avoided and fast decisions can be taken.

Co-operation, not individualism- It represents cooperativeness among workers which they can achieve by working in coordination to achieve tasks and goals.

Maximum production, in place of restricted production- According to it, maximum production must be done by enhancing productivity of workers and there must be no deliberate restriction of production.

Flexible specialisation- A company has different workers with different skills and multi-use machines which it can use to enhance productivity (Maylor and Turner, 2017). It can be used by Associated British Foods to become more dynamic and innovative so as to sustain itself for a long time in the market. this principle by setting high-performance standards for its employees, providing them proper training to achieve them and ensuring that they meet them.

TASK 2

P2 Continuous improvement plan and principles of operation management

Continuous improvement is termed as an ongoing process through which all the required efforts are made in order to ensure that required improvement can be made in products served and services offered. Using a well defined continuous improvement plan Associated British Foods organisation has planned to improve quality of products. Utilising all the resources in best manner will improve level of production for business organisations. A effective continuous improvement plan will help Associated British Foods organisation to gain competitive advantage over other businesses.

Lean Principles

Lean is considered as a philosophy of continuous improvement. Organisations which are lean focuses on increasing customer value, eliminating wastage and optimizing operations. The concept of lean is focused on continuous improvement, collaboration and consumer focus (Ochieng and et.al., 2018). Main aim of this principal is to ensure that business organisation is producing more by employing minimum resources. Different principles for Associated British Foods organisation which helps in improving operations are as follows-

Value: At the first stage value that consumers have for the product and services offered to them is determined. This will help to analyse value which consumers will be agree to pay and also pricing for products of Associated British Foods organisation can be managed. Market analysis to find consumers requirements is made.

Value Stream: In order to achieve goal of lean value stream needs to be achieve as it involves entire life-cycle of the product form raw material to finished goods and disposal. Value stream mapping is used to analyse different types of waste so that actions to minimise wastage is taken and higher productivity can be achieved (Otsuki, Akiyoshi and Samejima, 2017).

Flow: The lean manufacturing principal of flow focuses on creating a value chain in which no interruption in the process of production is involved. For example- Associated British Foods organisation has planned its lunch and rest hours so that all the activities form sale to delivery can be performed effectively.

Pull: As per this principle of lean it is ensured that no activity can be performed before time. For example- delivery of goods can not be take place without converting raw material into finished goods. Flexibility is required so that efficient communication can take place at each step of value chain.

Perfection: Eliminating wastage and using all the resources in best productive manner helps in achieving perfection. Through this principal Associated British Foods organisation march towards perfection and this process takes place step by step. Problems related to quality is minimised and wastage is maintained in perfect manner.

Continuous improvement plan for Associated British Foods organisation

Recommendations

• Safety of employees is one of the primary concern of employees and Associated British Foods organisation needs to make all the efforts to ensure that good physical and mental health can be maintained.
• Cost of serving society and maintaining environmental factors enhances cost for the business. Using lean principles will help in eliminating wastage and minimising cost of wastage.

TASK 3

P3 Application of each stage of PLC to the project and production of necessary information with supporting documents such as business case, project plan and WBS

Overview of project: Camden Council is planning to work on a HS2 project which is related to building high speed rail. It is mainly related to reduction in the overcrowding because the company has planned to free up the space on existing lines and place a high speed train there. It adds around 13000 peak hour seats on the West Coast Main line route by constructing a new railway.

Project life cycle: In order to complete the project properly it is very important for all the organisation to follow each and every step of project life cycle. While working on HS2 project it will be essential for the manage to follow all the steps of it which are described below:

• Project initiation: It is the first stage where essential elements for a project are analysed and arranged (Padalkar and Gopinath, 2016). While working on HS2 project manager of Camden Council will be required to analyse market situations and then take appropriate actions to carry out the whole project. Here, autocratic leadership style will be used by the management as they have to take quick decisions for betterment of organisation.
• Project planning: It is the second stage project management in which managers try to formulate effective plans so that the goals which were formulated by them previously could be attained. In order to successfully complete the HS2 project it will be vital for managers of Camden Council to form highly effective plans so that objective couls be achieved. Here, various types of tools are used by the which includes Gantt chart, WBS etc.
• Project execution: When different plans for project are formed then strategies for executing them are formulated. Here, managers of Camden Council will be required to make sure that all the predetermined plans are executed properly so that success could be attained. While carrying out different activities at this stage various methodologies such as hybrid, Agile could be used by them to assure the successful completion of all the tasks (Padalkar and Gopinath, 2016).
• Project closure: It is the last stage of project life cycle in which all the tasks which are performed by staff are analyse and evaluated by the manager. While working on the project of HS2 the management of Camden Council will be responsible to make sure that all the activities are performed by them properly so that goals could be accomplished successfully.
• Business case: While working on a project it is very important for the managers to make sure that they generate a new business case so that solution for the problems which may take place in future could be resolved successfully. The case for HS2 project of Camden Council is as follows:

Project plan: Detail project plan for Camden Council for the project of HS2 is as follows:

TASK 4

P4 Review and critique of the effectiveness of PLC applications

Effectiveness of the PLC applications for Associated British Foods organisation is reviewed on the basis of Waterfall model. Analysis and discussion of this model is as follows-

Source: Waterfall Model, 2020

Requirement: At this stage all the requirements in order to accomplish the project such as human resource, finances and material is analysed. Using six sigma to minimise wastage of resources is made (Sunder, 2016). Lean principal will help Camden Council organization to meet all the requirements.

System design: After studying first phase of requirements of the project a system is designed which meets all the requirements of the business.

Implementation: After designing of the project task are divided into small units so that they can be performed in effective manner. Implementation is made after tasting each unit of task.

Testing: All the unites generated at the previous stage are tested so that any form of loop holes are identified. Actions to minimise variations are taken after testing (Waterfall Model, 2020).

Deployment of system: After making tests goods and services are released in the market to serve them with consumers.

Maintenance: Issues involved while dealing with consumer group to fix the differences are performed on regular basis. Maintenance is made so that changes can be made in the environment. Worried for Project Management Assignment Help ? Get our experts Help Now!

CONCLUSION

From the above project report it has been concluded that operation and project management is the process of analysing all the activities which are performed by an organisation to reach the predetermined objectives of a project. While working on a project there are various types of principles which are used by the management to manage the operations properly. While planning to execute all the operational activities properly it is very important for managers to formulate a continuous improvement plan to bring effectiveness in business. There are four different stages which are required to be followed to carry out a project. These are initiation, planning, execution and closure. There are several essential documents which are used in PLC by the companies to ignore possibility of failure. These are business case, project plan, work break down structure, Gantt chart etc.

Read More :- Planning for Business Growth

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