Operations management assignmentdemonstrating advanced understanding of operations management principles, frameworks, and contemporary topics
Question
Task: Can you write anoperations management assignment that critically analyses and evaluates one process (or operation) in an organisation and proposes two well-justified recommendations for improvement?
Answer
1. Introduction
Tesco Plc is a British retail supermarket chain and one of the largest retail chains across the globe (tescoplc.com, 2022). The operations management assignmentis discussed about the supply chain management, which helps the organisation to maintain the flow of the products to the consumers. On the other hand, it has been also discussed in this operations management assignmentthat Tesco Plc has been initially focusing on their vendors for sourcing materials. Keeping up supplies of the required materials for progressing with their business, a critical process of operation is also highlighted in the operations management assignment. A critical analysis along with the evaluation of the process of operation management is also discussed in the operations management assignment. Two main issues such as unable to adopt change management, and decrease in product and service quality have been considered in this operations management assignment. Supply chain management is very essential part for any organisation, along with a proper management of the supply chain is necessary to provide better services as well as the products to the consumers.Lean synchronisation is the process of smoothing the process flows of supply chain management, which is critically discussed in the operations management assignment. On the hand, a proper recommendation is discussed in the operations management assignment, which contains the quality management of the products has been highlighted.
2. Overview of the selected operational Process in theoperations management assignment
Supply chain management plays a crucial role in keeping the speed of the flow of products to consumers. Fernie& Sparks (2018) stated the fact that it is a determinant element for succeeding a business that it is required to manage effectively. In this operations management assignment, it has been observed that Tesco Plc has been initially focusing on their vendors for sourcing materials. They focused on inbound. Due to this reason, they have been capable of keeping up supplies of the required materials for progressing with their business. In order to avoid any hassle, it is necessary to keep good relationships with suppliers. This is a positive element in the operations management assignmentfor proceeding with business to attract a huge number of consumers to reach a sustainable condition. On the other hand, outbound is another vigorous process for getting success in business for Tesco. It enables them to move goods to its consumers.
Figure 1: Supply Chain Management Process
(Source: Self-Created)
Outbound logistics is effective and advanced visibility that is enabled to make a broader distribution of products. Karamouz, Kahnali&Ghafournia (2020) made a description in their operations management assignmentthat enables companies to reach the required product to consumers in a timely manner. This is equally applicable to the case of Tesco. For this reason, flow of information in both directions is exponentially required. Here, operations that they have opted for are helping to connect both inbound with outbound logistics to run them coherently. This enables them not only to get information about the requirement of materials but also to provide real-time updates of the orders made by consumers. Due to this reason, keeping consumers satisfied can earn sustainability for their business. On the contrary, it has been observed that this chosen organization is incapable of becoming proactive to manage their quality of products as well as unable to cope with changes in the market that is creating barriers for them.
3. Critical Analysis and Evaluation of the Process
As per the data of the operations management assignment the business environment has shifted a lot in recent years. It is important to shift along with the business environment, otherwise, the business would experience a lot of difficulties. Tesco has faced some difficulty in the procedures of business in various aspects. The main two issues faced by Tesco according to the operations management assignmentare the decreased quality of products and services, and the inability to adapt to changes in the organisational context. Certain aspects of the procedure are responsible for the issues faced by the organisation. Supply Chain Management and Lean Synchronisation are two of the procedures that relate to the mentioned issues.
Supply Chain Management:
Supply chain management is very important for any organisation, and proper management of the supply chain is necessary to provide better services and products to the consumers. According to the operations management assignment the supply chain must be secured properly to make sure that no threat can penetrate the information related to the supply chain of the business (Diva-portal.org, 2022). Data breaches in the supply chain can be very harmful for any organisation. The supply chain provides the company with necessary resources and also supplies the products to the stores for selling. Thus, a supply chain is one of the most important entities in a business. A bad supply chain can turn a business down, and good supply chain management can improve the overall business capability. There are mainly two forms of supply chains. The External Supply Chain, and Internal Supply Chain (Learning Material, week.4). The external supply chain helps in gathering resources from the external suppliers, and the internal supply chain sends the completed products to the stores for sale. Supply networks are often used as a similar word in place for the supply chain. However, they are not the same. As per the operations management assignment if the supply chain is a part of a whole process, then the supply network is the whole process. In a word, it can be said that several supply chains form a supply network when joined together.
Supply chain management is very important while addressing the issue at hand. The decreasing quality of products and services is an issue related to supply chain management. Improper management of raw materials and handling of products can result in bad product and service quality. The operations management assignment sates that it is necessary to understand that the production of products solely depends on the available raw materials. It also depends on the quality of raw materials. The good quality raw material will result in better product quality, while bad quality raw materials would result in bad product quality. Overall, the proper use of the available raw material is very important while trying to satisfy the consumers. Customer centricity is important to deliver better products to them (Learning Material, week.4).
As per the operations management assignment unless Tesco can become a more customer-centric company it may not be able to improve its supply chain management to provide better quality products and services to its customers. Supply chain management does not only mean managing raw materials and the production process. It also signifies the management of sensitive data that is important to the company. Tesco is a well-known organisation, and its supply chain is also huge. Thus, managing this huge supply chain is also a challenging task. Data management is also a part of supply chain management. The sensitive data related to the supply of raw materials is very important, and if the data is leaked the company may suffer from a lot of losses. It ultimately would force the company to compromise the quality of the products and services. Thus it is believed in this operations management assignment, it is possible to understand that proper management of the supply chain is required by the Tesco Company to improve the quality of products and services (Saberiet al., 2019). The current situation of the supply chain in Tesco is quite poor, and thus, the decrease in quality of products and services is being noticeable by the consumers.
Lean Synchronisation:
According to the operations management assignment lean synchronisation is the process of smoothing the process flows of supply chain management. It helps in reducing the variables in supply chain management. The process of reducing variables also reduces the overall cost of managing the supply chain of an organisation (Learning Material, week no.4). Tesco is no exception in this regard. However, it is noticed in Tesco that the company is not being able to adapt to the changes in the market. Thus, the demands of the consumers are not being fulfilled by the concerned company. The demands of the consumers can shift at a very fast pace, and thus, lean synchronisation is very helpful in determining the upcoming demands of the consumers. A multinational company such as Tesco as per the operations management assignmenthas a huge supply chain network, and thus, demand management is also quite complex. Lean synchronisation can help in simplifying the process. The main two objectives of Lean synchronisation are to reduce the cost, smooth the processes, and reduce the variables in the supply chain management.
The issue of not being able to adapt to the changes can be hard for the organisation in terms of supply chain management. The company needs to have enough supply in hand to be able to change its internal processes to meet the changes in the market. However it is noted in this operations management assignment, the wrong application of Lean synchronisation led the company to have a lack of supplies that can be used to adapt to the changes in the market (Anokhov, 2019). It signifies that reducing the variable may be a good way to reduce the overall cost of managing the supply chain, however, it comes with some potential risks as well. Tesco suffered from the risk, and at present demands of the consumers are not being satisfied by the company as a result of low supplies in necessary areas. Proper application of Lean synchronisation can be an effective way of reducing costs and improving the process of supply chain management (Learning Material, week no.4). Thus it can be identified in this operations management assignment, Tesco needs to figure out the issues and implement a better Lean synchronisation process in order to stabilise the organisation. Then it would be possible for the organisation to manage its resources to adapt to the changing marketplace.
4. Recommendations for improvement
Recommendations for improvement of quality of productsin the operations management assignment
Stage I: Internal Neutrality
Quality management of products is essentially required for getting positive results to enrich consumers' strengths. Nugroho et al. (2020) augmented that quality by being able to do branding for a company. This is equally applicable to the case of Tesco as per the analysis laid in operations management assignment. Data and above discussion that has been made clearly denoting that they are unable to meet the quality of products. This is knocking that they are in need of working on this matter. In this regard, they will be needed to attain the minimum standard level for their operation function. Here, it will not be effective for solving their problem but will hinder their motive to surpass its competitors in business.
Stage II: External Neutrality
This stage in the operations management assignmentwill be very essential for Tesco as it will enable them to go through their operation functions. Zhang et al. (2019) depicted that this will accredit them to focus on their competitors. As a result, it can be easier for them to compare their performance level along with their competitors such as ASDA, Morrison, and Sainsbury. Actually, here, they can get bench-marking performance against their competitors if they are capable of increasing the visibility of their supply chain. Apart from that, paying heed to automation will be providing more effective due to which they can easily solve this problem and improve their supply chain management to a further extent.
Stage III: Internally Supportive
In this stage of the operations management assignment, they will be able to reach the best possible practices to meet their goal. For getting effectiveness, it is required to focus on operations strategy and here for progressing with it, they can opt for an "Outside-in perspective". Cheng et al. (2021) highlighted that it is an effective element for paying heed to focus on different operations such as "quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost". Tesco has been facing quality-related problems that can be solved by giving insight into effective suppliers. They should be in need of choosing such suppliers who can provide them with quality products at lower costs so that no degradation can be taken place in their products to keep satisfied their consumers. Apart from that, they have to find an alternative way to keep funding their process as well.
Stage IV: Externally Supportive
The previous stage of the operations management assignmentcan enable Tesco to dominate the market; for getting long-term success it is required to pay heed to its operation vision. In order to achieve a positive result, they can take assistance in forecasting changes that are possible in the market. Moreover, they have to become more innovative and should use upgraded technology. Doing so, they can easily sort out their problem of quality management can provide them to get the highest level of success in this competitive market.
Figure 2: “Hayes and Wheelwright Four Stage Model”
(Source: Learning Material)
Suggestions for adapting to change and management of it
Stage I: Internal Neutrality
Change is a serious issue for any business that equally holds for this chosen organization Tesco. Jayatilleke& Lai (2018) opined that changes have been disrupting the functions of a company that is reducing its success rate. Market has been constantly changing, covid-19 has severely impacted the market. Due to this reason, cost of materials along with transport has surged at an effective rate. In this initial stage of the operations management assignment, they should focus inward looking to understand their situation but no need to take any step against the competition level in the market.
Stage II: External Neutrality
This stage is very important according to the operations management assignmentfor them as it can give them the realization to come up with ideas to do an analysis on the issue. Thakur &Mangla (2019) stated that getting an overview of the changing nature of the market is extremely needed. Apart from that, they should have cynosure to their competitors that can enable them to compare their effectiveness along with theirs. Analyzing it with minute details can provide them with great assistance to adopt perfect operation practices. This stage is responsible for speeding up their process so that they can be reached the next stage and proceeds towards further development. On account of this in the operations management assignment, using the McKinsey 7-S framework can provide them with a broader view to improving their practices in operations for managing their supply chain.
Stage III: Internally Supportive
This is a very essential step to improve their position as per the operations management assignment. For this reason, they can use "Bottom-up perspective" and "operation strategy matrix" to coherently align changes along with business requirements. These can enable Tesco to evaluate its strategic goals and provide them with enough assistance to develop resources as well as capabilities that are required in this regard. As a result, this company can easily keep an eye on the market which will be very helpful for them to enrich their business to a further extent.
Stage IV: Externally Supportive
This stage can be an effective part of getting long-term success for Tesco as it will provide them with a helping hand to look to their future. Actually, it can give them a depiction of their efficiency level to reach the market that will show them whether they have met their vision or not. Continuous monitoring of business changes according to the operations management assignmentwill be very much vital for formulating further development and coming up with new, innovative strategies. Hence, it can be easier for them to forecast future changes and become strategically flexible to provide the best products to their consumers.
5. Conclusion
The operations management assignmentis concluded about the operational management and the supply chain management of the company Tesco PLC. The supply chain management have a capable of keeping up supplies of the required materials for progressing with their business. To avoid any hassle, it is necessary to keep good relationships with suppliers. The operations management assignmentis also discussed data breaches in the supply chain can be very incorporate for any organisation. The supply chain gives the company Tesco PLC with necessary resources and also supplies the products to the stores for the marketing strategy. Thus, a supply chain is one of the most important entities in a business, which is conclude in the operations management assignment. Lean synchronisations have a significant characteristic that can reducing the variable may be an effective way to reduce the overall cost of managing the supply chain. Internally supportive recommendation can "Bottom-up perspective" along with the "operation strategy matrix" to coherently align changes along with business requirements.
Reference List
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