According to Hill (2012), a company employs operations management for ensuring and sustaining efficiency and effectiveness in the organizations Efficiency in Pr©t a manger is related to the efficiently using resources like human resources and inputs, regardless the purpose of their employment in the firm. For instance the team members who serve people at the lunch time may be making the lunch in the same morning. The company does not cut costs by having a centralized factory but instead its operations management is focused on full utilization of its human resources for efficient revive and high quality product.
For this purpose operations management helps the company to manage all its shops centrally so that productivity and effectiveness can be monitored. Operations management is also important for ensuring that fresh ingredients are delivered timely and used properly to maintain the freshness. 2) Analyses the operations functions of Pr©t a Manager According Camp (2009) the three fundamental functions of any operations manager is product/service development, marketing operations and management of day to day operations of the organization.
In relation to pr©t Manger the basic function of operations manager with regards to the three functions are: Operations: This is the primary function of operations manager and involves designing, locating and managing stores. Managing the in store operations and also the network of supplying the various ingredients. Marketing: this included management of marketing operations such as promotional activities, marketing research etc.
Product service development: This included designing the operations that will be required for creating new product features such as new type of nutritional value, aesthetic looks of sandwiches and other reduces The three primary functions of a pr©t a manger operations manager is shown in the given below figure 1: Figure 1: Primary Functions of Operations Manager (Source: Self Constructed) 3) Evaluation of the operations management of Pr©t a Manager using a process model According to Camp (2009) a process model is a road map that guides an operations manager for successfully executing various parts of any operations process.
The process model at pr©t a manger is a transformation process model and all operations ate transformation processes as according to Chase (2010), a transformation model transforms a set of input onto the desired output. In case of prêt a manger the inputs are freshly obtained ingredients that go through the transformation process and are transformed into final product that are sold to the customer.
According to Hill (2012), transformation process as the following three important components: Inputs: these comprises of the transformed resources such as materials, information etc and transforming resources like infrastructure, human resources etc. Outputs: This comprise of the product and services that provide value for customers and generate revenue for the organization Transformation process:
It is the whole set of operations that carried out on the input to transform them into the output The transformation process model is shown below in figure 2 and figure 3: Figure 2: Transformation Process Model (Source: Adapted from Chase, 2013) Figure 3: Transformation Process Model In case of pr©t a manger, the input resources are Transformed resources: ingredients, packages and transforming resources are machines, facilities in the stores and employees at the store.
The transformation processes is the various processes in the store form making the sandwiches and other products, snacking them and delivering them to the end customer. The outputs are customers to whom the products have been delivered and who are satisfied with the delivered product. The process model of pr©t a manger is shown below figure: Figure 4: Process Model 4) Assessment of importance of economy, efficiency and effectiveness to Pr©t a Manager Economy. Economy implies conducting operations by incurring the lowest costs possible and prevents unnecessary expenses.
As the company is not following a mass production model hence cutting costs can face cost issues as argued by Woman et al (1990). Hence the company needs to maximize productivity of its employees, avoid unnecessary projects so as to provide economy to the company Efficiency: According to Kid (2004), efficiency refers to performing operations in as smooth manner as possible, and avoiding any proves or activity that does not directs towards the end product. In case of Pratt manger efficiency is essential for maintaining the quality of the product.
Effectiveness: Effectiveness is the measure of the ability of the operations to provide the product that matches the customer expectations and attracting customers awards the product/service. In case of pr©t a manger the company needs effective operations so it maintains freshness of its product which is primary expectation of customers and also the main product feature of its entire entire product. Effective operations management also refers to the effectiveness of the marketing and promotional campaigns to attract customers. ) Assessment of the impact of the tension between cost minimization and quality minimization that Pr©t a Manager could experience, by using PESTLE analysis For any business to survive, cost minimization is essential, but minimizing cost in an unplanned manner can affect quality which is a risk for the organization (Kid, 2004). For a pr©t a manger the tension between cost minimization and quality minimization is also a crucial aspect as any other businesses.
A pestle analysis has been conducted below to evaluate the impact of this tension that can be experienced by a pr©t a manager. In the analysis only the factors that are relevant for the cost aspect have been discussed. Political: For any organization like pr©t a manger, depended primarily on its human resources as the main resource for delivering the end product, political situation tit regards to labor laws in the market is the main concern (Hill, 2012). The changes in governments may affect work timings; minimum wages etc which can affect cost of the product at pr©t a manger.
Economical: Economic situation affects prices of equipments, infrastructure, land prices; fuel prices etc that can influence the cost incurred opening new stores, conducting operations that affect the cost of the product. Technological: Technological factors play a crucial role since the company Uses ingredients that are fresh, hence technologies needs to be available for fast processing of he ingredients for maintaining the freshness. The cost of technology depends upon the technological environment in the country which can affect the costing.
For instance importing of equipments for stores in new markets where latest technologies are not available can affect the cost of the product. Legal: As discussed before the labor laws relating to working hours and minimum wages can affect the cost of the end products. 6) Evaluation of the significance of cost, dependability, flexibility, quality and speed (five MM performance objectives) that underpin operations management n Pr©t a Manager Performance Objective: 1 – Reducing Cost: The human resource management strategy of pr©t a manger has led the company to attain cost cuttings.
By its reward strategy and other human resource management strategy the company has been able to maintain the balance between cost and pricing by demanding premium prices for the high quality product. This has been ensured by high productivity of its employees. Performance Objective: 2 – Dependability: This MM performance management is extremely critical since the customer perceive that they can always depend upon the store to have fresh food.
Hence this objective is foremost for the company to maintain its exclusiveness and differentiating factor which is the basis of all its products Performance Objective: 3- Flexibility: This objective has been achieved by the company by opening stores in numerous locations and packaging to maintain the freshness of the products. This objective will help the company to gain more customer base for itself. Performance Objective: 4 – Quality: The performance objective is a necessity for the company to maintain freshness, avoid chemicals and preservatives.
Hence a continuous focus on quality not just n the food but in every aspect of the operations practice is required. It goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid the chemicals and preservatives common in most ‘fast’ food. Performance Objective: 5 – Speed: Speed is a crucial component of service quality in food business. Hence this objective is fundamental to the business of pr©t a manger. Task 2: Production process of a company. Case of Avon leather works, UK 1) Use of Linear programming to add value to the production process Linear programming is a mathematical model which aids in decision making (Camp, 2009).
It is used for cost reduction and profit minimization. It helps in computing costs of sales units which helps in minimization of profits. Linear programming is used in Avon cycles in various operations during the production process for instance if the company needs to buy 5 new machines that will provide a minimum of 1200 units of additional cycles. If machine A can tan 3000 units of leather sheets and cost $5000. Another machine B can tan 4000 units of leather sheets but costs $8000. Then how many machines of each model the company should buy is a problem than can be solved by using linear programming.
By sing linear programming the company can produce maximum tanned sheets at minimum costs. 2) The need for operational planning and control with reference to capacity planning, inventory planning, project management and quality assurances Managerial decision making is still required event after the implementation of an operations management system as decision making is a continuous process as purported by Hill (2012). According to Galloway (2010), the decision making involves scheduling and controlling labor, inventory and needed costs for production of the required quantity and quality of output in the most efficient manner.
Avon leather needs Operational planning for forecasting of future demands. However, even after having the most efficient operations systems and most effective forecasting system, demands may not be met with the current capacity in a specific time period. This is because several external factors like competitors actions, new trends can affect the forecasting. Under such situation Avon leather should adopt a shorter decision making process as suggested by Chase (2013) so that the installed capacities can meet the demand.
Task 3 1) Operational plan for an operational sales unit of a company: case of Pr©t a anger The case have been asked to assist in the production of an operational plan for advertising for operational sales of products of Pr©t a manger. The operational plan was to create an innovative marketing plan for prêt a manger sandwiches and other food items. The outcomes of the marketing plan were as follows: Attracting more number of customers: While rival firms are focusing on creation of a mass production model, the company increased the number of outlets and promoted the availability of fresh food at its outlet.
The operational plan became successful and is attracting a inconsiderable customer base for the food chain. Attracting health conscious customers: By means of quality of its products and promotion of their innovative concept the company has been successful in attracting more customers that are willing to pay more for the products which has helped the company to achieve cost benefits hence attaining the cost objective. Making the products easily available: By increasing the number of stores, the company has provided flexibility to the customers.
Marketing its only fresh ingredients policy: By promotion of its only fresh ingredients policy the company has been successful in attaining the dependability objective. Customers now see the company as a reliable destination for fresh food. Using operations employees for marketing and sales: As part of the marketing plan the company promotes that the same employees who sell at the counter have also prepared the product the same day. In this way the company ensures not only that products are ready before the customers start arriving but also provides the assurance of freshness of products to the customers.
