Systems and Operations Management Recommendations - Essay Example

?Running Head: Systems and Operations Management Systems and Operations Management [Institute’s Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction to Systems and Operations Management 3 Background Information about Atokowa™ Advantage 4 Systems and Operations Management Analysis and Evaluation 5 CATWOE Analysis 5 The Decision-Making Hierarchy 9 Summary of the Business Requirement 10 Systems and Operations Management Recommendations 11 References 15 Introduction to Systems and Operations Management Since the world of commerce has expanded to a global platform, systems and operations management has become one of the crucial and essential components that lead to the success of the organization. Systems and Operations management has a direct connection to the quantitative analytical techniques and application of state-of-art technology that provides the strong business foundations (Heizer, Jay, Render, Barry and Rajashekhar, 2009, pp. 4-7). Operations management involves various manufacturing processes such as supervising, designing, and managing so that the business functions can come under redesign for the production of goods and services. Operations management also makes sure that minimum resources come under utilization in the process of production so that it can become efficient and the business strategies come under effective implementation. Besides, the operations management administers the inputs (particularly in the form of materials, labor, and energy) that come under conversion to output (in the shape of outcome that is goods and services) in an effective and efficient manner (Kumar and Suresh, 2009, pp. 9-11). On the other hand, Systems management is the overall administration and management of the organizations information technology distributed systems. It even involves gathering requirements, purchasing of equipment and software, distributing it to the place of utilization, configuring it, maintaining it with enhancement and service updates, setting up problem-handling processes, and determining whether overall objectives are being met or not (Mcnurlin, 2003, pp. 25-27). Background Information about Atokowa™ Advantage Atokowa™ Advantage is one of the recognized and leading competitors in the industry of stationery and office supplies in the region of Australia. This company established its business operations in the early decade of 1960 in Sydney, Australia with the core service provider of photocopying. With the success in the photocopying business, Lachlan (the founder) expanded its business operations and started out as Atokowa™ printing and they reproduced copies for different organizations (Lord Ashcroft International Business School, 2012). Today, Atokowa™ Advantage deals and trade a wide range of stationery and office supplies to individuals and businesses (which are the two distinct types of customers they cater). From their widespread businesses, they now own several retail outlets from where they deliver stationery and office supplies directly to organizations. Additionally they also carry out customized printing upon request for different enterprises. Atokowa also prints brochures, flyers, letterheads, business cards, memo slips, and various other products (Lord Ashcroft International Business School, 2012). With the success and growth of the business, the vision came to cognizance to become the one-stop shop for stationery and office supplies. However, with the passage of time, the vision broadened and the focus towards technology was driven. Atokowa widened their focus and initiated the trading of Commodore 64 and the IBM PC 5100 (one of the technological advancements at that time). Moreover, the company continued their interest in technology and provided a range of information technology products in their retail outlets for their customers (Lord Ashcroft International Business School, 2012). Systems and Operations Management Analysis and Evaluation The systems and operations management analysis and evaluation comes under practice that involves appropriate models within the organization in order to analyze the management of the systems and operations critically. The models that organizations employ incorporate input-process-output model, 4V’s typology (volume, variety, variation in demand and visibility), the decision-making hierarchy, pareto analysis, CATWOE analysis and so forth. However, in case of Atokowa™ Advantage, CATWOE analysis and decision-making hierarchy would be the primary models that has come under review in order to determine the current issues and recommend Atokowa™ Advantage to improve their quality management and excellence in their systems and operations CATWOE Analysis CATWOE analysis is one of the methodologies that come under practice by the analyst and management that plan and systematize sweeping analytical reports that can help them resolve their issues. Indeed, it reflects the ideas that the business is trying to accomplish through its surrounded resources. Moreover, CATWOE analysis is the smaller segment of the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). CATWOE analysis is the short form for Clients or Customers, Actors or Agents, Transformation Process, Weltanschauung (Worldview or Worldwide), Owners and Environmental Constraints (Tan, 2002, pp. 76). Customers While looking at the first aspect of CATWOE that is the customers comes under consideration as the prime recipients. It also caters how the issues within the organization leave an impact on the customers (Cadle, Paul and Turner, 2010, pp. 79-81). However, from the analysis of the organization, it has come to notice that the customers of Atokowa have come under segregation into two divisions: the individual customers and the business customers. Although the retail outlets serve both the customers with equal attention, yet they cannot determine the percentage of sales from both of the categories. However, from sales perspective of the printing segment, it has come to observation that nearly ninety percent of the business customers make up their revenues for the printing division, due to which they value their business customers to great extent. Actors Actors are even the employees that come under evaluation, as they are responsible for implementing the changes in the system (Information Resources Management Association. International Conference and Khosrowpour, 2000, pp. 208-209). According to the assessment of the Atokowa™ Advantage, it has come under observation that the HR and marketing director lay key emphasis on to the training programs for the store managers. This is because, they believe that the training programs aid in developing and enhancing the customer service skills, which is one of the most imperative aspects for Atokowa. It has also been an understanding from the investigation that the marketing director is also actively involved in promotions and marketing the products and services on both local and national basis. This is because the marketing director wants to build an image of the company as a brand that their customers can rely and trust. Indeed, she believes in providing the exceptional services to the customers, and to maintain a superlative service, she even focuses on reviewing the feedbacks provided by the customers on regular basis. Transformation Process The transformation process is principally the analysis of the change that has come under implementation by the organization into the system or process. This transformation process describes the changes occurred in the inputs in order to convert it into productive output (Information Resources Management Association. International Conference and Khosrowpour, 2000, pp. 208-209). While looking at the transformation process of Atokowa™ Advantage, one can monitor that the stock control system for the retail outlets functioned on individual basis in the initial years. Due to individual outlet operation, the system came under consideration to be unmanageable and burdensome. This system even compelled the employees to physically count the stock items on timely basis and keep themselves involved in the stock related activities after working hours. Due to such a problem, an integrated system EPOS (electronic point of sale) came under promotion for the execution by the management. According to the management, this system was effective and effectual as it made the tracking of the stock possible by the bar code. Later on, the management focused on implementing more advanced and effective system named as ASIS (Atokowa Stock Information System), which was a Microsoft Access database application. This system became one of the success stories of Atokowa as it effortlessness was the corner stone of the application. The application system of EPOS connected all the retail outlets computers through a simple local area network (LAN). Weltanschauung The worldview or worldwide signifies that the system must come under evaluation in a wide-ranging framework that can help develop the wisdom of the importance of the processes that the system follows (Lawler and Bilson, 2009, pp. 106). Atokowa offer both branded stationery products, such as Rexel, Kensington etc. and major technology brands, like Toshiba, Compaq etc to a broad range of suppliers. Since the commencement of the company, Atokowa has believed in latest technologies for their printing services, which even continues to the current times. The latest technologies used for printing equipment have been ensured at all times and they make certain flawlessness in the print quality. Moreover, they have also developed specific systems that can help them meet the different requirements in their business areas. Therefore, independent ASIS systems come under functioning in each of the Atokowa retail outlets. Owner Every individual (owner) has a different perspective of running business, setting up prices and operational activities of retail (Szewczak, 2002, pp. 106). Therefore, by looking at the hierarchal analysis, Atokowa™ Advantage brings the fact to limelight that in the previous times, the Sydney headquarter was the central control authority. In addition, the store managers had the key responsibility of pursuing the directions from the headquarters and they were liable to operate the store proficiently. Furthermore, the prices of the goods and services came under decision centrally on a particular formula. However, when the retail director changed, the implementation of the system of ASIS was one of the initial changes that came into practice. In fact, the new director emphasized on a more decentralized management approach, which enabled the managers on local basis to control the pricing strategies in order to be more competent within the marketplace and offer special deliveries to their customers that can bring more business. Furthermore, he also initiated that each store would have own delivery service. This benefited the store with the extra revenue that was the result of the delivery service offered to the customers. Environmental Constraints The environmental constraints take account of aspects as ethical limits, regulations, financial constraints, resource limitations, terms of reference, and so forth (Szewczak, 2002, pp. 106). In the context of Atokowa™ Advantage their competent and skilled employees based on hierarchical levels makes them competent and gives them an edge over others. However, their majority of the suppliers are from China and Hong Kong. Their products come under shipment accompanied with the correct export and import documentation that abides by to the legal requirements. The Decision-Making Hierarchy The owner of the Atokowa™ Advantage has the entire decision-making power with the sharing of authorities and has support of four Directors on the Board. One of these directors handled the business unit of retail operations and managed the retail outlets from Sydney. The other director was of purchasing and supply chain operation that was responsible for managing the procurement and distribution of the product categories from Melbourne. The third director was of marketing and HRM (human resource management) that took care of the group marketing endeavors and overseeing the human resources of the organization. Lastly, the fourth director was of finance that supervised and administered the entire accounting and reporting related to financial dealing of the organization. Below is the pictorial representation of the organizational chart of Atokowa™ Advantage (Bhushan and Rai, 2004, pp. 3-6). Summary of the Business Requirement Following are the significant business requirements of Atokowa™ Advantage that has come to enlightenment from the analysis of the organization. Need of a system for the members of the finance department that can make their job easy, manageable, and uncomplicated. Need to design the database system that can support business accounts where local businesses and other organizations are able to settle their account on a monthly basis by means of a formalized invoice procedure. Need to have more alignment with Atokowa Custom Print and the retail outlets that can help customers for placing printing orders at the retail outlets. Need accurate evaluation of issues to the over-stocked items that are not being sold as well as the obsolete products. Need to update the ASIS system that can extensively look into the matters of purchasing as well. Systems and Operations Management Recommendations The output that comes as an end product from the process of operations management is in the form of goods and services that adds value to the customers, therefore, operations management is one of the significant processes that leads the organizations towards achieving their goals and missions. However, there are few recommendations that can help the organization improve their overall quality and efficiency in their business processes and operations. According to one of the problems identified states that handling business customers is a difficult task as the paperwork involved in dealing with them is disproportionate. With reference to this particular problem, it comes under recommendation that Atokowa needs to update their ASIS system that can alleviate and even eliminate the formalities put into paper. By having accounts of the customers into the system, it can facilitate Atokowa to put the detailed information related to purchasing and other legal formalities into the system and on a single click, the employees would be able to retrieve all the information. By the means of an updated and integrated system, the business customers would then have the alternative to settle their accounts on monthly basis through the official invoice rather than paying for individual transactions. This would also save the time and effort of both the parties. Indeed, this monthly invoice system would also ensure that the customers are loyal and do not think of switching over to other competitors present in the marketplace. Atokowa must update their ASIS system or switch over to a new and innovative system (as a suggestion) that is integrated (all the transactions come under a single and central database) so that their business transactions can be interlinked. This would facilitate the members of the staff as at the end of the cycle the transactions of each department would be centrally reconciled and would match the results to each other. This would prevent the organizations from having loopholes in transactions within the department. Moreover, the business requirement of having the financial transactions through a system would also relieve and simplify the job of the finance personnel. Another suggestion that can prove to have quality improvement and lead to success for Atokowa is to develop a stronger association and alliance between the retail outlets and the Atokowa Custom Print. This is pivotal, as Custom Print is one of their dominating business units that provides them with a huge revenues, therefore, this association would encourage and promote more customers to do business with them. The customers would have additional alternative selection to place their printing orders apart from photocopying even at their retail outlets. Atokowa can extend this segment of their business to retails outlets on national levels as currently only few of the local retail stores provides this facility. For this, Atokowa can have their employees educated and provide proper training in order to take correct and precise details of the order. In order to enable the business customers to be served in a better way, Atokowa must develop a complete list of all their clients (from oldest to the newest), have follow-up calls on timely basis to take their feedbacks and complaints (if any), and ask them for suggestions as a proposal. By making such calls, the employees must make sure that the customers take into consideration that they are being valued for their dealing and business with Atokowa. In addition, special discounts and few additional services (free of charge) can also come under provision to the customers on bulk purchasing as one of the ways to make customers stick to the brand. With reference to the stocks, the over-stocking especially for the obsolete and unsold items for a long time is one of the grave issues. However, it is advisable that Atokowa needs to update their systems that can provide the options to the employees to set notifications for the items that do not come under selling for a particular period. Additionally, the system must come under integration with a database of the obsolete items. This would enable the procurement and inventory personnel to keep a track of the obsolete items. The updated system would notify the employees on timely basis with the item details with their quantity and their rebalance concerning out of date. Another proposal for Atokowa Advantage is to develop an extensive website with a wide variety of options that even include online selling and purchasing. In this epoch of technological innovations, customers, suppliers and businesses are now turning towards e-commerce that is one of the most effective and efficient methods of doing business. The monitoring process has elucidated that Atokowa has developed a website with the aim to build the brand name where the customers can have access to information about products sold, location of retail outlets and Custom Print’s services. Even though they own a website, but they must reconsider to convert and transform it into an online store completely. The idea behind going online is particularly for the business customers, rather the individual customers. The online option would create greater opportunities for business enlargement and growth as the business community more or less has switched over to e-commerce trading. While implementing such changes, people and management issues may arise, but this can come under well management with comprehensive training to the employees about the changes. It is essential to make the employees realize that the changes are in favor of them (which means that the new changes would simplify their work), which would lead to motivation and encouragement to the employees. Additionally, they would easily adapt to the new changes. However, while the management is concerned, they desire to have business growth and development for which they continuously strive to make the processes run in a better way. If the reflection of the new changes would lead to success of the business and would lead to accomplishment of the vision of Atokowa, then the management would opt for new changes. References Bhushan, N and Rai, K. 2004. Strategic Decision Making: Applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process. London: Springer. Cadle, J., Paul, D. and Turner, P. 2010. Business Analysis Techniques: 72 Essential Tools for Success. BCS: The Chartered Institute. Heizer, Jay, Render, Barry and Rajashekhar. 2009. Operations Management. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. Information Resources Management Association. International Conference and Khosrowpour, M. 2000. Challenges of Information Technology Management in the 21st Century: 2000 Information Resources Management Association International Conference, Anchorage, Alaska, USA, May 21-24, 2000. New York: Idea Group Inc (IGI). Kumar, S. A. and Suresh, N. 2009. Operations Management. New York: New Age International. Lawler, J., and Bilson, A. 2009. Social Work Management and Leadership: Managing Complexity with Creativity. London: Taylor and Francis. Lord Ashcroft International Business School. 2012. “Systems and Operations Management: Department: Accounting and Information Systems.” Anglia Ruskin University. Retrieved on May 01, 2012: http://www.ftms.edu.my/pdf/Download/PostgraduateStudent/11-12%20SEM2%20BB215010S%20Systems%20and%20Operations%20Management%20Module%20Guide.pdf Mcnurlin. 2003. Information Systems Management in Practice, 6/E. London: Pearson Education India. Tan, F. B. 2002. Advanced Topics in Global Information Management. New York: Idea Group Inc (IGI). Szewczak, E. 2002. Human Factors in Information Systems. New York: Idea Group Inc (IGI). Read More