Lean in Nissan UK - Assignment Example

The organizational hierarchy determines the shape of the organization that is, how many employees and positions there are after the CEO or MD. The degree of centralization is concerned with how power is distributed. Formalization, on the other hand, deals with the organization of work in the organization. It could be either explicit or rigid. Finally, complexity is concerned with the subunits in the organization and their differences (Wernham, 2012, p56) An operations manager for the Nissan should considers four main variables in managing operations namely; volume, variation, variety and variability.

All are unique in their own respective ways and could make or break a company (Cooke, 2010, p22). There are, however, three main operations of a business such as the Nissan Motor assembling companies. They are; materials, customers and information. Materials refer to everything tangible to the business and which is used as an input in the business. Customers refer to the current and potential consumers of business products. Information is any information that contributes positively or negatively to the success or failure of the business.

(Highsmith, 2002, 55) Materials, customers and information are different from each other in some respect. Materials are powerless until they are handled but behave in different ways based on their chemical and physical natures. Customers are people who are mobile and can move from one place to another. Information is the communication of data in ways often not visible to the human eye. Information and customers are similar in the sense that both of them can move from one point to another. Information is, however, intangible while customers are tangible.

Materials are also tangible (Goodpasture,2010, p34) In managing any projects, the company must, therefore, consider the above factors as they all