Operations Management - McDonalds - Assignment Example

?INTRODUCTION Proper planning of the project allows the project manager and the organisation to accomplish the project in the right manner (Jeston and Nelis, 2008). If the project is not well planned, there would be many problems at the time of execution. Planning is critical in the success of the organization or the project (Gaither, 1984). This report will discuss different concepts that are used by project managers to make sure that the project is completed on time within the given resources and cost. Different methods and techniques will be discussed and applied on McDonald’s. Techniques that will be discussed include linear programming, network analysis and critical path analysis. Techniques such as network analysis and critical path will be applied on McDonald’s restaurant as it is planning to set up a new franchise in Oxford town. 3.1. Linear Programming Linear programming is a technique that is used to identify the best possible outcome for the project considering the constraints or limitations the project manager or the operation manager has. Generally, the best possible outcome would be to achieve the lowest cost or to achieve the highest revenues from the project (Barlow, 2005). There are several reasons why organizations around the world use linear programming. McDonald’s can also make use of linear programming technique as they are setting up a new franchise in Oxford town. There can be different ways by which McDonald’s can use linear programming and some of the ways include: They can use this to find the optimal solution whether they should open the franchise or not in Oxford. Linear programming can be used to identify the number of staff the restaurant should keep. McDonald’s can also use linear programming to decide which products they need to offer. Therefore, McDonald’s can make use of linear programming to find the best solution and make sure that the new franchise is profitable. 3.2. Network Analysis and critical path analysis Network activities show the different activities that are related to the project. Critical path shows the interdependent activities and it is the longest path. Network analysis and critical path analysis are used to analyse the flow of work and the amount of time and resources that would be required in completion of the small tasks. Delays in the critical path would result the project manager in delaying in the whole project. By using network analysis, the management of McDonald’s can identify different tasks that would be required to start the new franchise at Oxford town. On the other hand, critical path would be used by the management of McDonald’s to identify the most important activities and there should not be any kind of delays in activities that are in the critical path because it would lead to the delay in the completion of the project. 3.3. Why a large McDonald’s restaurant needs Operational Planning and control Operational planning and control are of immense importance in making sure that the objectives of the project are achieved. Planning allows management to identify what and how things would be done and controlling would enable the management to analyze the performance against what has been planned. Deviations in the execution can be identified and adjusted only if the project is controlled effectively and if proper planning of the project is present (Simha and Word, 2009). Operation planning and controlling are important for every organization regardless of its size (Chase and Aquilano, 1977). Therefore, even large firms like McDonald’s would need to have proper operational plans and control. If the company does have an operational plan, it would lead to delay in the project and there might be possibilities that the project might not be completed. With proper planning, everyone including the operation or project manager would know what is required and how it would be performed and what each person is supposed to do. Controlling similarly will be of high importance to McDonald’s as the company would be able to identify and analyse if there are any deviations in the project and, thus, can be rectified. 4.1. Produce a set of clearly defined operational outcomes for a typical McDonalds The main purpose of the project is to set up a new franchise at the Oxford town. In order to accomplish this main objective, the operational outcomes would include the following tasks: 1. Finding different places at Oxford Town 2. Analysing the places found 3. Analyzing the feasibility and convenience of the consumers 4. Finalizing the contract for the place 5. Identifying the resources required 6. Accumulating the required resources including furniture and crockery 7. Identifying the needs of human resource and conducting interviews 8. Short listing of human resource 9. Finalizing the staff 10. Decorating the restaurant 4.2. Produce a suitable Network Diagram and Critical Path for setting up a new McDonald’s franchise in Oxford Town In order to make a network diagram and the critical path for setting up a new franchise of McDonald’s, the tasks and their days of completion need to be identified. The following table shows different tasks that would be required to setup the new franchise along with their time of completion and precedents. Task Days Precedent 1. Finding different places at Oxford Town 15 2. Analysing the places found 7 1 3. Analyzing the feasibility and convenience of the consumers 4 2 4. Finalizing the contract for the place 3 3 5. Identifying the resources required 3 - 6. Accumulating the required resources including furniture and crockery 12 5 7. Identifying the needs of human resource and conducting interviews 4 4,6 8. Short listing of human resource 15 7 9. Finalizing the staff 7 9 10. Decorating the restaurant 7 4 By using the above tasks, Ganntt Chart of the project has been made using Microsoft Project which has been shown below: In order to analyse and identify the critical path of the overall project, network diagram has been used. The network diagram of the project is as follows: The activities that are shown in the red colour represent the critical path of the project and it would mean that delays in these activities would lead a delay in the overall project. 4.3. How Quality could be best defined, used and maintained by McDonald’s UK Quality for a restaurant like McDonald’s would not only be to offer quality, tasty and healthy food to the consumers but it would include the complete experience of the customers. As the consumers would be evaluating the complete experience rather than the food, therefore, as a restaurant company, they need to make sure that they focus on the environment as well as the customer services (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2007). In order to make sure that McDonald’s UK is able to control the level of quality across the different franchised restaurants throughout the country, it is important to first come up with a standard definition of quality. In the next phase the management, McDonald’s can set up Standard Operating Procedures (SPOs) and some performance indicators and measurements in the form of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and can monitor the performance of different franchised restaurants throughout the country on the basis of these Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The management of McDonald’s should provide the license to those parties who prove to be competent. Apart from this the management of McDonald’s UK can provide training to the staff of franchised restaurants in order to make sure that they operate according to the standard operating procedures. Conclusion Project planning is important and proper planning of the project can ensure the success of the project. McDonald’s as it has been planning to setup a new franchise in Oxford town, needs to critically analyse the cost and benefit ratio. Also the management needs to identify the required activities and then resources need to be allocated accordingly to make sure that the project is completed without delays. References list Barlow, J. (2005). Excel Models for Business and Operations Management, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. Chase, R.B. and Aquilano, N.J. (1977). Production and operations management: A life cycle approach, R. D. Irwin, Homewood, Ill. Fitzsimmons, J. and Fitzsimmons, M. (2007). Service Management: Operations, Strategy, Information Technology, London: McGraw-Hill. Gaither, N. (1984). Production and operations management: A problem-solving and decision-making approach, 2nd edn, Dryden Press, Chicago, USA. Jeston, J. and Nelis, J. (2008). Management by process: A practical road-map to sustainable business process management, London: Butterworth-Heinemann. Simha, R. and Word, J. (2009). Essential of Business Processes and Information Systems, Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. Read More