Production strategies. SSF - Essay Example

? PRODUCTION STRATEGIES, SSF By Introduction Companies plan their strategic plans differently dependingon the value they attach to their objective businesses. The companies may decide to change their productions plans depending on their corporate and business plans over the years. These however are supposed to add value to the operations of the companies so that they increase their scales of production. As stated, companies may vary their scale of production but food manufacturing firms deal with an extremely sensitive section of production. Any mishap will fully jeopardize their objectives and render them out of business. Sizzling Stir Fries (SSF) is a company that deals within the product range of food products. The company was established in the 1960s. Over the years, it has diversified its products. This has been done by change of types of products, natural attrition of the existing products after end of their life cycle as well as need to venture into other productive products. This paper will therefore focus on two issues. The first will be to evaluate hoe SSF can ensure that its employees are motivated enough to achieve a stringent food safety requirements as stipulated by the UK government. The second will be an analysis of production strategies that will be required to satisfy the range of products produced. How to achieve stringent food safety requirements Food safety requirements in the UK are usually co-ordinated by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). This brief knowledge on how food safety is achieved in the UK is important in that is going to provide a leeway for understanding the type of motivation that employees should be given so that effective standards are maintained. The company has had a great variety of changes in the goods and services that it produces. The latest three areas of specialization; stir fry, prepared vegetables and ready to eat products put the company in a direct connection with FSA. This is because of the sensitivity of food products that it produces (FSA, 2013, p. 1). The requirements by FSA on food production are based on several policies that ensure that customers are safe in their consumption. All companies are therefore supposed to carry out a training program that would ensure that all the rules and regulations are adhered to. To achieve food safety requirements, all companies are required to abide by the laws and regulations as set by FSA and implemented by the local authorities. One of the regulations is based on the premises in which the food is prepared. The food premises are supposed to meet all the cleanliness regulations from the time the raw materials for production are received at the company. This therefore goes back to the area of where raw materials are purchased from (Dankers, 2007, p. 142). The reason is that most of the purchased items are very perishable and must be handled clearly. According to the European Commission Regulations, all animals and food products must be approved for market use. This strict and stringent measure must be taken into account to make sure that all the needs are taken care of in an effective manner (FSA, 2013, p. 2). The last important regulation is that of providing the required training to the staff members so that they adapt effectively. FSA rules indicate that all the rules and regulations for every organization need to be customized in that they must adhere to local needs. Much as the training done in institutions of learning is a focused issue. All companies must have their own planning so that hired employees are internally trained so that they understand the needs as stipulated by the company and the government at large. Employee motivation For employees increase their productivity, there has to be a balance on the objectives that must be gained so that the gains in terms of the company profits must be related to their satisfaction. Total work content must be related to total effective time. Motivation in the production area is related to two issues; total work content and total time effective for the work. Total work content inculcates a combination of effective work in terms of the products or services, defects in system design and the eventual operational methods (Podmoroff, 2005, p. 29). Effective time takes two content values; the effective time due to management fault and that due to employee fault. To balance these, the management and ownership of the company must therefore take into account employee motivation criteria that will see the losses named highly minimized. According to Podmoroff (2005), employee motivation is the key to company performance. One of the ways of motivating the employees is by positive reinforcement. Reinforcement is a situation in which rewards are given to the specified employees. This should not only be done in private but should also be done in public especially through the company public forums especially during a time of staff meetings. In the case of SSF Company, there can be a positive reinforcement for all the workers by organizing a get-together given the different departments in the company. According to the company weekly payment variances were so differed that some turned out negative. There is supposed to be closeness in these with the employee work done and ability. The second method would be related to employee development. The food industry is a dynamic one and the changes that are experienced are supposed to be reflected in the workers’ development process. The UK food industry has been obliged to change their food contents from a simple leisurely content to a more nutritional content. Training will therefore make sure that it boosts the knowledge, skills and attitudes of the workers. Here are also employees that require time off their work to go and generate personal issues. This is a time when people are supposed to relax and refresh. Without offering such virtues to the workers, there will always be a time bomb that would create a lot of problems for the company (Johnston, 1994, p. 50). In this industry, involvement is a very strong issue that must be taken into account before policies are set. All the employees regardless of their vertical or horizontal position are supposed to be highly involved in the processes of decision making at their respective levels. There are several leadership styles in any organization. Some are productive while some are demeaning to the employees. Employment of the right method of leadership makes sure that employees are either motivated to work well and avoid mistakes as opposed to strict methods. Democracy in an organization creates a situation of fairness and good treatment of employees. Autocracy and dictatorship are methods that demean the value of workers and render their morale invisible to work. Since production is the key to all company activities, sound management must be taken into account in a very efficient manner. Clear goals are required to be set so that all the workers are able to work effectively with a reason to do so. A sense of ownership is created in the worker when they feel that they understand the work they are doing. They are able to effectively take care of their environment and develop a positive growth in development of their specific work routines. Moreover, there is a clear direction in the eyes of all the workers in view of their company strategies and development programs. In this case, they are given the autonomy to plan for all the activities that they engage in allowing them a lot of time and space in their duties. This is in view of the fact that they are aware of whom to report to when it comes to responsibility cycles. Production strategies Strategies in production planning and scheduling is very important and can be very beneficial to the general performance of the company. In operations management, there are several areas that can be targeted in making sure that his initial stage is well taken care off. The strategies must be targeted at making sure that there is sanity in many areas of operations amongst them; purchasing practices, quality management, logistics and transport, facility management and many other sections. However, SSF Company has so many strategies at its disposal to make sure that the varied amounts of production are taken into account. Some of the production strategies that can be put to task are chase strategy, level production, make-to-stock, make-to-order and assemble-to-order. Coman and Ronen (2004) indicated in their theory of strategy that is a contingent issue to include theories that would be helpful at all levels of organization to make sure that the company puts to an objective use its resources. One of the strategies is the chase strategy. In this production strategy, the company can produce that which is exactly equal to the market demands. As SSF is planning to come up with more restaurants and food joins, application of this strategy will make sure that the customers visiting them have their requirements fixed on order. This will be done to avoid wastage. This method keeps the company inventories carrying cost is kept low which helps save on revenue which can be used for other company purposes such as increasing the amount of stock and raw materials produced. Chase strategy can allow the company to operate in all the three areas of production; stir fry, prepared vegetables and ready to eat products by minimizing on the costs paid for insurance, depreciation and taxes (Coman & Ronen, 2004, p. 1404). The second strategy is level production. In this case, the company will continue with its production of goods as long as the market demand is sustainable. Planning is done prior to the production as well as keeping in mind the period within which consumption will be made. For instance, if the daily consumption is 2000 units at a cost of €20, then in an accounting period taking one month would take the form below: 2,000 units? €20 per unit ?30 days=€1,200,000 This would be the financial plan for the company in one month. The advantage of this strategy according to the principles of operation management is that it allows for prior planning and therefore all materials are able to be made available. The third strategy is the make-to-stock strategy. This is a strategy that involves food being prepared before the customers actually order for them. When SSF Company specializes in the retail area, then this will be a good strategy to follow because not all customers are able to book what they want. This strategy will make sure that all the customers in the market are taken care of with a lot of time saving. The fast food outlets by the company will in time operate on this principle and there will be consistency in production. Once the consistency is assured to the customers, there will be a high sense of loyalty created between the company and the customers since there is always a high level of dependency created. Assemble-to-order is a strategy that is used in making sure that all the customers who have time to wait for a good to be prepared are taken care of. This strategy would be highly applicable to the stir fry and prepared vegetables area. This is because this is an area in which there will be a high concentration of service restaurants. Automobile manufactures that carry practically all the required ingredients to with them are able to effectively serve the customers very effectively in the market (Hamlett, 2013, p. 3). The last strategy is make-to-order strategy. In this case, the company prepares the goods after reception of the order from the respective customers. These are however companies that specialize in production of only one type of product. It has a long chain of customers and they are able to be served effectively. SSF Company can use this method when it prepares three factories that specialize in the three different areas of production. All the strategies above are able to satisfy a collection of strategic objectives for the company the objectives are cost, flexibility, speed, quality and dependability. They are also able to have a very strong impact on the training that all the employees of the company will be having as well as expected to have. The implementation of the strategies works at different levels and involves different people with different capabilities. There are business strategies and functional strategies. All these do not require the same amount and credibility of skills and attitudes at work. To prove this, below is a structure of the implementation strategy that can be used: Fixing the objectives of organization Production development Selection of new strategy to be used Selecting production process Selecting the production infrastructure Implementation of the strategy In essence, all the processes above as well as their implementation require a lot of skills. In common knowledge, the processes would require technical, communication, analytical, interpersonal and adaptability skills. It can therefore be noted that different skills would apply at different levels. Conclusion It is very essential that SSF Company clears all the huddles that are lying in its way by choice of the right production strategy. Operational management is a long plan that takes time and would see the company encompass its strengths and achieve high levels of decentralization. This paper has highlighted production strategy management at SSF Company. In view of this, it has analysed the ways of achieving stringent food safety measures as indicated by the FSA policies. It has also indicated the role of employees in implementing this by describing ways of employee motivation. Analysis of the production strategies was important in elevation of the required operation practices that would implement its strategies. In these strategies, it was discovered that employee need different types of training to attain the required skills to manage their respective areas of specialization. References Coman, A., & Ronen, B. (2004, 12 12). Information Technology in Operation Management. Retrieved 5 5, 2013, from Industrial Engineering: http://www.boazronen.org/PDF/Information%20Technology%20in%20Operations%20Management%20-%20A%20TOC%20Approach.pdf Dankers, C. (2007). Private standards in the United States and European Union markets for fruit and vegetables: implications for developing countries. London: Food & Agriculture Org. FSA. (2013, 1 30). Protecting the Public, Regulating the Food Industry, Enforcing Food Standards. Retrieved 5 9, 2013, from Food and Standards Agency, UK: http://www.food.gov.uk/ Hamlett, K. (2013, 2 2). What Are the Strategies Used in Production Planning & Scheduling? Retrieved 5 9, 2013, from Demand Media: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/strategies-used-production-planning-scheduling-1808.html Johnston, R. (1994). Operations: from factory to service management. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 5(1), 49-63. Podmoroff, D. (2005). Three Hundred and Sixty-five Ways to Motivate and Reward Your Employees Every Day-- with Little Or No Money. New York: Atlantic Publishing Company. Read More