Systems and Operations Management - Critical Evaluation of the Competitive Factors - Case Study Example

Systems and Operations Management - Critical Evaluation of the Competitive Factors Student Name: Course: Professor: Date: Introduction Establishing a company is not an easy task. It requires doggedness and steadfastness on the part of the investor. This is because there are many factors that affect the establishment of an organization. Financial capital is one of the bases for the establishment of a company because good business plan without an adequate financial capital cannot establish a viable business. Other factor that must be considered in the establishment of a company is the competitiveness of the market. This is one of the greatest challenges which new business face. Once a business is established within a particular business environment, the next challenge which the business must face is the competition from the already existing business organizations. Competitive advantage exists where organizations produce the same type of products that appeal to the same category or group of consumers (how businesses are affected by competition, 1995). While analyzing the issue of competition, certain things should be borne in mind. Organizations that have been in the market before the arrival of others have recorded a very large market share which might even be too intimidating to the new entrant. Apart from having enough market shares that can be sustained by the working capital, businesses that have been in the market might have some forms of competitive advantage over the new entrants. That is why it is very necessary for new businesses to understudy their competitors in order to know their strengths and weaknesses because this will help the new organization to make policies that will bring about competitive advantage. The assignment is not only about how the organization (in this case manufacturing company) will enhance productivity but also how this can be achieved with the competitive advantage of the organization. For the sake of clarification, the chosen case study company is a manufacturing firm. We shall analyze the company with the view of proffering a lasting solution for the development of the company. In this assignment, we are going to look into how to manage and develop a business in a rather high competitive market, with a focus on the Human Resources. Chosen Organization – Promasidor (http://www.promasidor.com/nigeria.php) Promasidor is a milk manufacturing company established in 1993, and which has experienced a very tremendous growth. At present, the number of the employees is about 1015. The company is one of the leading powered milk manufacturers widely known for its cowbell milk brand. Today, the brand has found its place in countries such as Benin Republic, Niger, Chad, Mali, Botswana, and other African countries. The company has a plan of establishing the brand in the United Kingdom, where a great competition is expected from the dominant milk manufacturers. The product is need by all because it has no particular market. This is because everybody, both old and young makes use of the milk product to some extent. The product is a perfect mixture for early morning tea, which serves as a breakfast. Apart from the generality of the market, the brand has a particular focus on children because they are the category that always desire for the product. The product is also good for adopted babies; hence, parents are the main target market of the brand. This does not mean that other markets are not included. The distribution of the product is quite vast. It can be seen in retail shops as well as wholesale shops. Other places where you can find the brand is in the restaurants, where people come and have their breakfast. For those who prefer to sip tea for their breakfast, the cowbell milk produced by promasidor is always the choice. The brand has other milk manufacturers as competitors. 1. The suitable operations framework of the manufacturing company Strategy Strategy in business is the identification and analysis of the strategies which managers of a business can use in order to achieve a better result and performance especially in a competitive market environment (Strategic Management - An Introduction, 2008). Strategic management differs from a simple business management because there is always a focus on the available competitors. Hence, Promasidor milk manufacturing firm should always have a competitive advantage over other firms so that its profitability will be higher than that of all other competitors in the industry. The evaluation of the competitors should be the watchword in business strategy. The evaluation is meant to monitor the business life of the competitors in order to know their strengths and weaknesses which can be a very important opportunity for strategic decisions. In strategic management, the manufacturing company must constantly conduct a SWOT analysis of the company (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). Promasidor milk manufacturing firm should make use of all the strengths in the organizations to achieve a better result because the strength of the manufacturing firm is the main factor that determines its competitive advantage over other industries, the organization should minimize the organizational weaknesses because such constitute a liability to the firm, the firm should not fail to harness the opportunities available in the business environment because and the threats should not be ignored. Operations design The operational management of promasidor milk manufacturing firm must be strong and targeted to the right values. This is all about the operational method of the firm, which is basically under the responsibility of the operations manager. Even though the operations manager has the responsibility of managing the business operations, it must be noted that the business of operation in the firm is not entirely that of the operations manager, rather the whole management team must get involved in the operations management. The particular aspect of operational framework for the company is not restricted to business development and improvement; rather the manufacturing company needs a transformation. (Business operating model design and development, 2012). This transformation is very necessary because it helps the manufacturing company to maintain its position in the market by offering consumers what is normal in a new way. Capacity planning Capacity planning is what managers use to gauge how the operational output can be increased without straining the current resources of the company (Osmond Vitez, 1999). It involves a wide range of the company’s operations in order to determine how to make cost savings in order to pay for new output. The concrete resources for the management review of the capacity planning include the facilities, equipments of production, labor. Facilities The facilities of the company include the land and buildings where productions are taking place. The capacity planning review of these facilities will determine how their current state can help in the production output. In doing this, the managers must consider the age, location and layout of the facilities in order to determine the possibility of achieving a greater productivity by making use of the facilities. If the facilities do not promise a better productivity, the management must endeavor to improve on the facilities. Equipments The equipments also require the attention of the managers in the capacity planning. The company equipments are the tools which are used in the production of goods by the company. The management of the company must therefore review the equipments in order to know if they are capable of increasing the production output. All equipments must be involved in the capacity planning review, both primary equipments and secondary equipments. The primary equipments are the machines and engines for the production while the secondary equipments include the computers and transportation for the movement of the goods. In the review, considerations will be given to the production capacity of the equipments in order to determine how long they can function in the production of goods. If there is the need to change certain equipments, the management must not give it a second thought. Labor Labor is very important in the act of production. It is the most priced factor of production, and because of this, a consideration attention must be given to labor variables in production. The milk manufacturing company must distinguish between short-term labor and long-term labor. In the determining the labor factor in the capacity planning, the management must review the payment method so that short-term labor will not be over-paid while long-term labor will not be under-paid. This is to ensure maximum output. The capacity planning for the company also includes a review of the amount of productivity as a result of the current employees as well as determines how many employees will be engaged in order to enhance production. Resource planning Business cannot be efficiently managed without the resources. The resources are the combination of human and financial resources. Planning as a definition is the program of action designed to achieve a particular goal while resources are the available wealth, both human and material available for the attainment of the goals. The combination of resources and planning will ensure greater productivity in the organization. Resource planning is the way an organization utilizes and maximizes the resources at its disposal (Resource Plan, 2012). Since manufacturing is a business that requires huge amount of resources, both human and materials, it is only adequate to plan how to make an efficient use of the resources so that the organization can benefit from its. The resources should be managed in such a way that no waste should be experienced. Adequate resource planning in the organization will put the company in a competitive advantage. This is because the efficient management of the available resources at the disposal of the company will determine how the organization will compete with other industry players. If the manufacturing firm misuses its resources in such a manner that productivity is not achieved, this could be a window of opportunity for the competitors to outshine the manufacturing firm. That is the major reason why adequate care and attention should be given to the resource planning of the company. Quality Quality control is very necessary for the competitive advantage of a company. This is important both for service oriented organization and manufacturers, but in a more special way, it must be the hallmark point for manufacturers because tangible product are monitored in terms of quality more than service non-tangible products. If a product hits the market and the quality is not enterprising, it will be easily recognized by the consuming public. That is the reason managers should endeavor to have an adequate control of the quality of goods that are produced. Quality control as a business practice is the process by which an organization ensures that certain quality is maintained in the production of goods and services. (What is quality control? 2013). This includes the actions which the manufacturing company will take in order to ensure that quality products are sold to the consumers. These actions include the verification of the products in order to ascertain their quality as well as to know their consumable status. It involves a thorough examination so that certain characteristics and goals will be met. The milk manufacturing company must have a team of quality control analysts who will focus mainly on testing the milk product. The products to be tested must be chosen at random and at different stages of the production so that no mistake will be made. If the quality control team of the manufacturing company dictates certain anomaly in the product, the workers operating the machine must be noticed and production must stop immediately until the problem is rectified. This is to ensure that the wrong products are not sent to the market. This will have a competitive effect on the company because if the quality of the products is sub-standard, the consumers will waste no time in buying from the competitors, which will reduce the competitive advantage of the manufacturing company. 1. An information system for the operations of the manufacturing company For the milk manufacturing company to grow and blossom, there are certain information that are needed for the survival of the business. These information systems are very vital in the survival of a business and they will help to improve on the operation framework of the organization. Customer Relation Management It is always said that the customer is king. This statement cannot be far away from the truth because the customer is the main reason why the manufacturing company is in business, and business will grow and develop only when the company boasts of an army of satisfied customers. In the past, much emphasis is laid in production and marketing, with little or no emphasis on the main reason why the company is in business, which is the customer. Any business that is not centered on customer satisfaction will surely head to the brink of the grave; already on the verge of extinction. Customer relation management is the whole process of building and managing the customers in a more organized way. (Customer relation management, 2000). As a very big production company, the customer relation management will verse, and therefore requires adequate man power trained in the field. Customer relation management in this regard must also take the shape of an IT (Information Technology) because that is the only way to meet the vast demand and complaint of customer. This could be achieved by making use of the internet and certain software that are designed to manage the customers. There are various ways of achieving this. The organization must first and foremost establish a customer care line through which customers can call and get informed on issues that are bordering them. The customer care line must be well advertised so that customers will know that it is their right to call the business line whenever they are in distress. Well trained public relation personnel should be employed to manage the customer care line so that they will make use of their skill to answer questions to customers in manners that will make them happy. Apart from hiring experts to manage the customer care line, the personality of the people that will manage the customer care line must be such that their attitude towards calling customers will not be irritating. In a more serious note, the customer care people must receive adequate training on how to handle customers through the phone. They should be equipped with the details about the company so that they will be able to answer any question that may be posed by a calling customer. Furthermore, the promasidor milk manufacturing company must have email so that customers can send their questions and complaints through the email. More staffs should be recruited to manage the numerous emails which the customers send. Since the organization is very large with a huge command of customers, it should be expected that the number of emails coming into the mail box of the company will be many. This will ensure that all mails will be attended to, and adequate feedback must be given to customers that sent the email. By doing this, the customer will feel that the company values him as a person. Again, both the customer care line and the email addresses of the company must be displayed on the container or sachet of the milk product. This will ensure that customers have easy access to the customer care lines and the company emails. More than one contact details must be displayed on the product containers so that the customers will make their choice according to their convenient. Supply chain Large production without adequate logistics for supply will lead to the waste of products. It is really a waste because the products are not getting to the consumers. The customers are the main reason why the company is producing and production will make sense only when the company is making an adequate arrangement for the supply. That is the reason the supply chain must be superb. Supply chain is the network which involves the suppliers, retailers, distributors and the storage facilities that participate in the art of production as well as the delivery and sale of the products to the consumers. (What is supply chain? 2013). Supply chain management is the total control of the supply chain starting from the supplier of raw materials to the producer, and then to the wholesaler, the retailer and the consumer. This is a lineal chain that must be maintained if the company wishes to enjoy a robust competitive advantage. The supply chain manager must take into cognizance certain factors that must be considered before an effective supply could be made. He and his team must monitor the whole supply process starting from the supplier of raw materials. This is because if something gets wrong from the supplier of the raw material, it means that the production will be grossly affected. If the supplier of raw materials supplies sub-standard raw materials, the competitive advantage of the organization is in jeopardy. Consideration must also be given to the supply chain from the manufacturer to the wholesaler, retailer, and consumers. The company must encourage wholesalers to report back to the company the complaint and dissatisfaction of customers. In a very important note, the supply chain also involves the data of the product. Such data include the status information, schedules for payment and others. The actual entities and agents that handle the products starting from the initial supplier than to retailer must be considered. Promasidor manufacturing company must bear these in mind that there are three main reasons for supply chain management; the increment of transaction speed, the reduction of inventory and the maximization of profits. This will ensure that the organization has a competitive advantage. Knowledge management Knowledge is too ambiguous for definition. There is no generally accepted definition of knowledge. More still, epistemologists do not have a common ground for identifying what constitutes knowledge. One can therefore conclude that the issue of knowledge is a philosophical one, and as such, should be handled as one. But this is not completely true; the business man has a clue of what knowledge is ion business application. For the sake of clarity, an attempt will be made in definition of knowledge management as it is related to business. Sir John Steely Browne (1997) gave an analysis of what knowledge management ought to be as trying to do better what we have been doing repeatedly. This definition might not be all encompassing, but the bottom line is that the concept does not need a definition, but rather an analysis and understanding of what the matter is all about, even without finding an adequate word for the definition. For the manufacturing company, knowledge can be managed effectively when the organization constantly shares knowledge in the organization. Shared knowledge is very necessary and crucial for the competitive advantage of an organization. Risk will be looming in the organization when production sets back because a skilled member of the staff is not present to do his job. It becomes worst when nobody is knowledgeable to operate the machine except the absentee. Knowledge management task should be a combined effort of the Human Resources Department and the Information Technology Department of the company. In order to invest in knowledge, the company must be ready to commit huge resources to the training of manpower that will continue to manage the company. This might seem to be a loss to the company considering the huge amounts that are involved in the training, but it must be noted that it is a long-term project in which the company will surely recoup what was invested in the Human Resources. Since a production company is involved in this analysis, it is better that more resources will be channeled towards the training of manpower in the Engineering department and IT Department because the task of the staffs in these two departments requires an adequate knowledge for the operation. This does not in no way entail that people from other departments should not be trained. 2. Ways through which the employees of the organization can be managed for a broader competitive advantage of the company. The employees of an organization are the greatest assets which the organization has. Hence, what they say about the company and how they act in the workplace will definitely affect the brand of the organization. (Importance of the employees, 2012). They are the people that carry out the policies of the organization. Hence, it is not an over-statement to say that an organization cannot grow without the cooperation of the employees. It is the duty and responsibility of the Human Resources to manage the employees so that they can be more productive in the organization. It must be noted that an effective and efficient management of the employees in the workplace will lead to an increase in production output. That is the reason more emphasis must be laid on the Human Resources. Many organizations fail in their promises to the consumers and customers because much emphasis is laid on the general principles of production without considering those that will drive the production, (that is the human resources). Some companies are so stingy and selfish that little or no attention is given to the employees. This will certainly have an adverse effect on the company because the employees will exert certain attitudes that will be inimical to the organization. A little analysis of the Human Resources will be very much helpful in understanding their role in the organization. There are numerous challenges facing the management of Human Resources in an organization. These challenges are not quite different from what the manufacturing company will face except for few pragmatic examples that are peculiar to the organization. Below are the employee challenges which the company will face as well as ways of dealing with them. The challenge of compensation / motivation The company will face the challenge of motivating and compensating the workers. The laborer deserves his wage. There are various issues that border on the issue of compensation in the workforce. Apart from the salary or wages which are accruable to the staffs, the organization must design plans and policies where the workers should be encouraged and appreciated, especially those that have distinguished themselves in their various fields and departments. The compensation can be tangible or non-tangible. The organization can give tangible compensation to the employee by salary increment or giving other perks that are capable of increasing the morale of the employee. The organization should also show appreciation to the staffs. This should be a form of motivation which will help in boosting their morale. This will certainly enhance the productivity of the firm. The challenge of Staff retention The common concept which managers have about labor is that it is very cheap given the fact of global economic downturn which has caused some organizations to downsize their workforce. This really increases the number of those in the unemployment market, with the addition of the young graduates from the colleges annually. This certainly implies that that people will be desperate for job, no matter how demeaning or menial such a job appears. This will also have an effect on the management of workers in the workplace. Since labor appears to be cheap, some managers treat the employees as they like thinking that a thousand and one applicants are outside waiting to fill the vacant position if any employee resigns or get sacked. This certainly is a wrong management idea even though this borders on the ethical principle of Human Resources, it actually affects the overall work culture of the organization. The result is that the affected workers will not put in their best in the work; they will even be exhibiting attitudes that are not only unproductive, but counter-productive to the organization. The milk manufacturing company must strive to retain the staffs they have at hand. This is because of many reasons. First, the cost of training organizational manpower is too high, and it does not make an economic sense for an organization to continue firing and hiring while still spending huge resources in training the newly recruited workers. Secondly, if the organization looses a dedicated staff carelessly, it might be too difficult to find another that will be a perfect replacement for him. The challenge of Learning and Development The notion of learning in an organization is to give managers a clue of how things and ideas will work out within the organization. (Mark K Smith, 2001). The organization must commit resources in the training and retraining of the employees so that they will continue to learn new ways of operation. Learning new techniques is very crucial if the organization truly wish to maintain a large market share of the industry. The staffs to be trained must be chosen randomly from all the departments of the organization for effective production. Those that are involved in machine operation and engineering should be given a special training on how to manage and operate the machines so that they will know how to operate the machines. This is very important because a single mistake in the operation of the machines might be a very big setback in the production capacity of the company. Attention must be given to those who are involved in the IT management of the company. The challenge of Leadership Development Leadership development must be inculcated in the staffs. This is because people prove their worth when given leadership roles in an organization. The staffs must be incorporated in the decision making. It is very important to ask the staffs in their various departments to make contributions to their departmental heads on how best to manage the organization starting from their department. The organization might be surprise at the level of innovations which the staffs will bring to the organization. These ideas are what the organization will loose if such a management strategy is not adopted. Conclusion For the organization to have a competitive advantage in the UK there must be recognition of the fact that some major industry players were already operating in the shores of the United Kingdom market even before the advent of the company. The organization must also know that to gain a substantial size of the UK market, there are certain elements that must be involved if the company must enjoy the UK market. The UK market is quite complex especially for a manufacturing firm that wants to establish itself in the market. The competition is too high in the UK market, and it is only the tough organizations that have utilized all the management arsenals within its disposal that are capable of winning its own share of the market. This is very much possible if the organization adopts the recommendations made in this paper. Certainly, the organization will be the envy of old industry players in the UK market if the recommendations are followed. 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