Operations Management for Lettuce Harvesting in Lincolnshire - Case Study Example

Operations Management Table of Contents Introduction 3 Application of the Input Transformation Output Model to the Case Study 4 Flow Chart and Explanation of Operational Delivery Process 5 Potential Impact of Lack of Mechanical or Information Technology (IT) Use in the Operations Management for Delivery of Lettuce 8 Operational Process and Capacity Control 10 Recommendations for Improving the Operational Delivery Process to Better Align with Performance Objectives 11 11 Conclusion 14 References 15 Introduction With the rapidly changing nature of the modern day business along with the changing trends and preferences of the customers, companies have the need to operate in an effective manner in each of the areas of the business. Notably, proper operations management is one such key approach that an organisation needs to adhere to and comply with in order to ascertain better performance along with sustainability within their operations. Contextually, the concept of operations management can be taken into consideration. Operations Management (OM) is one of the most significant constituents of modern day business. The prevalence of operation management can be seen in various business sectors where companies employ the same to provide a good level of service for the customers. Proper operations management appears to be beneficial for both the customers as well as the organisation (Mahadevan, 2010). Contextually, the aim of this particular essay will be to evaluate a case study relevant to lettuce harvesting in Lincolnshire and ascertain the entire operations management process presented in the same. Subsequently, recommendations will also be made to improve the bottlenecks in the process along with optimising the overall capacity of the business. Application of the Input Transformation Output Model to the Case Study Any production process involves a systematic set of activities which is conducted in a step-by-step manner to ensure the deliverance of effective or positive output from the process. This can also be linked with the process of operations management in manufacturing or production sector which assures that each and every task is conducted with utmost effectiveness. Operations management in any sector is controlled by a particular framework which is being developed to be employed to execute any production process effectively. One such operations management framework is input transformation output model which is being developed for better or optimum use of the resources in any production process. In this particular process, inputs are inserted to develop output in the form of goods or service. A few of the elements that usually act as inputs in this sort of model include labour, land, capital, resources and time among others while the outputs are mainly in the form of products and services (Leontief, 1986). It is evident that certain inputs are used up while creating goods or services for the customers. A few of the resources are used up completely while some others are used partially in each of the operations management processes. Contextually, as per the model, the input resources are classified as transformed resources and transforming resources. Transformed inputs are the elements that are directly used for the purpose of producing goods and services. Again, transforming resources include the elements are not directly used to produce the products or services, rather they are used in performing the transformation activities. Transformed resources include materials, physical inputs and human resources among others. On the other hand, a few of the transforming resources of operations management include the staff who are the individuals involved directly in transforming the process and the support materials such as land, building and machinery among others. In the particular case study of harvesting lettuce in the fields of Lincolnshire, the operations management of the business unit includes both the use of transforming resources as well as the transformed resources. The transforming resources that have been implemented in the operations management of company include the raw materials and the machineries such as conveyer belt in operations management while the transformed inputs mainly include the staff and their role in determining proper execution of the resources (The Open University, 2011; Pearson Education Product Page, n.d.). Flow Chart and Explanation of Operational Delivery Process The operational delivery process of lettuce harvesting in the fields of Lincolnshire has been largely conducted in a systematic way to ensure that the product can be delivered in an efficient manner through assuring proper quality of the same to the ultimate buyers. The operational process in the domain of product delivery has been mainly conducted in six basic steps including processing, packaging, labelling, box preparation, product refining and delivery. The first stage of the operational process of lettuce harvesting includes the aspect of processing lettuce plant to ensure its quality when delivered to the customers. In this particular stage of the processing, the lettuce plants are processed in the form of batches where a large number of plants are being polished. In the subsequent stage of the operational delivery process, the plants are refined manually to check whether each one of them is fit to be used by the buyers or the customers. The next stage of the operational delivery process for the product delivery entails the aspect of packaging the products. It is evident that this particular step is one of the most vital parts of the operational process as it ensures that each of the refined product is well packed and shall not get damaged at any point prior to it deliverance to the final customer. The significance of this particular stage can also be comprehended from the fact that it has a direct impact on the overall performance of the product and the company altogether. In this stage, the staffs at Lincolnshire harvesting plant are involved in packaging lettuce manually in plastic bags. The next stage of the process is labelling the packages of lettuce with the intention to present its brand background. This is also regarded as an important step as the labels contain details about the product with regard to its price, quality and date of manufacturing or packaging in this case. With regard to the flow chart (figure 1), the subsequent stage of the delivery operations for the lettuce plant include preparing the boxes in which the packaged plants shall be delivered to the distributers. The final stage of the operational management process is the distribution of the final products to the distributers with the help of logistics (Pearson Education Product Page, n.d.). The flow chart for the execution of the operational process of the harvesting lettuce plant with regard to its delivery is provided hereunder: Figure: Flow Chart of Operational Delivery Process of Lettuce Harvesting The entire process is deemed to be quite systematic and effective and helps in ensuring stability for the overall business. Yet, there are still certain aspects of the process that might impact the operational smoothness one way or the other. Notably, most of the tasks in the operations management of the lettuce harvesting are conducted manually in the absence of any mechanical or information technology operations including the stages of packaging, labelling and refining among others. This might be considered to be the bottleneck for the operations of the business. This is because of the fact that manual operations bring forward major chances of involving errors as compared to mechanical operations. The business lacks in the domain of ensuring the implementation of proper technology in its operational delivery process for the activities of packaging and labelling. Potential Impact of Lack of Mechanical or Information Technology (IT) Use in the Operations Management for Delivery of Lettuce It has been noted from the above analysis that there are several aspects in the operations management of the lettuce delivery process that can be considered as weaknesses and can potentially impact the overall operations of the business in the future context. Notably, in the present day context, the business unit has the need to adopt latest technologies in its operations with the intention of ensuring better performance for the entire business. In this particular case study of delivery system for lettuce in Lincolnshire, there are various stages involved in the operations management of the same. Observably, the company still relies on manual operations in the stages of packaging and labelling along with refining of the plant for final delivery to the customers. This aspect might impact the company negatively in the future context as the chances of making errors in manual operations are quite high as compared to operations executed through mechanical assistance. Apart from this aspect, it has also been analysed that the manual reliance of the company in the stages of packaging and labelling of the products might also slow down the overall process of operational delivery system of the company. Hence, this might also impact the efficacy and effectiveness of the entire business in a considerable manner altogether. Besides, it has also been analysed that the business might also get impacted negatively owing to the bottleneck as the lack of IT use in the business would certainly deter it from ensuring smooth and error-free operations in all the stages of operations management. The bottleneck in the stages of the operations of the business might also act against the level of satisfaction of the customers in the future context. This is because of the aspect that manual operations of the business in the stages of packaging and refining of the lettuce plant prior to its delivery might not be able to ensure better quality products as per the demands of the present day customers (Boyer & Verma, 2009). This can also be a potential negative impact for the business owing to the bottleneck identified in the operations management of the company. Measures to Improve the Control and Reduce the Bottleneck Identified In order to deal with the bottleneck identified above, the management of the business of lettuce harvesting will need to emerge with strategies that can mitigate the present loopholes in its operations management. It would be crucial to mention that as per the general theory of bottleneck, the problems in various stages of bottleneck can only be mitigated through addressing the problems that prevail in its operations management stages. In this regard, it can be suggested to the business that it will need to be more aware with regard to the prevalence of IT and machinery that are available and can be implemented for the purpose of managing various operational stages of lettuce harvesting. This might be in the form of introducing latest and upgraded equipment for improving the efficacy of the labour especially in the operational domain of packaging, labelling and refining of the lettuce plant for its final deliverance to the customers. Operational Process and Capacity Control In the earlier part of the discussion, focus has been mainly on determining the stages of the operational process where there is a lack of ability of ensuring performance efficacy which might impact the overall performance of the business sooner or later. Conversely, there are also certain stages in the operations management of the delivery process of the business that have utmost capacity to benefit the business in the future context. These capacities should be properly controlled towards ensuring utmost benefit for the business in the long run. It has been noted from the case study that human resource is actively employed and involved in each and every stage of the operations management process. Proper analysis of the case study depicts that almost all the departments of the business within the operations management involve manual operations (Pycraft & et. al., 2007). However, while in the processing stage of the plant, a conveyer belt has been used to execute the task. In this particular stage of the operations management process, the number of people employed is quite large as compared to other stages such as packaging, labelling and refining among others. Contextually, it can be said that the operational stage that involves the use of the conveyer belt has too much capacity in terms of human resources employed and the scope of improvement in this domain is quite prominent. Correspondingly, theory of capacity planning within operations management would be vital to consider. Notably, capacity planning is a particular process within the operations management of any business where the capacities needed for the accomplishment of the goals and the objectives of the business are determined and controlled. This particular theory mainly determines the maximum capability of the business in terms of its resources and operational approach towards completing the tasks of business effectively. Capacity is broadly classified into several strategies comprising lead, lag and adjustment strategies among others. The lead strategy involves framing the strategies in a manner that can gather the attention of the customers further enticing them away from the products of the rivals. The lag strategy includes enhancing or augmenting the capacity of the business as per the changes in demands of the customers. The adjustment capacity planning in the business entails adding or reducing the capacity of the business on the basis of the fluctuating trend of the market (Jay & et. al., 2009). In this particular case study, the business will need to adopt the capacity planning with adjustment strategy. Contextually, the management will need to make adjustment in human resources through transferring them from the processing stage to the packaging and labelling stage to ascertain capacity control. With this particular approach, the management of the business will be able to ensure error-free operations in the domain of packaging and labelling which in turn would facilitate to ascertain optimum use of the human resources and balance the operations altogether. Recommendations for Improving the Operational Delivery Process to Better Align with Performance Objectives Responsively, from the analysis of the case study of lettuce harvesting in Lincolnshire, it can be determined that the operational delivery process needs to be more systematic and it must be in alignment with the operational goals of the business. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the business mainly intends to deliver quality products to the customers through ensuring time and cost efficacy. It also intends to ensure a better inventory and product delivery management as the product involved i.e. lettuce plant is a perishable item and needs to be dealt with utmost care. Contextually, the management of the business will need to develop an effective as well as a systematic approach towards managing the overall operational delivery process. Subsequently, proper inventory and quality management are highly recommended for the company. A lean management approach might be effective for the business to balance and control the level of inventory of the company. Notably, lean is a particular practice in the domain of production where maximum focus is towards minimising the wastage of the resources and optimising their use. Since the product that is involved in this particular case is a perishable item i.e. lettuce plant, focus should be high towards ensuring accuracy in the forecast of the demands along with maintaining stability in the supply of the product in the market. Again, the lean practice will also ensure that the business produces products as per the demands of the customers further reducing the chances of any inventory pile up which in turn is beneficial for the overall business in its day-to-day activities. This is also expected to reduce the level of wastage that usually occurs with improper and large inventory compilation (Venitz, n.d.). Quality is another aspect that the company will need to focus on within its operational delivery process. It has been evaluated that the business is quite focused towards delivering quality products to the customers in a cost and time efficient manner. Contextually, the business will need to integrate Total Quality Management (TQM) concept in its business. TQM is followed within organisations as one of the decisive approaches where the intention is to focus on continuously improving the quality of their products or services that are delivered to final customers. One of the major objectives of TQM is to attain highest level of satisfaction of the customers. As per the norms of this particular technique, each and every person in the workplace will need to be responsible for enhancing the quality of the products and services in every step of executing their job roles and responsibilities. In this particular practice, the business will firstly need to develop an environment in the workplace where employees focus more on improving quality of the work delivered by them which would in turn facilitate to improve the quality of the overall output (Majmaah University, 2014). Moreover, it can also be suggested that management will need to form different departments that will look towards identifying the quality gaps with regard to the product in each of the operational domains. Hence, through these approaches, the business unit would be able to control the overall operations in a more efficient manner. Conclusion From the overall analysis of the study, it can be summarised that operations management is an integral part of the functioning of the modern day business units. To get a better understanding of the prevalence of operations management in the contemporary business, a case study relevant to lettuce harvesting has been evaluated. Analysis of the case study determined that the business is mainly conducted through manual operations and it lacks a systematic approach. Among the several stages of operations management within the business, a lack of use of IT or mechanical tools in the domain of packaging and labelling of products is deemed to be a bottleneck which might impact its performance in the future context. Contextually, certain recommendations have been made to ensure an improvement in the overall operations management through including IT, TQM and lean management in its approach. Hence, it can be concluded that the scope of improvement in the operational delivery process is quite substantial in the business. References Boyer, K. & Verma, R., 2009. Operations and Supply Chain Management for the 21st Century. Cengage Learning. Jay, H. & et. al., 2009. Operations Management. Pearson Education India. Leontief, W. W., 1986. Input-output Economics. Oxford University Press. Mahadevan, B., 2010. Operations Management: Theory and Practice. Pearson Education India. Majmaah University, 2014. Total Quality Management. Home. [Online] Available at: http://faculty.mu.edu.sa/public/uploads/1333569569.7016Total%20Quality%20Management%203.pdf [Accessed July 10, 2014]. Pearson Education Product Page, No Date. Nigel Slack Presents Operations in Practice. Video. [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okmoQ7tNf3Q [Accessed July 10, 2014]. Pycraft, M. & et. al., 2007. Operations Management. Pearson South Africa. The Open University, 2011. Understanding Operations Management. Home. [Online] Available at: http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/BUS300-1.3_Understanding-Operations-Management-The-Transformation-Model.pdf [Accessed July 10, 2014]. Venitz, U., No Date. Lean Management. University of Applied Sciences, pp. 1-28. Read More