Operation Management and Importance in the Mall Sutton Coldfield - Case Study Example

Operation management By Operation management and importance in The Mall Sutton Coldfield Operation management of The Mall Sutton Coldfield have had post construction issues, which focus on reliability and advantage. The most important aspect of any operation management is on products and services that the organization produces (Bhadur, 2008). The performance of the organization is linked to specifications and objectives, which become the focal point of the manager (Dussauge, Hart and Ramanantsoa, 2002). The problematic reports that have been obtained from the mall have dealt with undermining blow to the future of the newly constructed Mall by The Mall Sutton Coldfield. This has forced management to certify that events are taken to both recognize and plan a solution so that there is rectification of the situation, ultimately bringing back efficiency and thus intensifying the chances of a success (Bhadur, 2008). There are parameters in which quality of services offered by a business may be placed. These parameters contain five clearly recognizable points. The points that may be introduced to the staff by means of training or they may be actually designed into a new service. This can be achieved when management of a business decides to restructure the operation. Tangible is a factor considered in satisfaction of needs of consumers (Bisen and Srivastava, 2009). Customer care Customer care is a great issue in the mall as this is the main area where consumers interact with the staff. Operation management in the mall deals mainly with designing and management of services. Management of the operations of the mall deals with the supply chain to make sure that the system meats the demands of the consumers. The system also considers acquisition, development and utilization of available resources to ensure that the firm delivers goods and services that are needed by the customers (Bowersox, Closs, and Cooper, 2002). Factors considered in the mall for effective operation and satisfaction of consumer wants through the supply chain are on the work force, quality control of the system, efficient technology in the operation and processes in their supply (Bowersox, Closs and Cooper, 2002). Technology in management Advances in technology in recent years also have had a significant impact on the operations management function. Information technology now allows the mall to collect detail customer data so that we customize products to meet the needs of individual customers. Technologies in operations management, which are employed in the mall, are those that are designed to make sure that customers who visit the mall are satisfied (Chopra and Meindl, 2007). Operational thinking is essential in improving the process with both services and product delivery and in the extended chains of supply. Technology employed in the mall is those aiming to transform operation of the mal from the traditional ways to current systems. Technology in The Mall Sutton Coldfield also focuses in flow of information, which is majorly focused in operation (Kangas, 2003). Technology considered in production is manufacturing equipment and information based technology. Technology has also been used in ensuring that there is quality in the supply system, material flow system production planning methods, and system of monitoring activities as they take place in the mall. Advances in technology, including improved automated equipment, voice recognition systems, high speed data transmission lines like broadband, and faster and more powerful computers also have had a significant impact on services offered in the mall (Chopra and Meindl, 2007). Contributing to the increasing trends in services is due to the large amounts of data that are readily accessible and can be transmitted at low costs over long distances to other destination of the business. Increase in self-service, decrease on the importance of the location and the shift from time dependent to non-time dependent transactions and the increase in disintermediation are the results of technological advances in the services sector. Importance of technology in operational management Technology in operation management of the firm is implemented to maximize the cost effectiveness of investment in products and services. Technology has been planned in the business so that it encounters the issues of data loss on the services and products that have been sold (Dussauge, Hart and Ramanantsoa, 2002). This increase output of the mall the technology has also enabled handling a large number of customers. Growth of the mall has been contributed to the use of technology as several activities can be carried out at a time, coordination organizing, and supervision of activities. Staffs have been trained to use some of the technologies such as supervision and monitoring of customers as they get into the mall to give those right direct ions and services that they need. The challenge that has come about due to implementation of these technologies in the mall is that the staffs have the challenge of analysing the needs of the customers (Kangas, 2003). Capacity constraints In representing strategic issues, there was determination of size and location to determine efficiency of the firms to consumers. Customer service receives compliments of consumers. However, validity of the feedback and general comments has been assured in order to gain accurate and factual foundation on which to view options to proceed. In the world business, on multiple planes, the quality of the service provided to the potential customer is crucial. This service is what is used in combination amongst other flexible factors, will result in the overall conclusion or the services given to the customers which is key to achieving trust by of the consumer and establishing customer loyalty (Mentzer, 2001). These two factors are the main elements on which a successful facility such as The Mall Sutton Coldfield will rely upon in order to achieve the continuous return of custom. Importance of management of The Mall Sutton Coldfield The main issue in operation management is quality of product and service.in the study of The Mall Sutton Coldfield, quality is considered in every aspect, even in staff issues. If focus is made on staff issues, it is observed form the case study that they were all about the quality of the other members of staff mostly with reports regarding events of impoliteness. During the study, I just went round to check on prices of goods and look at the services they offered. The staff that was available however did not seem to understand the concept of window shopping this showed that it was linked to the poor quality of security staff as they did not well understand the instances of operations and handling of their customers (Robbins and Coulter, 2005). These issues reached all the way to other sectors of the mall as other staff in restaurant and other shops did not understand some of the concepts of shopping with the supplier issues mainly being based around poor quality produce, late delivery, wrong order quantities and general reliability. Rating of the mall has been given to be five stars according to the press we begin to understand the potential scenario that these complaints regarding quality pose to that excellent reputation mentioned earlier on. This is together with the fact that the volume of customers that the mall receives is thought to have exceeded the management’s initial objectives and goals clearly highlights that there is a lot at stake. As observed from the case study, the mall is readily accessible and has a good history in its operation but still has unidentified potential (Dussauge, Hart and Ramanantsoa, 2002). Despite all this easy access, location and size of the mall does provide a magnificent pathway to success. In general, the majority of businesses within the economy prefer to establish the satisfaction of their customers and the level of quality that their services are operating at through means of the actual complaints received by the business from the customers. The mall has just been constructed and though it is has just been started, the business would benefit from moving away from this measure from taking advantage of the location and size and focus on satisfaction of consumers. In carrying out the daily routines of purchases, some customers that take the time to complain, or, when looked at from a different perspective, take the time to ensure the company understands why the customer’s satisfaction and the expectations that they have on the services have not been attained (Chopra and Meindl, 2007). Highly valued sources, aiding the company to both identify and eliminate areas of service that the business is not perfect. The sources defend the complaints of consumers through argument that when customers do not complain, there is no way through which their dissatisfaction will be realized. It is important to consider that the act of complaining is very culturally influenced and normal that customers will complain for the services that they think do not completely satisfy their needs. Changes in operation management Operations management is continuously changing to meet the new and exciting challenges of today’s business world. This ever-changing world is characterized by increasing global competition and advances in technology. To survive and prosper in such a global market, companies must excel in more than one competitive dimension (Chopra and Meindl, 2007). The rise of the global economy and the tendency to globalization has placed stress on the issues linked to logistics, quality, output and satisfaction of customer which operations management made them essential in production sector (Dussauge, Hart and Ramanantsoa, 2002). From the study, it is realized that customers are more likely to complain about some services and areas than when in comparison with the other regions where the same services and goods are offered, where they are more likely to avoid this highly valued act and simply leave with the intention of looking out an alternative supplier (Bhadur, 2008). This fact alone is rather worrying for The Mall Sutton Coldfield, as with the volume of complaints being rather high here in their new venture, it must highlight the fact the quality is of a low standard. Complaints may be used as a way of identifying faults and areas that needs improvement, with this in mind; it would be highly beneficial if The Mall Sutton Coldfield’s management invested some time to create and adopt a system in which they would be able to record these complaints (Chopra and Meindl, 2007). This can be done through placing and grading them into categories, Dates, Areas and other factors of consideration. With this consideration, the management of the business is able to create a solid foundation on which to start the rectification of reoccurring faults and well examine them in order to raise overall quality (Bhadur, 2008). Though it would be much better to consider or identify and eradicate problems before allowing complaints to be made, there are methods that may be adopted in order to help ensure desired qualities standards by the consumers are being met (Bhadur, 2008). One of the main ways is to ask consumers the qualities and factors that they need for their satisfaction. This can be achieved through means of a well-formulated and well-structured questioner. Other methods include that of mystery shoppers (Schwalbe, 2000). The quality of the food being part of the complaints received from the customers proves that there was too much focus on the pricing side when it came to selecting the suppliers. The recommendation on selecting the right supplier for the food and beverage should only be based on both price without which the company will not be competitive anymore and the quality as this could deter more customers. There are parameters in which quality of services offered by a business may be placed. These parameters contain five clearly recognizable points. The points that may be introduced to the staff by means of training or they may be actually designed into a new service (Dussauge, Hart and Ramanantsoa, 2002). This can be achieved when management of a business decides to restructure the operation. Tangible is a factor considered in satisfaction of needs of consumers. This aspect focuses mainly on the appearance of physical facilities. Consumers always consider reliability of a business. Responsiveness in a business is the willingness to help customers and to provide prompt service. This increases satisfaction of consumers as they are able to use goods from the business with the right knowledge on them (Chopra and Meindl, 2007). Assurance in business operation is the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence. Empathy leads to provision of caring, individualized attention to customers. This increases satisfaction hence the operation management of the firm is considered effective. Through these operations, there is reduction in the complaints that are obtained from consumers as they become satisfied with the services and products (Dussauge, Hart and Ramanantsoa, 2002). Problems in operational management of The Mall Sutton Coldfield From the study of the mall, there has been establishment that there definitely lay problems with quality within the service that The Mall Sutton Coldfield is providing, but the reasons for the problems should be established. Coming up with the reasons for the problems is through the why question technique. This rather simplistic yet effective ‘problem solving’ technique begins by identifying and stating the issue for the problem (Dussauge, Hart and Ramanantsoa, 2002). It then proceeds by giving chase to the larger reasons for the issues asking the question ‘why’ the problem has. This series of questions continues through all issues until it reaches a stage at which no more answer’s remain to the question ‘why?’ remain. This Quality tool allows for hassle free and common sense issue detecting explanations to surface. This will then help in formulating of reasons why there is occurrence of the instances. TQM is a long-term strategy, and considering that, this venture is the first of the companies off continental Europe, we may assume without any doubt that this falls in line with The Mall Sutton Coldfield’s. The goal of this quality assuring method is to improve the product or service. Implementing this process is both Time and monetary expense consuming, usually taking 5-7 years in order to gain the desired benefits (Dussauge, Hart and Ramanantsoa, 2002). High quality is initiated with the design, again applicable to all planes; this must be implemented in the initial stages, trying to implement this structure or design post completion is highly inefficient. The cost of poor quality goes up by factor of ten at each stage of the process. We may relate this to the case study. The Mall Sutton Coldfield usually runs the building itself, security and the car park (Nelson, 2008). However, this move to the other regions caused them to alter their normal way of operating. In the original region, The Mall Sutton Coldfield was in partnership with numerous suppliers and organizations. The major difference highlighted with this new mall, was that these affiliations within the original place had neither presence nor offices within the current, essentially forcing The Mall Sutton Coldfield to outsource different suppliers, or, deal with their need internally, which may have been rather tempting, as they would have been looking to keep costs to an absolute minimum. This, we may assume, is the root of all the problems. The Mall Sutton Coldfield had to hire and bring in the staff themselves, the original region this was taken care of by their partner. Recommendations The Mall Sutton Coldfield management, regardless of their experience would have been no were near as good at such tasks previously done by their partners, such as hiring quality driven staff that have the appropriate skills to provide effective customer service. I also believe that a major issue adding to the current complaints is the fact that The Mall Sutton Coldfield lacks a mission statement. A mission statement would potentially aid the drive and motivation of the company, essentially attracting custom. It aids the addition of value to both your customers and your staff. Since resource, capabilities determine the types of products and service a firm can offer to the marketplace as well as the associated cost, quality attributes, and lead-times necessary to meet demand, the operations role is a serious driver of competitive advantage. Moreover, recent factors such as technology change and enlarged competition in cost, time and quality that have elevated the extent of distinctive competence that can be obtained from the effective management of the operations function. The quality of the food being part of the complaints received from the customers proves that there was too much focus on the pricing side when it came to selecting the suppliers. The recommendation on selecting the right supplier for the food and beverage should only be based on both price without which the company will not be competitive anymore and the quality as this could discourage more customers. Strategy should be based on a concrete understanding of market capabilities, practices and processes, to allow specific operational targets to be clearly articulated and demonstrated. A framework needs to be put in place to describe accurately the current and future operational performance, in order to increase confidence and credibility in the change and improvement process. References Bhadur, R. (2008). Production and operation management. Jaipur, India: Book Enclave. Bisen, V. and Srivastava, S. (2009). Production & operation management. Lucknow, India: Word-Press. Bowersox, D., Closs, D. and Cooper, M. (2002). Supply chain logistics management. Boston, Mass.: McGraw-Hill. Chopra, S. and Meindl, P. (2007). Supply chain management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Dussauge, P., Hart, S. and Ramanantsoa, B. (2002). Strategic technology management. Chichester: Wiley. Hugos, M. (2003). Essentials of supply chain management. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. Kangas, K. (2003). Business strategies for information technology management. Hershey, Pa.: IRM Press. Mentzer, J. (2001). Supply chain management. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications. Mill, R. (2001). Resorts. New York: Wiley & Sons. Nelson, P. (2008). Greenhouse operation and management. Reston, Va.: Reston Pub. Co. Robbins, S. and Coulter, M. (2005). Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Schwalbe, K. (2000). Information technology project management. Cambridge, Ma.: Course Technology. Read More