Role Of Operations Management Processes To Achieve Sustainability In Business Operations

Answer :

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE & OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Assignment 1: 

Introduction: 

Resource sustainability is an important factor in driving uncertainty and competitive threats. Tesco creates its own proactive methods that increase profitability resulting in positive outcomes that is reliable and measurable. The ideal formulation of optimization results in concurrent increase of resource capabilities, availability, utilization and efficiency (Méndez et al. 2016).  Tesco is a well known super market that allows the distribution and supply of domestic necessities and grocery products to the customer’s home. Tesco has its own online portal or store through which customers can order grocery items from any place in and around the locale.  Tesco has been influencing other developing super markets that have been established in the year of 1919 with its headquarters at Hertfordshire. The paper studies the operations in relation to the achievement of sustainability goals of Tesco including mind mapping and analyzing SMART objectives. It also discusses a home-grown approach in managing sustainably in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Task one: Discussing how operations achieve sustainability goals:

Mind mapping in business:

Mind mapping for Tesco helps in forwarding effective communication that modifies brainstorming and collaborative sessions. Mind maps helps in identifying connections and concepts within business operations that helps the members within the organization in improvising conversations that help the members in communicating and enhancing listening skills during meeting (Krbálek & Vacek, 2014). Mind mapping can be referred to as a replacement to earlier linear representations for example PowerPoint of graph charts or flip charts. Tesco uses mind mapping or mind presentation for analyzing maximum productivity, improvisation of communication and conduct of meetings, optimization of project management and knowledge management. 

Figure:1 Mind mapping: sustainability practice and operation management

(source: self-created)

SMART objectives:

The developing super market, Tesco needs to set their own goals in attaining the targeted objectives for efficient productivity. Tesco needs to focus on its goals through the introduction of objectives by using SMART philosophy discussing the importance of objectives being specific, measureable, achievable, relevant and time-oriented (Leach, 2017). 

Figure1: smart chart 

(source: Jayal et al. 2016)

There are several socio, ethical, financial and environmental factors that affect the sustainable challenges in Tesco:

Task two:

The meanings and methods of optimizing operational processes for achieving the sustainability goals of a business entity: 

Process optimization refers to the practice of adjusting a process or processes in optimizing specified set of targets without violating particular constraint. The goals are minimizing cost, maximizing throughput, and/or efficiency acting as one of the major quantitative tools in the process of decision making in an organization (Valdez‐Flores  & Feldman, 2016). Organizations including small firms and large firms often fail in the absence of sustained monopolistic position where the competitiveness in not measured through profit gain or productivity, instead sustainability. The path towards profitability in relation to the production is the matter of issue of an organization. Profitability is related to the higher collection of revenue and decreased cost. Therefore, it is significant for an organization to examine and strategize revenue and cost. With the globalization and organization strategizing global market needs to face multiple economic uncertainties, socio-cultural factors, competing with global markets and capitalization (Shrivastava, 2015). 

In order to successfully face and stand firm against the global uncertainties organization needs to master capabilities following the effective use of the existing resources and combining the dispersed resources in the sections or departments of organization. As examined and analyzes, optimized organizations helps in ensuring the resource availability for the potential use. Tesco has adapted to the contemporary global changes following the importance of optimization.  The global changes affecting Tesco are decreased cost, complex regulatory environment, external and internal factors technological evolution and customer demands and interests (Wright, 2012). These changes trigger the production direction affecting the flow and direction of resources and productivity. Therefore, Tesco requires optimization in the coming future in regards to the difference in nature, scale and process of optimization. With the help Total quality management Tesco has been able to improve its product quality and customer services in meeting customer expectations, improved team work resulting in efficiency, reduction in changeover time and reduction in NPD cycle time. As examined, Tesco decided to undergo a radical change in creating a business process management culture, that are driven by factors like the challenges posed in meeting customer needs, the need and requirement in creating n manufacturing centre in, in improving production and be able to face competiveness.  However, there are several methods of optimizing operational processes for achieving the sustainability goals followed by Tesco:

Business Process reengineering:

The process helps in planning a business strategy that analyzes the work structure, functions, production and business processes within Tesco providing the organization with structured customer service, driving costs of operation and examine the methods in addressing competitive issues (Carter & Rogers, 2011).  The business process reengineering in focusing and accordingly formulate the ground level structure and emphasis on the changes in the objectives encouraging effective business processes and design of Tesco. Reengineering tries to focus on the targeted goals and transformation and change within the business management. 

Lean manufacturing:

Lean refers to the practice of production that deals with the expenditure of resources 

in relation to the targeted goals. In examining the perspective of the customer demands and services, value stresses on the action that the group of customers will be interested in paying. In preparing an effective design it is necessary to harmonize them in systematic steps and in order to do so, Tesco needs to examine and outline the un-required services. 

Lean management:

Lean managements indicate to the growth of the necessary lean production, root of lean management within the business structure of Tesco. The significant policy and thought behind the lean is that the customers tend to not pay for their mistakes and waste and damage but value. Therefore, Tesco tends to maximize the value outcome of its products and services for profit gain (Atkinson, 2017). Lean management does provide a chance in enhancing the value for constant and improvement of products and services in near future.

Kaizen:

In relation to optimization, Kaizen is a concept in management that helps in improving and developing the business processes that will help in the development of the customer service and also the workers and people in relation to the organization. Efficient working system and performance helps in solving uncertainties and issues resulting in the accomplishment of the targeted goals (Van, 2013).

Six Sigma:

Six Sigma refers to a process that helps in maximizing amount of savings due to the reduction of the causes of damage and defects in association with the manufacturing and production. The methodology deals with the training and development of members and employees that w ill direct them in understanding of their roles and assignment of roles in regards to the level of qualification and experiences (Hilson & Murck, 2017). Six Sigma is a business strategy that helps in reducing or eliminating variability from a process. It is developed for manufacturing processes that can be successfully applied to a wide range of business processes of Tesco. As an effective methodology for process improvement and reduction of damage and defects, Six Sigma being s significant component positively impacts Lean. 

Total Quality Management:

In accordance to Tesco, total quality management refers to the structured dimension to organizational control and management of business (Schoenherr, 2014). The total quality management allow the intervention of improvement of both the quality of products and services. In order to do so, Tesco need to analyze and examine the feedbacks from the customers and accordingly formulate standards of services.

Sustainable operations theory:

Sustainable operations are strategic measure that maximizes the opportunities of sustainability of resources and examines the sustainability beyond manufacturing forces. Sustainable operations help in reducing difficulties and uncertainty and build an effective framework that will help Tesco in making appropriate decisions in regards to sustainability (Kleindorfer, Singhal & Wassenhove, 2015). Tesco is trying to develop new models in the assessment of sustainability of their operations. The organization helps in engaging in an evolutionary process and policy that helps the organization in attain to distinct levels of sustainability maturity.  It is important to understand and analyze the barriers that help in changing the management process of an organization. It is important to examine the barriers for creating successful strategies towards business production. The organization can face the challenges that help in widening the chance and scope of the production. The change will help the organization in implementing effective operations and management process in improving and marinating the work culture and environment. 

While change is significant in an organization, it tends to be favorable for the organization and its staff and employees; it will always be subjected to limitations and constraints (Alshuwaikhat & Abubakar, 2011). Change is usually harmful, that cannot be completely known and studied and Tesco tries to process that might be difficult for the employees and staffs to embrace within an organization. Resistance to change is never taken into consideration as a barrier in relation to change management. In fact, for Tesco it is significant to understand the certain barriers that make it difficult to implement change driven by external and internal factors usually the reasons behind the resistance to change.

 It is important to conduct an assessment as an ideal process that will help Tesco in analyzing the potential and significant barriers to change. Barriers tend to create gaps within recommended and existing practices, resulting in having a negative effect on the existing and everyday production process of the Tesco. For necessary preventions,, it will be appropriate to examine the major barriers to change and what are the measures that will prevent the occurrence of such barriers (Mcmillin & Dyball, 2013). Once Tesco will be able to learn and analyze how to solve these barriers, it will be easy to plan and implement the necessary changes. There are five barriers to change management and how it will be easily overcome such as lack of employee involvement, lack of effective communication strategy, bad culture shift planning, unknown current state and organizational complexity. Of them, the two most important have been discussed below:

Lack of Employee Involvement:

The most common barrier to the organizational change management is the lack of employee involvement.Employees tends to have  fear of change, and in limiting the fear  the employees and members need to beinvolved in the change process. According to the secondary research it is observed that the most loyal member of Tesco’s employees will resist the change. The biggest mistake of the organization is the failure to involve employees in the change process. However, it is driven by the lack of desire to the involvement to change management and processes (Gold,  Seuring& Beske, 2015). Getting the employees involved needs to include the factors such as listening to their opinion, accounting for their output and assuring the staffs and employees that the change has good and favorable outcomes and impacts. Therefore it is necessary to providing relevant, sufficient resources to drive them in understanding the change that is necessary and the employees should be comfortable and ready to adjust and examine to the new development within the business process of Tesco.

Lack of Effective Communication Strategy:

Organizations often have no identified effective communication strategy in meeting the challenges and changes. Lack of communication between organizational members reduces the understanding of changes (Corbett, 2014). Therefore the leader needs to constantly communicate in solving and limiting any resistance. The leader and management team of Tesco needs to know how the change will affect them as well as how they will adapt to the change.

Task 3: A home-grown approach to managing sustainably in Aotearoa New Zealand:

a. Sealord Group, that is based onNelson or Auckland, have facilitated in transfer of from strength to strength since the Government funded all Maori - into a half share in the year of 1992. In accordance with rest of the industry, Sealord Group has own ups and downs, setbacks and drawbacks. It was hit hard against the hoki quota. It has got out of mussel farming and processing in the South Island. Despite of the promise of seven hundred improvised and variations of jobs opportunity, when Japanese giant, Nissui was given thegrant of approval to buy the other half from Brierley in 2001, Sealord's New Zealand work force is expected to have more than five hundred shy of its 1600-job peak in the mid-1990s (Allen, 2016). On the other side, it reflects the business that has become global and which has returned a steady annual dividend of $ sixteen million since 2003, split evenly between Nissui and Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd (AFL). According to the examination and analysis on the Sealord Group, the $ hundred fifty m Sealord deal was designed that is a major element of the full and final settlement of historic Maori fishery claims as observed. As evaluated the half of Sealord, and ll of its quota – approximately, twenty per cent of the national total is expected to be widely and significantly valuable as a Maori asset that will foster the growth in near future. According to the study of Maori Sealord Group, There has been record of payments made to various iwi. This has been a major threat causing the problem with pan-tribal settlement dealing as to how each hapu or iwi leverages its control (Phillipps, McAlister & Allen, 2016). 

In the original vision, Sealord was suppose to provide employment opportunities to Maori, but  in contemporary times it seems that it intends to get around the new crewing rules through the process of recruitment of new crew to have that needs to have mandatory working knowledge of the Russian language. As estimated, Maori has been facing the major issue of unemployment rates that is expected to run in and around thirty per cent. According to the study of Maori Sealord Group, There has been records of payments made to various iwi (MacDiarmid et al. 2016). This has been a major threat causing the problem with a pan-tribal settlement dealing as to how each hapu or iwi leverages its control. In the original vision, Sealord was suppose to provide employment opportunities to Maori, but  in contemporary times it seems that it intends to get around the new crewing rules through the process of recruitment of new crew to have that needs to have mandatory working knowledge of the Russian language. As estimated, Maori has been facing the major issue of unemployment rates that is expected to run in and around thirty per cent.

b. Maoris Maori needs to diminish the effects of these problems through strategized planning of facing the challenges (Phillipps, McAlister & Allen, M2016). The members need to help the team and leaders in eliminating the problems created and generate principles of a management that can be categorized into four different components such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. There are several cultural concepts in relation to the maintenance of their cultural fame and sustainability such as their dance, language, arts, and tattoo. They are known for their unique and special concern for mother earth as they are show respect in the form of worship of nature. In order to the planning and organization there are several methods through which Maoris protect their lakes, rivers lands through law enforced of Tapu. 

c. Miraka Company as known is one of the companies initially established by Maoris. The main objective of the company is to provide the people of New Zealand with dairy products of high nutritional value with better quality and quantity in meeting the demands of their community without affecting the health of the children. This business helps in nourishing and improving the well being of the Maori. The company is known for its strong values and unique ideas and of course sustainability being prioritized by them.

It is understood that through sustainable operations management helps in managing and controlling the management process within an organization. Tesco is highly benefited from the sustainable and SMART study and sustainable objective assessment, in dealing with the issues of sustainability that helps in improvising the environment and culture of the organization. Sustainability helps in enduring in creating a favorable and efficient future and also helps in foreseeing future. The principles of management is segmented into four major functions such as planning, organizing, leading and controlling referred to as P-O-L-C framework that provides important guidelines  as to what the manager and the members of an business organization needs to do when issuing any problem and manage problem solving accordingly.