Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ops MGT
Ops MGT
Ops MGT
Mission
• Two of the statements in a well-
known management consultancy’s
mission statement are:
• ‘Gain and maintain a position as
Europe’s foremost management
consultancy in the development of
organizations through management
of change.
• Provide the consultancy, training The Development of Policies and
and facilitation necessary to assist Strategies
with making continuous
improvement an integral part of our How individual organizations
customers’ business strategy’. develop the policies varies greatly and
some of this variation can be seen in
Critical success factor under six headings.
• One of the CSFs which clearly
relates to this is: Customer/market
• We need a high level of awareness • Data collected, analysed and
understood in terms of where the
Core process organization will operate.
• One of the core processes which • Customers’ needs and expectations
clearly must be done particularly understood, now and in the future.
well to achieve this CSF is to: • Developments anticipated and
• Promote, advertise and understood, including those of
communicate the company’s competitors and their performance.
business capability. • The organization’s performance in
the market place known.
Sub-process • Benchmarking against best in class
• One of the sub-processes which organizations.
results from a breakdown of this
core process is: Prepare the
company’s information pack.
Shareholders/major stakeholders Society
• Shareholders/major stakeholders’ • Society, legal and environmental
needs and ideas understood. issues understood.
• Appropriate economic • Environment and corporate social
trends/indicators and their impact (CSR) responsibility policies
analyzed and understood. developed.
• Policies and strategies appropriate
to shareholder/stakeholder needs Lesson 5 Partnering and Resources
and expectations developed.
• Needs and expectations balanced. Partnering and Collaboration
• Various scenarios and plans to • Business, technologies and
manage risks developed. economies have developed in
such a way that most
People organizations now recognize the
• The needs and expectations of the increasing need to establish
employees understood. mutually beneficial relationships
with other organizations, often
• Data collected, analyzed and
called ‘partners’. The
understood in terms of the internal
philosophies behind the various
performance of the organization.
TQM and Excellence models
• Output from learning activities support the establishment of
understood. partnerships and lay down
• Everyone appropriately informed principles and guidelines for
about the policies and strategies. them.
• Everyone appropriately trained and
developed to provide the required • Even in the twenty-first century,
competencies and skills the however, some organizations do
organization needs to deliver the not fully appreciate the
policies and strategies. important role supply chains
play in delivering on-quality, on-
Processes time, on-cost products and
• A key process framework to deliver services in their organization.
the policies and strategies designed, Yet the ‘supply chain’ is often
understood and implemented. responsible for most of the
• Key process owners identified. labour, materials and equipment
• Each key process and its major involved. Because joint design
stakeholders defined. and manufacturing (JDM)
• Key process framework reviewed partnering has become
periodically in terms of its suitability commonplace in some
to deliver to organization’s industries, the supply chain now
requirements. includes the designers and
developers. Partner organization
Partners/resources employees can constitute
upwards of 80 per cent of
• Appropriate technology understood.
workers in the product or
• Impact of new technologies service chain, so a very
analyzed. important part of each
• Needs and expectations of partners organization’s strategy must be
understood. the consideration of the values,
• Policies and strategies aligned with skills, knowledge and attitudes
those of partners. of partner management and
• Financial strategies developed. employees.
• Appropriate buildings, equipment
and materials identified/sourced. • Understanding and applying a
sound approach to improving
strategic partner- ships and
supplier relationships will have Outsourcing
a significant return on Product/service quality and
investment by: customer service improvements did feature
but they were down the list of priorities. Yet,
Significantly reducing the a mountain of evidence now points to the
management overhead fact that poor quality can quickly, quietly
through increasing the level of and devastatingly demolish the benefits of
collaboration on a number of any new market gains or cost reductions.
key dimensions that research Moreover, the difficulty of managing quality
shows to be critical in effective increases in direct relation to the distance
partnerships. between an organization and its partners,
Establishing the right hence the need for a good ‘assurance’ model.
partnerships from the outset
through understanding what Managing performance and exposure
makes partnerships work and to risk
building that into the selection, • We know that quality cannot be
review and ‘re-contracting’ inspected into a product or service
process. and that it must be built in, which
makes it surprising that so many
Once the goals for the partnership companies that rule out inspection
are established, partners may carry as a quality control methodology in
out a ‘health check’ on the current developed economies, on grounds of
operations to assess strengths and prohibitive cost and ineffectiveness,
areas for improvement. decide that it is appropriate when
sourcing from developing
The approach recommended looks at five economies. Inspection and trying to
key dimensions of good collaborative control at the end do not prevent
working: poor quality happening, nor are they
• Strategic alignment: how totally effective in preventing poor
well aligned are the partners quality escaping to customers.
and how do they achieve this
alignment at all key levels of Getting organized for success
management? • Pure reliance on inspection and
• Customer focus: to what ‘quality control’ will not by itself
extent do both parties develop eliminate the risk of producing poor
and deliver the desired quality products or services.
standards of service and • Without the right organization in
experience across the whole place, the operations can find
service chain? themselves exposed to a cost and
• Decision-making and quality ‘killer’ . . . VARIATION.
governance: how the Research indicates that variation
partnership is managed to best can add up to 30 per cent to
effect and efficiency manufacturing and support costs.
• Communications and The challenge is to move from
transparency: how well data inspection to ‘assurance’ and
and knowledge is captured, relatively small improvements here
shared and disseminated in a can multiply into big benefits.
way that • Delivering better value from the
builds value and not cost global supply chain
• Investment and
improvement: the extent to Supply Chain Effectiveness
which the partnership jointly • The urgent pursuit of greater
invests in and improves the security of supply or improved
partnership operations and efficiencies can necessitate the
outcome measures. transfer of manufacturing or re-
sourcing to alternative supply
routes. These strategies represent products, services and
great opportunities but also carry processes to enhance their
big risks. In turn, supply chains can performance and quality. It
represent the source of real savings may also be directed at
if better managed. reducing costs of production or
• Reliance upon a single source of operations throughout the life
supply can be risky at any time, but cycle of the product or service
in unpredictable economic system.
conditions it can be downright
dangerous. An organization must Improvement
establish whether it is at risk. • Everything we experience in or
from an organization is the
Below is a brief, high-level overview of a result of a design decision, or
process to strengthen sourcing security in lack of one. This applies not
terms of quality, timeliness and cost, by just to the tangible things like
sourcing a second supplier. products and services, but the
• Decide the selection criteria that are intangibles too: the systems
right for the business and processes which affect the
• Make an initial selection generation of products and
delivery of services.
• Toughen up the selection criteria
and make a shortlist • Design is about combining
• Conduct site visits function and form to achieve
• Make a final evaluation . . . and fitness for purpose: be it an
choice improvement to a supersonic
aircraft, the synthesis of a new
drug, the development of a new
Lesson 6 Design for Quality
building material or product, a
Design
new management process, a
• Design can be used to gain and staff incentive scheme or a
hold on to competitive edge, save hand-held media device.
time and effort, deliver
• Once fitness for purpose has
innovation, stimulate and
been achieved, of course, the
motivate staff, simplify complex
goal posts change. Events force
tasks, delight clients and
a reassessment of needs and
stakeholders, dishearten
expectations and customers
competitors, achieve impact in a
want something different. In
crowded market and justify a
such a changing world, design
premium price.
is an on-going activity,
• design is defined as: ‘the way in dynamic not static, a verb not a
which something has been noun – design is a process.
planned and made, including
what it looks like and how well it
Design Process
works.’
The design process often concerns
technological innovation in response
Innovation to, or in anticipation of, changing
• All organizations need to market requirements and trends in
update their products, services technology. Those companies with
and processes periodically. impressive records of product- or
• Innovation entails both the service-led growth have demonstrated
invention and design of a state-of-the-art approach to
radically new products and innovation based on three principles:
services, embodying novel • Strategic balance
ideas, discoveries and • Top management approach
advanced technologies, and the • Teamwork
continuous development and
improvement of existing
Designing help us to place services in one of five
If design quality is taking care of all categories:
aspects of the customer’s requirements, 1. Service factory
including cost, production, safe and easy 2. Service shop
use, and maintainability of products and 3. Mass service 4. Professional service
services, then designing must take place in 5. Personal service.
all aspects of:
• Identifying the need (including need Several service attributes have particular
for change). significance for the design of service
• Developing that which satisfies the operations:
need. • Labour intensity – the ratio of
• Checking the conformance to the labour costs incurred to the value of
need. assets and equipment used.
• Ensuring that the need is satisfied. • Contact – the proportion of the
total time required to provide the
The Design and Development service for which the consumer is
Process present in the system.
• Interaction – the extent to which
the consumer actively intervenes in
the service process to change the
content of the service; this includes
customer participation to
provide information from
which needs can be assessed,
and customer feedback from
which satisfaction levels can be
inferred.
• Customization – which includes
choice, which can be single or fixed
and adaptation.
• Nature of service act – either
tangible,
Design Quality in the Service Sector i.e., perceptible to touch and
• In considering the design of services can be owned, or intangible,
it is important to consider the i.e., insubstantial.
differences between goods and • Recipient of service – either
services. people or things.
• In terms of design, it is possible to
recognize three distinct elements in Relationship between service quality
the service package – the physical and customer perceptions of product
elements or facilitating goods, the quality has five dimensions which are:
explicit service or sensual benefits, • Reliability – ability to perform the
and implicit service or psychological service dependably and accurately.
benefits. In addition, the particular
• Responsiveness – willingness to
characteristics of service delivery
help customers and provide prompt
systems may be itemized:
service.
1. Intangibility
2. Perishability • Assurance – knowledge and
courtesy of employees and their
3. Simultaneity
ability to inspire trust and
4. Heterogeneity.
confidence.
In the design of services it is useful • Empathy – caring, individualized
to classify them in some way. Several attention the form provides to its
sources from the literature on the subject customers.
• Tangibles – physical facilities, • Achieving and maintaining
equipment and appearance. standards of excellence.
Prevention costs
• These are associated with the design,
implementation and maintenance of the
quality management system. Prevention
costs are planned and are incurred before
actual operation. Prevention includes:
• Product or service requirements
• Quality planning
• Quality assurance
• Inspection equipment
• Training Process Cost Modeling
• Miscellaneous ➢ Process cost modeling is a
methodology that lends itself to
Appraisal costs stepwise analysis; while the
• These costs are associated with the following example is for the
supplier’s and customer’s evaluation of retrieval of medical records, it
purchased materials, processes, illustrates the process clearly and
intermediates, products and services to could be applied to any routine
assure conformance with the specified process in a volume production
requirements. Appraisal includes: or service setting within the
• Verification construction sector.
Sample Flow Chart for Process the same audit. For example, every three
Model months a selected random sample of the
processes could be audited, with the
selection designed so that each process is
audited at least once per year. There must
be, however, a facility to adjust this on the
basis of the audit results.
Attention should be given at the end For internal impact the benchmarks may
of the audit to corrective action and include:
follow- up and the improvement process • Waste, rejects or errors.
should be continued by the auditee after • Inventory levels/work in progress.
the publication of the audit report. This • Costs of operation.
may include a call by the client for a • Staff turnover.
Quantitative benchmarking in may be adopted, adapted and
absenteeism used.
Review
• Post-completion review
Carbon reduction aspects mapped
The Role of Benchmarking in Change onto organizational change
• One aspect of benchmarking is to framework
enable organizations to gauge
how well they are performing
against others who undertake
similar tasks and activities.
• A good benchmarking study, for
example in customer satisfaction
and retention, will provide its
participants with data and ideas
on how excellent organizations
undertake their activities and
demonstrate best practices that
Lesson 10 Human Resource with the appropriate skills and
Management attributes for the job are
identified.
Strategic Alignment of HRM Policies • Compare the organization’s
employment terms and
conditions (on a regular basis)
with published data on best
practice and documents to
ensure the highest standards
are being met.
• Review HR policies regularly to
ensure that they fully reflect
legislative and regulatory
changes together with known
best practice.
• In the recruitment of new
graduates start early, at least
Human Resource Process six months before graduation,
as the best students make
selections early to pick the best
available jobs.
Skills/Competencies
• Competence and competency
have been widely used and
underpin the work of the
specific bodies in any country
associated with vocational
qualifications and
occupational standards. In
line with this, good
Selection and Recruitment organizations have
The following practices are skills/competencebased
common amongst the organizations human resource
studied regarding selection and management policies
recruitment: underpinning selection and
recruitment, training and
• Ensure fairness by using
development, promotion and
standard tools and practices
appraisal.
for job descriptions and job
evaluations.
Appraisal Process
• Enhance ‘transparency’ and
communication through
jargon-free booklets that
provide detailed information to
new recruits about
performance, appraisal, job
conditions and so on.
• Ensure that job descriptions
are responsibility rather than Employee Reward, Recognition and
task oriented. Benefits
• Train all managers and Although an in-depth study
supervisors in interviewing and of the policies and practices relating
other selection technique. to financial reward and recognition
was beyond the scope of the research,
• Align job descriptions and
it is possible to highlight the following
competencies so that people
activities that were common amongst Regular two-way communication also
the organizations: involves customers, shareholders, financial
• Rewards are based on consistent, communities and the general public.
quality based performance.
Employee Empowerment and
• Awards are given to employees and
also to customers, suppliers, Involvement
universities, colleges, students etc. To encourage employee
• Financial incentives are offered for commitment and involvement, successful
company-wide suggestions and new organizations place great importance on
idea schemes. empowering their employees. The positive
effects of employee empowerment are well
• Internal promotion, for example, documented but the notion has been
from nonsupervisory roles to challenged with some writers claiming that
divisional managing directors it is not possible to empower people –
encourage a highly motivated rather, it is possible only to create a climate
workforce and enhance job security. and a structure in which people will take
• Commendations include ad hoc responsibility. Nonetheless, it is clear that
recognition for length of service, the organizations studied in the research
outstanding contributions, etc. considered empowerment to be a key issue
• Recognition is given through and make efforts to create a working
performance feedback mechanisms, environment that is conducive to the
development opportunities, pay employees taking responsibility.
progressions and bonuses.
• Recognition systems operate at all Many companies with impressive
levels of the organization but with customer satisfaction scores, for example,
particular emphasis on informal subscribe to the importance of employee
recognition ranging from a personal empowerment by encouraging employees to:
‘thank you’ to recognition at team • Set their own goals
meetings and events. • Judge their own performance
• Take ownership of their actions
Effective Communication • Identify with the company (e.g. to
For business success, regular, two- become stock/shareholders).
way communication, particularly faceto-face
with employees, is an important factor in Common initiatives
establishing trust and a feeling of being There are three common initiatives
valued. Two-way communication is regarded which successful organizations place great
as both a core management competency and store by:
as a key management responsibility. For • Corporate employee suggestion
example, a typical list of management schemes ◦
responsibilities for effective communication
Company wide culture change
is to:
programmes ◦
• Regularly meet all their people Measurement of key performance
• Ensure people are briefed on key indicators (KPIs) – Training
issues in language free of technical strategies in these organizations
jargon require managers to:
• Communicate honestly and as fully • Play an active role in training
as possible on all issues which affect delivery (cascade training) and
their people support (including quality
• Encourage team members to discuss improvement tools and
company issues and give upward techniques)
feedback • Receive training and
• Ensure issues from team members development based on personal
are fed back to senior managers and development plans Fund
timely replies given. training and improvement
activities to allow autonomy at
‘local’ levels for short payback
investments Co-ordinate Change Curves and Stages
discussions and peer A useful device in thinking about
assessments to develop tailored any implementation programme is the
training plans for individuals. As change curve. This represents a journey on
a result of their investments which employees need to be taken if
these companies boast business change is to lead to actions and be
benefits such as: successful. The stages that can be expected
1. increases in sales volumes on such a well- managed journey are:
2. not losing customers to competitors • Unaware: employees have a sense
3. low employee turnover. that something needs to be done
but not what, how or why.
Lesson 11 • Awareness: employees starting to
Implementing TQM Operations become aware of what changes are
Management needed, where the business wants
to be, and how to get there.
Planning the Implementations if TQM • Comprehension: employees
• The task of implementing understand the desired
TQM can be daunting and the environment and have a more
chief executive faced with this detailed understanding about how
may draw little comfort from the organization intends to reach
the ‘quality gurus’. The first its goals; they will be concerned
decision is where to begin and about how the change is likely to
this can be so difficult that affect them.
many organizations never get • Conviction: employees understand
started. This has been called the change and are reaching their
TQP – total quality paralysis! own conclusions with respect to
• The preliminary stages of the necessity and feasibility of the
understanding and change and the effect upon them.
commitment are vital first • Action: employees will be ready to
steps which also form the take part in actions and plans that
foundation of the whole TQM will deliver the change.
structure. Too many
organizations skip these The stages of change
phases, believing that they
have the right attitude and
awareness, when in fact there
are some fundamental gaps in
their ‘quality credibility’.
These will soon lead to
insurmountable difficulties
and collapse of the edifice.
Resistance to change
There can be many reasons why
people resist change and, as far as
possible, they need to be identified and
thought about if that resistance is to be
overcome. Common reasons include:
• Perceived negative outcomes
• Fear of more work
• Habits must be broken
• Lack of communication
• Failure to align with the
organization as a whole
• Employee rebellion
SUSTAINED IMPROVEMENT
The concept requires a systematic
approach that has the following
components:
• Planning the processes and their
inputs.
• Providing the inputs.
• Operating the processes.
• Evaluating the outputs.
• Examining the performance of the
processes.
• Modifying the processes and their
inputs.