Currently, the managing director of areal company has asked your company for consultancy services in operations management.Specifically, he wants to be briefed comprehensively about all
FRONT SHEET
INTRODUCTION
Established in 2015, Le Trang Chicken Rice not only conquered millions of fastidious diners with its unique and rich flavor but also was one of the first chicken rice brands to use aluminum boxes to keep food warm Ensure that each meal delivered to customers is always hot as if it was freshly cooked at home The aluminum box is also a specialized packaging for hot food, very safe and suitable for health Not only that,
Le Trang always uses fresh chicken to keep its freshness and natural sweetness, ensuring enough 2 elements of deliciousness - healthy and complete meals for customers The first Le Trang chicken rice restaurant opened in Can Tho in 2018, since then, it has become the leading brand of chicken rice in Can Tho thanks to the tireless efforts of a young, dynamic and professional staff The team is always ready to bring you the fastest and most convenient meal.
In the task of this report, the author will comprehensively introduce all the concepts & processes of operations management and make recommendations on how to further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of existing operations company so that it can become more competitive in the market More specifically, this report has six parts (including both introduction and conclusion) First, the key concepts of operations and operations management will be presented here Second, the report will detail the operational management processes Next, the author will analyze how the management process and continuous improvement plans are selected in this organization Finally, the author will give recommendations to help improve operational processes for businesses to achieve the highest efficiency in business.
KEY CONCEPTS OF OPERATION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Operations is the work of managing the inner workings of your business so it runs as efficiently as possible Whether you make products, sell products, or provide services, every small business owner has to oversee the design and management of behind-the-scenes work The specific definition of operations will depend on your industry and the stage your business is in Sometimes, improving operations means thinking strategically about your systems and processes Other times, it means being part of the on-the- ground work to bring every aspect of a project, from tiny to huge, to reality [ CITATION TyK20 \l 1033 ]
Operations management is the administration of business practices to create the highest level of efficiency possible within an organization It is concerned with converting materials and labor into goods and services as efficiently as possible to maximize the profit of an organization Operations management teams attempt to balance costs with revenue to achieve the highest net operating profit possible. [ CITATION Ada215 \l 1033 ]
Operational function is the part of the organization that is responsible for operations Responsible for creating and delivering services and products based on customer requirements However, it needs support and input from other areas of the organization
2.2 Relationship between operations and other business functions in an organization
Inside standard business organization, we can distinguish three key functional areas, including: finance, marketing and operations.
Finance is responsible for securing financial resources at favorable prices and allocating those resources throughout the organization, as well as budgeting, analyzing investment proposals, and providing funds for operations.
Marketing is responsible for assessing consumer wants and needs, and selling and promoting the organization’s goods or services Marketing’s focus is on selling and/or promoting the goods or services of an organization Marketing is also responsible for assessing customer wants and needs, and for communicating those to operations people (short term) and to design people (long term) Marketing,design, and production must work closely together to successfully implement design changes and to develop and produce new products Marketing can provide valuable insight on what competitors are doing Marketing also can supply information on consumer preferences so that design will know the kinds of products and features needed; operations can supply information about capacities and judge the manufacturability of designs.
Operations is responsible for producing the goods or providing the services offered by the organization.
The marketing department in an organization is responsible for nurturing loyal clients, boosting sales, and acquiring new customers On the other hand, the operations department optimizes cost efficiency
9 through inventory, logistics, and other ongoing business operations Operations are also responsible for reducing business costs.
With the help of technological innovation, both operations and marketing have the opportunity to improve their efficiency, thereby creating a close relationship between them The possible conflicts in the business can be resolved by integrating the two departments Therefore, these parts are interdependent in nature Besides, the two departments can better integrate through data transparency It is beneficial to help employees and decision makers to form an effective plan and solution to problems that may arise in the business With the help of data visualization tools, the operations and marketing teams can work well together They can have access to the necessary analytics before making important decisions For example, if a software solution depends on numbers and facts about demand forecasting, the team can validate and perform other business tasks In addition, if businesses want to make themselves more profitable, marketing and operations need to develop a holistic approach to understanding customer needs This approach can provide organizational benefits, including the following: Enables sales professionals to prioritize high-engagement leads at the top of the funnel; It guides sales activities to collect data that can affect the top of the funnel Where Marketing can develop a campaign targeting your top competitors, they can focus on competitors that influence sales Marketing can be more focused if Operations can best collect data; it can provide marketing information on developing content and messages to emphasize in their plans The marketing team can also create content about the conflicts that the sales activity identifies in the data; Sales data is also essential to guide marketing in calculating Return on Investment Knowing the amount of conduction produced is not enough What is more important is the amount of revenue that can be generated Activity plays a big role in matching marketing actions with closed deals [ CITATIONLoa21 \l 1033 ]
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT PROCESS
Operational processes are the key activities or cluster of activities which must be performed in an exemplary manner to ensure a firm’s continued competitiveness because it adds primary value to an output [ CITATION Com17 \l 1033 ] In addition, operations management is also known as the set practices companies use to increase efficiency in production Operations management is concerned with controlling the production process and business operations in the most efficient manner possible [ CITATION Reb21 \l
1033 ] In summary, there are duties involved with operations management Making sure the company runs
10 efficiently, both in terms of utilizing the fewest resources necessary and satisfying client demands to the best degree economically feasible, is one of those duties The process by which raw materials, labor, and energy are transformed into goods and services is managed as part of operations management Success in operations management requires a combination of technical expertise, people skills, creativity, and analytical thinking.
Modern operations management revolves around four theories: business process redesign (BPR), business process management, six sigma, and lean manufacturing
Business process redesign (BPR) was formulated in 1993 and is a business management strategy that focuses on analyzing and designing workflow and business processes within a company[ CITATION Reb21 \l 1033 ] The goal of BPR is to help companies dramatically restructure the organization by designing the business process from the ground up.
Business process management (BPM) is a structured approach to improving the processes organizations use to get work done, serve their customers and generate business value [ CITATION Lin22 \l
1033 ] A business process is an activity or set of activities that helps accomplish an organization's goals, such as increasing profits or promoting workforce diversity BPM uses various methods to improve a business process by analyzing it, modeling how it works in different scenarios, implementing changes, monitoring the new process and continuously improving its ability to drive desired business outcomes and results.
Six sigma is an approach that focuses on quality It was primarily developed from 1985 to 1987 at
Motorola[ CITATION Reb21 \l 1033 ] The word "six" references the control limits, which are placed at six standard deviations from the normal distribution mean Jack Welch of General Electric started an initiative to adopt the six sigma method in 1995, which brought the approach a great deal of popularity Every six sigma project within a company has a defined step sequence and financial targets, such as increasing profits or reducing costs Tools used within the six sigma process include trending charts, potential defect calculations, and other ratios.
Lean manufacturing is a systematic method of eliminating waste within the manufacturing process[ CITATION Reb21 \l 1033 ] The lean theory accounts for waste that is created through overburdening or uneven workloads This theory sees resource use for any reason other than value creation for customers as wasteful and seeks to eliminate wasteful resource expenditures as much as possible.
In this report, the author will focus on analyzing the methodology of two main approaches, Six Sigma and BPM:
As mentioned, Six Sigma is a method of using statistics and data to achieve continuous improvement in business processes Customer satisfaction is one of the highest goals of this approach Six Sigma is ranked top in project management methodologies It is especially favored by larger businesses and in the construction sector, where cost management of material infrastructure is critical Six Sigma focuses on streamlining specific aspects of a project
To learn about Six Sigma in detail, readers need to know about the standard deviation, which is otherwise related to statistical bell curves This refers to a standard or desired outcome from a process and it describes the distance from an outcome or range of this outcome one can expect, i.e how much deviation one can expect compared to this result For example, if a business produces blueberry muffins with a standard muffin having 8 blueberries and you have a standard deviation of 2, that means your muffins will have, on average, Standard blueberries plus or minus 1 blueberry, meaning most muffins will have 7 to 9 blueberries
Besides, Six Sigma abstractly refers to the standard deviation as 6, meaning 3 above and 3 below SixSigma projects aim to limit deviations as much as possible about sigma 6, which is why Six Sigma is so important for quality management Although today the exact number of 6 is less important than the overall methodology [ CITATION Mic22 \l 1033 ]
Along with the continuous improvement method, the author will use the Sig Sixma operational approach to analyze the business processes of Le Trang chicken rice in this report There are two main methodologies used in Six Sigma, DMAIC and DMADV, both of which consist of five parts, according to the
2005 book “JURAN Institute Six Sigma Breakthrough and Beyond” by Joseph A De Feo and William Barnard:
DMADV is a Six Sigma methodology used to design new processes while ensuring the end product is correctly delivered to the customer[ CITATION Sta14 \l 1033 ] The goal of the DMADV methodology is to create a high-quality product while keeping the customer’s wants and needs in mind during every phase
12 of the project[ CITATION Sta14 \l 1033 ] Each letter of the acronym DMADV represents one of the five key phases of the project improvement initiative: Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify.
DMAIC method is used primarily to improve existing business processes If the Six Sigma quality improvement methodology had to be summarized in one word, it would be the acronym DMAIC[ CITATION Sta141 \l 1033 ] This shorthand description lists the steps of the Six Sigma process when improving existing business processes[ CITATION Sta141 \l 1033 ] It provides an overview of the method by which Six Sigma projects are completed, namely: define, measure, analyze, improve and control This method will be the method that the author will focus on analyzing The letters stand for: o Define the problem and the project goals There is a problem affecting customers of this business that is the quality of the food is not satisfied with the majority of customers The first is that the palatability of the sauce flavors is not uniform More specifically, 60% of the customers said that Thai sauce tastes better than other flavors including: passion fruit sauce, green pepper sauce, garlic sauce and so on Second, the amount of rice in each portion of rice is relatively small compared to the average eating capacity of the people of Can Tho Finally, the quality of side dishes such as vegetables or pickles cannot be guaranteed In some cases, customers have reported that they feel that the above items taste bad like they have been stored for a long time and are no longer fresh The above mentioned things will seriously affect the reputation and tastes of customers for this business If the business does not improve, the number of customers will seriously decrease. o Measure in detail the various aspects of the current process.In this step, the author will measure the extent of the problem To do so, the author will test the process in its current state to see how it works The basic measurements to consider in this phase are process time, defect count, cost and other relevant metrics Going into specifics, Le Trang chicken rice company currently offers six different flavors g p , g p y y of chicken rice to the market, including: chicken rice with char siu, chicken rice with lemon fruit sauce, Thai sauce, garlic sauce, green pepper sauce and chicken rice fried However, according to a quick survey, up to 60% of customers choose chicken rice with Thai sauce, this is quite different in product quality compared to other flavors These baseline measurements will be used as the standard by which the team will measure their success in the 'Improve' phase. o Analyze data to, among other things, find the root defects in a process The analysis phase of the
DMAIC process is to determine the root cause of the problem Simply put, the uneven deliciousness between sauces comes from the processing stage, more specifically the recipe However, much of the
13 problem comes down to the taste of the customer In addition, the small amount of rice in each serving probably comes from a profit problem, along with that, according to the author's objective view, the thermal aluminum box that this business uses to store food has The volume is quite small so it can't hold a lot of rice In addition, an equally urgent problem is that the quality of the accompanying sour foods is not fresh, perhaps because businesses are subjective that they can be used for a long time, so some of the empty branches refuse to replace them and using new stuff, so it led to this situation. o Improve the process During this phase, the focus is on minimizing the identified root causes and brainstorming and implementing solutions For the problem of uneven quality of food, businesses need to carefully study the tastes of customers and adjust recipes accordingly The second problem is that there is little rice, businesses need to redesign the aluminum food box and at the same time recalculate the revenue so that it is reasonable with the plan to increase the amount of rice for customers It is extremely important that the management board regularly check the branches to ensure the quality of the processed materials and final products to the customers This will help improve the quality of the food o Control how the process is done in the future In the final stage of the DMAIC approach, the focus is on sustaining the enterprise improvements achieved by implementing solutions Here, the business should continue to measure success and develop a plan to track improvements (monitoring plan) More specifically, after improvements are made, businesses should periodically conduct surveys on customer preference for flavors, product quality and service quality on a monthly basis This will make it easier for businesses to target the success of their improvement plans and customer needs.
Given how the organizational roles, guidelines, strategies, business objectives, and other components it contains are continually changing, BPM is a vast subject and, by definition, a dynamic one BPM has supported a range of optimization approaches over the years, including Six Sigma, lean management, and Agile BPM software packages were created to assist significant business change as business processes at some firms were too massive and complicated to be handled without the use of automated tools As AI, machine learning, and other so-called intelligent technologies grow, these enabling BPM technologies have also advanced, offering new methods for discovering, designing, measuring, improving, and automating
14 workflows With the rise of digital business, BPM's traditional focus on back-end processes has shifted to now include the optimization of customer and employee systems of engagement.
BPM, as noted, covers a lot of ground Many BPM experts refer to the following five phases when describing a BPM project:
Design - Analyze the existing process to see what can be improved Then, develop the business process as it should ideally exist using standardization and automation.
Model - Look at how the redesigned business process operates in different scenarios.
Implement - Execute improvements, including standardization and process automation.
Monitor - Track improvements to see how they perform.
Optimize - Continue to improve the business process on an ongoing basis.
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT PROCESS AND CONTINUOS IMPROVEMENT PLAN
4.1 The operational process and operations management in selected organization
Le Trang chicken rice brand is no longer strange to the people of Can Tho in recent years With the convenience and quickness in its service, along with the guaranteed food quality, Le Trang chicken rice has conquered many customers Due to the take-away form, this brand will have some special points in the process of operating as well as serving customers:
First, staff will proactively greet guests when they approach (about 1-2 meters) with standard greetings The staff in charge of ordering will prepare the menu in advance, open the menu and give it to each guest according to the order of chicken rice menu first, side dishes later However, there are some branches that will not have a handheld menu, but the menu will be printed into a large format poster for customers to easily see and choose At this time, the staff will guide customers to know where to place the menu At this time, the responsible staff will introduce the menu of dishes and side dishes to guests, taking note of special notes on the menu Wait a few minutes so that guests have time to exchange and choose dishes During this time, the staff can suggest dishes for guests, answer guests' questions and introduce promotions (if any) After the customer has selected their favorite dish, the staff will record the customer's order requirements and then confirm the order request again Ask for the menu back from the guest politely.
In the next, the staff will calculate the total amount to be paid by the customer and ask the customer to pay Accompanied by a confirmation of the payment method (cash, card, etc.) Wait a few minutes After the customer confirms the payment, the staff will check the cash or proceed to pay by card To be sure, the staff will show the customer the payment invoice (notify the exchange, and ask the customer to confirm the payment invoice ) Thanks and notice the service time.
Finally, prepare and check the food at the counter Bring food to guests, ask for permission to serve, and inform each guest's dishes Serve dishes according to customer's location, order of priority, request Actively ask guests if they have any additional requests Staff say goodbye and see you again.
Le Trang chicken rice brand is still a small brand and its scale is not large - only concentrated in Can Tho city Therefore, the application of operational management approaches has not been paid attention by this enterprise.
4.2 Prepare Continuous improvement plan for the selected organization
In this report, the author will choose the method of continuous improvement and will prepare a plan for it later Continuous improvement is a method for identifying opportunities for streamlining work and reducing waste[CITATION Jon20 \l 1033 ] The practice was formalized by the popularity of Lean in manufacturing and business, and it is now being used by thousands of companies all over the world to
16 identify savings opportunities Many of these ideologies can be combined for excellent results The benefit of this approach is streamlining the workflow More specifically, the main strategy many companies use to save operating expenses is continuous improvement Workflows can be made more efficient by using theLean improvement technique of continuous improvement The business may cut down on wasted time and effort by using the lean way of working to create effective workflows that save time and money Projects with varying timelines, shifting priorities, and additional complexity, for instance, frequently present chances for improvement Just nobody has taken advantage of that chance In addition, a project manager needs to be aware of the expense of finishing a body of work The majority of project management offices,therefore, gain from being aware of how long various tasks typically take to complete Using forecasting software, project managers can cut costs and avoid overruns Project management offices can improve their overall performance for the organization by forecasting (rather than estimating) if a project's limitations are likely to be broken.
RECOMMEND
In order to achieve the expected success and dominate the canned fast food market in Can Tho city, the first and most necessary thing that the Le Trang chicken rice business needs to do right now is to improve the food quality According to the “Food Services” report from NRAI in 2019, 23% of customers said that they choose to dine at a restaurant or eatery because of the quality of the food at that restaurant About7% will return to a restaurant because they like the taste of a certain dish The quality of food is one of the important factors determining the success of a restaurant The core value of a restaurant, customers have ranked food quality as the top factor when choosing a restaurant Patrons are usually mainly interested in food They will skip the time waiting for the food to be prepared if the quality of the food here is excellent and satisfies them Therefore, improving the quality of the food is the most important factor to pay attention to.
As mentioned, Le Trang chicken rice business needs to conduct a survey to know the taste of customers, thereby adjusting the sauce recipe to suit the taste of customers Unlike other markets, the food market has stiff competition among brands to meet the constantly changing needs of consumers The taste of each region from the North to the South is different, so businesses need to grasp to adjust the flavor accordingly.
In addition, enterprises need to ensure that the supply of raw materials meets the specifications, types, quality, transportation, and storage time Managers are responsible for regularly checking the quality of raw
17 materials at all branches, large and small, to ensure that the product reaches the customer's hands with the best quality Enterprises need to continuously disseminate knowledge to enhance the sense of responsibility of managers, encourage all employees of the enterprise to participate in product quality management.
CONCLUSION
After all, this report has introduced readers to the concepts of operations and operations management.
In addition, there are theories on the operation management process, accompanied by approaches to operations management From there, apply these theories to the Le Trang chicken rice business to help this business find errors in the operation process and fix them Moreover, the author also gives objective recommendations to help this business improve its operational and business efficiency.
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