Managing Business Activities to Achieve Results: A Case Study of Nissan Motor Company

Managing Business Activities to Achieve
Results
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Key functions and processes of Nissan (M1) (D1)................................................................3
1.2 The methodology used to map processes..............................................................................4
1.3 Purpose of a quality gateway in the Operations department of Nissan.................................4
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Applying MBO (Management by Objectives (M2)...............................................................5
2.2 Three (3) SMART objectives................................................................................................5
2.3 Appropriate systems to achieve objectives............................................................................6
2.4 Work activities within operational plan.................................................................................6
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Two standard systems can be used by Nissan M3 D2...........................................................7
3.2 Implementation of Quality culture by Nissan........................................................................8
3.4 Wider implications of the proposed changes.........................................................................9
Task 4...............................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Risk assessments....................................................................................................................9
4.2 Health and safety regulations and legislation applicable in specific work D3....................10
4.3 Systematic review of health and safety...............................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
In the present scenario, effective management of business operations and activities is vital for
companies to achieve desired outcomes and objectives. Companies are required to carry out
effective monitoring of their processes and practices to identify and eliminate the errors and
loopholes within the same (Van Der Aalst, La Rosa and Santoro, 2016). The present study is
based on Nissan Motor Company which was founded in the year 1993 and at present it is the
fourth largest car company in the world. The core functions and processes within Nissan are
highlighted in the present study. In addition to this, two standard systems which can be used
within the selected organisation to monitor and control systems are also outlined in the present
study.
TASK 1
1.1 Key functions and processes of Nissan (M1) (D1)
Production, research and development, management of human resources, supply chain,
marketing, procurement, finance, management and operations are considered as the critical
functions within Nissan. The role of production emphasises on developing products according to
the need and demand of customers (BPP, 2013). The function of marketing is crucial as it
supports in creating awareness of the cars and services offered by Nissan. On the other side of
this, it can be critically argued that marketing also plays a vital role in increasing the sales,
profits, and market share and customer base of Nissan.
The function of human resources helps in ensuring that adequate pool of skilled and desired
candidate is always available within the business enterprise. The function of finance supports the
company in carrying out effective procurement of the funds and using them in the best possible
manner. It can be evaluated that all the functions of Nissan are interrelated with each other. For
instance, the marketing department is dependent on financial function for allocation of funds to
carry out marketing and promotion (Hitomi, 2017). On the contrary of this, it can be argued that
the financial function is dependent and interrelated on marketing to procure funds by increasing
sales.
According to the input-conversion-output of the production model, the company procures parts
and accessories from different suppliers. Furthermore, its manufacturing unit focuses on
assembling of various components during the process of conversion and painting. The final
output of production model is the car of Nissan.
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1.2 The methodology used to map processes
Business process mapping is defined as the process in which management emphasise on
establishing the company, responsibilities of staff members and an adequate standard of the
operations and procedures. Business process mapping also plays a critical role in defining the
overall way in which success of a company can be measured. The 5W1H Technique is the
methodology which has been used by Nissan to carry out analysis of its business process (Heizer,
2016). The reason behind using the technology mention above is that it supports the brand in
determining the overall process in its best possible manner.
The methodology is termed as 5W1H because it consists of 5W, i.e. what, who, where, why and
when and 1H which is how. It can be expressed that the selected methodology is straightforward,
easy and effective concerning understanding the process within Nissan (Albliwi, Antony and
Lim, 2015). The use of this technique also provides the company with an opportunity to identify
the issues and challenges which are creating obstacles in accomplishment of Nissan’s aim and
objectives.
1.3 Purpose of a quality gateway in the Operations department of Nissan
The final output of the process is that car which provides a high degree of safety, comfort and
innovations to the customers. In the present scenario, the quality gateway has started to play a
significant role in the success and growth of a company. The use of quality gateway by
operations department of Nissan is carried out with an objective to ensure that all quality
requirements within products are passed and satisfied.
The purpose of the quality gateway within the operations department of Nissan is to identify
errors and incorrect requirements during the early or initial stage of the process (Almada-Lobo,
2016). The primary and most important benefit of using quality gateway within the operations
department of Nissan is that it helps in ensuring the fact that incorrect requirements do not pass
in the processes such as product designing and implementation.
In addition to this, the use of quality gateway also supports the operational department of Nissan
to make sure that the best quality of products is delivered to the customers (Schulze, et al. 2016).
On the other hand, it can be argued that the use of quality gateways assists in making sure that
consistency is maintained within the overall quality of cars in the long-run.
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