Operations and Project Management: A Review and Critique of Operations Management Principles within Marks and Spencer

This report reviews and critiques the implementation of operations management principles within Marks and Spencer, a leading British brand. It discusses the importance of operation management, continuous improvement, and lean principles. It also includes a continuous improvement plan with recommendations for improvement.

ID
Unit Number and Title Unit 187 –
Operations and
Project Management
Title Review and Critique
of Operations
Management (Part
1

Table of Content
Part 1: Business Report
1. An introduction to chosen organization p
2. An explanation of operation vs operations management p
3. A review and critique of the implementation of operations
management principles within the chosen organization p
4. An analysis of the extent to which the operations management of
the organisation in the case study meets the requirements of the
organization p
5. Discussion of continuous improvement as a philosophy and
describe the Lean principles p
6. A continuous improvement plan, including your justified
recommendations for improvement, based on your review and
critique of operations management principles within your
organization p
7. Conclusion p
References p
2

1. An introduction to chosen organization
The report is based on a UK based company Marks and Spencer. It was founded in
1884 in Leeds , United Kingdom. It is a leading British brand, Marks and Spencer had its
headquarter in Padding ton, London , England . Marks and Spencer provides contemporary
style at great values to million of its customers (Zhichao and Yuping, 2018). It specializes in
selling, clothing , beauty, home product and food product. Marks and Spencer, entered India
with its first store in 2001. In 2008, it has formed a joint venture with Reliance Retail. The
main purpose of Marks and Spencer is to make people aware of the importance of using
quality products to implement this various policies has been established for making lives
better across the globe. The report is based on the importance of operation management and
implementation of principles within an organization. It also discusses the philosophy of
continuous improvement and lean principles. It also assess the importance of continuous
improvement plan with recommendation and justification.
2. An explanation of operation vs operations management
Operation- It is a process of managing the inner working of an organization with optimize
utilization of resources. It is a broad term which involves various activities, which is used to
make money. It involves the conversion of inputs into outputs by using different resources of
a business. Operations is the practical application of actions and procedures in order to
execute the plans effectively and efficiently.
Operation management- It is a strategic planning which focuses on successful conversion
of inputs into outputs in effective and efficient manner. The inputs may be man, material and
machinery. This process involves planning, organizing and supervision of the activities that
are taking place and taking corrective measures to execute the plan effectively. It focuses on
maximizing the efficiency of a business and minimizing the unproductive activities to
achieve profitability and productivity (Yevlanov and et.al, 2019).
Operation management of Marks and Spencer
Marks and Spencer have its reach all around the world. In order to remain competitive
in the marketplace, it uses various marketing and operating strategies. Marks and Spencer is
a general retailer of clothes, gifts, home furnishing and foods. It has split between food and
general merchandise. The various operating strategies used by Marks and Spencer are
discussed as follows-
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 Marks and Spencer focuses on meeting the needs and preferences of its customers, as
they are the king of the market which may affect the market share of the company.
 Marks and Spencer main aim is to provide its customers with the healthy and quality
goods and services by following standards of quality (Park and Son, 2020).
 Marks and Spencer follows targeted and clear strategy for expansion of its
international market and operations by establishing more stores in the prime locations
across the nation.
 Marks and Spencer follow Eco and ethical programme, which will enable the
company to attract more trustworthy and honest customers across the globe.
 Marks and Spencer, has also establish its network online which enables the company
to shop with them conveniently and also offers various offers to boost the sales of the
organization.
A review and critique of the implementation of operations
management principles within the chosen organization
Operation management is an crucial process in every business as it plans, controls,
supervises manufacturing and production process and delivery which helps a business to
increase their productivity and profitability in the long run. It ensures the optimum utilization
of resources effectively and efficiently. Proper implementation and adoption of operation
management leads to waste reduction, increased customer satisfaction and increased the
overall teamwork and cooperation within an operations. There are various principles that are
implemented by Marks and Spencer , for smooth functioning of operations which are
discussed as follows-
Agile Manufacturing services: It is a manufacturing methodology that focus on meeting the
requirement and demand of the customers , by giving priority to their needs and preferences.
It involves rapid response to customers demand, which helps the company to hold a
competitive advantage in the marketplace (Yan and et.al, 2020). It allows the company to
bring innovative and new products in the market with strong financial stability and customer
base. The business emphasis on bringing new products and services which satisfies the needs
and preferences of the customers.
Advantages of Agile manufacturing:
 It enables the company to have a strong and committed customer base.
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 The company bring new products and services based on the needs and preferences of
the customer which will enable the company to have a strong competitive edge in the
market (Karakutuk and Ornek, 2022).
 Agile methodology enable the company to adopt flexibility in its operations by
responding quickly to the changes that are taking place in the business environment .
Disadvantages of Agile manufacturing:
 It will lead to shortage if uncertain demand of the product arises in context to quality
and quantity.
 This principle of operation management require proper planning and management to
be effective in operations.
 Agile manufacturing requires skilled and professional workers which can lead to
increase in the cost of production.
Marks and Spencer follows this methodology for providing its customers with the
high quality of goods and services, which will help an organization to gain competitive
advantage.
Lean production: It is a set of tools and technique that are being used by a company to
improve its production system and operations. This principle focuses on reducing the waste
by optimizing the utilization of resources which helps the organization to improve its
operations.
Advantages of Lean Production:
 It requires the utilization of less resources because it focuses on optimized utilization
of all the resources and factors which enables the company to have high profitability.
 Lean production focuses on meeting the needs and preferences of loyal and honest
customers which helps the company to have proper cash flow in its operations
(Galeazzo, 2021) .
 It improves the overall efficiency of the operations which will lead the company to
achieve growth and success in the long run.
Disadvantages of Lean Production:
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 This is a major disadvantage of lean production that there is no room for error, as a
little may lead the firm to bear a lot of consequences, which may decrease the
profitability of any company.
 Lean manufacturing process requires employees to adopt changes that are taking
place , which may be a risky for a business and can influence the productivity of the
employees in the operations (Spisakova and Kozlovska, 2019).
Marks and Spencer should adopt this strategy in regards to the customers that are
honest and holds trust of the company. It should focus on providing quality goods to its
customers to maintain their healthy lifestyle.
Taylor's theory of Scientific Management: The theory pf Taylor focuses on optimizing the
use of resources with the organization which will help the company to achieve its objects or
goals effectively and efficiently. It main aim is to improve economic efficiency including
labor productivity which will results in smooth functioning of operations. The principles of
Taylor's theory include rule of thumb, harmony not discord , mental revolution, cooperation
not individualism, development of individuals to their greatest efficiency.
Advantages of Taylor's theory:
 It enhances the production with the uses of latest technology , which enables the
company to have large scale production which ultimately reduces the overall cost of
production.
 It can help the organization to conflicts between the superior and the subordinates,
which maintain cooperation and coordination in the organization operations and
functions.
 It follows the constant operations all over the function which allows the company to
have efficiency in its functions (Evgenievna, 2019).
Disadvantages of Taylor's theory:
 It involves a high cost to implement different plans and strategies.
 It is not suitable for small business operations to adopt this strategy because it
involves various resources to organize and adopt this approach.
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4. An analysis of the extent to which the operations
management of the organisation in the case study meets
the requirements of the organization
Marks and Spencer is a multinational company with its reach all around the globe .
The company has its stores all over to serve the customers with the best quality of goods and
services. Marks and Spencer focuses on providing its customers with the quality goods which
are healthy for the customers. An adoption of operation management will enable the company
in various manner (Sacks and et.al, 2018). It helps the company to reduce its cost of
production which may allow the company to provide the goods and services at a reasonable
prices to its customers. Principles of operation management enables the company to
optimistically utilize its resources which reduces the wastage of resources. In order to be
successful and acquire growth in the long run it is very important for the company to provide
adequate training and skills to their knowledge to adopt efficiently that are taking place in the
environment. Marks and Spencer will able to gain a large market share if it adopts the
principles of operation management adequately.
5. Discussion of continuous improvement as a philosophy
and describe the Lean principles
Continuous improvement in operations is a key factor for the lean and agile
methodologies . It can help the Marks and Spencer , to be efficient in its production and
operations . Adopting continuous improvement in operation can help the company to improve
its manufacturing process by lowering the cost of production and improving the quality of
production. In Lean production, continuous improvement is an important factor to implement
all the factors and six sigma in Lean production. Six sigma is a business approach to bring
continuous improvement in the operations, according to the changes that are taking place in
the business environment . Lean production is a strategy that focuses on Eliminating and
reducing the wastes that are taking place in the operations which can lead to reduced quality
and high cost of operations , which can lead the company to loose its market share and
competitive advantage (Amjad, Rafique and Khan, 2021). In context to Marks and Spencer,
the company should adopt the lean production in order to provide quality product and
services to its customers, which enables the company to acquire a competitive edge in the
marketplace.
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6. A continuous improvement plan, including your justified
recommendations for improvement, based on your review
and critique of operations management principles within
your organization
Marks and Spencer, continuous improvement plan are discussed as follows-
Source Principle Outcomes
Cost Kaizen To reduce the overall cost of
the organisation, Marks and
Spencer can use Kaizen
principle . This principle
focuses on bringing
continuous improvement in
the operations and skills of
the employees (Gromova,
2019). It enables the company
to eliminate the wastage of
resources and help the
company to bring
improvement in their
productivity and profitability.
Quality TQM It is a principle which apply
the methodology to use to
bring improvement in
operations . It is a continuous
process of detecting and
reducing the wastage of
resources in manufacturing
which may enable the
company to provide their
customers with the best
quality and production with
its products and services
(Mundra and Mishra, 2020).
It also enable the company to
improve the productivity of
its employees which
ultimately benefits the
company in its operations.
Safety Enterprise resource planning It is a software which is being
used by the company that
helps the company to ease its
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production and operational
activity. It is used to manage
the routine activities such as
accounting, procurement,
project management, risk
management and more.
Marks and Spencer should
adopt this process in its
operations which will help
the company to bring
improvement in their quality
and help them to satisfy their
customers with optimal
utilisation of resources.
Delivery Supply chain management It is a an operational
approach that focuses on
management of the
production process that
consists of the conversion of
raw material into finished
product. It is very crucial for
the company to have a
network of suppliers which
may enable the company to
have a smooth functioning of
the operation throughout the
production, which allows the
company for completion of
its task within the specified
time.
In order to acquire a continuous improvement plan , the different theories are useful
as it eases the production process which involves total quality management, supply chain
management . Marks and Spencer should establish this approaches in order to reduce the
overall cost of production, to improvise the overall quality of production and more. This
principles and theories ease the operations and production and also bring cooperation in the
management.
7. Conclusion
From the above report it is concluded that operation management is of great
significance in production of any business. It helps the management to adequately manage
all its activities . It enables the company to control the wastage of resources and improve the
quality of resources . In this report it suggests the various philosophies , methodologies and
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principles that can be used by the business for the optimization of resources and bring
efficiency. It also includes the importance of continuous improvement in the operations
which enables the company to bring flexibility and productivity in the operation. Operation
management and its proper implement can help a business to attain a competitive edge in the
marketplace .
References
Amjad, Rafique and Khan, 2021. Modern divulge in production optimization: an
implementation framework of LARG manufacturing with Industry 4.0. International
Journal of Lean Six Sigma.
Evgenievna, 2019. Modern aspects of the application of information and communication
technologies in the management of the statistical industry of the Republic of
Uzbekistan. ACADEMICIA: An International Multidisciplinary Research Journal,
9(8), pp.59-69.
Galeazzo, 2021. Degree of leanness and lean maturity: exploring the effects on financial
performance. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence,32(7-8), pp.758-
776.
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Gromova, 2019. Introduction of flexible manufacturing systems as a necessary measure for
the Russian industrial development. In Materials Science Forum (Vol. 957, pp. 195-
202). Trans Tech Publications Ltd.
Karakutuk and Ornek, 2022. A goal programming approach to lean production system
implementation . Journal of the Operational Research Society, pp.1-14.
Langenwalter, 2020. Enterprise resources planning and beyond: integrating your entire
organization. CRC Press.
Mundra and Mishra, 2020. Impediments to lean six sigma and agile implementation: an
interpretive structural modeling. Materials Today: Proceedings, 28, pp.2156-2160.
Park and Son, 2020. Interaction-based virtual power plant operation methodology for
distribution system operator’s voltage management. Applied Energy, 271, p.115222.
Sacks and et.al, 2018. BIM handbook: A guide to building information modeling for owners,
designers, engineers, contractors, and facility managers. John Wiley & Sons.
Spisakova and Kozlovska, 2019. Implementation of lean production in construction—Case
study. In Advances and Trends in Engineering Sciences and Technologies III(pp.
571-577). CRC Press.
Yan and et.al, 2020, September. Research on the Application of Internet of Things in
Operation and Management of Distribution Sub-stations. In 2020 5th International
Conference on Power and Renewable Energy (ICPRE)(pp. 356-360). IEEE.
Yevlanov and et.al, 2019, October. Development of a model for the task of managing the
operation of a service-oriented information system. In 2019 IEEE International
Scientific-Practical Conference Problems of Infocommunications, Science and
Technology (PIC S&T)(pp. 769-775). IEEE.
Zhichao and Yuping, 2018, September. Research on distribution network operation and
control technology based on big data analysis. In 2018 China International
Conference on Electricity Distribution (CICED)(pp. 1158-1161). IEEE.
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Table of Content
Part 2: Project Portfolio
Project Title p
An overview of the case study you have been given p
An explanation of each stage of the PLC that applies to your
selected project, including supporting documentation for each
stage (e.g., business case, the project plan, cost-benefit analysis
and work breakdown structure):
 Project initiation p
 Project planning p
 Project execution p
 Project closure p
Analysis of the project methodologies and tools used p
Review and critically evaluate the effectiveness of the PLC in
application to your project using the appropriate theories models
and concepts p
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Project Title
In-House Food
An overview of the case study you have been given
There are a huge number of employees in a large manufacturing organization in the
Midlands. There are around 1250 employees in the organization with their different roles in
business. There are various issues faced by the organization out of which one such issue is
the increase in the movement of employees at the time of lunch breaks and there was also
another issue that was related to the regulation of a healthy lifestyle at workplace. The
solution to these issues was the making of a plan through a project manager in order to
overcome such issue (Ahmed, 2021). The plan set out by the project manager is to decrease
the movement of employees at lunch breaks in order to have productivity at work. The
another plan made was to set a healthy lifestyle in order to improve and maintain the health
of workers at workplaces. The most effective solution will be the distribution of some
cookies in the workplace itself which will reduce the movement of employees at intervals
which in turn will reduce the absenteeism among employees in the organization by also
improving the health of employees.
An explanation of each stage of the PLC that applies to your
selected project, including supporting documentation for each
stage (e.g., business case, the project plan, cost-benefit analysis
and work breakdown structure):
 Project initiation:The first stage for start of any project is the project initiation
where there needs to be participation through the participation of stakeholders in order
to achieve the goals, objectives and purpose of any business. The staring of any
business is done through the important and foremost step of initiation of project. The
main title of the project is In House Food. The project that is started by the In House
Food is a project where the organization is planning to make its own cookies and
snacks in order to have a cost friendly and healthy snacks for their employees (Arif,
2019). The main goal of this project is to control the movement of employees with
improvement in their health. The approximate duration of this project is around 1
month which helps in impacting a positive effect on the system of business. The main
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role of the managers is to allow the employees to have healthy snacks in order to
improve their health in the organization.
 Project planning
The second stage where the planning is done with the aim to deliver documents for the
execution of project planning. The different steps included in project planning is budget
planning, resources planning, work breakdown structure, scope planning and others (Asghari,
Hsu and Wei, 2021).
 Project execution
The important step in any plan is the execution of project planning which requires appropriate
actions to be taken in order to successfully execute a business for accomplishments of goals
and objectives. In order to change any business, there is proper need for documentation in
order to make appropriate changes in any business. The approval in the change of business
with execution of delivery of project is required in this project.
 Project closure
The last step in any project is the completion of project. There is ending of project life cycle
through different members of team. The completion of such project is finally done by the
project manager.
Name of the Company/Project: In-House Food
 VISION, OBJECTIVES: The main vision of the organization is to have a business
that is for the benefit of employees with adoption of corporate social responsibility in
order to have a sustainable business.
 MISSION: The main mission of the company is to have a good quality of products
and services in order to increase the satisfaction of customers (Chan, 2020).
 Executive SUMMARY: The project mainly aims towards reducing the absenteeism
of employees within the organization. The movement of the employees should also
controlled in organization.
What is the new idea of innovation?
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The creation or innovation in this project is the new way or method that aims to focus on
decreasing of time in lunch breaks by the companies. It will enable the employees to order
food from their phones in order to have meal on timely basis. The main purpose of this
company is to serve healthy food (Duclervil and Liou, 2019).
Why is it an opportunity ?
The opportunity in it is that the organization is focusing on health of employees which helps
to grow the trust among employees.
How does it improve on what we already have?
The movement among employees is reduced which further helps in improving the situation of
the company with the availability of In-House food in the organization.
What resources do you need to bring it about – people, equipment, time, etc.?
There is very less requirement for the making of healthy food and snacks which includes
furniture, cooking utensils and few of workers for making of food.
What are the risks and the potential benefits?
The benefit is that it will allow the organization to reduce absenteeism among employees and
the risk is that the dependability to like the food is on employees.
How will the cash flow work ?
The company will not earn much from making of healthy food by itself for the employees but
there will be decrease in the movement of employees which will allow to save the expenses
of company.
Business Strategy for the project
 Advantages of the above
The main advantage is that there is growth in internal management of the company with the
reduction of absenteeism among the employees. The productivity of the employees in the
organization is also enhanced with the reduction in movement of employees (Khorasani,
2018).
 Limitations/problems of the above
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The limitation in this business is that it is risking its cost for the benefit of its employees and
there is a shift in the focus of organization in comparison to other important activities of the
organization.
Analysis of the project methodologies and tools used
The project methodologies and tools that are being used by the large manufacturing
organization is Agile Methodology. It is a methodology that focuses on bringing
technological improvement in the operations by breaking the plans and projects into several
phases. This methodology involves improvements and collaborations with stakeholders to
adopt the changes that are taking place in the environment. It involves a cycle of different
processes which involves planning, executing and evaluating. There are different tools that
can be adopted by an organization which involves six sigmas as well which include like
Kanban, scrum and others (Peng and et.al, 2022).
 Scrum is a process and techniques that may be adopted by an organization to acquire
cooperation and coordination. It allows the company to plan according that will
engage all the other members of the organization.
 Kanban is a process or approach that allows the leaders to measure the adequacy and
efficiency of the operations which can help the organization to achieve its goals and
objectives.
Project management tools are the set of charts and graphs that allows the company to
measure its performance and the defects that occur in the routine operations of any company
and leading to increase the overall cost of production. To manage the operations the leaders
can establish different hierarchy for performance of tasks adequately and efficiently.
Different tools which can be used by the management are network diagrams, gantt charts and
more.
Project leadership involves a lot of activities that need to be mange by the top leaders for
effective and efficient operation and management (Wang and et.al, 2022). It includes
effective planning, coordination of the activities to achieve the desired outcomes, motivated
team members, decision making and many more, which enables the company to have a
competent operations and management.
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Review and critically evaluate the effectiveness of the PLC
in application to your project using the appropriate
theories models and concepts
It is crucial for a company to have direct the efforts of the employees. In order to
improve the productivity, the process of performance management is important. It enables the
leaders to continuously direct and motivate their employees which can help the organization
to achieve it objectives within a prescribed time. To bring effectiveness in operations Project
Life Cycle is adopted which includes a series of stages for the proper implementation of the
project (Yang and Hu, 2020).
Advantages of Using Project Life cycle:
 This model is flexible in nature which enables the firm to adopt the changes properly.
 It is a cost effective method, it makes the cost of production cheaper and increases the
overall profitability of operations.
 It is a easy to install in the system because it does not create any distribution in the
routine operations.
Disadvantages of using Project Life cycle:
 It is a new and innovative technology that requires the need to provide proper training
and knowledge to their employees for its proper implementation.
 It does not solve the problems and issues instantly which may lead to take a longer
period of time and reduces the productivity of operations.
There are various performance management tools that will help an organization to achieve
their desirable outcomes and goals properly (Maphanga, 2018). To implement the project
successful various tools are used to assess and analyze the progress of the project like
planning, corrective measures as and when require and project monitoring and reliability and
validity of the operations that are taking place to achieve their performance goals and
objectives.
References
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Ahmed, 2021. Understanding alignment between lean and agile strategies using Triple-A
model. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management.
Arif, 2019. Inefficiencies in project management methodologies and their impact in public
sector of Pakistan.
Asghari, Hsu and Wei, 2021. Expediting life cycle cost analysis of infrastructure assets
under multiple uncertainties by deep neural networks. Journal of Management in
Engineering, 37(6), p.04021059.
Chan, 2020. ADAPTING PROCESS IMPROVEMENT METHODOLOGIES FOR K-12
EDUCATORS. In Proceedings of the International Annual Conference of the
American Society for Engineering Management. (pp. 1-10). American Society for
Engineering Management (ASEM).
Duclervil and Liou, 2019. The study of the effectiveness of the secure software
development life-cycle models in it project management. In 16th International
Conference on Information Technology-New Generations (ITNG 2019) (pp. 91-96).
Springer, Cham.
Khorasani, 2018. A robust optimization model for supply chain in agile and flexible mode
based on variables of uncertainty. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management,
19(3), pp.239-253.
Kumar and Mathiyazhagan, 2020. Modeling the interrelationship of critical success factors
adoption of sustainable lean manufacturing using DEMATEL approach. In Recent
Advances in Mechanical Engineering (pp. 31-45). Springer, Singapore.
Maphanga, 2018. Identification of Stakeholders in the Capital Project Life Cycle for a State
Owned Enterprise. University of Johannesburg (South Africa).
Peng and et.al, 2022. Numerical methodologies and tools for efficient and flexible unmixing
of single-sample grain-size distributions: Application to late Quaternary aeolian
sediments from the desert-loess transition zone of the Tengger Desert. Sedimentary
Geology, 438, p.106211.
Wang and et.al, 2022. A life cycle assessment of an enterprise's low-carbon emissions
model: The Xinjiang Shihezi pig farm faecal treatment biogas project as a case
study. Journal of Environmental Management, 304, p.114251.
Yang and Hu, 2020. Life Cycle Cost Management of Marine Engineering Project: A BIM
Technology Based Study. Journal of Coastal Research, 107(SI), pp.85-88.
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