Effective Management and Quality Control

This assignment discusses the importance of effective management and quality control in businesses. It explores various theories such as TQM and Theory X & Y, which help managers enhance quality and manage employees. The assignment also references several books and journals that provide insights into solid oxide fuel cell modeling, hybrid microgrid operation, and smart grid management. Additionally, it highlights the significance of demand side management and risk management in medium-term operations. With a focus on business success and customer attraction, this assignment provides valuable information for students and professionals alike.

Coursework

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAINBODY....................................................................................................................................1
Introduction of the company and two selected topics..................................................................1
First topic with corresponding theories or concepts....................................................................2
Second topic with corresponding theories and concepts.............................................................3
Triple bottom line........................................................................................................................5
Recommendations........................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Operation management can be defined as the process which helps managers to create
highest level of efficiency to execute business activities of an organisation. With the help of it
material and efforts of labour are converted in to goods and services that are going to be sold to
the customers. It helps to enhance profits by increasing efficiency of company to execute
business operations. Logistics is a specific process which is used to plan and execute the efficient
transportation and storage of different inventory from one place to another (Barelli, Bidini and
Ottaviano, 2016). There are various types of logistics which includes supply management,
reverse, product return, material movement, production and distribution. Organisation which is
selected for this essay is BMW which is an international automotive sector company executing
its business all around the world. It was founded in year 1916 by Camillo Castiglioni, Franz
Josef Popp and Karl Rapp. This essay covers various topics such as overview of organisation and
selected topics, implementation of theories, triple bottom lines etc. At the end, recommendations
regarding making modifications for future are also covered under this essay.
MAINBODY
Introduction of the company and two selected topics
BMW is one of the largest automotive sector companies that are executing business in
UK. It was founded by Camillo Castiglioni, Karl Rapp and Franz Josef Popp in year 1916.
Currently the organisation is conducting all its operational as well as executional activities with
the help of more than 134000 employees. Different types of cars and motorcycles are engineered
by the company (Introduction of BMW, 2019). There are various subsidiaries of the enterprise
which includes Drive Now, BMW I, M, X, Motor Sport etc.
The topics that are selected for the completion of essay are Managing Quality and
People in Operations and Supply Management. As BMW is a automotive sector organisation
so it is very important for the organisation to make sure that it is delivering best quality cars to
the customers as it is best known for that. For this purpose managers are required to check that
process of manufacturing is conducted appropriately or not. Organisations such as BMW are also
required to be focused with management of people in operations and supply management
because it can help to reach to the organisational objectives such as profit maximisation
(Craparo, Karatas and Singham, 2017). In order to attain success for business it is very important
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for top level executives to make sure that they are focusing on these two elements because
without it success could not be attained.
First topic with corresponding theories or concepts
Managing quality is an important for every organisation to maintain quality of its
products. It is expected by the management to make such prime products which can cater to
customer's need & requirement. For this purpose, BMW maintains quality of its vehicles to
achieve economical growth with the help of TQM system. Total quality management is a
consumer oriented process which focuses on continuing improvement of business operations. It
aims at reducing or eliminating errors in manufacturing or supply chain management by
analysing customer experience and ensuring that employees are working productively. There are
four elements of this system referred as PDCA cycle i.e. plan, do, check, act (Ding, Sarikprueck
and Lee, 2015).
The planning phase is the first and most crucial part of TQM as under this employees
are required to come up with their queries or issues that need to be addressed. They are advised
to do a proper research as well as collect relevant information regarding the problem faced. The
employees at BMW faces some issue like peer pressure, difficulty in understanding how some
equipments work etc. In order to deal with such problems they are advised to talk it out among
each other or take help of their seniors.
In doing phase, a solution is figured out by employees for the problems identified in the
planning phase. The strategies are then implemented to tackle the issues faced by employees.
This stage also evaluates efficiency and effectiveness of solutions & strategies applied to resolve
the problem. The managers at BMW addresses & solves all issues of staff by listening to them
carefully which will enable them to observe the weight-age of the issue and how urgently it
needs to be fixed. In respect to that, the company also figures out some plan of action that will be
needed in case of any future complications.
In check phase, a comparative analysis of both the planning & doing stage by looking at
the problems faced by employees and solutions identified by managers to resolve the issue.
BMW assesses the performance & effectiveness of outcome attained through appointment of
some specialised people in the field who can tackle those patiently (Fayol, 2016).
The acting phase of TQM under which employees document their result to the identified
problems and prepare themselves for any future issues. BMW conducts workshops that relate to
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general problems faced by workers in manufacturing a car. The company organises sessions in
which employees can address their complaints face-to-face for better understanding of the doubt.
Criticism of TQM:
The positive implication of TQM is successful application of this approach leads to
reduced variability, high customer value and consistency of product. It helps in maintaining
customer relationships by producing quality cars. This tool also emphasises on efficient
teamwork & co-ordination within all levels of management. BMW produces its cars keeping in
mind that prime products should be manufactured at lower cost. Since, it is an international
brand so maintaining quality of vehicle is a major concern for the company (Gulin, Matuško and
Vašak, 2015).
The negative impact of total quality management technique is that even at the time when
some workers are on strike, it becomes a difficulty for BMW to fulfil the commitment of quality
management. Manufacturing prime vehicles consumes a lot of time and is a costly affair. It acts
as a goodwill symbol for people as this caters to only high class society.
Comparison of the way in which BMW and Jaguar use TQM:
BMW tackle issues faced by employees through personally interacting with them &
addressing their complaints. On the other hand, the managers at Jaguar resolve problems faced
by employees by conducting certain workshops which tackle their complaints. BMW involves
use of total quality management technique which focuses on customer orientation for producing
prime vehicles at lower cost whereas Jaguar implies employee involvement and orientation for
team quality efforts by producing quality vehicles. With the help of TQM technique, in the event
of strike by workers BMW stops the production for cars. However in Jaguar, even in the event of
strike by workers the managers hire some external staff so that manufacturing of cars don't stop.
BMW rewards its employees by giving financial incentives like bonus so that they can work
more efficiently and effectively whereas Jaguar motivates the staff by increasing a percentage of
amount in their salary in order to attain best efforts out of them (Jung, Festijo and Peradilla,
2014).
Second topic with corresponding theories and concepts
For all the organisations it is very important to manage people in operation and supply
management because when human resources are managed appropriately then it can help to reach
long term business objectives. In BMW managers are highly focused with it because they believe
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that if their staff members are placed appropriately at work place then it can result in
organisational development. While formulating plans regarding sourcing workers, logistics,
retail, operations and order fulfilment it is very important for managers to make sure that they are
able to manage the people appropriately at workplace. It will help in successful execution of
different operations which can result in achievement of long term objectives. The theory which
could be implemented in the context of managing people in operations and supply management
is XY theory which was founded by Douglas McGregor in year 1960. It defined two different
aspects of human behaviour which could be analysed by managers at workplace. These are
positive and negative. Both are reflected with the help of Theory X and Theory Y respectively.
McGregor states that manager have different perception for each and every employee which is
based upon nature of individuals. In BMW managers try to convert negative behave of staff
members in positive ones by observing them and finding the ways in which unfavourable nature
could be changed.
Theory X states that while conducting activities related to operations and supply chain
some of the employees may dislike the work and they may try to escape from it or they may
resist to change. In this situation managers of BMW can take strategic decisions to manage
operations and supply chain by analysing their behaviour and acquire dictatorial style of
management which can help to make the workers work productively. In most of the stages top
level executives have to form such decisions in which they decide to punish those employees
who are not performing good when they have abilities to do the same (Lutsenko, 2015).
Theory Y demonstrates that if organisation is able to motivate staff members with job
security, rewards and bonuses then it can result in enhanced loyalty and commitment of them
toward the company. In BMW managers use this theory to assess such factors which could be
used to enhance work quality of them and develop their skills and capabilities which are required
by the enterprise.
Criticism of Theory X and Y:
There are various positive aspects both the theories. First one is used by managers of
BMW to establish discipline at work because most of the employees try to ignore the work
which is allocated to them due to lack of interest. Theory Y help top level executives of BMW to
develop individuals, increase satisfaction of all the staff members, motivate them to work hard
and enhance their contribution in attainment of organisation goals. With the help of both of them
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managers try to manage employees in operations and supply management so that company can
attain growth.
On the other hand there are various negative aspects of these theories. Use of Theory X
results in decreased motivation, commitment and possibility of personal development of
employees at BMW. Theory Y also have some unfavourable impacts upon the organisation
which are lack of firm directing and long time period. Managers have to invest most of their time
in the implementation of this theory which results in decreased efficiency of them (Nikmehr and
Ravadanegh, 2016).
Comparison of the way in which use of Theory X and Y is used by BMW and
Jaguar:
In BMW Theory X and Y is used by managers for the purpose of enhancing engagement
level of staff members and identifying reasons behind decreased interest in business operations.
Members of management team of Jaguar are using this theory for the purpose of analysing the
causes which are resulting in reduced interest of employees in operational activities.
In BMW managers use it for the purpose of managing people at operations and supply
management so that long term business objectives could be achieved. In Jaguar leaders
implement it to offer such benefits to staff members which can result in increased motivational
level of them to perform tasks that are allotted to them.
In order to increase profitability and productivity management in BMW focuses on
Theory X and Y so that the company can achieve success. On the other hand, main objective of
managers of Jaguar of using it is to reduce the rate of employee turnover so that recruitment rate
can be decreased.
Triple bottom line
There are various are various elements which are required to be focused by managers of
BMW in order to execute the business operations in appropriate manner. All of them are as
follows:
Economic considerations includes various factors such as laws, political stability, tax
rates, employment etc. While managing quality and employees in operations and supply
management it is vital for managers in BMW to focus on all of them. With the help of it they
will be able to analyse governmental requirements regarding quality of cars that are sold by the
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organisation to the customers. It can also help to deal with possible challenges such as
interference of legal authorities in business operations.
Environmental considerations are considered as such elements which should be
focused by manufacturing companies in order to make sure that their business operations are not
harming the environment. BMW should also focus on them while engineering motor vehicles
that all of them are having quality to control pollution which may take place while driving them.
If these are not followed by the organisation then it can result negatively and affect sales of the
enterprise (Olivares, Cañizares and Kazerani, 2014).
Buying behaviour, preference, choices, culture of customers are social considerations
which are required to be focused by BMW while engineering cars and bikes because it is
required to meet expectations of customers. It also guides to make timely modifications in
vehicles according to latest market trends.
All the above described considerations are required to be focused by managers of BMW
because it can help organisation to attain success and growth in future. It can also help to meet
the long term business goals which are required to become a developed organisation.
Recommendations
BMW is using two specific theories one of them is TQM and second one is Theory X and
Y. Both are utilised by managers in appropriate manner which helps them to manage quality and
people at operation and supply management. Currently the organisation is performing all its
executional and operational activities effectively but some modifications are required.
First suggestions is provided to the managers that they have to be more interactive with
the staff members so that they can share their issues with them and help to achieve long term
business goals (Thornburg, Ustun and Krogh, 2016).
It has been recommended to the organisation that in order to assure that all the cars are
made with qualitative features the managers are required to implement total quality management
theory which can help them to make sure vehicles are having high quality or not.
CONCLUSION
This essay concludes that operation management is a technique which is used by large as
well as small organisation to control and monitor all the operational activities. All the business
entities are required to manage quality of all the products that are sold to its customers and
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employees in operation and supply management. It can help to reach long term business goals
such as profit maximisation and customer attraction. For effective management different theories
such as TQM and Theory X & Y could be implemented as both of them helps managers to fi9nd
ways in which quality can be enhanced and employee could be managed.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Barelli, L., Bidini, G. and Ottaviano, A., 2016. Solid oxide fuel cell modelling: Electrochemical
performance and thermal management during load-following operation. Energy. 115.
pp.107-119.
Craparo, E., Karatas, M. and Singham, D. I., 2017. A robust optimization approach to hybrid
microgrid operation using ensemble weather forecasts. Applied energy. 201. pp.135-
147.
Ding, Z., Sarikprueck, P. and Lee, W. J., 2015, May. Medium-term operation for an industrial
customer considering demand side management and risk management. In 2015
IEEE/IAS 51st Industrial & Commercial Power Systems Technical Conference
(I&CPS) (pp. 1-9). IEEE.
Fayol, H., 2016. General and industrial management. Ravenio Books.
Gulin, M., Matuško, J. and Vašak, M., 2015, March. Stochastic model predictive control for
optimal economic operation of a residential DC microgrid. In 2015 IEEE International
Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT) (pp. 505-510). IEEE.
Jung, Y., Festijo, E. and Peradilla, M., 2014, May. Joint operation of routing control and group
key management for 5G ad hoc D2D networks. In 2014 International Conference on
Privacy and Security in Mobile Systems (PRISMS) (pp. 1-8). IEEE.
Lutsenko, I., 2015. Deployed model of extremal system operation for solving optimal
management problems. arXiv preprint arXiv:1510.04086.
Nikmehr, N. and Ravadanegh, S.N., 2016. Reliability evaluation of multi-microgrids considering
optimal operation of small scale energy zones under load-generation
uncertainties. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems. 78. pp.80-
87.
Olivares, D.E., Cañizares, C.A. and Kazerani, M., 2014. A centralized energy management
system for isolated microgrids. IEEE Transactions on smart grid. 5(4). pp.1864-1875.
Thornburg, J., Ustun, T.S. and Krogh, B., 2016, June. Smart microgrid operation simulator for
management and electrification planning. In 2016 IEEE PES PowerAfrica (pp. 1-5).
IEEE.
Online
Introduction of BMW. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.bmw.co.uk/>
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