Operation Management: Competitive Advantage and Global Strategy MBA

This report delves into operation management principles through the lens of Minit-Lube and Boeing. It examines Minit-Lube's mission, operations strategy, and competitive advantages derived from focusing on fast, high-quality service and efficient labor division. The analysis contrasts Minit-Lube's strategies with its competitors, highlighting its superior product design, quality focus, process strategy, location strategy, supply chain management, and human resource practices. Furthermore, the report explores Boeing's global strategy, particularly its use of a transnational approach for the 787 Dreamliner, leveraging global resources and technologies. It also discusses differentiation strategies and cost leadership, emphasizing how companies can achieve competitive advantage by providing unique or cost-effective products and services. The report concludes with a brief overview of Total Quality Management (TQM) and its importance in modern business operations, providing a comprehensive overview of key operation management concepts with real-world examples. Desklib provides access to solved assignments for students.

Running head: OPERATION MANAGEMENT
Operation Management
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Mission of Minit-Lube...............................................................................................................2
Minit-Lube operations strategy and competitive advantage......................................................2
Minit-Lube and increased productivity......................................................................................5
Boeing’s Global Strategy...........................................................................................................6
Differentiation Strategy..............................................................................................................7
Differentiation Strategy and Cost Leadership............................................................................8
Total Quality Management (TQM)............................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The world of business has changed in a significant manner in the last few decades and
thus it is seen that the diverse business enterprises are taking the help of different strategies
for the process of their business (Stevenson 2014). Some of the most commonly used
strategies by the different companies are total quality management, transnational or global
strategies for the achievement of competitive leverage, fast services and others (Stevenson
2014). This paper will discuss about the importance of fast and effective services, use of
transnational and global strategies and total quality management and the benefits that they
provide to the organizations.
Mission of Minit-Lube
The mission of the company Minit-Lube is to provide the customers who take the help
of the car related services provided by them with not only fast but superior quality of services
as well in comparison to the ones provided by the other companies. The focus of the
company is also on the concept of cleanliness and also treating the customers in the best
possible manner. Thus, it is seen that the individuals at the concerned company are not only
dressed in clean as well as professional attire but at the same time the emphasis is on treating
the customers in the best possible manner. Furthermore, the emphasis is at the same time on
the division of labor in order to achieve a higher rate of efficiency. Thus, it is seen that the
company has different individuals for handling different kinds of jobs.
Minit-Lube operations strategy and competitive advantage
Some of the major competitors of the company Minit-Lube are Mobil-Lube, Jiffy-
Lube and others and it is seen that the majority of them are still taking the help of the 10
traditional decisions of operation management like product design, quality strategy, service

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strategy, location strategy, layout strategy, supply chain strategy, human resource strategy
and others (Stevenson 2014). An analysis of the company under discussion here in the
context of the operation management decisions made by them with their competitors is likely
to provide the reasons which has helped the concerned company to gain competitive
advantage-
Product design
The company under discussion here focuses only on the process of “lubricating the
automobiles” in comparison to the diverse kinds of services provided by its competitors.
Furthermore, by narrowing down its area of operation and taking the help of teams of three
members the concerned company is able to service three cars at a time and this has helped the
concerned company in a significant manner to achieve competitive advantage over their
competitors.
Quality Strategy
One of the major factors that have helped the company under discussion here to
achieve a significant amount of competitive advantage over their competitors is the focus of
the company on providing the best quality services to the customers unlike the ones provided
by the other companies in the same sector. In addition to this, the fast services provided by
the company to the customers have also helped the concerned company in a significant
manner.
Process Strategy
The primary focus of the concerned company is on providing the services to the
customers regarding the lubricating of their car and other kinds of vehicles only in
comparison to the diverse kinds of services provided by the other companies. The narrowing

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down of the focus of the company on one particular aspect only had helped it in a significant
manner to provide better quality as well fast services to the customers
Location Strategy
One of the major factors that have helped the concerned company in a significant
manner is its emphasis on cleanliness and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the
workplaces of this particular company are spotless and generally near the residential areas.
Layout Strategy
The company has designed the service bays of their workplaces in such a manner that
they would be able to service three cars at a time taking the help of a team of three members
and this has helped the concerned company in a significant manner to deliver fast and quality
services to the customers in comparison to the other companies.
Supply chain strategy
The company usually takes the help of the process of negotiation for the process of
making purchases and in addition to this recently it has also started to take the help of
multiple suppliers. This particular feature is something that the other competitors of the
concerned company are utilizing and thus has helped the concerned company to earn a
significant amount of competitive advantage over the others.
HRM Strategy
The company under discussion here takes the help of graduates who have studied in
Minit-Lube Schools. It is significant to note that in this particular educational institution the
focus is on customer management and also providing best quality speedy services to the

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customers. Therefore, it would be apt to say that the use of this particular strategy also
provides the concerned company a significant edge over the others.
Inventory
The concerned company invests a relatively low value of capital over their inventory
in comparison to the others which often ends up investing a significant amount of capital for
their inventory without much financial returns.
Scheduling
The scheduling of the work provided to the employees is done in such a manner that
they would be able to service three cars at a time and this considerably reduces the amount of
time as well as resources that are being invested in the process. In contrast it is seen that the
other companies normally service one car at a time and this has provided the concerned
company a significant amount of edge over the others.
Maintenance
The trained staff hired by the company and the effective operation management
strategy followed by the company ensures that the maintenance cost incurred by the company
is relatively low. This not only reduces the cost incurred by the company for the operation of
their business but also helps them to provide better services to the customers.
These in short are of the main reasons that have helped the company to gain a
significant amount of competitive edge over the competitors.
Minit-Lube and increased productivity
The company under discussion here has been able to attain a higher production rate in
comparison to its competitors by virtue of providing one kind of services to the customers.

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Furthermore, by focusing on only one kind of service and at the same time ensuing that they
are not only providing the best quality services to the customers but at the same time a faster
one the company has been able to achieve a higher rate of productivity.
Productivity is something which is often measured in terms of the revenue generated
by a particular company. However, there are other factors as well that needs to be taken into
consideration like the investment made by the concerned company, the loss incurred by the
concerned company, the good will of the company, the quality of services provided by the
company and others. An analysis of the concerned company on this line would indicate the
company has been able to attain a significant amount of growth in the recent times.
Boeing’s Global Strategy
The company Boeing is currently following the strategy of transnational especially for
the manufacture of its latest airplane 787 Dreamliner. The company thus taking the help of
this particular strategy has not only assembled the technology as well as the resources that
were needed for the manufacture of the concerned airplane from the different parts of the
worlds like Italy and others. It is significant to note that the effective use of this particular
strategy not only enables the concerned company to use the technological advancements of
the other nations of the world but at the same time the resources of the other nations of the
world as well (Pruthi, Basu and Wright 2018). It is a reflection of this particular fact that the
Japanese companies like “Toray, Teijin Seiki, Fuji, Kawasaki, and Mitsubishi” and others
have undertake the help the concerned company with 35% of the project in addition to the
kinds of financial aids that the company has gathered from the other nations of the world.
Furthermore, the plane manufactured by the concerned company would be used in the
different nations of the world as well. Thus, it would be fair to say that the company under

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discussion here is following the strategy of transnational for the process of manufacture of
this particular airplane.
Differentiation Strategy
The product differentiation strategy has gained a significant amount of prominence
within the context of the present day world and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the
majority of the business enterprises of the world are actively taking the help of this particular
strategy for the process of providing superior quality of products to the customers (Banker,
Mashruwala and Tripathy 2014). The effective use of this particular strategy requires the
concerned company to undertake a detailed analysis of the needs of the customers and then
not only try to integrate them within the products or the services offered by them but at the
same time use these information to provide products or services that are superior to the ones
provided by the other companies (Banker, Mashruwala and Tripathy 2014). The case study
under discussion here clearly indicates that the company undertook the manufacture of this
particular airplane following the basic precepts of this particular strategy. For example, it is
seen that the majority of the airline manufacturing companies of the world are still taking the
help of the traditional designs as well as styles for the manufacture of the airplanes. However,
the “787 Dreamliner” offered by the concerned company is different from the ones offered by
the other companies of the world in the sense that the intended product offered by the
company not only integrates the latest technology developed in the different nations of the
world about the manufacture of airplanes but at the same it has advanced engine designs and
takes the help of materials like “titanium graphitelaminate, carbon fibre and epoxy,
and composites” to reduce the weight of the airplane in a significant manner. These clearly
indicate that the company under discussion here is following the strategy of product
differentiation for the process of manufacture of this particular airplane.

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Differentiation Strategy and Cost Leadership
The differentiation strategy like mentioned above helps a particular company to
provide the kind of products or services to the customers that are not only different from the
ones provided by the others but at the same time superior in terms of quality (Cruz, Boehe
and Ogasavara 2015). The cost leadership strategy, on the other hand, requires the companies
to provide the best quality products at the lowest possible price (Zehir, Can and Karaboga
2015). Thus, it can be said that the basic focus of both strategies to provide the best quality
products or services to the customers. However, it is generally seen that the companies
undertaking the strategy of differentiation often incur a higher cost of manufacturing and
thereby the cost of products or services offered by them are higher than the ones that are
being manufactured by the other companies taking the help of the strategy of cost leadership
(Littler 2015). Herein lie the basic different between the two strategies between the two
strategies. Furthermore, it is seen that performance is one of the major factors in the strategy
of differentiation since the idea is to provide the best quality product whereas in cost
leadership the idea is to provide the best product within the price range that the company is
offering possible (Littler 2015).
Total Quality Management (TQM)
TQM is generally considered to be one of the most strategies which is being used by
the majority of the business enterprises to maximize the performance level of the employees
(Aquilani et al. 2017). The concept of employee performance is directly related to the profit
earned by a particular company and thus the various organizations in order to enhance the
performance of the employees usually take the help of this particular method (Jiménez-
Jiménez et al. 2015). The focus of the majority of the business enterprises of the current times
through the effective use of this particular strategy is to not only enhance the performance of

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the employees of the organization but at the same time to maximize it as well (Goetsch and
Davis 2014). Thus, it can be said that the effective use of this particular strategy is directly
related to the overall organizational performance of any organization. It is particularly in this
light the concept of TQM has gained prominence in the present times. In the contemporary
times thus the operation management teams of the various organizations are focusing on the
performance level of the employees with the objective that by effectively focusing on the
performance level of the employees and at the same time maximizing it the concerned
organization would be able to earn a higher rate of profit (Ross 2017).
Conclusion
To conclude, the strategies of transnational, global, total quality management and
others provide various kinds of benefits to the organizations. This is generally attributed as
one of the major reasons for the extensive use of these strategies by the different
organizations. One of the major benefits that they render to the organizations is that they help
them in a significant manner to gain a certain amount of competitive advantage.

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References
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total quality management critical success factors and the identification of new avenues of
research. The TQM Journal, 29(1), pp.184-213.
Barin Cruz, L., Boehe, D.M. and Ogasavara, M.H., 2015. CSR-based differentiation strategy
of export firms from developing countries: An exploratory study of the strategy
tripod. Business & Society, 54(6), pp.723-762.
Bartlett, C.A. and Beamish, P.W., 2018. Transnational Management: Text and Cases in
Cross-border Management. Cambridge University Press.
Bromiley, P. and Rau, D., 2016. Operations management and the resource based view:
Another view. Journal of Operations Management, 41, pp.95-106.
D. Banker, R., Mashruwala, R. and Tripathy, A., 2014. Does a differentiation strategy lead to
more sustainable financial performance than a cost leadership strategy?. Management
Decision, 52(5), pp.872-896.
Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence.
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research. Journal of Operations Management, 41, pp.77-94.

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