Operations and Project Management

Operations and Project
Management

Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Activity-1.........................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Objectives of operations management..............................................................................3
1.2 Principles of operations management...............................................................................4
1.3 Approaches of operations management............................................................................6
Activity 2.........................................................................................................................................7
2.0 Concept of continuous improvement................................................................................7
2.1 Continuous improvement plan.........................................................................................7
2.2 Analysis of effectiveness of the continuous improvement plan....................................10
2.3 Strategies for achieving continuous improvement and efficiency at Toyota................11
Activity 3.......................................................................................................................................11
3.0 Project life cycle.............................................................................................................11
3.1 Application of principles of PLC...................................................................................12
3.2 Analysis of the rationale for use of WBS, Gantt Chart & Critical Path, and leadership for
the Project.............................................................................................................................17
3.3 A review and a critique of the effectiveness of the application of the PLC, WBS, Gannt
Chart and Critical Path.........................................................................................................19
3.4 A critical analysis and critiquing of the use of PLC, WBS, Gannt Chart and Critical Path
in large and small scale projects........................................................................................19
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................21
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................22
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................23

Introduction
Operations management is related with managing the day-to-day activities of an
organisation so that it can create highest level of efficiency in the area of management which can
help it in dealing with customer needs in an efficient manner and maximising its profits (Wang
and et. al., 2015). Project management on the other hand is related with managing a project
through all its stages so that the aims of the project can be achieved in an efficient manner
within the budget and time ascertained. It is important that the operations and project in
organisation are efficiently managed which can help it in achieving competitive advantage in
market by making their operations efficient and cost effective. In this report the objectives and
principles of operations management in respect of Toyota Motor Corporation which is a
Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer will be discussed along with the application of
continuous improvement plan in the company. Further the stages which are involved in project
life cycle with respect to expanding a business run by Paul and Penny will also be discussed in
this report so that Leisure Centre can be expanded to Croydon and help in achieving the
objectives of the project. Along with the application of PLC the application of various models
and theories will also be done so that the project can be successfully installed.
Activity-1
1.1 Objectives of operations management
Operations management is the administration of business practices which can help in
creating highest level of efficiency by managing the costs of company so that its profits can be
maximised. Operations management help an organisation in managing all its operations so that
kit can efficiently work and increase the effectiveness of its production which help it in meeting
the needs and wants of customers and increase its profitability in market. In Toyota the
operations are effectively managed so that it can manage its production processes which can help
the company in manufacturing cars of highest quality and efficiency. Following are the
objectives of operations management:
 Customer service: Operations management help the company in utilising all its
resources in an efficient manner so that it can produce products and services which can
help in increasing customer satisfaction by providing them with right thing at right price,
place and time.

 Resource utilisation: It can also help the company in optimising the use of its resources
so that it can minimise its production costs along with reducing the wastage involved in
manufacturing (Nam and et. al., 2016).
 Quality: With the help of operations management the company can improve the quality
of its production as this can help in managing the operations of company in such a
manner that waste can be reduced and efficiency of products can be increased.
 Speed: It also help in increasing the speed with which work in an organisation is done it
help the managers and leaders in effectively managing work so that it can be completed
within the stipulated time-frame.
 Flexibility: With the help of operations management flexibility in an organisation also
increase which help it in introducing innovation in the company so that it can efficiently
deal with the changing needs and wants of customers.
 Cost: The cost of production can also be reduced as the activities in company can be
effectively managed which help in reducing the waste and managing cost of production
so that products and services can be made available at cheaper rates.
In Toyota operations management help the company in achieving all the above
mentioned objectives which can help it in achieving its goals and objectives on time. Also this
help the company in bringing innovation in its automotive along with improving their efficiency
with the use of advanced technology so that customer satisfaction can be maximised. With the
help of operations management Toyota is efficiently able to gain a competitive advantage in
market by effectively improving its products so that sales of company can be improved.
1.2 Principles of operations management
It is important that the principles of operations management are effectively applied in the
organisation which can help it in improving its various operations and functions so that the
objectives of operations management can be achieved. With the application of principles of
operations Toyota can effectively deal with its issues related with increase in the number of
faulty vehicles which is increasing the amount of dissatisfaction among customers and also
affecting its brand image (Love, 2015). Following are some of the operational principles which
are generally applied by Toyota:
Principle of As per this principle it is important that the effects underlying a cause which

causality must be found out so that they can be eliminated and operations can be made
more effective. Toyota is unable to effectively implement this principle as it is
unable to find out the causes related to increase in the number of faulty cars.
Principle of
accountability
As per this principle it is essential that managers must set rules and metrics and
define responsibilities of their subordinates which can help in setting their
accountability towards their actions so that the work can be performed in an
efficient manner. Toyota is unable to effectively apply this principle as the
company is producing a large number of defective vehicles which affect the
brand image of company.
Principle of
variance
According to this principle it is important that variance in processes is
encouraged which can help in increasing innovation in the company so that
changing needs and wants of customers can be efficiently fulfilled. Toyota is
able to apply this principle as it encourages innovation in the company.
However, with the increased innovation the production cost of company is
increasing.
Principle of
success
As per this principle it is important to continuously change the definition of
success so that the changing needs of customers can be effectively fulfilled so
that the company can survive sustainably in the market and continue to remain
successful. In order to remain successful in the market it is important that
Toyota improve its production so that the defects in its vehicles can be reduced
so that it can sustain in the market (Hicks and et. al., 2015).
Principle of
organisation
As per this principle all the processes in manufacturing are interconnected which
means that effective communication must be established among all the
departments so that efficient coordination can be established among all the
processes. Also it is essential that all the elements involved are predicted as per
their requirement so that production can take place efficiently. Toyota is unable
to apply this principle in an efficient manner which affects the coordination and
collaboration among employees and also lead to an increase in production of
defective vehicles.

1.3 Approaches of operations management
In order to improve the operations in company it is essential that effective approaches are
applied so that the production in company can be made cost and time effective so that the
operations can be made effective. Following are the approaches which are applied in Toyota:
Six Sigma: Six sigma helps an organisation in improving their processes with the
application of tools and techniques in such a manner that the capability of business processes
can be improved and errors can be reduced. It is a data-driven approach which use statistical
methods so that defects can be eliminated which can help in improving the efficiency with which
production in company takes place. Toyota Motor Corporation created six sigma system so that
it can offer highest quality products to its customers along with decreasing the cost of production
and producing the desired vehicles in a time efficient manner so that waste can be eliminated.
Toyota production system (TPS) is like a supercharged lean six sigma program in which
methodologies and processes which can help in elimination of waste and improving the quality
of production are applied. TPS is improved and maintained through consistent work and
improving the quality regularly so that highly effective work can be achieved which can help in
improving production in company along with reducing the costs and improving quality of
products. Thus six sigma is effectively implemented in Toyota which help the company in being
competitive in market by making available products that can help in maximising customer
satisfaction. However, Toyota can further improve its implementation so that the number of
defective vehicles can be reduced and production can be made better (Meredith, Mantel Jr and
Shafer, 2017).
Lean Production: Lean production is an approach which help in eliminating waste while
enhancing the quality of produced goods and services and can be applied in all the aspects of a
business like design, production, distribution etc. With the help of this approach the activities
which do not add value to the production process are eliminated along with reducing wastage so
that overall cost of production can be decreased. The application of this approach helped Toyota
in becoming the most valuable automotive company through continuous improvement of
production processes. Toyota effectively apply this approach so that the wastes related to
transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, over-processing, over-production and defects can be
reduced so that its efficiency in meeting customer demands can increase. Toyota needs to