Operations and Project Management: A Case Study of Burberry Group plc

UNIT 16 OPERATIONS AND PROJECT
MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT
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Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
LO1 Review and critique the effectiveness of operations management principles................................4
P1 Conduct a review and critique of the implementation of operations management principles
within an organisational context........................................................................................................4
M1 Review and critique the implementation of operations management in relation to Six Sigma
methodology and Lean principles......................................................................................................5
LO2 Apply the concept of continuous improvement in an operational context.....................................6
P2 Prepare a continuous improvement plan based on the review and critique of operations
management principles within an organisational context...................................................................6
M2 Analyse the effectiveness of a continuous improvement plan using appropriate theories,
concepts and/or models.....................................................................................................................8
D1 Apply appropriate theories, concepts and/or models to justify strategies of a continuous
improvement plan for achieving improved efficiency.......................................................................9
LO3 Apply the Project Life Cycle (PLC) to a given context...............................................................10
P3 Apply each stage of the PLC to a given project, producing necessary supporting documentation
for completing the project e.g. a business case project plan, work breakdown structure.................10
M3 Analyse the rationale for the project methodologies, tools and leadership within the PLC for the
given project....................................................................................................................................11
LO4 Review and critique the application of the PLC used in a given project......................................13
P4 Review and critique the effectiveness of the PLC in application to the chosen project using
appropriate theories, concepts and models.......................................................................................13
M4 Critically analyse how the use of appropriate theories, concepts and models in the PLC will
differentiate between large and small-scale projects........................................................................14
D2 Critically evaluate the PLC through a practical and theoretical exploration of its effectiveness.
.........................................................................................................................................................15
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................16
References...........................................................................................................................................17
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Introduction
In this report, the operation and project management of Burberry Group plc have been
discussed in detail. Burberry Group plc a global luxury fashion brand founded in 1856 in
London. The company offers a wide range of options in ready-to-wear outerwear, sunglasses,
trench coats, fashion accessories, fragrances, and cosmetics. Currently, the company is
dealing in the high fashion market. There are 498 branded stores and franchises across the
globe. In addition to this, the company sells products via third party stores. In this report, the
effectiveness and efficiency of operation management in the chosen organisation has been
critically reviewed. Further, various concepts of continuous improvement in the operation
management have been applied and discussed. Apart from this, the principle of Project Life
Cycle (PLC) has been applied in context of the Burberry Group plc. Also, the report
reviews the use of PLC in the given scenario.
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LO1 Review and critique the effectiveness of operations management principles
P1 Conduct a review and critique of the implementation of operations management
principles within an organisational context
Operation management has a multidisciplinary nature and is often discussed in context of
manufacturing and production of goods and services. Being delivery-focused, it is
responsible for converting inputs into outputs efficiently. The inputs can be equipment,
technology, or human resource (Ajodhia, 2012). It also includes managing relations in order
to procure organisation’s sustainability.
Operation management is characterised by the activities related to production of goods and
services by transforming the inputs and outputs. It consist of processes, such as planning,
organising, staffing, leading, and controlling operation management in the organisational
tasks of the Burberry Group plc. Major significance of operation management has been
described in this section as follow:-
 Inventory management: It assists the organisation in managing the inventory as well
as helps in bringing the effectiveness in conserving the economic resources. It also
talks about reducing the resource wastage, thereby reducing the total cost of inventory
of Burberry Group plc.
 Cost Reduction: Operation management helps in discarding the unnecessary and
irrelevant processes from the production line. This saves the company’s funds from
getting wasted.
 Optimisation of Available Resources: Operation management of Burberry Group
plc. helps in optimising the scarce resources of the company. Various tools and
techniques are brought into use, namely linear programming, statistical analysis, etc.
 Management of the Suppliers: Operation managers have to consider the distribution
networks of the raw material suppliers. They have to keep a record of their
warehouse, customers, number of networking, distribution centres, etc.
 Quality management: It brings the efficiency and effectiveness factor in the business
operations. Operation management transforms the working principles of the
organisation by introducing the quality management concept in the organisational
objectives (Lowson, 2014).This factor is important from the customer’s perspective as
all they want from Burberry Group plc. is quality clothing.
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