Operations and Project Management: A Case Study of Bentley

This report discusses the implementation of operations management principles in Bentley, a leading British producer and marketer of luxury cars. It also examines the project methodologies used by the company and evaluates their effectiveness. The report includes recommendations for continuous improvement based on a review and critique of operations management principles.

Operations and Project
Management

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
Introduction of Company.............................................................................................................1
Operation vs Operational Management.......................................................................................1
Review and critique of executing operations management principles in the entity....................2
Analysis of extent to which organizational operations management meets requirement of
company.......................................................................................................................................3
Discussing continuous improvement as a philosophy and describing Lean principles ..............4
Continuous improvement plan that includes justified recommendations for improvement, on
the basis of review and critique associated to operations management principles of company. .5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
PART 2............................................................................................................................................8
Project title ..................................................................................................................................8
Overview of case study ...............................................................................................................8
Explanation of project life cycle in relation to chosen organisation with proper documentation
......................................................................................................................................................8
Evaluation of the project methodologies and tools used ..........................................................14
Review and critical evaluation of effectiveness of project life cycle when applied to specified
project using appropriate theory, concept and models ..............................................................15
REFRENCES ................................................................................................................................17

INTRODUCTION
Operations management is the term related to handling day-to-day issues and important
business decisions systematically (Kuznetsov, Tsyrkov and Tsyrkov, 2020). Whereas Project
management is concerned with planning, organizing, guiding, and controlling resources to attain
certain objectives. For the project the chosen organisation is Bentley, an auto-mobile company
which manufacture and market luxury cars. The company is founded in 1919 by W.O. Bentley.
This report is divided in two parts, Part 1 consists introduction of company and difference
of operation vs operations management. It reviews implementation of operations management
principles in an organisation and continuous improvement with Lean principles. Whereas in Part
2, the overview of case study, explanation of PLC at every stage and examine project
methodologies. Lastly it evaluates the effectiveness of PLC in application to project by using
appropriate concepts and theories.
PART 1
Introduction of Company
Bentley is a leading British producer and marketer of cars commenced in 1919 to provide
luxury cars to prominent groups. It has more than 3600 employees distributed world wide. It lays
emphasis on creating and manufacturing advanced cars to maximise convenience of its
customers through continuous advancement in technology (Bentley, 2022). Its aims is to develop
exceptional journeys for consumers with a combination of craftsmanship, creativity and
sustainability. It motive is on making all its cars electric in future to reduce environmental
problems.
Operation vs Operational Management
Operation of a firm includes all the activities necessary to develop and deliver a
company's products and services to its end consumers. It is an on going process that starts with
the firm and continues throughout the company's life. Its work is to manage all the internal
working of company to enhance its performances. Operation plays different roles that leads to
the ultimate success of a company. In Bentley the major operations are planning, designing,
manufacturing and marketing of the cars (Lee, 2018). It undertakes all actions necessary for
combining together the activities that result in delivering goods to its end customers.
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On the other hand, Operation management is the term associated with designing,
managing and improving the activities that handles company's products. It is the department of
business which is responsible to produce the maximum level of efficiency in an organisation. It
is responsible to utilize resources such as employees, materials, instruments, appliances and
technologies. Operation management deals with several strategic issues including the size of
production plants, methods for management and implementing the type of technology used. In
context to Bentley, operations management looks after the daily issues created in the
organisation and contributes in the decision making. Operations management in Bentley is
important for planning, controlling, designing as well as manufacturing of cars and its delivery
through different channels. It is also liable to make decisions about investing financially and
human resources requirement that are components of manufacturing goods and delivering
services.
Review and critique of executing operations management principles in the entity
Operation management principles are the set of actions the should be followed by
companies in order to overcome problems and strive to more productivity (Mahapatra, 2021).
The principles help in understanding the driving factors about planning and producing processes.
It emphasis on the theory of supplying best output by optimum utilization of both human and
material resources available. In Bentley, operations management principles are followed by
developing maximum productivity and performance level. Execution of operations management
principles benefits Bentley to continue supply for the desired demands and stay profitable in long
run. The review and critique of implementation of various operations management principles in
context to Bentley is described below:
Lean Production- it is a production method which focuses on destructing wastes such as
things that does not contribute to value for company or consumer. It emphasis on certain thinking
and practices that uses minimum amount possible of everything in order to get maximum
outcomes. In context of Bentley, implementation of lean production helps in reducing waste
from production and in efficient utilization of materials, products and parts to create best product
possible. It allows the operation manager to add value to the customers by continuously
exploring alternatives.
Quality Management- It is set of beliefs, standards, and values that are recognized as
genuine patterns which can be used as fundamental for quality management. It allows operation
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management to give necessary attention to the quality of products produced. In addition to that,
it also emphasis on improving the distribution channels of company to render best services in
every segment of the market (Manikas and Et. Al., 2020). In Bentley, the operation managers
are responsible to check the quality of materials as well as of the work force in the
manufacturing team. This helps the firm to differentiate its product from its rivals and lead in the
industry. The operation managers are obligated to perform various functions like identifying the
quality standards, enhance the dependability of output and putting continuous effort to maintain
as well as uphold the integrity of outcome.
Risk management- The process of evaluating events of future which can be harmful for
company's growth as well as impact its profitability is refer as risk management. Operation
management requires to investigate such happenings and make strategies to prevent them to
reduce its impact on organization. In association with Bentley, the risk can be created by various
forces like change in preference of customers, intensity of competition in the market,
advancement in technologies etc., the operation manager needs to make plans for future keeping
in mind the risk elements.
Analysis of extent to which organizational operations management meets requirement of
company
The environment in which companies operate is very dynamic where resources are
limited and opportunities are uncertain. For successful running of business, an organization
needs to maintain several elements such as cost, quality, revenues, customer satisfaction etc. The
issues and requirements of Bentley can be solve by proper implementation of operation
management principles (Petrillo and Et. Al., 2021). The relationship of operation management
with other department of organization is very important to achieve maximum efficiency. The
operation manager is required to consider all stages of operations, distribution, administration
and sales.
Every business main aim is to reduce costs to improve productivity and profitability.
Bentley is a premium brand with inheritance which demands a higher price than usual. The
company focuses on maximizing customer satisfaction while maintaining its cost. The wants and
preference of market base of Bentley are different from regular cars thus the company takes
more than two months to carefully assemble a car and each vehicle is handcrafted with
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perfection. Thus the operation management of organization allows the firm to determine the
costs which includes all the expenses of production as well as provides great profits to the firm.
In order to maintain and retain consumers, it is essential for every businesses to provide
quality products. Operation management principles helps in improving quality of products as
well as functional efficiency (Ravinder and Kollikkathara, 2017). In Bentley, operational
management principle of quality management meets requirement by rendering high performance
speed in a most comfortable and luxurious car. The quality management helps in maintaining the
luxury as well as performance for customers. The operation managers makes sure to develop the
quality of car which is extremely reliable and long-lasting.
Discussing continuous improvement as a philosophy and describing Lean principles
Continuous improvement is a procedure of constantly improving and enhancing business
activities. It is a manner in which a company operates and adopts improvements constantly.
Another way of continuous improvement is by perfecting the existing ways instead of bringing
changes. In Bentley, motive of continuous improvement is to maximize productivity and
revenues by developing higher output per input. Philosophy of continuous improvements
describes that business manager should work on increasing employee morale and responsibility
to improve performance and strive to achieve higher agility to achieve customer satisfaction.
Lean production is a concept of management which emphasis on ripping the wastes while
maintaining quality. This method is applicable in all areas of company from planning, production
to distribution. Within Bentley, Lean production objective is to eliminate costs by making
business more productive and responsive to customers demands. The key aspects of lean
principles that Bentley should adopt in its business are mentioned underneath:
Kaizan- One of the major aspect of lean production is Kaizen which means “change for
the betterment”. In this method each and every employee of the organization can convey their
suggestions and ideas to improve company's performance. Bentley adopts Kaizan in its
operations by considering and implementing suggestion of everyone in the organization to create
the sense of belonging in organization(Silvius, 2017). This also emphasis on providing incentives
to employees for their contribution in improvement of organization.
Cell Production- It is process to develops mass production that splits the work into
several teams refer as cells. Cell production is an essential part of lean manufacturing and
concerned with dividing the workforce to accomplish a certain task or process. In Bentley, the
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company divides its work force into various segments according to their talents and expertise to
increase the efficiency of work done
Just-in-Time- This is a company's approach of production which focuses on decreasing
time in production as well as the time taken by suppliers to cater materials. JIT consists of
consistent setup, efficient quality control and planning the manufacturing process in a way that
optimally utilities human and machine resources. Bentley uses Just-in-Time method to level as
well as balance the production system (Romero-Silva, 2021). It also helps the company to
control inventory and reduce the time taken by production unit by providing raw materials in
time.
Continuous improvement plan that includes justified recommendations for improvement, on the
basis of review and critique associated to operations management principles of company
One of the best continuous improvement practise is the Plan Do Check and Act. This
process is repeated in the organisation frequently to understand the best tool for business.
Efficient continuous improvement operation allows operations manager to improves quality,
reduce waste material, maintain supply on time and maximise profits. Continuous improvement
plan in form of Kaizan with reference to Bentley is explained below:
Plan Do Check Act
Quality Operation managers at
Bentley will examine
goods quality. If the
changes in
manufacturing cycle
are not applied
properly, then it may
lead to poor quality
and unsatisfied
consumers.
With the help of
quality management,
operation managers of
Bentley can assess the
quality of its cars and
enhance it in case of
any discrepancy. In
addition to that the
managers plan and
design the
manufacturing unit in
a way to maintain
quality.
The operation
managers act means
comparing the planned
quality to the actual
quality produce and
plan strategies if
quality was not
appropriate.
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Cost Company decides the
cost for product to
earn profits. Here,
Lean production helps
in reducing waste in
manufacturing and in
other units to increase
productivity of
resources.
Operation managers
are responsible to
decide prices of
commodities that can
cover all the cost of
production as well as
earn profits for
Bentley.
Applying lean
production in
organisation, managers
of Bentley can act on
eliminating waste and
reduce cost that
increase the cost of
production.
Recommendations to assistant operation manager of Bentley on basis of review and critique of
principles of operations management are mentioned below:
 Execution of Total Quality Management in appropriate manner is essential to apply in
organisation by assistant operations managers to evaluate if the quality produce is
meeting the demand of customer or not. It will help the organisation to plan and produce
better quality goods to achieve advantage in competition.
 Recommendations to use Lean production approach by operation managers of Bentley
to eliminate costs in all areas of organisation which is not adding to any value. It
enhances productivity and performances of both employees and organisation.
CONCLUSION
As per the above report, it has been concluded that operations management in a business
is a permanent activity that starts with the commencement of firm and ends with its termination.
It is very essential to review and apply operational management principles in order to achieve
maximum efficiency. The operation management in organisation is helpful to business in
meeting its requirements through continuous improvement and lean principles. It helps business
in solving problems and increasing productivity of organisation.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Kuznetsov, P. M., Tsyrkov, G. A. and Tsyrkov, A. V., 2020, September. Purposeful Project and
Operations Management Environment for the Small-scale Production. In 2020
International Conference Quality Management, Transport and Information Security,
Information Technologies (IT&QM&IS) (pp. 253-256). IEEE.
Lee, C. K. H., 2018. A review of applications of genetic algorithms in operations
management. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence. 76. pp.1-12.
Mahapatra, A., 2021. Service Operations Management. Srusti Management Review. 14(1).
pp.85-85.
Manikas, A. and Et. Al., 2020. A review of operations management literature: a data-driven
approach. International Journal of Production Research. 58(5). pp.1442-1461.
Petrillo, A. and Et. Al., 2021. Operations Management: Emerging Trend in the Digital Era.
BoD–Books on Demand.
Ravinder, H. and Kollikkathara, N., 2017. Project management in operations management
textbooks: Closing the gap. Journal of the Academy of Business Education, 18.
Romero-Silva, R., 2021. Mapping operations research in project management: a bibliometric
analysis. OPENAIRE.
Silvius, G., 2017. Sustainability as a new school of thought in project management. Journal of
cleaner production. 166. pp.1479-1493.
Wilson, K. B., Bhakoo, V. and Samson, D., 2018. Crowdsourcing: A contemporary form of
project management with linkages to open innovation and novel operations. International
Journal of Operations & Production Management.
Online:
Bentley. 2022. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.bentleymotors.com/en.html>
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PART- 2
Project title
Project title is used to describe the aspects on which an assignment is based. Project title
chosen for portfolio on site catering at Warburtons.
Overview of case study
This case is based on providing on-site catering services to employees and workers of
Warburtons. Company is a food and drink manufacturing unit which is situated in Warwick,
Midlands, England. Workers are compelled to leave their job and went out lunch breaks. They
were not provided any meal or canteen service form company. In order to bring changes in
organisation, an individual is hired and asked to prepare theoretical in-house project. It helps
him to have a clear and deep understanding of varied stages of project planning as well as
completion. Business objective that should be covered in planning this project is to reduce
congestion in local areas because of workers at lunch time. Another objective that needed to be
fulfilled is helping workers in initiating a healthy lifestyle which aids company in completing
their corporate social responsibility as well as reduce absenteeism at workplace.
Explanation of project life cycle in relation to chosen organisation with proper documentation
Project life cycle comprises of four key phases which is need to be analysed by managers
in order to accomplish desired objectives (Aiello and Gatti, 2017). These phases are desirable to
be clearly understood by managers so that project can be completed in a smooth and timely
manner. These sequenced procedure is significant for defining and guiding every step that is
needful to complete a project. Varied phases of project life cycle in relevance to on-site catering
at Warburtons are discussed below:
Project initiation- Under this phase, objectives of the project are identified and analysed.
This objectives are set through performing extensive brainstorming and research(Anand and
Gray, 2017). These objectives should be aligned with organisational desired goals. For initiate
on-site catering project at Warburtons, managers identify the needs of workers of having a either
in-house system of cooking or catered services from somewhere else. Budgets, scope, roles as
well as responsibilities are identified in this stage of project life cycle. As presenting all these
terms with proper calculations and assessment helps managers in making it approved from
higher authorities. For making the initiation phase effective, it is desirable for managers of
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Warburtons to analyse feasibility and identify stakeholders in order to define their objectives.
Their objectives is to provide proper lunch to their workers in order to maintain their healthy
lifestyle that further helps in increasing their productivity level.
Project planning – This step talks about planning the project after its approval. It majorly
comprises of breaking the project into small and measurable dimensions build teams and prepare
schedules for planning the project (Caramia, 2020). This phase encompasses creation of a project
plan anticipate varied external or internal risks and gathering resources. It is desirable for
managers of Warburtons in planning their project based on its available risks and resources. This
involves communicating the approved plan to team and distributing the tasks among them. In
relation to Warburtons, managers plan to deal with a catering service for providing healthy meal
to their workers as well as employees.
Project execution- This phase deals with turning plans into action. Here, organising and
tracking of teams and managing timelines are involved. This execution takes place by making
proper communication channels and monitoring their quality in order to fulfil desired objectives
(Cicmil and Et. Al., 2017). In order to monitor the project, varied visual tools such as Gantt chart
is used by managers of Warburtons. This practice helps them to execute planned activities in an
effective manner for achieving desired objectives. At this phase, they needs to manage budgets
accordingly.
Project closure- Under this, closure of the project is performed. It comprises of providing
final deliverables and evaluating the project and measure success of the project. This has been
done by managers of Warburtons through analysing and evaluating their objectives as well as
completed task. They can conclude this project by asking post implementation reviews from their
workers that is if they are enjoying the provided meal or they are getting timely and healthy
meals (Duncan, 2020). It is desirable for mangers to remember the phases and resources used in
project implementation so that it can be used in next probable assignments or tasks.
A business case is provided to outline the project which can be used for its approval from
authorities. Business case in relevance to on-site catering project of Warburtons is as follows:
Name of project- Project titled as “On-site catering services to Warburtons
Vision, Mission & Objectives- Mission of this project is to fulfil corporate social
responsibilities of firm in order to increase its goodwill in market.
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Vision of this project is to healthy diet to their workers in order to increase their productivity
levels and reduce absenteeism.
Objective of this project is to bring change in organisational culture and reduce
congestion in local areas at lunch time. This can hamper company's image in front of localised
citizens.
Executive summary- This project is prepared to analyse varied forces which helps them
to provide healthy ad timely meals to their workers. It is principally based on four phases of
project implementation.
Required resources- For fulfilment of this project effectively, human capital and
financial resources are needed (Harrison and Lock, 2017). Human resource make healthy meals
for workers and then transport it to the manufacturing unit. Financial resources are desired for
paying the catering team with whom managers of Warburtons have entered into deal.
Project plan- This project has planned cautiously by doing extensive research. Plan for
this project has been planned through Gantt chart which is given below:
Business strategy for the project- Selected strategy for this project is to retain employees
by fulfilling their needs of healthy meal. It also helps in reducing absenteeism and increase their
productivity.
Conclusion – From the above business plan, it has been analysed that managers of
Warburtons have analysed various aspects related to new project idea. They have kept close
track on benefits, risks and reluctance of varied workers as well as employees in implementing
their project plan.
Work breakdown structure of the project of on-site catering of Warburtons
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Gantt chart for the on-site catering of Warburtons
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Evaluation of the project methodologies and tools used
Project methodologies are considered as a collection of varied practices, rules and
procedures which are static in nature and has to be followed by managers in order at every stage
in an effective manner (Hemmati and Sajadieh 2021). Varied project methodologies in respect
to Warburtons are discussed below:
Agile Methodologies- It states braking of the project into smaller dimension in order to
make it simpler. It comprises of continuous collaborations with different stakeholders while
project is completing at a constant level. In order to use agile methodologies in a strategic
manner, majorly three components needs to be in place for successful completion of project.
These terms are collaboration, uniform continuous on business values and maintain adequacy of
quality level at organisation. Managers of Warburtons are focused to fulfil their corporate social
responsibilities as well as maintain their quality level by providing healthy meal to workers. As
per principles of agile methodologies, managers of Warburtons should satisfy their workers and
employees by providing them healthy diet which keeps them productive at workplace. They
should develop their projects along motivated individuals in order to be successful.
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Project management tools- There are standard tools which is used for planning and
initiating projects in a strategic manner by managers of Warburtons such as Gantt chart, work
breakdown structure and logic network etc.
Gantt chart is used by managers of Warburtons in tracking across tasks. This chart help
in measuring interdependence and relationships between tasks. It consisted of various elements
which are needed to be taken care at the time of project implementation. These are event groups,
estimated time and task relationships.
Logic network is considered as a tool which measures sequence in activities and tracks
that these are competed as per proper procedures (Kerzner, 2017). It also encompasses time with
every activity which helps to calculate time duration of the entire project. It has elements such as
activity logic and sequence which helps them to analyse time scale as well as workflow.
Work breakdown structure is described as hierarchal decomposition which is helpful in
completing a project in an effective manner (Kerzner, 2018). This tool breaks the project into
small dimensions that will help managers of Warburtons in making proper schedules, assign
right people and evaluate the applied costs.
Project leadership is a technique which helps in driving all the team members into same
direction with focused efforts in order to provide a successful delivery of project in an effective
manner (Kerzner, 2019). This practice ensures that team efforts are more realistic and prompt as
compared to individual. As it brings team members on a same page which helps them to
accomplish a common organisational goal. In order to complete the project effectively, managers
of Warburtons should develop their leadership skills in order to provide motivated and dedicated
workforce. Role of leadership in a project completion is very significant as it helps managers in
planning in an effective manner, motivating team members and tracking project task efficiently.
Review and critical evaluation of effectiveness of project life cycle when applied to specified
project using appropriate theory, concept and models
It has been critically evaluated that in order to bring effectiveness in project life cycle
various concepts and models is used. These models are project management tools and agile
methodologies. Agile methodologies are disadvantageous as it is not useful for projects which
are done at small-scale. These tool needed an expert manager for taking crucial and critical
decisions. It incurs huge cost as compared to other methodologies of project development. It is
advantageous for the project titled, on-site catering of Warburtons in order to provide more
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flexibility and transparency in operations. It is principally based on greater engagement of
employees and workers. Gantt chart is advantageous is it can schedule tasks in an easy manner. It
provides clear visual presentation which makes it accessible for project managers to evaluate
them in an effective manner. It is disadvantageous for project managers of Warburtons because it
is complex in preparation and management. Logic networks are taken as an advantage for for
managers as it helps in designing, implementing and evaluating project in a strategic manner.
This tool helps project managers in communicating effectively through proper as well as clear
channels. It also assists in allocating responsibilities to team members as per their competencies
and skills. This logical framework assists in applying shared knowledge in an effective manner.
It also provides them opportunities to connect with different stakeholders and provide them what
they wants as per their needs. Effective leadership practices helps them to set goal and objectives
for the organisation as a whole. It provides high level of expertise and experienced behaviour in
order to perform effectively. These techniques helps to achieve project implementation in an
effective way. Through this, on-site catering of Warburtons can be achieved successfully in a
strategic manner.
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REFRENCES
Books & Journals:
Aiello, L. and Gatti, M., 2017. Project Portfolio Management and Organization: An Integrated
and Circular Model. In Project Portfolio Management Strategies for Effective
Organizational Operations (pp. 288-309). IGI Global.
Anand, G. and Gray, J. V., 2017. Strategy and organization research in operations
management. Journal of Operations Management. 53. pp.1-8.
Caramia, M., 2020. Project management and scheduling. Annals of Operations Research. 285(1),
pp.1-8.
Cicmil, S. and Et. Al., 2017, April. Exploring the complexity of projects: Implications of
complexity theory for project management practice. Project Management Institute.
Duncan, J. E., 2020. Manager, Library Operations.
Harrison, F. and Lock, D., 2017. Advanced project management: a structured approach.
Routledge.
Hemmati, M. and Sajadieh, M. S. eds., 2021. Influencing Customer Demand: An Operations
Management Approach. CRC Press.
Kerzner, H., 2017. Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards: a guide to measuring
and monitoring project performance. John Wiley & Sons.
Kerzner, H., 2018. Project management best practices: Achieving global excellence. John Wiley
& Sons.
Kerzner, H., 2019. Using the project management maturity model: strategic planning for project
management. John Wiley & Sons.
Khan, U. A., 2019, November. Operations Readiness and Assurance-A Practical Example.
In Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference. OnePetro.
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