Operations and Project Management for Zara: An Analysis and Continuous Improvement Plan

This report provides an analysis of the implementation of operations management principles within Zara and discusses the continuous improvement philosophy and lean principles. It also includes a continuous improvement plan based on the PDCA method.

Operational and
project management

Table of Contents
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
An introduction to chosen organization.................................................................................1
An explanation of operation vs operations management.......................................................1
A review and critique of the implementation of operations management principles within the
chosen organization................................................................................................................2
An analysis of the extent to which the operations management of the organisation in the case
study meets the requirements of the organization..................................................................3
Discussion of continuous improvement as a philosophy and describe the Lean principles...4
A continuous improvement plan, including your justified recommendations for improvement,
based on your review and critique of operations management principles within your
organization............................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
PART 2............................................................................................................................................8
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................8
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................8
Project Title............................................................................................................................8
An overview of the case study you have been given..............................................................8
An explanation of each stage of the PLC that applies to your selected project, including
supporting documentation for each stage...............................................................................8
Analysis of the project methodologies and tools used.........................................................11
Review and critically evaluate the effectiveness of the PLC in application to your project
using the appropriate theories models and concepts............................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

PART 1
INTRODUCTION
The delivery that focuses on the area of business to ensure the success of organisational inputs to
outputs in an effective manner is known as operation management. It is the process that typically
plans, controls, and supervises the production and manufacturing processes, as well as service
delivery. Operation management is critical for any business because it allows for effective
control, management, and oversight of goods, people, and services (Barnes, 2018). The chosen
organisation is Zara. In this report there will brief about the chosen organisation. Further, there
will be an evaluation of difference between the operation and operation management. There will
be brief regarding the implementation of operation management principles within the
organisation. There will be a discussion related to the continuous improvement as a philosophy
and a brief on lean principles. Lastly there will be an application of implementation plan and a
recommendation within the business.
MAIN BODY
An introduction to chosen organization
Zara is one of the largest international fashion companies in the world. It is a high-fashion
store that sells clothing, accessories, and footwear for men, women, newborns, children, and
adults up to the age of 45. Zara was founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalia Mera and
is headquartered in Spain.
An explanation of operation vs operations management
Operation management demonstrates a framework for a company to take raw materials and
convert them into finished products. As a result, management must consider ways to increase
efficiency and enterprise profits. There are issues with efficiency, which is required for expense
measures. Operation management assists in the design, creation, and implementation of the
company's products and services. This also aids in the budgetary control of all operational
expenditures. In some cases, if the manufacturer is concerned about operating costs and
inefficiency, the situation is closely scrutinized. Zara's operation vs. operation management is
discussed further below (Catellani and et. al., 2020, July).
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Operations- A performance for a practical work that typically involves the practical
application of a process. In the context of Zara, an act or process that aids in the day-to-day
operation of an organisation. Everything that happens within a company in order to continue
earning money and running a business is referred to as business operation. This frequently entails
a section that is entirely dedicated to handling operations so that the firm can comprehend the
people, processes, equipment, and systems required to make an organisation function. It is
simply routine daily work that occurs in most businesses. Having a proper operation in the
company aids in ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of the business.
Operational management- It aids in cost reduction by systematically analyzing the
money spent on final product production. It is primarily concerned with supervising, organising,
and planning in the context of manufacturing, production, or service provision. This contributes
to the efficient transfer of components to output levels. In the case of Zara, the operation
leadership team is attempting to control their costs through profits that can be accomplished with
the largest achievable net profit (Chahal and et. al., 2020). It is necessary to consider the
relationship of business management with other functional departments and the overall
organisational strategy. As a manager, you must consider all costs associated with your
operations, administration, distribution, and sales.
A review and critique of the implementation of operations management principles within the
chosen organization
The implementation and operation of a system of environment management is primarily
designed to ensure that the firm's environmental goals and objectives can be met in accordance
with their environmental policies. It is about carrying out the operations in order to achieve
company goals as efficiently as possible. The process management suggested in these
concentrates on a continuous process of development activities in order to achieve much better
results, which includes faster delivery, better equipment utilization, a more skilled workforce,
and higher-quality products. Zara's growth strategy is based on expansion and vertical
integration.
Lean production
This is a method of manufacturing that is used to eliminate waste in within manufacturing
system. This can be implemented to all aspects of the company, including design, production,
and distribution. Lean manufacturing aids in improving efficiency, increasing productivity, and
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reducing waste. As Zara is in the fashion industry, there are numerous advantages to using this
method at the operational level. This means that there will be more waste to consider. To address
this situation, organisations have implemented lean production in their operations to eliminate
waste at the manufacturing level. It is primarily to focus on identifying operations that will add
value by reducing other aspects. This can include reducing production of certain products that
would provide less value and require more resources to produce (Ding and et. al., 2022).
Agile manufacturing
Agile manufacturing is a methodology used in environments where the excessive powerful
focus on quick effect for customers is modifying their advancement and agility into a key
competitive advantage. It also represents an intriguing formulation for developing an advantage
in a changing marketplace. Agile manufacturing is focused on utilising existing infrastructure
intelligently as well as which company has the necessary data to implement changes in the
manufacturing department. As accurate data will be critical in making improvements in
manufacturing. This primarily aims to improve efficiency and lower costs through the
implementation of market conditions that have changed.
An analysis of the extent to which the operations management of the organisation in the case
study meets the requirements of the organization
Zara operates on their values of clarity, sustainability, beauty, and functionality in order to
provide their customers with what they need and want as quickly as possible. The company's
objectives are mostly short to medium-term targets and goals that were established in order to
achieve the larger strategic goals that were established for the long-term plan. Zara has focused
and set goals for their procedure management department in order to produce high performance,
sustainable production while minimizing costs. So that the company can achieve the firm's goals
and objectives. Operation management is essential and therefore more effective for an
organization's profitability. As the Zara has a wide range in the market, there are various hurdles
and risks when making the right product decisions. This is beneficial in meeting the company's
and consumers' demands in the following ways (Glock and et. al., 2019).
 Quality is the Zara's first and most important requirement. Every consumer wants to buy
environmentally friendly products. This will cause the organisation to draw more clients
to the company's high-quality products. Because people want high-quality, long-lasting
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products, the company takes this into account and provides high-quality, long-lasting
products through operation management.
 Zara manages their operations in a cost-effective manner. The organisation provides a
reasonable product to their customers using high-quality materials while avoiding
unnecessary purchases. It is the primary source of consumer loyalty to the brand.
 Zara manages their operations in a cost-effective manner. The organisation provides a
reasonable product to their customers using high-quality materials while avoiding
unnecessary purchases. It is the primary source of consumer loyalty to the brand.
 Zara may use the ideas of operation management to produce items that are in line with
market trends. As clients are highly satisfied with their decision in operation, the
management searches for market wants and tries to meet them.
Discussion of continuous improvement as a philosophy and describe the Lean principles
Lean manufacturing improves efficiency, increases productivity, and minimizes waste.
There are several sorts of lean manufacturing approaches that can assist businesses enhance their
operations management. In the case of Zara, the company's operation management employs the
just-in-time production process. Lean manufacturing is a common vocabulary in many industries.
Zara is disrupting the fashion supply chain by frequently upgrading their collection. It
contributes to Zara having greater control over their manufacturing than competitors.
Lean principles
It is mostly useful in controlling excessive waste in organisations. These ideas assist
companies in reducing production and setting a minimal price for their items. Which are
mentioned down below.
Value defining- These aids in demonstrating the requirements of customers by referring to
the worth of their purchase. Consumers are always concerned with monetary value satisfaction.
Zara is meeting their needs by introducing them to new experiences with contemporary products
of excellent quality and reasonable prices on a regular basis (Gupta and Gupta, 2019).
Creating flow- It is a crucial resource for a firm such as their people, machinery, and
materials that must be on track. It will aid in achieving the greatest results by utilizing the correct
skills within the firm. Zara ensures that every one of their employees is well-trained and
understands the company's aims and purpose in order to guide their efforts in the proper path.
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Zara is aiming for market success by keeping a global target market. These lean principles
will assist companies in providing value to their clients by meeting their requirements with
current trends and emerging market expectations.
Applying the six sigma and their effectiveness
It is a highly beneficial strategy for focusing on the organization's total profitability. It
uses the operation management philosophy to adapt to the changing business environment. It is
effective to improve the firm's capabilities by identifying overlapping, flaws, and vital elements
with then manufacturing. Zara must use these tactics to diversify their offerings. The elements
are mentioned below.
Define- It aids in the clarification of aims and objectives, which is necessary in order to
bring about beneficial changes in the firm. Zara must establish goals for their personnel in order
to achieve constant progress. For this, Zara's manager must concentrate on identifying their
clients' wants.
Measure- It refers to the requirement to assess the quality and superiority of things. It will
assist Zara in adapting to changes if their quality is not totally satisfied. This can occur when
Zara analyses their manufacturing process and gains a better understanding of it (He, Qi and An,
2020, March).
Analyze- It is critical to analyses all processes in their manufacturing. Analyzing will aid
in the detection of overlaps and faults in any material. Zara is recording and analyzing all of its
procedures in order to provide the highest quality items.
Design- It provides an exact understanding of the items by avoiding unnecessary waste.
Zara needs to be more particular about designing more sustainable items in order to enhance
consumer retention.
Verify- This is the final phase in which Zara will ensure that all of their processes have
been completed. This will provide insight into whether the designs, aims, and control are
adequately regulating.
Continuous improvement
This is a management philosophy that focuses on continuously improving the quality of
products and processes in order to satisfy customers. More importantly, it is a primary focus that
encompasses all aspects of the organization's activity and is founded on ideals. This is critical for
a corporation in order to adapt a job to meet the needs of their clients. Improvements will
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increase the potential for market problems. It aids in reducing waste and utilizing inventories and
resources that are cost effective (Sheng, Feng and Liu, 2022). Zara can be the competition by
constantly striving for better management and operations.
A continuous improvement plan, including your justified recommendations for improvement,
based on your review and critique of operations management principles within your
organization
A continuous improvement strategy is necessary to prepare for fixing quality issues in the
manufacturing process. This can be accomplished by employing the PDCA method in the
context of Zara.
Plan- It is a planning process that identifies market requirements and desires in a changing
organisation. Zara must plan their everyday marketplace behavior changes.
Do- Zara must begin practicing in order to affect change in the organisation. Because the
practice will be short-term, it will begin as an advancement and development. Zara personnel
will be able to adapt to similar work with highly efficient (Shameem and et. al., 2022).
Check- Changes must be managed and monitored efficiently. Zara's management must carry
out tasks under supervision to decrease the possibility of blunders.
Act- This is essential in order for the changes to endure and develop effectively in the
organisation. These must be included in the preceding method in order to apply necessary
changes correctly.
Recommendation
 Zara must concentrate on adjusting to changes by identifying the dynamics and demands
of the business environment.
 The company must have a strategy to involve their staff in the adoption of improvements
in their technology and workplace.
 They must carry out an activity in accordance with the six sigma principles in order to
preserve the quality of their products.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is been concluded that, Zara has a solid foundation for their
commercial operation management. Understanding the operation and operation management is
necessary for a company to build good operation management in order to boost overall
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efficiency. According to the discussion on the principles of operation management, the
organisation is adhering to the correct principles, which aids them in sustaining the efficiency of
their employees. This satisfies the company's requirements, aims, and objectives. Finally, Zara
has to develop lean production more successfully in order to improve the overall efficiency of the
company's operations.
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PART 2
INTRODUCTION
Project management is the application of methods, knowledge, skills, experience, and processes
to achieve particular project objectives in order for the project to be accepted within the
parameters agreed upon (Molaei and et. al., 2021). This paper will provide a case study-related
discussion of techniques and project life cycle phases for carrying out a project to reduce staff
absenteeism. This can be accomplished through the development of a business case and the right
implementation of the project life cycle.
MAIN BODY
Project Title
The primary goal of this initiative is to provide on-site dining while also encouraging
employees to live healthy lifestyles and reduce absenteeism.
An overview of the case study you have been given
The project life cycle describes the processes involved in completing the project correctly.
Projects are an integral component of every company that operates for a short period of time.
Each project has an estimated deadline to fulfil its objectives. As a result, it must be governed by
adequate planning, initiation, and execution. Cromwell Tools is a wetlands industry with over
1,250 employees. The firm has its own targets for reducing employee absence due to snacking
and wandering around. This has an impact on the industry's performance in addition to the
company's reputation. The organisation should implement some strategies to increase employee
engagement in something which that will improve their performance. This can be accomplished
by emphasizing CSR and providing lunch amenities within the firm. This has become critical in
order to provide a healthy environment and meals to its employees, which will have an effect on
their efficiency.
An explanation of each stage of the PLC that applies to your selected project, including
supporting documentation for each stage
The project life cycle is a series of phases through which a project will go. It contains the
steps that a project manager must go through in order to successfully manage a project from start
to finish. The stages of PLC are discussed below in relation to Cromwell tools.
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Project initiation
It is the first stage of a project's life cycle. It refers to new ideas, thoughts, and perceptions
in order to establish desired goals. Cromwell must assess its needs and then implement a strategy
that will benefit the company's success. Employees will convene in coordination to draught
policies and a plan. The Cromwell tool includes their scope, resources, and goals for providing
canteen services on their site premises. This initiative will benefit the firm by providing staff
with the necessary guidance to help them achieve their goals (Pratap Chandran and K Purayil,
2020, November).
Project planning
At this point, the organisation begins to determine how it will attain its objectives.
Planning entails assembling resources, establishing budgets, and assessing project hazards. To
set up a cafeteria and supply healthy meals, the Cromwell Tools Project requires a minimum
funding of $70,000 (Ma and Rong, 2022). This project may be risky since employees will not
want to spend time in the cafeteria. This can be accomplished by employing Lean Manufacturing
and Six Sigma techniques. Cromwell tools handle all plans and ideas while keeping costs,
timelines, waste, and efficiency in mind.
Project execution
Once all of the plans have been established, it is time to put them into action in
accordance with the goals. This will be accomplished by utilizing all of the collected resources,
risk factors, and removing extraneous elements that may interfere with the attainment of the
goals. The company puts plans into action by identifying potential gaps, involving personnel, and
getting down to business. Cromwell tools necessitate flawless implementation in order to be
useful to the organisation. They must conform to quality standards when providing canteen
services. Cromwell tool cribs must consider one factor in order to complete the project before it
is too late and the issue worsens (Badham and et. al., 2019). They must maintain track of all
progress in order to avoid failure by monitoring quality, limiting risks, and bringing everyone up
to current on information and developments.
Project closure
At this point in the project's life cycle, the project will be cancelled, and the owners will
bear the consequences. It can be both positive and negative. Projects near completion by settling
shareholders and investors and completing all final reports. Cromwell Tools must benefit from
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this project by lowering employee absenteeism. All operations must be successfully completed,
and all workers must be satisfied. This will demonstrate to the corporation that it is capable of
collaborating on future projects.
Work breaks down structure:
It is a basic yet efficient tool for interrupting work. The task will allocate the necessary
resources based on the project, which will be completed in a short period of time. These brief
actions will aid in meeting project objectives ahead of schedule. This necessitates sufficient
managerial support in order to carry out top-down actions. Cromwell Tools requires this product
to assist their personnel with project implementation. This will help to avoid confusion and
ensure the project's success (Weger and et. al., 2022).
Gantt chart
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Analysis of the project methodologies and tools used
The project life cycle is extremely useful for analyzing project techniques, objectives, and
activity execution. It is critical to employ tools and strategies that allow for the completion of
tasks in a systematic manner. The stages of the project life cycle are critical to the ongoing
project. These strategies aid in the discovery of appropriate concepts. Project objectives are
related with techniques and dangers (Gadlage and Manos, 2020). They are capable of making
critical judgments for gathering relevant resources, assisting personnel, and developing a plan
that will satisfy the organization's needs. Cromwell tools must integrate project management
fundamentals such as technology, software, and smart gadgets to maintain control over staff
performance.
Review and critically evaluate the effectiveness of the PLC in application to your project using
the appropriate theories models and concepts
The project life cycle is a critical piece of paperwork that includes project planning,
initiation, execution, and closing. These stages are critical in establishing ideas, thoughts, and
goals for the organization's initiative, which will aid in directly empowering personnel. He
critically assessed the effectiveness of PLC in launching plans by examining its breadth, hazards,
and faults within the process. Cromwell Tools requires success in establishing cafeterias and
lowering staff absenteeism. They must, for example, manage input from employees, attractive
prospect, and the application of successful approaches and tools (Poole, 2019). This will be
accomplished through the use of waterfall approaches, which aid in dealing with present
circumstances. Six sigma approaches also aid in the introduction of new ideas and adjustments to
the project life cycle. This aids in analyzing, designing, and evaluating waste reduction needs,
allowing the organisation to meet its objectives.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that the research, operations management is an important
practise for delivering the proper amount of product at the highest quality and pricing. All
product decisions are made by the organization's operations department. It involves inventory,
supplier coma product design, and sales. These are the daily necessities for a business to be
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profitable. Analysis the differences between operations and operations management. Monitoring
and controlling the entire operational process is part of operations management. A continuous
growth plan based on lean and Six Sigma principles was also developed. It demonstrates the
importance of reviewing and acting appropriately in order to effect organisational change. All of
this is related to traffic management concepts, which demonstrate that identifying problems is
preferable to finding solutions. The second section of the paper depicts the project's life cycle to
reduce employee absenteeism through workplace engagement. It reduces waste while increasing
the organization's production and potential.
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REFERENCES
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Healthcare Engineering Management and Risk Analytics (pp. 189-206). Springer,
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Glock, C.H. and et. al., 2019. Applications of learning curves in production and operations
management: A systematic literature review. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 131,
pp.422-441.
Gupta, M. and Gupta, S., 2019. Influence of national cultures on operations management and
supply chain management practices—a research agenda. Production and Operations
Management, 28(11), pp.2681-2698.
Shameem, A. and et. al., 2022. A Road to Become Successful in The Fashion Industry of China:
A Case Study of Zara. ECS Transactions, 107(1), p.18227.
Sheng, H., Feng, T. and Liu, L., 2022. The influence of digital transformation on low-carbon
operations management practices and performance: does CEO ambivalence
matter?. International Journal of Production Research, pp.1-15.
Molaei, M. and et. al., 2021. Factors affecting the integration of sustainability in the early project
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Poole, C.D.M., 2019. IT outsourcing, knowledge transfer and project transition phases. VINE
Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems.
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