Operations Management Mini Case: GreenSpace Brands Analysis

This case study analyzes the operational challenges faced by GreenSpace Brands, a company focused on providing natural products. The analysis highlights issues in managing standards due to reliance on suppliers, particularly concerning raw material quality and expert retention. The study recommends improvements such as enhanced raw material monitoring, employee motivation programs, and the implementation of a robust organizational strategy. Furthermore, the case explores recommendations for a hypothetical CEO, including a focus on improving product quality and hiring qualified personnel to enhance overall business performance. The analysis references key academic sources to support its findings and recommendations.

Running head: MINI CASE 1
Mini Case
Student’s Name
Institution
Date

MINI CASE 2
What problems does this company appear to have regarding the Operations Management
side of their operations?
a. Managing standards
Managing standards is one of the problems that the company has been going through. The
main aim of the company is to make sure that the products are natural and therefore, the
standards of the products must always be high. The company is a producer of goods but not a
grower of the plants and crops that are needed during the production process. Therefore,
maintaining the standard is one of the issues that the company is facing in its operations (Heizer,
Render, Munson, & Sachan, 2017). Apart from the issue of the raw materials, the company is
also facing the issue of experts who have the experience of extracting the best components from
the raw materials or plants. The retention rate is low, and that means that at times, the processes
of the company are affected. Before looking for a specialist to replace the previous one, the
company suffers because the operations have to be slowed and sometimes there is no one
suitable to stand in the gap.
b. Maintaining organizational goals
GreenSpace Brands is a company that has a goal of providing customers with one hundred
percent natural products. The company has been facing the challenge of meeting the goals
because it relies on the suppliers. When the suppliers compromise the quality of the raw
materials, the quality of the products is affected (Linnenluecke, 2017). In agriculture, there have
been issues related to the overuse of pesticides and chemicals to promote the fast growth of
plants. The issue is also affecting GreenSpace Brands because the company does not only want
to provide natural products, but it also wants to provide products that have natural benefits to the

MINI CASE 3
customers. When the raw materials have high contents of chemicals, the production process of
the products is affected because the contents of chemicals have adverse effects on the quality of
the final products.
What are your recommendations for improvement for this company?
a. Improved raw materials monitoring
One of the issues that the company is facing is associated with the aspect of making sure that
all raw materials meet the required standards. The company buys raw materials from other
suppliers, and therefore, at times, the suppliers might not provide the best standards of products.
To make sure that the quality of the products is not compromised, it is advisable for the company
to have a team that monitors the quality of the raw materials (Reid & Sanders, 2015). The
company can invite specialists in testing and monitoring the quality of products. The specialists
can train the employees on the best way to monitor and control the quality of the raw materials.
b. Employee motivation
The performance of employees is dictated by the level of motivation. Some of the issues that
are related to the operations of the company can be controlled from the perspective of the
employees. The employees are the ones who take care of the operations of the company (Uhl &
Gollenia, 2016). When they are motivated, they are likely to affect the operations of the company
positively. The company can initiate programs that motivate the employees. A good example can
be seen in the case of rewarding the employees with gifts after their good performance. At the
same time, the organization can make sure to always verbally compliment the employees who
are doing well.

MINI CASE 4
c. Implementation of a strong organizational strategy
An organization cannot thrive without a strong organizational strategy. The strategy gives a
company the direction to head to make sure that the company has attained different
organizational goals. In this respect, it is paramount for the company to make sure that there is a
strong organizational strategy in place (McCarthy & Gordon, 2016). For example, a strong
organizational strategy might comprise of details that help an organization to manage the human
resource. With such a strategy in place, an organization can know the exact measures to put in
place to ensure that the human resource is well managed.
If you were appointed CEO, what would you do to improve this firm's business
performance?
a. Quality
Improving the quality of goods is one of the indirect ways of ensuring that the overall
performance of the organization is taken to a higher level. The performance of an organization is
dictated by the type of the products and services that the organization releases to the market.
High quality of products and services affects the overall performance of the organization
positively and this is because the quality of products and services increases the satisfaction of the
customers (Choi, Chan, & Yue, 2016). The performance of an organization can be rated based on
the level of satisfaction that the organization has on its customers. When the satisfaction levels
are high, it is evident that the performance of an organization is positive. Therefore,
concentrating on improving the quality of products is one of the ways of making sure that the
performance of the organization is increased.
b. Hire highly qualified personnel

MINI CASE 5
The employees that work in an organization affect the performance of the organization. To
make sure that the performance of an organization is at its best, there is a dire need to make sure
that the people who work in an organization have the skills and experience that are needed to be
effective employees (Chatzoudes, Chatzoglou, & Vraimaki, 2015). The highly qualified
personnel that would be needed in this case are strategists and quality control specialists.
Strategists will help in making sure that the best strategies have been put in place to make sure
that the performance has been improved. Highly qualified human resource members of staff are
supposed to hire in this case, and this is because of the role that the human resource plays in an
organization (Hammer, 2015). The human resource department is responsible for organizational
operations. It oversees the activities that are conducted by the employees. When there is a body
that oversees the responsibilities of employees, they perform better, and that later affects the
overall performance of the organization positively.

MINI CASE 6
References
Chatzoudes, D., Chatzoglou, P., & Vraimaki, E. (2015). The central role of knowledge
management in business operations: Developing a new conceptual framework. Business
Process Management Journal, 21(5), 1117-1139.
Choi, T. M., Chan, H. K., & Yue, X. (2016). Recent development in big data analytics for
business operations and risk management. IEEE transactions on cybernetics, 47(1), 81
92.
Hammer, M. (2015). What is business process management? In Handbook on business process
management 1 (pp. 3-16). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Heizer, J., Render, B., Munson, C., & Sachan, A. (2017). Operations management: sustainability
and supply chain management, 12/e. Pearson Education.
Linnenluecke, M. K. (2017). Resilience in business and management research: A review of
influential publications and a research agenda. International Journal of Management
Reviews, 19(1), 4-30.
McCarthy, D., & Gordon, K. (2016). SEC issues guidance on business continuity planning for
registered investment companies. Journal of Investment Compliance, 17(4), 71-74.
Reid, R. D., & Sanders, N. R. (2015). Operations Management, Binder Ready Version: An
Integrated Approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Uhl, A., & Gollenia, L. A. (Eds.). (2016). A handbook of business transformation management
methodology. Routledge.