An Analysis of Operation and Project Management at MFI - Report

This report offers a comprehensive analysis of operation and project management principles within the context of MFI, a leading furniture retailer. It begins with an introduction to operation and project management, followed by an overview of MFI's operations. The report delves into the application of operational management principles, including variance, organization, change, and fundamentals, evaluating their suitability for MFI. It examines the extent to which these principles fulfill MFI's requirements and discusses continuous improvement, including lean principles. A continuous improvement plan is formulated, and recommendations are provided to enhance organizational functions. The second part of the report focuses on project management, outlining the project life cycle (PLC) stages, and applying them to a business case, project plan, and work breakdown structure (WBS). The effectiveness of PLC is critically reviewed using relevant concepts and models. The report concludes with a summary of findings and recommendations, supported by references.

OPERATION AND
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
Introduction to the selected organisation................................................................................1
Explanation for operation versus operational management...................................................1
Critique and review by implementing principles for operation management in case of
organisation............................................................................................................................2
Define the extent by which operation management of firm accomplishes their requirements3
Define continuous improvement aspect in terms of philosophy and mention about lean
principles................................................................................................................................4
Formulate continuous improvement plan after reviewing principles of operational
management............................................................................................................................5
Use continuous improvement principle, justify recommendations to improve organisational
functions.................................................................................................................................6
PART 2............................................................................................................................................6
Overview of case study mentioned in brief............................................................................6
Description regarding PLC and discussion of each stage......................................................7
After apply each stage of PLC for project involve business case, project plan and WBS.....7
Critique and review effectiveness of PLC in project application by using appropriate concepts
and models..............................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Operation management is stated as the implementation of that business actions and activities
by which businesses are willing to expand their efficiency to the most possible extent within
business organisation. This is associated with production of finished goods with transformation
of labour and other raw material. Project management is defined as the procedure which
undertakes execution, initiation and closure of a project by establishing controlling activities and
sole objective to achieve business success. This report is based on MFI which is a leading
furniture retailer and manufacturer in Europe. The company is having approximately 250 stores
across UK and mainland Europe. The company is a vertically integrated company and having
portfolio of more than 50 products. This report covers principles of operation management and
continuous improvement plan. In order to achieve project success, PLC theory is used with all
the required documentation. Further in the last part of report project life cycle is analysed along
with appropriate theories and approaches (Laufer, 2016)
.
PART 1
Introduction to the selected organisation
MFI is Europe’s leading furniture manufacturer and retailer which are having
approximately 250 stores across UK and mainland Europe. Since the company is a vertically
integrated company so they are having portfolio of 50 products. The company is headquartered
in London, UK and was founded in the year 1964. The company is the largest suppliers of
kitchen and bathroom furniture in UK and they operated their business in retail parks which are
situated outside the town. The company made heavy losses and sold their business to their
management in the year of 2008 with small profit. The company got its new name in 2015 and
they decided to tap into new categories of home products.
Explanation for operation versus operational management
Operation management is a process which covers numerous procedures, activities,
equipment, and those activities which help the business to add value to their product and helps
them to produce high quality products. In order to achieve business objectives operation
management helps MFI to go on a path of goal achievement (Muriana and Vizzini, 2017)
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. Operation management is known as whole production structure which renders ultimate
production by using labour and raw material in production process. Operation management is
helpful for the business to earn their desired profits by employing effective manufacturing
procedures.
Critique and review by implementing principles for operation management in case of
organisation
There are various principles in operation management that are required to be taken care so
as to employ them in effective manner which may provide benefits to the business organisation.
In the context of MFI the major operation for them are their supply chain and logistics (Viveros
Gunckel and et. al.,2016)
. By using these operational management principles the company can enhance their
productivity and efficiency for long term. Implementation of operational management principles
for MFI is elaborated as under:
 Variance: In each procedure of business this principle is having high end importance.
This principle is used when businesses are willing to reduce their overall cost which is
going to be recognised on timely manner. The major usefulness of their principle within
supply chain management is to reduce cost of manufacturing process. In the context of
MFI, as they are facing problem of increased expenditure so they are having their high
focus on managing the logistics. In the procedure of preparing logistics the company is
planning to recruit new skills in business and expenditure on their training and
development will lead the company in enhanced expenditure. So it can be concluded that
this principle is not highly suitable for the venture (Laufer, 2016). Organisation: This principle is defined as that in a business there are so many operation
but in order to get high profitability and business efficiency it is essential for them to
manage all the functions on proper format. MFI can use high tech machines in production
and their supply chain or logistics. Hybrid truck can be used by MFI in their distribution
system so as to give addition safety coverage to their product and customer as well. This
principle is laced up with so many rigid difficulties such as high capital investment so
this could be proven as an appropriate aspect for MFI.
 Change: This principle is used by companies in the procedure of appropriate supply
chain management system. On the other side on time delivery is high appreciated by
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customer and this makes them loyal towards any brand. In the context of MFI the
company established effective communication with their clients which helped them to
meet up external customer expectations. On the other hand the company is making best
of money product so as to give distinct identity to their brand within marketplace. This
approach has made high investment for MFI as they are required to recruit many
customer relationship managers so this is not proven to be favourable aspect for MFI.
 Fundamentals: This principle includes various norms and fundamental rules which a
business is requisite to follow in order to get high standards in business. With the view to
get long term sustainability the company is using green clause by which they are getting
high business benefits. So it can be concluded that usage of this principle will be most
advantageous for MFI in their business (Hasegaw, 2017).
Define the extent by which operation management of firm accomplishes their requirements
It is required to examine all the associated principles before employing them in MFI. If
the principles are not meeting basic requirement of business then they are not requisite to apply
within business. Detailed reviews of these principles for MFI are elaborated as under:
 In the first sight, MFI is supposed to control their overall cost in operational activities.
Within this activity variance principle is used by them so as to enhance their product line.
This principle is adopted by business so as to reduce their cost but this doesn’t fulfil the
requirement of increase cost efficiency of business so this is not proven to be the most
beneficial principle for the company.
 The company is in need to maintain consistency within business operations. Due to
mismanagement of supply chain high inconsistency can be created in business. So in
every business activity there is a complexity which creates barrier in the business when
they are willing to implement operational management principles
 The company is planning to implement requisite techniques within their management of
supply chain in order to manage those aspects in appropriate manner. Here the major
focus of company is to enhance customer relations so as to maintain effective
communication with them and get business sustainability. So it has been observed that
this principle is somehow meeting requirements of MFI (Maylor, Blackmon and
Huemann, 2016)
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 In order to get business efficiency and firm relationship with customer MFI is using
fundamental principle. By using this they are able to get high business efficiency and
sustainability within marketplace as this is the major objective of the business (Zhang and
et. al.,2019).
Define continuous improvement aspect in terms of philosophy and mention about lean principles
This is required by MFI that they use continuous improvement plans in their business so as
to get high end efficient relationship with their customers. A continuous improvement plan is a
set up by which output of a business can be enhanced. This critical method helps the business to
gain their level best consistency within their internal operations and for this lean methodology
can be used by business in order to have consistency in their manufacturing process (Katano and
Tamura, Fujitsu Ltd, 2017)
. This approach is helpful for the business to minimise their cost and provide the best
output. But in case of MFI they are highly concerned about their customer and their relationship
with them. This will help them to enhance their profitability and business efficiency. Lean
principle in terms of MFI has been elaborated as under along with all the five major principles:
Define the value Under this principle companies are focused in adding value to
their product and services within market so as to give them
differentiated identity in order to get recognised by customers.
MFI is using this principle to attract more number of
customers towards their products.
Mapping value stream As the company is focused on making effective
communication with their customers so within this principle
they are going to design their way of communication with
their customers so as to give high efficiency to the business.
Creating flow This principle is associated with recognising manufacturing
procedure in order to minimise business problems.
Establishing a pull This principle is associated with JIT approach that is helpful
for the business to complete their internal tasks within
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stimulated time frame. MFI is highly concentrated in making
effective communication in order to get business efficiency.
Pursuing perfection This principle is associated with using high technology in the
business so as to get sustainability. This principle is highly
helpful for the business to get high profitability and earn
market image.
All these lean principles are helpful for the business to maintain effective communication
so as to get business efficiency. This is very advantageous for MFI for introduce continuous
improvement so as to manage logistic and supply management in considerable manner (Kikuchi
and et. al., 2016).
Formulate continuous improvement plan after reviewing principles of operational management
Continuous improvement plans help a business to enhance their process of manufacturing
and their product offerings so as to meet their customer expectations in effective and
considerable manner. This helps the business to improvise their productiveness and achieve their
decided goals in stipulated time frame. For reviewing all the principles of operation management
a continuous plan has been prepared which is enumerated as under:
BASIS CURRENTLY USED
METHODOLOGIES
PROPOSED
METHODOLOGIES FOR
USE
COST
Variance principle is used by
the business to enhance
product line and customer
service. But at the same time
this principle is not suitable for
decrease operational cost of
business.
MFI may use this principle so
as to minimise cost of those
measures which are used by
them in order to have effective
customer relations.
QUALITY This principle is used by
business so as to manage their
quality and have better
In order to get high product
quality and effective customer
relations, MFI is required to
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communication channels with
their customers.
evaluate all their supply chain
components and all the
channels from which they are
connected to their clients.
DELIVERY
This principles was not
appropriately implemented by
MFI as they sold their business
to their management and in
order to get business efficiency
the company is having
requirement of making
effective contacts with their
client
It is very essential for business
to employ business changes so
as to enhance performance and
productivity. In connection
with MFI they are putting their
high focus on making efficient
procedure of customer
complaints so as to stay
connected with them.
Use continuous improvement principle, justify recommendations to improve organisational
functions
There are various suggestions which are helpful for the company to maintain adherence to
operation management. These suggestions are enumerated as under:
 Company should pay their high emphasis on customer communication and for this they
must use various communication channels in order to contact their customer on one to
one basis (Futaki and et. al., 2016).
 The company should determine needs of their customers for this they are required to
gather various information’s such as level of service given and how they are offered,
types of products sold and many more.
PART 2
Overview of case study mentioned in brief
MFI is one of the largest retailers and manufacturer of furniture within UK and Mainland
Europe, the company is having 250 stores across UK and Mainland Europe. They deal in their
portfolio of 50 products and which makes them to position them within top three brands of
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marketplace. The case study is focused on making their customer relations stronger and making
efficient customer complaint procedure so as to deal with their queries in most effective way.
Project: The project undertaken by MFI is to make arrangement of making their customer
relationship stronger. Further they have project to make their customer complaint procedure
simpler so that relationship with customer can be improvised.
Description regarding PLC and discussion of each stage
A product life cycle (PLC) consists of four stages, which are strictly required to be followed
by every manager to meet business goals of the organization. PLC is a framework, which helps
to carry on business activities and performance in an efficient way. With reference of MFI, the
company is initiating their project to enhance customer satisfaction, relation, grievance system,
service etc. The different stages are stated as below:
Project Initiation: - This is first stage of PLC in which MFI has to design a strategy having
a shared and focused direction towards customer enhancement through clear communication and
implementation of various measurable initiatives for customer satisfaction with respect to
Quality of product and services, cost, grievances etc. This is the primary phase to decide the
framework and direction to be considered in upcoming stages to achieve customer enhancement
goals (Kerzner, 2017).
Project Planning: - Next stage is to plan resources, cost and time and decide the steps to
be followed to achieve the desired goals of project in Project initiation stage. Planning is
continuous process and proper planning has to be carried on by MFI Sales division. Planning
has to be done to identify the way to identify customer needs, and steps to be carried on to
achieve the goals and framework designed in stage of Project Initiation.
Project Execution: - All the plans framed in planning stage are implement in execution
stage to achieve the goals decided in project initiation stage. MFI has to execute their plans
for customer enhancements i.e. provide quality of goods and services expected by
customers, quick and appropriate remedies and responses to customer complaints, clear
customer communication and clearly defined customers complaint procedure defined by
Continuous Improvement Group (CIG) of MFI.
Project Closure: - This is the final stage of Project where all the project stages would
come to end and goals decided in Project initiation stage would be attained. In context of
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MFI this stage would be completed when customer enhancements has reached to desired
level and customers seems to be treated the way they expect.
After apply each stage of PLC for project involve business case, project plan and WBS
Business case
Business case is a formal document which is prepared by business managers so as to
inculcate the entire individuals which are working within the project so as to get help over whole
project and achieve objectives thereon. The business case in reference of MFI is explained as
under:
Company overview MFI is Europe’s leading furniture manufacturer and retailer which are
having approximately 250 stores across UK and mainland Europe. Since
the company is a vertically integrated company so they are having
portfolio of 50 products. The company is headquartered in London, UK
and was founded in the year 1964. The company is the largest suppliers
of kitchen and bathroom furniture in UK and they operated their business
in retail parks which are situated outside the town.
Vision and mission Vision and mission of the company is to prepare strategies which are
customer based and change customer’s expectation by giving them best
customer services (Meredith and et. al., 2017).
Objective The major objective of business is to establish effective communication
with customer and to make better procedure of customer complaints.
Strategy The company is to enhance customer communication and build effective
relations with them and introduce immediate strategy to solve their
complaints.
Follow up Within this stage past activities are examined and this will help this
project to be completed in effective manner.
Project plan
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Cost The cost which is needed for this project is estimated to be £17,000- £
22,000.
Communication It is required for manager of MFI to establish effective communication
between entire workforces so as to communicate all the strategies
effectively. For this project manager is having responsibility to
communicate all project member in continuous manner.
Scope The company is required to communicate their customer so as to establish
effective relations and solve their problem in early manner. This will help
them to get high customer satisfaction.
Work break down structure:
WBS is the structure which breaks down the activities of project into minor units so that
to assist workforce in accomplishing their tasks in significant manner. In this context,
manager of MFI may split activities of their project in the below manner so that to
achieve their objectives in a suitable manner (Badewi, 2016).
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Critique and review effectiveness of PLC in project application by using appropriate concepts
and models
By using waterfall model review can be established of PLC. The model is elaborated as
under:
Requirement: Within this all the procured resources will be examined so as to decide
activities and their manner to perform. Under this stage the company is deciding numerous
objectives as in current scenario they are having objective to establish effective communication
with their customers. This will enhance communication with customer in more advanced manner
by which more engagement of customer can be received and any further needs can be justified
by customer and company can modify them according to customer’s demand. On the other hand
this will require more resources so company will have to invest high capital over there and that
may decrease overall business profit.
Design: Under this stage channels of effective communication will be identified through
which the company can interact with their customer in effective manner. By effectively
identifying channels of communication this is going to help the company in properly
communicating to their customer by whom feedbacks can be gathered in desired way and
customer engagement can be improvised. On the contrary within this it may be possible that
wrong communication channel has been selected as per emerging needs of customer by which
lesser customer could be reached by the company which lead to inefficient strategy.
Development: Within this stage all the strategies will be implemented, as in the context of
MFI they have initiated strategies to enhance their communication with customers so under this
stage all the strategies will be implemented and this will enhance customer satisfaction. Within
this stage all the strategies are implemented and this assists the business in set a path of
achievement of their business objectives so that they can cater their customer in most possible
way by which high business advantages can be obtained. Similarly at this stage strategy cannot
be altered so this may be hazardous for MFI if any mistake has occurred in between which is
having directly impact on brand image and profitability.
Testing and maintenance: Under this stage all the details will be analysed. On the contrary
all the required changes will be introduced in the project that will help them to lead the project
with high efficiency and productiveness (Hoda and Murugesan, 2016). This aspect is profitable
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