Analysis of MK Motors' On-Site Catering Project: PLC and Methodologies

This report provides an analysis of MK Motors' on-site catering services project, focusing on the project life cycle (PLC) stages including initiation, planning, execution, and closure. It discusses the business case, vision, objectives, resources, and cost considerations for the project. The report also outlines the use of a Gantt chart and work breakdown structure (WBS) for project management. Various project methodologies such as Agile, Lean, and Six Sigma are analyzed for their applicability. Furthermore, the report critically evaluates the effectiveness of the PLC, utilizing performance management concepts and key performance indicators (KPIs) like revenue growth and employee turnover rate for project monitoring and controlling.

OPERATIONS AND
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART 2............................................................................................................................................3
Project title..............................................................................................................................3
Case study overview...............................................................................................................3
Explanation of each stage of PLC..........................................................................................3
Analysis of project methodologies.........................................................................................7
Critical evaluation of effectiveness of PLC in application to the project using models and
concepts..................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Operations management is the area of management which focuses on designing and
controlling the process of production and redesigning business operations that are followed for
the production of goods and services. The process of operations management focuses on
managing operations and processes of an organization which is done with the help of planning,
organizing and supersizing activities that can be followed by business through which they can
meet project objectives (Bai and et.al, 2022). This report will b discussed in 2 sections where
section 1 will be discussing about the operations and operations management and the application
of operations management. The study will be discussing continuous improvements and lean
principles. In this second report, the project will be discussing the various stages of project
planning that have been followed by the companies. In this section of report, the project will be
outlining the stages of PLC, Gantt chart, project methodologies and many other aspects.
PART 2
Project title
The title of this project of MK Motors is “The On-Site Catering Services”. This project of
MK Motors will be helpful in meeting the business objectives of the company and support them
in managing their in-house project.
Case study overview
This initiative of MK Motors will be focusing on bringing change in the organization
with the help of effective planning. The business objective will be helpful in minimizing the
movement of staff from premises during lunch break which is making the company face
congestion in local area. This initiative will also support staff in developing a healthy lifestyle
through which they company can focus on their CSR activities which will support them in
minimizing staff absenteeism from the company.
Explanation of each stage of PLC
 Project initiation- Project initiation is the initial stage of starting a new project. This is
the first stage of project decide the value and requirement of project that will be planned
and followed by the company (Project Initiation, 2021). This stage is essential as this
helps in establishing direction and evaluate resource requirements that must be focused
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throughout the project. The approach of project initiation is the stage which helps in
ensuring a clear justification of the project that is planned by the company. The key
phases and elements which are focused in this stage are developing a business case,
perform feasibility study, establishing project charter, identify stakeholders, appoint
project team and review the project through which the company can gain approval for the
next stage.
 Project planning- This is one of the essential stage of project life cycle which helps in
defining the business requirements, establishing cost, evaluating resource plans and
getting management approval for next stage. Project planning is essential as this supports
in understanding scope, planning project objectives, defining goals and scheduling
activities that will be followed throughout the project (Ben Lutkevich, 2021). In this
phase, the project deliverables and requirements are defined which will support in
planning activities that will assist in guiding the team, through which objectives can be
accomplished (Kanakaris and et.al, 2019). This stage will also involve planning of time,
cost, quality, changes, risk and related issues that are managed by the company.
 Project execution- This is the stage in which the actual work is performed and put into
action as per the planning. The activities that are followed in the project execution stage
are- issues management, risk management, managing workflow, managing project
communication, reporting project status to stakeholders regularly and conducting
gateways reviews as required. This sage is when the project is break down into smaller
milestones and assigned to different teams through which the plan can be started,
collaborated through which the end goals of project can be accomplished.
 Project closure- This is the last stage of project life cycle where the project is formally
winded up and the report of the overall success and failure of the project is created and
shared. This last phase of project life cycle which defines the success of project and is
also helpful in defining culture of team and organization (Kate Eby, 2021). This stage
involves handling over the deliverables to consumers, passing documentation to business,
cancelling suppliers contracts, releasing staff equipments and informing stakeholders.
Business case
Vision and objectives- The vision and objectives of MK Motors is to offer healthy food
in the premises through which they can develop a healthy lifestyle in the organization and this
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will also help the company in minimizing the staff absenteeism. The goal of this case is to reduce
the movement of staff through which congestion can be reduced in the local area.
Executive summary- MK Motors will be preparing healthy food variety in their in-house
catering programme through which they can develop and make employees aware about the
benefits which can be driven from healthy lifestyle. The case will be the medium through which
they can reduce congestion in lunch breaks and will also focus on reducing the staff absenteeism
from the workplace.
Resources- The resources which will be focused by the company throughout the case and
project are- financial resources, machinery and equipments, raw materials, people and
infrastructure.
Cost- The cost which is planned for the in-house catering program is £50,000. this cost
will be used in various sectors through which the whole business case of the in-house catering
can be managed effectively and the company can meet targets.
Advantages- The major advantage of organizing this project is to create a share the
benefits of healthy lifestyle and to offer healthy food options through which the company can
ensure they can encourage employees to maintain a good health. This will also help them in
enhancing the productivity of employees through which they can effectively perform and meet
the organizational objectives (Shenoy, 2018). The program will be the medium through which
the company can enhance the organizational culture though which they can meet targets and
create positive impact on the employee performance, as this will also support in reducing
employee absenteeism from the workplace.
Gantt chart:
Gantt chart is the graphical representation of schedule which will be followed throughout
the project. This form of chart is the reflection of chart which depicts the start an finish dates that
involves resources, planning and dependencies (MITCHELL GRANT, 2021). these forms of
charts can be helpful in managing projects of all sizes and types and is also helpful in analysing
the overall progress of in-house catering program.
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Work break down structure:
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Work breakdown structure (WBS) is a project management tool which is a systematic
approach for completing and meeting project objectives. This approach is the medium of
breaking large task into smaller activities which can be helpful in integrating scope, cost and
deliverables into a single tool (Christine Organ, Cassie Bottorff, 2021). the terms which are used
in a work break down structure is acceptance criteria, budget, deliverables, phases and WBS.
This tool is helpful as this supports in breaking down the task activities into smaller task through
which the company can make progress towards the achievement of project objectives.
Analysis of project methodologies
Project management methodology is the set of principles and practices that are followed
for organizing the projects through which optimum performance can be ensured. The project
methodologies are helpful in mapping the project and it is essential to select the right approach
for effective project management (Wilson, Bhakoo and Samson, 2018). Some of the project
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methodology which can be followed by the companies are- lean practices, Kanban, Six Sigma
and more. The project methodologies that can be followed are explained below:
 Agile methodology- This project methodology allow companies and team to work in
short period on very particular deliverables. It is an iterative approach which focuses on
breaking down large project task into manageable task which can be completed in short
time span throughout the project life cycle. The Agile methodology of project
management is termed as the ability to build and act on changes which helps the
organization in succeeding in unpredictable environment. However, this form of project
methodology reflects the adaptiveness and responsiveness to change (ADDY GOFF,
2021). This type of project methodologies are most appropriate for projects that are
iterative and incremental.
 Lean methodology- This project methodology is helpful in maximizing the customer
value by reducing waste. This approach also focuses on creating more value for
customers by making use of limited resources which will also support in improving the
quality, production time and cost. This form of project methodology focuses on five key
lean principles, which are- value, value stream, flow, pull and perfection. This also helps
in increasing the customer value by removing the waste from each project phase.
 Six sigma- This is one of the most effective project methodology which is used for
enhancing the competitive strength of the company, this approach is data driven which is
followed for delivering the value from the operations management. Six sigma can be
termed as the quality control tool that business can use for eliminating defects through
which process can be improved that will be helpful in increasing the profitability
throughout the project (ADAM HAYES, 2022). This approach of project management also
supports in delivering financial analysis and statistic through which continuous
improvements in the company and project can be made. This methodology is also
implemented for evaluating the root cause, maximizing the customer value, focus ion
continuous improvement, build collaboration and coordination between teams and
manage versatility in the company.
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Critical evaluation of effectiveness of PLC in application to the project using models and
concepts
Performance management- Performance management is a type of corporate
management tool which helps managers to monitor and evaluate the performance and
contribution of employees (CARLA TARDI, 2021). This tool is helpful in encouraging employees
to work and perform up to their best abilities and deliver high quality of work through which
they can meet organizational objective sin most effective and efficient manner.
 Advantages: The approach of performance management is to focus on staff development
through which the level of performance of employees can be enhanced which will be
helpful in enhancing the organizational efficiency. This also support companies in
encouraging their staff through which they can effectively engage in business activities.
 Disadvantages: The drawback of performance management is that the process is time
consuming and can be a biased approach of management for appraising employees
(PATRICIA, 2019). Such factors are responsible for creating a negative impact on
employee interest and performance in the company.
Key performance indicator
These are the benchmarks which are helpful in evaluating the progress and success of the
overall project through which an organization can understand the overall performance
throughout the project. Some of the key performance indicators which can be used by MK
Motors while managing their in-house catering project are explained below:
 Revenue growth- Revenue growth rate is the approach of measuring the month-over-
month percentage that increases the revenue. It is a common KPI which is helpful in
measuring comparative progress. The growth rate is used for analysing the current and
potential growth of business.
 Employee turnover rate- This is the tool which is used for evaluating the percentage of
employees who leave the organization. This approach is one of the essential HR metrics
which helps the organization in understanding the rate at which employees are leaving
the organization through which the company can form effective strategies that can
support retaining greater number of employees with the company (Anja Zojceska, 2018).
This tool ill be helpful for the company in identifying the employee turnover rate and
identify the employee absenteeism rate in the organisation.
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Project monitoring and controlling
Project monitoring and controlling is the approach that is followed after the execution of
project plan and strategies. In case of the project plan, the company will be offering health food
option in the organization through which they can promote healthy lifestyle and living standards
and also reduce employee absenteeisms from the company. The plan will be helpful in avoiding
congestion while lunch breaks and will be helpful in maintaining the organizational culture. The
approach of the company where they will be focusing on offering a variety of health food
operations, this will encourage employees and foster positive organizational culture. The
approach of controlling will be followed by the company through which they can ensure whole
project is executed as per the standards and the project objectives can be met by the organization.
Importance of reliability and validity
Reliability refers to the degree which is managed from a particular test are consistent from one
use of text to next. Validity is the term which is used to define the degree which a test score can
be interpreted and used for a specific purpose. Reliability and validity are important for
evaluation of project which will be helpful in project development. This will also help in
successfully achieving the organizational objectives and targets in most effective and efficient
manner.
CONCLUSION
By analysing the above mentioned information, it can be stated that operations
management is the production management function which is the medium of optimizing the
business processes through which higher quality and profitability of business can be maintained.
The purpose of operations management is to maximize the efficiency of business while
producing goods and services through which the company can effectively meet demands of
consumers. The approach of operations management focuses on maintaining better quality of
products, ensuring faster delivery, enhancing workforce and equipment utilization and reducing
the work-in-progress. The continuous improvement plan is an systematic and ongoing approach
of development of an organization through which they can meet their targets and generate higher
revenues. Th project life cycle is four stage plan which is the cycle of planning and executing the
whole project and creating a layout that will define the actions which will be followed for
meeting the objectives.
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REFERENCES
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