Operation and Project Management Report: Maytag's New TV Launch

This report examines the application of operation and project management principles within the context of Maytag, a company launching a new large-screen television. It explores key concepts such as Six Sigma, lean principles, and continuous improvement plans, evaluating their implementation in an organizational setting. The report details the stages of the project life cycle, analyzing their implications in the given business scenario. Task 1 focuses on implementing operation management principles and the application of Six Sigma and Lean principles. Task 2 covers a continuous improvement plan. Task 3 focuses on the stages of project life cycle in business, and Task 4 explores the implications of the project life cycle in the Maytag case study, providing a comprehensive analysis of project management strategies.

OPERATION AND
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P.1 The implementation of principles of operation management in organisational context.. 3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P.2 Continuous improvement plan based on operation management.....................................5
TASK 3 ...........................................................................................................................................8
P.3 The stages of Project life cycle in business......................................................................8
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................12
P.4 The implication of project life cycle in certain situation...............................................12
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................14
.......................................................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Project management is a process of initiating, planning, executing, controlling and
closing of work with a team to achieve desire objectives. This is helpful in managing the
operations of organisation in order to achieve the desire objectives. It's a application of
knowledge, techniques, tools and skills of projects activities to meet the project requirement. The
project is plan, organised, executed or controlled by top authority to accomplish desire
objectives. To understand this concept better Maytag company has chosen which is a American
home and commercial brand appliances owned by whirlpool. The Maytag electronics wants to
introduced large screen television in market. In this report there are following topics are covered
such as: theories & concepts which are six sigma, total quality management. The improvement
plan will be implemented to analyse the principles of operation management, project life cycle
management and to critically review that management process.
TASK 1
P.1 The implementation of principles of operation management in organisational context.
Operation management is process concern with controlling of production and business
process in a efficient manner to implement it' desired objectives of organisation effectively. It
involves converting labour and raw material into finish goods and services as efficiently as
possible to maximise profit for organisation. It refers to managing raw material, labour, energy
which are converted into goods and services (Binder, 2016). The organisational employee skills,
creativity, technological and rational analysis knowledge are all very essential for conducting
successful business process. It concern with daily operations of business and supports with
certain strategies. It handles strategic issues like determining the size of manufacturing plant,
implementing the structure of information technology and project management methods. The
Maytag electronics are about to launch a new product with a new segment, i.e. big screen
television with 58 inches. Main objectives of using the operation management principles is
given below,
 It is important to make the products according to customers needs and demands as they
are the one who consumes product to satisfy the same. So these principles will assist the
Maytag to remove those actions which are not adding any extra value to the final product.

This will enhance the effectivity and efficiency of company in a positive way
(Operations Management, 2019)
 If all the activities which are of no use is eliminated from the operations process then it
will automatically increase the profitability of company by reducing the production cost.
Maytag is one of the reputed organisation in the market as it is fully owned and directed
by Whirlpool which deals in the consumer appliances only. Maytag has already been operating
their business in fridges, washing machines, freezers etc but now company wants to expand their
business in the field of TV appliances as it is one of the product which is high in demand and can
assist company to make their financial situations more stronger. Company has planned to launch
a 58 inches TV in the market. Apart from this, they will also produce stadium screens so that
more market would be captured.
To execute the plan companies manager require to examine certain principles. Early time
organisation are concern with operations, labour and it's technology advancement. But now a
days organisations are more concern about certain theories and principles like six sigma, total
quality management, lean principles etc. The principles of operation management are:-
Six Sigma: This approach focuses on quality of product rather than quantity of products
(Floricel and et. al, 2014). The six means control limit as which are placed near the certain
standard deviations from the particular distribution. This approach defines are with particular
steps which are in sequence with financial strength of organisation.
Tool process with six sigma approach includes potential defect calculation, trending chart
and other certain ratios. This is something which organisation have to use when they wants to
launch 58 inches television in same market and targeting the same customer's. The Maytag
company wants to launch new TV and their main focus is upon quality rather than quantity of
product (Heldman, 2018). To execute six sigma approach it's very important for organisation to
apply methodologies like DMAIC and DMADV. These are two different elements of six sigma
as to implement certain factors in organisation. The DMAIC defines with measure, analyse,
improve, control is used drive the improvement in existing process of manufacture small screen
television. DMADV defines measure, analyse, design, validate is used to create a new process.
To launch the new product in market Maytag company is going to apply DMADV method and
creates new process to manufacture big screen television (Jacobs, Chase and Lummus, 2014).

This approach help in providing the product as per the requirement and demand of customers.
Under this approach manager of Maytag company must identify the need and expectation of
customers before manufacturing the TV. After collecting all the data regarding customer
requirement and competition in market, it must design the matrix which provide information
regarding the features to be add within the product. After its manufacturing the internal team
must evaluate TV in order to determine any error or defect within the product. After determining
all the errors product must be judge as per its reliability , durability and keep on improve until it
get produced as per the customer requirement that help in dealing with market competition. This
help in improving the quality of product as it move through several test that help in removing all
the errors which leads to maximum customer satisfaction.
There are various principles under which six sigma is implemented like all the focus
should be on the customer demand instead of market, continuous eliminate of those process
which are not playing any role in final product, accurate measurements should be taken on the
basis of numerical analysis.
There is always benefits and problems of implementing Six sigma like while making the
TV, defective products frequency would be reduced to a minimum level because all the work is
done according to the calculation made in the starting. If Maytag is following the principles of
satisfying the customers, then customer experience engagement would also enhance as all the
unfulfilled needs have been settled by the product given by the company.
Apart from this, Six sigma will affect the company profitability in the starting as high
amount of capital is required in the starting to implement it as proper training is provided by the
company to their employees so that proper skills will be inculcate in them. There will be no room
for innovation as six sigma is focussed on improving existing process instead of making the new
process. So it would be hard for Maytag to differentiate the TV with other companies on the
basis of features, innovation etc (Overview of Six Sigma, 2019)
Lean principles:- Its a long way process which improves manufacturing efficiency, as
lean can be applied to any production process, business or industry. This principles is used to
inefficiency in manufacturing and also eliminate wastage. The efficiency will improve due to
which cost of production will reduced. It's also known as lean production of cycle as to
implement certain qualities of products (Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017). The waste in production
line will be minimise or cost of production will also reduce by improving the efficiency in

production. The waste is created just because of overburden in production of television and it's
productivity.
Implementation of the principles on the scenario of the case study is explained with
functional example of it.
The lean process is defines with certain principles includes value define, map the value
stream, create it's flow, establish pull and pursue perfections. The value defining means that
Maytag company firstly analyse the value which customer are willing to pay after considering all
the need of the target market. Once the value has been determine manager must focuses toward
mapping up the operations that are required to be perform in order to deliver those value. In
addition to this it must also focuses toward mapping up the activities as per their requirement so
that the activities that doesn't contribute toward value creation must be redundant from the
process. After determining all the activities to be performed for production must be prioritised in
flow creation process as per the importance and time taken by it (Leach, 2014). Once the process
has been formulated and all the extra activities has been removed, next step is establishing pull
that support in reducing the work in progress and inventory item for ensuring smooth workflow.
At last in perfection stage these all planning and working process must be implemented within
the organisational culture so that all the employees can contribute toward reducing the wastage
throughout the production of television. There are many benefits of using this principles as it
improves the quality of product Maytag is producing. For instance, by using this principle all the
unwanted activities would be removed by the company resulting in better efficiency at work. If
employees is working with their full potential then chances of making the product quality higher
also increases to a certain level. Along with this, it will make the organisation sustainable in
nature as their working operation is directly align with the customer's needs and company's
mission of making higher quality of TV as compare to other competitors (The Benefits of Lean
Manufacturing, 2019).
But on the other side, there are many cons of using this principles, for instance, Maytag
have to full replied on the supplier as storage of inventory is limited according to the demand of
customer. So in the starting, it wont create any problem for them as demand will be on the low
side, but afterwards company have to increase their production to meet the supply which could
make the work unorganized. As if supplier is not delivering their raw materials on time then it

will incur loss to the company in terms of time and monetary value (Disadvantages of Lean
Manufacturing, 2019).
This framework allows manager in identifying inefficiency activities which are
increasing the cost as well as time of the company also leads to increase in wastage. It is a
continuous improvement process so the manager of Maytag company keep on analysing the
production process so that inefficiency can be determine and eliminated in order to minimise
wastage. If principle is applied effectively then lean can create huge improvement in
productivity, material costs, scrap, leading to lower cost, improved competitiveness, efficiency
and cycle time related to manufacturing. This principle is not just related to manufacturing, it can
also improves inventory management, team work and client interactions. If inventory is
minimise then cost of production will reduce as well as wastage in production of TV. The
customers values need to identifies so that cost is reduce and effective product is deliver to
customers.
TASK 2
P.2 Continuous improvement plan based on operation management.
Continuous improvement refers to a strategy used by company to enhance their
operations by modifying in the existing process and make it more efficient in terms of cost and
quality of the product. To extend this, continuous improvement plan means pre set step by step
actions planned by company to attain their mission and vision. Objectives of CIP is explained
below with functional examples,
Objectives of CIP
 To make the operations process effective so that more profitability would be attain by
company.
 To remove the excess work company is doing with the aim of enhancing effectiveness of
Maytag.
It's essential for business to always improve their practices to maintain certain position in market.
The position of a particular person change as according to situation otherwise this get effected in
operations (Mubin and Mubin, 2016). every business required continuous improvement
according to customer needs and market trends. To introduce new TV in market, manager are
required to use management tools for effective implications of plan. There are many tools and

activities which are required for application of six sigma in project management to execute or to
implement changes. Through applying these principles completion will quash and improvement
is possible in business production. When it's come to streamline work and reduce the waste then
continuous improvement is required. As it's considered as on going process of improving
products, services and processes in introducing new products. This delivery is required constant
evaluation and change so further improvement is required in business as well. The principles are
taken through which cost will reduce, quality improves, safety is provided to customer as well as
society and deliver effective products to customer. With the help of these principles manager can
examine the flause on regular basis and also conduct continuous improvement in business. The
principles also help manager to identifies problems in production process. The implementation of
process are:-
Basis Principles/ Approaches Implementation of principles
Quality Six sigma The Maytag company wants launch 58 inches
television in market. To start manufacturing
for television company will used six sigma
approach as this will help them to focus on
quality rather than quantity of product. If
product have excellent quality then it become
company to introduce product in market. If
quality of product is higher and meets
customers requirement then company can set
higher price for it's product. The manager
will always monitor it's TV production with
the help of six sigma approach while
manufacturing product so that to maintain
quality of product. For this manager of
Maytag company work toward analysing the
need and expectation for customers regarding
new Television in order to set the quality
criteria they are required to meet for
commercialising the product. After

determining the customer need it must plan
the production of large screen TV and then
performing several test over their model in
order to determine any defect within the
product so that they can timely overcome
from this before commercialising the product.
This help in reducing the error within product
and maximise the its quality that leads to
maximum customer satisfaction. Overall aim
of Maytag is to satisfy the consumer demands
so that they would be transform in to loyal
customers which is a positive sign for
Maytag. Six sigma is a process through which
it would be attain by providing zero defected
product with the all the features customers
requires.
Cost Lean principle The Maytag electronic company wants to
launch large screen television in market. If
they want to minimise their production cost
it's very important to also minimise the waste
in production. Wastes in production is
controlled then organisation is being able to
minimise cost with effective production of
television. Once the wastage is minimise then
company is been able to launch it product at
any price. With help of this principle
manager can minimise it's production cost, so
that product can be launched at any price.
Lean principles is used in production process
to minimise cost and wastage. It focuses over
identifying the value which a product must

delivery to market and then plan the
production process. After this evaluation has
been performed over the production process
so that the inefficient activities could be
removed which also leads to minimising the
wastage of resources. This leads to reduction
of cost as well as time taken for production
and bring efficiency which makes it
beneficial for Maytag in context of financial
resources. Better profitability will make the
Maytag more effective as compare to other
companies in the same industry.
Safety Sustainability When organisation is concern about safety of
products then they follow sustainability
approach (Nenonen and Vasara, 2013). So in
order to introduce new large screen television
in market Maytag company can use
sustainability approcah which ensure the
safety of society in every aspects. This
concept is based on the premises maintaining
quality of product that also benefited the
society through its operations and with help
of this organisation can reduce the
environmental harm. As company can be
more customer centric and society centric
which reduced the negative environmental
effect with the help of this principles which
will leads to better brand awareness in the
market which is favourable sign for Maytag
future.

Delivery Business process re-
engineering
This principle is followed by organisation
when they want to delivery it's TV
effectively to their customer. The Maytag
used this approach to conduct certain
improvement and innovation in their
business. This principles helps them to focus
on customers along with its effective
delivery. This approach is applicable when
organisation wants to make their strategies
from the scratch so that to delivery television
effectively to customer from all over the
world. With the help of this principle
manager will starts rethinking and use the
blank sheet paper to make new plan as to
deliver more values to customers. The
manager have to adopt new value system that
emphasises on increasing needs of customers.
Company can use advance technology to
deliver effective products to customers.
Kaizen Overall flow of goods Kaizen is a collective approach used by
companies so that continuous improvement in
the existing process will be conducted. There
are various tools under Kaizen, in which
Value stream mapping technique would be
helpful for Maytag to eradicate their
problems. So the main problem in the starting
is increase in cost price due to
implementation of technique in the company.
For instance, Kaizen would reduce the time
consumes while making the product through
deleting the over processed actions like

checking the quality in every stage. There
will be two quality check for product, first
when raw materials arrived in the production
stage so that defective piece would be
eliminated in the starting and other at the last
where product is about to get deliver. This
would save the time of organisation which
they can use in the other area resulting in
better utilisation of resources (How to
Optimize Resources, 2019)
TASK 3
P.3 The stages of Project life cycle in business.
Project life cycle: It refers to step by step activities conducted by the company to achieve
their goals and objectives of the project company is about to start.
Business case
The Maytag electronics is a part of whirlpool company based in America. They do
production in refrigerator, washing machines etc. As they decided to launch new products in
market which is large screen television more than 58 inches. It's a large project for company so
it's very important for them to make objectives, vision, mission differently for projects. These
help manager of Maytag electronics to launch television effectively in market and employees
also get benefits with this.
Vision: They want to be top large screen television manufacturing company.
Mission: To provide effective quality to customer at minimal cost.