Operations Management in Unilever: A Comprehensive Analysis

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Operations management

Table of Contents
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................1
1.0 Role leaders and managers play in the operations function of an organisation.....................1
Introduction..............................................................................................................................1
1.1 Key approaches to Operations Management.........................................................................2
Six-sigma.................................................................................................................................2
Lean production.......................................................................................................................3
Total quality management.......................................................................................................3
1.2 The role that leaders and managers play in operations management....................................4
2.0 The importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives......5
Business objectives..................................................................................................................5
Importance and values of operations management in achieving business objectives.............5
Key decisions taken by operations managers..........................................................................5
3.0 Factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management and
decision-making by leaders and managers..................................................................................6
Corporate Culture....................................................................................................................6
Corporate values......................................................................................................................6
Corporate ethics.......................................................................................................................6
Corporate social responsibility................................................................................................7
Expectations of stakeholders...................................................................................................7
4.0 Evaluate how leaders and managers can improve efficiencies of operational Management
to successfully meet business objectives.....................................................................................7
5.0 Critical evaluation of the application of operations management and factors that impact on
the wider business environment...................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Lean six-sigma phases......................................................................................................3
Figure 2: Lean production process..................................................................................................3

Task 2
1.0 Role leaders and managers play in the operations function of an organisation
Introduction
Operations management is the function of the management associated with design and control of
the production operations whereas it also manages the business operations within business to
ensure high efficiency and maximization of the profitability during production of the product or
services (Krajewski et al., 2013). Therefore, the main function of the production department is to
deliver highest efficiency in production and to redesign the operations toward the excellence. For
example, operations management in Unilever manages the utilization of the finance, controls the
operations, defines strategies, designs the products and services, forecasts the outcomes,
configures the supply chain and manages the quality in the production (Slack, 2018).
Key operations of Unilever
The operations management of the organization is liable to keep high productivity through
optimization and management of the productions of the consumer goods. Indirectly, it supports
the business performance, quality and financial growth. Following are major operations of
Unilever:
Design of goods and services: The operations management addresses the challenges and issues
in the existing products and services and then defines the innovative products and services to
meet the complex needs in the consumer market (Jones and Robinson, 2012). Therefore,
operations management has role to design the products and services those can increase the
productivity, performance and customer satisfaction.
Quality management: There is also focus on the continuous improvement and quality
management in the operations. It is required in Unilever to ensure high satisfaction in customer
market due to the quality whereas it also helps to reduce the finance requirements in the
operations.
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Process and capacity design: operations management also develops the process and capacities in
term of resources and assets for the business. For example, the use of the automation and
robotics in the production of the home beauty products helps to reduce the cost and to manage
the consistency of the quality (Hill and Hill, 2017). At other side, automation also helps to
manage the fluctuating demand and supply in the market.
Supply chain and inventory management: Unilever operations management establish strong
supply chain to prevent the empty chunks in production and to increase reach to the market
whereas the management also defines the capacity of the inventory with changes in the market to
attain the goals. Therefore, focus on target market demands and effective inventory management
helps to optimize the operations and cost.
Scheduling and maintenance: Some products are essentials to deliver within the fixed time and
it is the liability of the operations management to ensure that the schedules are according to the
demands whereas the manager also ensures that there are no redundant processes and
maintenance of the work culture in term of resources, assets and role delegation is effective
(Krajewski et al., 2013).
1.1 Key approaches to Operations Management
Systematic operations management is required to improve the productivity, performance and
quality. The organization can consider implementation of following approaches to operations
management to maximize the productivity and to optimize the quality.
Six-sigma
It is the systematic tool and technique which is used to reduce the process variability and to
eliminate the defects. The title ‘six sigma’ is given because of the connection between the
number of defects per million and determined standard deviation. There are mainly five phases
of the techniques: define the problem, quantify the problem, analyze the problem, implement and
verify the solution for improvement and maintain the solution to achieve control. Six-sigma can
reduce the process cycle time, increase customer satisfaction, control the scrap from the process,
reduce the defects in factory work and eliminate the costly reworks (Evans and Lindsay, 2014).
The five phases are used to improve the performance at the current state to the new state using
the statistical tools. The data is used to collect, improve and measure the outcomes.
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Figure 1: Lean six-sigma phases
Lean production
It means to cut the cost through waste reduction and improve the quality. Therefore, the main
feature of the approach is to cut the cost and reduce the activities from the process chain those
are not adding values effectively. The primary principle of lean production is to do simple things
well and better and to engage the employees in the continuous improvement. It helps to reduce
the waste which is a cost to the business functions. It is important to improve utilization of the
finance and to add values and quality in the process (Jasti and Kodali, 2015). The primary
advantage is in the reduction of the waste with innovative management of the waste to optimize
the cost whereas it also promotes the employees for the continuous improvements and support to
the business.
Figure 2: Lean production process
Total quality management
It is a customer-oriented process so that the allied works is based on the continuous
improvement, product quality enhancement and customer satisfaction. It means to ensure the
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sustainable quality in the products and services through the business operations. The main aim is
to foster the continuous improvement in business operations. It has mainly four principles. First
is commitment from the management in which planning, deployment, review and recognition are
the work of the management to improve the quality. Second, it empowers employees through
training, excellence teams, measurement and recognition and implementation of suggestion
scheme (Oakland, 2014). Third is continuous improvement in which the organization has to
focus on the systematic measurement, cross-functional process management and implementation
of the standards. The last principle is customer focus so that the organization has to consider
partnership with suppliers, implementation of customer oriented standards, service relationship
with customers and no compromise with quality.
PDCA (Plan, Do, Control and Act) process is used to implement the continuous improvement
and quality in the production process. It can help the organization to standard the process and to
align the resources to reduce the wastage. The core advantage of the approach is that it can
increase awareness for quality in the business culture (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). It also can
emphasis on the teamwork and improves commitment of the employees toward continuous
improvement.
1.2 The role that leaders and managers play in operations management
The operations manager has role to design and implement the business processes in the
production function and to ensure that the quality and performance is according to the defined
specification and plans. Therefore, the primary role is to execute the production process with
high efficiency and to reduce the waste of finance and time to meet the competitive advantages.
The manager has responsibilities to recruit the human resources and to provide training and
development so that they can optimize the use of the skills and knowledge to attain the goals.
The manager is also liable for asset and cost management in the production process (Brown and
Bessant, 2013). Besides to it, the manager controls and improves the quality. The manager
manages the inventory, process and capacity.
The leaders at operations have main role to motivate the resources for the optimal use of the
assets to attain the goals. The leaders also define the strategies and approaches those can be used
to improve the performance and productivity of the individual or team. The leaders have role to
identify and establish the change at operations and reduce the erroneous practices through
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effective training and development (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018). Therefore, the resource
management, strategic vision development, rewarding and motivation and alignment of the goals
to the capabilities are the functions of the leader at operations.
2.0 The importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives
Business objectives
The organization has goal to achieve 10% increase in the production of the home cosmetic
products whereas the customer loyalty is required to increase to retain minimum of 80%
customers for next two years. The core objectives are to improve the quality of the products,
reduce the waste in production to control the price and to retain the employees in operations for
continuous support.
Importance and values of operations management in achieving business objectives
Unilever has importance of the operations management to handle the operations, process and
approaches in the production and designing. The organization can optimize the performance
through standardization and dedicated management whereas quality can be measured effectively.
It is also significant to improve the overall productivity and to align the business functions to the
customer requirements (Slack, 2018).
The operations management also has values to achieve the business objectives. For example,
Unilever can use the operations management to plan, control and coordinate the operations in the
production process (Hill and Hill, 2017). The operations management also adds values through
training and development to the employees and optimizes the productivity and quality through
continuous improvements.
Key decisions taken by operations managers
There are main five types of the decisions an operations manager take. For example, the manager
in Unilever operations management make decisions on the process as they are liable to optimize
the process and to reduce the redundant and low valuable activities from routine processes.
Second, they have to make decisions on the quality so that standard baseline can be created and
quality can be measured effectively (Derwik et al., 2016). The operations manager defines
capacity such as resources and assets. Inventory management related decisions are also under the
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roles of the manager. They also select and recruit the human resources and define the career
progression and skill development for them.
3.0 Factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management and
decision-making by leaders and managers
The business environment has influence on the managers and leaders for their decisions making
and operations management. Following are some of the major factors to consider:
Corporate Culture
A positive and employee engaging corporate culture motivate the managers and leaders to retain
the skills and capable employees whereas a strict and less satisfaction culture can demote the
resources and it can lead the constraints on the management for decisions making. Corporate
culture influence to determine the internal capabilities and approaches toward the employees.
Also, a positive culture becomes attractive for the community so that the leaders and managers
can get skilled resources.
Corporate values
The business values for the growth, quality delivery and customer satisfaction impact the
managers for the strategies and decisions. The corporate values also might constraint the leaders
to plan the continuous improvements and strategic decisions for the production. Also, the
organizational vision and mission as values drive the managers and leaders toward the suitable
decisions making (Lewis and Brown, 2012). A positive and favorable values foster positive
decisions for the production, quality and performance at operations.
Corporate ethics
The policies and practices of the business to consider the particular decision and operation right
or wrong have significant impact on the managers and leaders. The corporate ethics also impact
the wider community to engage in the business operations, loyalty programs and production
consumptions. A responsible and reliable corporate has ethics to serve the community and
employees with high preferences and so that the business can get higher efficiency in the
production process (Rothaermel, 2013). The managers have to consider the corporate ethics to
manage the human resources and to accomplish the particular goals effectively.
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Corporate social responsibility
The decisions making within the operations management has consideration of the organizational
corporate social responsibilities. The managers and leaders have to align their practices and
decisions to the defined standards, visions and goals toward the community (Khojastehpour and
Johns, 2014). The wide community also has impact of the corporate social responsibilities on
their interaction, benefits and support with the business whereas managers and leaders are
bounded to policies to lead the smooth operations management.
Expectations of stakeholders
The business has significant impact of the stakeholders. For example, investors need high
production to generate high profitability whereas management needs smooth strategic execution
of the business goals. The employees also seeks flexible environment with benefits to them at
workplace and all these things impact the managers and leaders during decisions making (Hill
and Hill, 2017). They have to establish the balance in business role, capabilities and expectations
of the stakeholders to determine the suitable path for the operations management.
4.0 Evaluate how leaders and managers can improve efficiencies of operational Management to
successfully meet business objectives
Unilever operations manager and leader can achieve the business objectives with high
efficiencies if they consider the systematic implementation of the approaches and techniques. For
example, operations manager in the organization can improve the customer satisfaction through
continuous improvement in the quality of the products. They can consider the use of PDCA
approach along with six-sigma to improve the quality whereas there interaction with other
managers in marketing and other departments can help them to get required knowledge about
market and to recruit the required number of the employees in the operations (Walker et al.,
2014). A dedicated team can be prepared for the quality assessment whereas the overall wastage
in the production can be optimized through the automation and simplification of the process. The
leaders can eliminate the unwanted and inappropriate activities from the production process to
ensure that there is high productivity and quality whereas cost also can be saved to drive the
profitability.
The managers and leaders can consider the use of six-sigma approach for the quality assurance.
The business objectives such as improved customer base needs customer oriented products and
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services. The managers have to define the approaches through which the operations management
can focus on the customer requirements and expectations and according to that, products and
services can be prepared (Khanna, 2015). For example, Unilever needs to introduce new
products in hair care to retain the customers and to drive the profitability. The leaders can
promote the innovation and creativity to resolve waste management related issues. The managers
and leaders also need to consider the employee satisfaction at operations so that strategic
execution can lead high productivity and performance.
5.0 Critical evaluation of the application of operations management and factors that impact on
the wider business environment
Operations management is the significant part of the business because the products and services
are required according to the customer demands whereas the business cannot generate the
products and services with support of the human resources. Therefore, operations management,
human resource management and marketing are the three core functions in Unilever. The major
application of the operations management is to design and produce the products and services and
to manage the quality and productivity. It also manages the supply chain and inventory according
to the fluctuation in the demands in market (Rowbotham et al., 2012). Capacity planning and
forecasting are also the applications of operations management to attain the goals effectively.
Quality assurance, facility management and human resource planning along with scheduling of
the process are managed under the operations management to meet the business objectives
effectively.
There are several factors that impact the business environment. For example, Unilever is a
leading brand but the presence of other brands including local product and service
manufacturers, the organization has influence on the performance and quality. Also, product
price has impact of the external environment and business continuance. The organization has
impact of employee satisfaction, business culture and values, customer expectations and
competition on the market to drive the efficiency and to attain the goals (Brown et al., 2013).
Environmental and legal aspects, especially on the waste management have impact on the
decision making and strategic planning to achieve stability.
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References
Books and Journals
Brown, S. and Bessant, J., 2013. Strategic operations management. Routledge.
Brown, S., Blackmon, K., Cousins, P. and Maylor, H., 2013. Operations management: policy,
practice and performance improvement. Routledge.
Derwik, P., Hellström, D. and Karlsson, S., 2016. Manager competences in logistics and supply
chain practice. Journal of Business Research, 69(11), pp.4820-4825.
Evans, J.R. and Lindsay, W.M., 2014. An introduction to Six Sigma and process improvement.
Cengage Learning.
Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Hill, A. and Hill, T., 2017. Essential operations management. Macmillan International Higher
Education.
Jasti, N.V.K. and Kodali, R., 2015. Lean production: literature review and trends. International
Journal of Production Research, 53(3), pp.867-885.
Jones, P. and Robinson, P., 2012. Operations management. Oxford University Press.
Khanna, R.B., 2015. Production and operations management. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd..
Khojastehpour, M. and Johns, R., 2014. The effect of environmental CSR issues on
corporate/brand reputation and corporate profitability. European Business Review, 26(4), pp.330-
339.
Krajewski, L.J., Ritzman, L.P. and Malhotra, M.K., 2013. Operations management. Pearson,.
Lewis, M.A. and Brown, A.D., 2012. How different is professional service operations
management?. Journal of Operations Management, 30(1-2), pp.1-11.
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