An Analysis of Operations and Project Management at M&S and Portakabin

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of operations and project management, focusing on two manufacturing companies: M&S and Portakabin. The report begins with an overview of the chosen organizations and differentiates between operations and operational management. It then critiques and reviews the execution of operations management principles, analyzes how well operations management meets organizational requirements, and describes continuous improvement plans and lean principles. A continuous improvement plan is developed, along with recommendations to improve organizational functions. The second part of the report focuses on a case study, defining each stage of the project life cycle (PLC) and explaining the importance of designing and implementing PLC. It includes a business case study with a cost-benefit analysis, explores cost-saving techniques, prepares a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and a Gantt Chart, and analyzes project methodologies, tools, and leadership. The effectiveness of PLC in project application is reviewed, along with techniques to ensure quality, scope, and tenure in project implementation. Finally, the report critically evaluates the PLC and concludes with a summary of findings and recommendations.

Operation and Project
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................3
Overview of the chosen organisation.....................................................................................3
Difference between operation and operational management.................................................3
Critique and review of the execution of operations management principles.........................4
Analyse the extent to which the operations management meets the organisational requirement
................................................................................................................................................5
Describe continuous improvement plan and define lean principles.......................................6
Develop continuous improvement plan..................................................................................7
Use continuous improvement principle, justify recommendations to improve organisational
functions.................................................................................................................................8
PART 2............................................................................................................................................8
Overview of case study mentioned in brief............................................................................8
Define each stage of PLC ......................................................................................................8
Importance of designing and implementing PLC.................................................................11
Explain business case study along with cost benefit analysis of the project........................11
How cost saving techniques could be incorporated in PLC.................................................13
Prepare a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for developing of a new product.................13
Produce a Gantt Chart..........................................................................................................13
Analysis of project methodologies, tools and leadership ....................................................15
Critique and review effectiveness of PLC in project application by using concepts and models
..............................................................................................................................................17
Analyse techniques which ensure quality, scope and tenure in the project implementation18
Critically evaluate the PLC .................................................................................................18
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................19
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................20

INTRODUCTION
Operational management is disposal of various business practices which helps an
organisation to create higher level of efficiency so that the overall profitability of the business
can be increased. Also, it focus on managing the process of product creation, development,
promotion and distribution. Whereas project management can be define as a process which is
related to the planning and organising the company's resources to accomplish a specific task or
project. As per the given brief, the two organisations will be taken in this file which are M&S
and Portakabin, these both are related to the manufacturing company. This study will cover
about the different kind of principles of operation management and preparation of continuous
improvement plan along with its principles according to the review critique of operation
management principles. Moreover, the evaluation of effectiveness of the project life cycle also
will be discussed in this report.
PART 1
Overview of the chosen organisation
Mark and Spencer is a well recognised British multinational retailer which is leading
their business in high quality clothes, home and food products. It is established by Michael
marks and Thomas Spencer in 1884 which headquarters are located in Westminster and London.
They are operating their business globally through its 1463 stores and with the help of its almost
80,787 employees. The main motive of this company is to cover a big market place by offering a
range of quality products(Morris, 2013).
Difference between operation and operational management
Operations are the functions or activities of an organisation which is performed by them
in order to covert its raw material into finished goods. So that the final products can be delivered
to the customers and profit can be minimised. These function includes machining, milling,
paining and assembling materials. Whereas, operation management portrays as a key part of
management team as it offers a set of processes of designing, executing and monitoring its
operations so that the desired outcomes can be achieved in the limited period of time.
Another, operation refers to the act, process and manner of operating a business in order
attain the higher level of productivity. Whereas, the operation management depicts to the

management and organising all the activities which are related to the production of products on
the regular basis.
Critique and review of the execution of operations management principles.
The several principles of operation management are available which are crucial for the
business organisation to be critically analysed and reviewed in order to implement a most
appropriate principle within the business organisation. As the main focus of M&S is to build a
smooth supply chain and gain competitive advantage so that it is essential for them to adopt an
effective principle in their operations so that they will be able to attain their desired outcomes in
a short duration of time(Elimam and Dodin, 2013). Here are given various principles which
should be evaluated by M&S so that best principle can be implemented.
 Principle of Organisation: This principles of operation management pertains that an
organisation must focus on the proper utilisation of the organisational resources so that
the productivity of the operations can be managed. As the M&S is a manufacturing
company so it is necessary for them to organised all those resources which are essential
for producing a product. Also, for improving their supply chain and getting the
competitive advantage they should focus on using hybrid trucks and updated
technologies. But in order to adopt some changes in their operations they have to give
their more time and funds due to which the overall cost of their activities will be
increased.
 Principle of Change: It depicts that an organisation must stay concern for adopting new
changes in their operations and working procedures so that they will be able to sustain in
the market and gain competitive advantage. By adopting this principle in the organisation
M&S can get higher success as it will enables them to operate their business as per the
current market. It become more essential for that company which is indulging in the
manufacturing activities like M&S as it will help them in implementing changes
according to the current market trends and customers demand in order to attain higher
success and growth in the marketplace. But while the manger of M&S have to give their
more focus on the research activities and give higher training to their employees due to
which the company will be delay in accomplishing their goals(Todorović and et. al.,
2015).

 Principle of Reality: In order to achieving the desired outcomes a company must focus
on the real situations rather than the assumptions. Due to the leading their business in
manufacturing so M&S should focus on the overall management of their processes not
only a specific technique and process. This principle also will help them in solving out
the issue of supply chain and competitive benefit as it allows them to work on the basis of
actual situations which will help them in finding the present issue in their supply chain
and problem in attaining the competitive advantage.
 Principle of quality control: In order to make the supply chain smooth and beat the
competitors manager of M&S must focus on maintaining the quality of its products so
that they will be able to attain more customers attention and increase their overall sales.
In terms of achieving the desired outcomes manager of M&S must consider the different theories
in their operations which are as follow:
Lean production: This is a most appropriate approach which will help the manager of
M&S in eliminating all the negative procedures from their production activities so that the
defects and wastage can be reduced. As per this system considered that the wastage is occur due
to the overburden on the employees as they have to do more efforts to complete their given task
on time.
Flexible specialisation: This is the another approach which will help the organisation in
making their position strong in the competitive market. As it insist the manager of M&S to use
multi-usage technologies and appoint multi-skilled employees so that production level of the
business can be increased with the support of experienced and skilled employees.
Analyse the extent to which the operations management meets the organisational requirement
All the operation management principles helps the business in achieving their objectives
and goals effectively in the limited period of time. In order to accomplish the goals of the
business Portakabin can use the concept of Six Sigma and lean principle within their business as
both of these concept helps them to eliminate all the defects from their operations so that the they
can operate all the business activities effectively without any crisis and can attain huge success
and growth in their business.
Describe continuous improvement plan and define lean principles
Continuous improvement plan comprises various activities within which helps the
business to bring some necessary changes in their products, services and processes by taking the

constant feedbacks and reviews. This will help the business of M&S to evaluate their working
methods or procedures so that the required changes can be implemented according to the current
market segments(Brones, de Carvalho, and de Senzi Zancul, 2014). To achieve the succession in
the change program M&S should use lean principles which are describe beneath:
Lean principle- lean principles consist various tools within which help the business to
reduce their wastage and eliminate the variations from their production operations. It is very
beneficial for M&S as it will provide them the great understanding about that what, when and
how their customers wants the products so that the customers satisfaction and overall
profitability of the business can be increased. Lean principles posses five tools within includes
value, value stream, perfection, flow and pull.
Define the value In this first principle the manager of M&S will evaluate the value of
their products like they will discover that the rendering products and its
price are able to impact on the customers mind or not. For this,
manager can use qualitative and quantitative approach which will
allows them to find out that what and how their customers wants the
products so that the overall performance of the business can be
enhanced.
Mapping value stream In this aspect the value of each process like production, designing and
branding will be mapped so that all the process can be done in an
optimal manner in order to get higher competitive advantage.
Creating flow This principle pertains the monitor and control program so that the flow
of operations can run smoothly without any kind of interruptions.
Establishing a pull The main focus of this principle is to limit the wastage of inventory for
this organisation is using Just-In-Time method which will give them
assurance to maintain the appropriate level of stock which they are
needed for smoothly run their production activities.
Pursuing perfection This principle inspire the firm top use innovative and updated
techniques in their manufacturing activities so that the products can be
produced as per the current market trends which results higher success
of the organisation in the marketplace.

All the above explained lean principles are very profitable for the company as it helps the
company to minimise its expenses and proper utilisation of resources. But in order to sustain in
the marketplace it is essential for M&S to formulate a continuous improvement plan so that they
can stick in the market for a longer period of time(Too and Weaver, 2014).
Develop continuous improvement plan
It is an effective approach which helps the business to mange the changes in their
working processes and services. Adopting a change is not an easy task so it is necessary for the
manager of M&S to focus on the following a model which will assist them to effectively execute
changes.
Continuous Improvement Plan For M&S:
BASIS EXISTING METHODOLOGY PROPOSED METHODOLOGY
Cost M&S is concern for adopting the
changes in technology rapidly which
increase their cost of production but
helps them to attain the competitive
advantage and increase their customers
satisfaction.
The strategy which can use by them is
lean manufacturing as it will assist them
that how they can eliminate wastage
from their operations which will help to
save their extra cost and increase their
revenue.
Quality The M&S has rendered the
responsibilities to their local managers
to take the decisions according to the
customers requirements of a specific
areas but this will lead them in quality
reduction of their products.
They must focus on TQM approach as it
will help to manage the quality of their
products so that they can attract a range
of customers in their products.
Safety They should stay concern for those
conflicts which are occurring due to the
frequently changes. This may increase
or decrease the demand which create the
problem of safety of the inventory.
This issue can be resolves by adopting
the just-in-time method as it will help
them to manage their inventory as per
their requirements.
Delivery As M&S is into retailing business so This can be done by M&S effectively

that the delivery factor is most
important for them whether it is related
to take the delivery form the supplier or
deliver to the customers.
when they give their focus on adopting
the six sigma method as this will help
them to eliminate the defects from each
stage of their processes.
Use continuous improvement principle, justify recommendations to improve organisational
functions
After analysing all the above elements, the following two recommendations are given to
the company:
 Company needs to utilise the latest technologies in their production activities so that the
cost can be reduced and products quality can be maintained.
 Other, Manager of M&S must focus on using Just-In-Time method as it will able them to
maintain an optimal level of stock so that the production process can be run effectively
and the wastage of inventory can be reduced which results saving the cost of warehouses
and the higher level of profitability(Maylor, Turner and Murray-Webster, 2015).
PART 2
Overview of case study mentioned in brief
For understanding this, the given organisation is Portakabin which is a modular building
innovator and leading their business in constructing portable and transportable. This company is
operating their business in 6 countries through its more than 1300 people. It is a business to
business organisation in which their customers are other businesses operates in both secondary
and territory sector and focus on manufacturing and hiring various buildings. The buildings of
this company are developed off-site and transported and constructed on-site. For introducing
more technology in the world they have introduced their first portable PK16 building in 1961.
After this, currently Portakabin launched a new product which is Yorkon Building System(YBS).
The main motive of the company behind introducing a new system is providing flexibility in
mapping an overview and volume mass(Turkulainen and et. al., 2013).
Define each stage of PLC
Project life cycle proffers a four step of process which is adopt by a company in order to
accomplish their project targets and objectives effectively. As Portakabin is going to launch a

new building system so it is necessary for them to follow up stage of this PLC appropriately so
that the motive of this project can be achieved. These stages are defined below:
 Project initiation: This is the first level of PLC in which the project manager will be
determined all the processes, strategies, risk and their objectives. In the initiation phase of
the project the project manager need to be consider various steps like to determine the
goal of the project, ascertaining scope, identifying stakeholders, develop a business case
and developing a statement of work. All these steps will help the project manager in
operating all the business operations effectively. In this stage, manager needs to adopt
democratic leadership style as in this level the participation of the employees is required
for introducing them from all the processes. By determining all these aspects Portakabin
will be able to build their Yorkon Building System effective and successful by executing
strategic strategies and plans in their operations.
 Project planning: It is a continuous going process as it run until the project will be
complete. It is the stage in which project manager will make a plan regarding to the
availability of resources, cost and time(Mir and Pinnington, 2014). In order to make an
appropriate plan the manager require to keep their eye on each and every step such as
creating a project plan, gathering resources, identifying risk and build an effective team
for successful formulating all the plan related to effectively implementing their project
strategies and procedures. This plan will be success only when leader focus on the
democratic style as this step is related to the planning in which the presence of the
employees are essential to take effective decisions. As launching a new portable building
system is a very difficult task so it is essential for the project manager to built an effective
plan so that the objectives of the project can be attained in a short duration of time.

 Project execution: This is an important step in PLC as it is related to the execution of
strategies and plans. As this is the crucial phase of their project life cycle so it become
essential for the manager of the Portakabin to consider various steps like creating task
and briefing team members on it, establish proper communication channels, tracking the
quality of work and managing budget. By following each step effectively Portakabin
manager will be able to execute their plan effectively and attaining their desired
outcomes easily. As for executing their project plans leaders can use autocratic leadership
style as in this the involvement of the employees is not required. Other, for rendering the
facility of movable or portable building to the customers Portakabin must focus on the
properly implementing all the methods and procedures so that they will be able to meet
the requirements of their customers on time.
 Project closure: In this last stage of PLC, the project manager will analyse that the
organisational activities are going according to their set standards or not. For this they
can utilise various measures like evaluating business performance, team performance,
documenting project closure, post implementation feedbacks, accounting for used and
non used budgets. In this aspect the business manager can use the Benchmarking and KPI
technique as these both techniques will help them in an effective manner. KPI will assist
them in assessing the success and failure of the project whereas benchmarking allow
them to compare their process and methods to other reputed organisations so that they

can choose the best option for them and can achieve the goals and objectives of their
project. These all will help them in ascertaining that all the operations are going in the
right direction or not than the project manager will be able to take decisions related to
close the project by considering that project goals and objectives have been
accomplished(Sterman and et. al., 2015).
After discussing the project management plan it can be stated that it is essential for the
manager of Portakabin to execute a PLC as it will help them to the each stage of their project.
Also, it will enables them to identify about their customer needs and wants so that they will be
able to deliver the services according to customers which results higher success and growth of
the business.
Importance of designing and implementing PLC
In order to effectively execute the project strategies and plans the business needs to adopt
PLC in their business operations as this will ensure them to get success at the each and every
stage of the project. This will help the Portakabin to operate all their business operations
effectively so that the project objectives can be accomplished in a significant manner and can
attain the huge succession and growth in the marketplace.
Explain business case study along with cost benefit analysis of the project.
Business case
Business case is written and formal document which is braced by manager of the
company intended to gather all the necessary information for the decision maker so that they will
be able to facilitate their decisions according to the requirement. It has great importance for the
company as it will help the decision makers in make appropriate decisions by identifying the
risk, opportunities and threats of the business. As the business case is mixture of all the
information which will help the manager in ascertaining that the determined strategies or
methods are able to achieve the objectives of the project or not. By preparing this statement
project manager of Portakabin will be able to evaluate their market and customers segments for
their new product which will enables them to operate all the business activities accordingly.
Company overview Portakabin is a UK based organisation which is leading modular building
innovator for more than 50 years. It is B2B firm as they are offering their
services to other businesses. The company is initiating a new system

which is Yorkon Building System in which they have focussed on
introducing a portable and movable building in the marketplace.
Vision and mission As current company is operating their business in 6 counties due to which
the main mission and vision of the company is to expand their business
globally so that the big marketplace can be covered in the limited period
of time(Beringer, Jonas and Kock, 2013).
Objective The main objective of this company is to provide innovative building to
the customer which can easily portable from one to another place.
Strategy Company is focussing on constantly adopting effective marketing strategy
so that they will be able stay ahead from their competitors.
Follow up This factor enables the project manager to examine that all the framed
strategies and plans are following up effectively or not.
Project plan
Cost The approximate cost requisite for this project is £15,000- £ 20,000.
Communication This the most important element within the business organisation which
depicts that in order to accomplish all the business activities effectively
Portakabin needs to establish proper communication channels so that all
the people within the firm can be communicate with each other easily
regarding to introducing new technologies in the marketplace(Pemsel and
Wiewiora, 2013).
Scope Scope of this project is higher as it provides the flexible and energy
efficient building to their customers.
Cost benefit analysis-
Cost benefit analysis is the most appropriate term for the business as it helps them to find
out the profit of each operation by analysing the benefit of a operation and then subtracts it from
its associated cost. In the context of Portakabin, it will provide huge benefit to them as with the
help of this they can analyse the execution cost of their operation and can determine the profit