Operations and Project Management Report: M&S and Crossrail Case Study

This report delves into the realms of operations and project management, offering a comprehensive analysis of two distinct case studies: Marks and Spencer (M&S) and the Crossrail project. The report commences with an introduction to the significance of effective operations management, emphasizing its role in achieving organizational goals. It then transitions to a detailed examination of M&S, exploring the application and critique of operations management principles within the retail giant. The report highlights key concepts such as lean manufacturing, rapid improvement processes (Kaizen), Just-in-Time (JIT) systems, and Six Sigma methodologies. A significant portion of the report focuses on continuous improvement strategies, particularly lean operations management, and its application to M&S, including the exploration of value shaping, value chain mapping, workflow optimization, pull-based systems, and the pursuit of perfection. The second part of the report shifts its focus to the Crossrail project, applying the phases of the project lifecycle and evaluating its effectiveness. The report provides a thorough review of the project's lifecycle phases, followed by a critical assessment of its overall effectiveness. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and insights gained from the analysis of both M&S and Crossrail, underscoring the importance of robust operations and project management practices for organizational success.

Operations and
Project
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Review and critique of the enforcement of operations management principles in relation to
M&S............................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P2 Continuous improvement strategy in relation to M&S.........................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P3 Application of every phase of PLC life-cycle to crossrail project ........................................9
TASK 4.........................................................................................................................................13
P4 Revaluation and critique of effectiveness of project life-cycle in relation to crossrail
project ......................................................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................15
REFRENECES..............................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
An effective operations management plan is essential for every organisation as it ensures
stable progress rate of any task despite presence of various challenges or barriers. Operations
management is centred around effectively converting inputs to gain desired outcome by clearly
defining roles and responsibilities of each employee. This report is divided into two various part.
The first part of the project is based on the leading member of the British retail industry Marks
and Spencer which was established in 1884 and since has seen rapid growth. The company
operates in more than 29 international markets with more than 75,000 workers recruited all over
the globe. The second part of this report focuses on the crossrail project which is a railway
building project primarily based around the region London. Revaluation of enforcement of
operations management principle and continuous improvement strategy in relation to M&S is
provided in this report. In the second part the report application of various phases of project life-
cycle in relation to crossrail project is provided. Evaluation of effectiveness of project in context
of crossrail project is also included in this report.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
P1 Review and critique of the enforcement of operations management principles in relation to
M&S
The daily activities and tasks conducted by an organisation in order to produce a service
or product which is offered by the company with the purpose of gaining profits are considered as
operations of the organisation (Wedel and Behnezhad, 2019) .
Operations management is primarily concerned with converting inputs through various
procedures so the the company attains their desired outcome. The inputs related to operations
management involve human, technological, financial resources, raw materials and various other
resources which can be utilised to create value.
Operations management in context of M&S
M&S is UK based retail organisation which mainly delivers consumer requirements
related to fashion, grocery and home décor by offering a wide range of high quality products (Al
Hattab, and et. al., 2017). Since the organisation covers a wide range of British retail industry,

they conduct several operations to meet the demands of their consumer base swiftly and gain
high profitability.
The main operations conducted at the company in order to accomplish various objectives
include converting raw materials into finished goods, supervising workforce, warehousing,
consumer care activities, sales and promotion of products and other various other operations
(Misra, Ravinder, and Peterson, 2016).
These operations help the company achieve their mission of offering high quality products to
every consumer by developing wide variety of products which exceed the expectations of every
consumer.
Effective operations management is necessary for the respective firm as it provides
clarity to every employee regarding their daily tasks and objectives. Apart form this operations
management increase overall output of the company without making any adjustment with the
quality of the product (Berbegal, Gil and Alegre, 2017). As M&S has achieved success in their
industry by producing goods with superior quality, effective operations management is essential
for the growth and development of the firm.
Operations management models
Lean manufacturing
Lean manufacturing is one of the most widely used manufacturing procedures which
centre around the idea of removing various factors which result in wastage of valuable resources.
This manufacturing process id highly popular in the current corporate world due to the short
supply of various essential resources which are essential for survival of an organisation with a
stable growth rate. In context of M&S this manufacturing process is of high importance as the
company operates in the retail industry which require high efficiency for gaining competitive
advantage in the industry. Apart from this direct benefit lean manufacturing also reduces
expenditures on operations and increasing profitability of the company. Lean manufacturing also
improves sustainability of the organisation, in case of M&S enhancing sustainability are one of
the primary business objectives firm (Choi and et. al., 2018) . Several factors which are essential
in development of lean manufacturing process are provided below, supervisors at M&S needs to
consider these factors in their decision making process:
Rapid improvement processes

Rapid improvement processes which are sometime termed as Kaizen are the foundation
of lean manufacturing. The primary philosophy behind this approach is that small modifications
regularly applied and supported for a long time period produce momentous improvements in the
firm. Supervisors at M&S need to consider this model to improve operations management by
using this model to archive growth and profitability.
Just in time (JIT)
JIT focuses on enhancing the response time from suppliers to consumers and lowering
gaps in manufacturing systems. Apart from this model helps the company lower costs and secure
a beneficial position in the industry (Huang, Potter and Eyers, 2020) . M&S needs to utilise this
strategy in order to lower costs and gain competitive advantage by increasing response rate.
Six Sigma
This model is includes a series of instruments which can be used by firms in order to
modify the quality of outcome of various processes by identification and elimination of various
elements causing a flaws and lowering variability in production and other business operations.
Utilisation of this model by M&S will help increase profitability by lowering expenditure,
enhance employee motivation and employee loyalty and also enhances time management. The
firm will gain huge benefits if the concerned authorities oversee effective implementation of this
model. Usually this model involves application of statistical data analysis, construction of
experiments and hypothesis testing. The main demerits related to the usage of this model include
ineffectiveness in case of manufacturing process which are highly complex (Kim and Irizarry,
2019). Apart from this this,it reduces creativeness in various operations which require research
and the heavy dependence on statistics sometimes results in rigidity in operations management.
TASK 2
P2 Continuous improvement strategy in relation to M&S
The term continuous improvement encompasses a broad area which revolves around
ongoing improvement of various procedures and systems. This is a flexible procedure for
improving and streamlining various activities conducted in an organisation. The respective
organisation needs to understand this procedure in order to secure advantageous position in the
industry for a longer time period (Medini, 2018) . Improvements conducted through this model

can be attained either by making small modifications for a certain period of time or by major
paradigm shifts or new interventions.
Lean operations management
Several of the leading global corporations utilise lean operations management in order to
maximise profitability. The main focus of this approach to operations management is to increase
consumers satisfaction by improving value provided by various products while minimising
wastage in terms of energy, resources or time. The respective firm neds to utilise this model as it
enhances efficiency of the company and achieves maximum optimisation of various operations
(Patanakul and et. al., 2016) . This is achieved through a detailed process of looking at every
factor related to the company and removes everything which is not helpful in creating
profitability for a long time period. Five principles of lean manufacturing in relation to the M&S
are given below:
Shaping value
The first principle of this process is related to identification of value. Value of a
particular commodity is related to the amount consumers are wiling to pay. Finding various
factors which generate value for the consumers and their expectations related to a particular
service is essential to this principle. M&S need to discover value of each product according to
their consumers with the utilisation of various tools such as interviews, pools web analytics and
many more (Pekkanen, and et. al., 2020) .
Mapping the value chain
The main aim of this principle is to utilise the consumers value as a point of reference
with the recognition of various factors that make contributions to this value. Various activities
which do not provide consumers value in any form need to be eliminated if they are not vital to
other procedures in the company. M&S needs to recognise processes which do not provide value
to the consumers in order to remove such factors by using this principle.
Building smooth workflow
Supervision of various procedures and operations which make direct or indirect
contributions in providing consumers maximum in order to build smooth workflow is essential
to this principle (Pheng, 2018). The respective firm needs to build smooth workflow for all of
their procedures which add value for the consumers by ensuring collaboration between various

divisions and simplification of complex procedures to divide tasks between highly skilled
employees.
Creation of a pull based system
The main purpose of this principle is reduction of work in process items with limited
inventory. Ensuring smooth availability of information and resources to every part of he
company is another task mentioned in this principle. This principle assures just in time delivery
and production of commodity according to the neds of the consumers (Andersen, 2018). The
respective firm will be able to gain competitive advantage after implementation of this principle
as they will meet the demands of consumers in given time.
Aiming for perfection
This is one of the most significant principles of this model with the results completely
depending on this principle. Seeking perfection is the main task of this principle which includes
continuously finding better ways for completing various tasks and removal of practices which
hinder continuous improvement of the company (Barnes, 2018) . M&S is required to utilise this
principle by aiming for perfection in every bushiness operation and continuously monitoring this
process to reach perfection.
CONTINOUS IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY FOR M&S
BASIS CURENT METHODOLOGY PLANNED METHODOLOGY
Cost The overall cost of the M&S is high
despite sourcing many of their
production activities to Asian countries
which offer cheap labour. This
hampers the growth and development
of the firm (Al-Dulaimi, Wang and
Chih-Lin, 2018) .
M&S needs to utilise lean
manufacturing in order to reduce costs.
Apart form this the lean manufacturing
model will also assist in attaining the
goal of sustainability by reinducing
wastage of resources.
Standard M&S has gained success and high
reputation by producing products with
high standards. Supervision of
activities in order to provide high
standard products and services is a
M&S needs to offer unique and high
quality products with reduced prices in
order to capture low and middle class
market. This task could be accomplished
by incorporating sic sigma which

primary task of the firm. reduces unnecessary expenditure while
maintaining superior standards through
statistical tools.
Transportati
on
M&S partners with third party
organisation for smooth delivery of
their goods. This not only reduces
sustainability but also stops the
company from attending to consumers
demands in a timely manner (Chary,
2017).
In order to accomplish all their goals
while maintaining sustainability of the
firm the company neds to utilise just in
time model. This model is suitable for
the firm as it will help the company
tackle with highly competitive retail
sector.
Time needed Currently M&S requires 4 to 6 months
of time to accomplish goals devised in
this strategy.
M&S neds to utilise various operations
management procedure such as Kaizen
in order to conduct activities effectively
in short time (Wedel and Behnezhad,
2019) .
Accountable
people
Managers and heads of various
organisations take the accountability of
various operations in M&S and
delegate responsibility to different
employees with less emphasis on their
involvement.
The respective company neds to
combine every employee in order to
increase accountability and participation
of various employees. This will not only
improve workflow but also enhance
work culture of the firm.
M&S need to utilise various operations management such as lean manufacturing, this
will improve sustainability and efficiency of the company. Sustainability is a major goal of the
company which can be achieved by implementation of lean manufacturing. Apart from this just
in time practice will enhance repose rate of the firm and increase net profits of the company.
Usage of sic sigma practices as devised in the plan above will reduce flaws in their procedure.
Statistical tools used in six sigma will give the authorities insight into various practices which
reduce efficiency and help construction of policies which increase productivity of the company
(Al Hattab, and et. al., 2017).

TASK 3
P3 Application of every phase of PLC life-cycle to crossrail project
Giving British citizens high frequency suburban passenger services across west and east
of the London by connecting two of the main railway lines in ending in the city. The passenger
service which will be constructed is named Elizabeth line and improve public transportation of
the city (Pekkanen, and et. al., 2020). This project was implemented by the British government
in the year 2007 and the concerned authorities are aiming to complete this project by 2022.
project life-cycle of Crossrail consists of 4 step structure built to help supervisors and authorities
complete their projects successfully. The project life-cycle in relation to British railway
construction project crossrail is provided below:
 Initial phase of the project: The major tasks conducted by the authorities of cross rail
this stage of the project include identification of primary goal and outlining risks
related with the project. Supervisors ensure that skilled and capable workers are
recruited for the project. Apart from this seeking approval from concerned authorities
by giving them discussing various tasks and communicating with them before taking
significant decisions is another major tasks completed by managers of crossrail project
(Berbegal, Gil and Alegre, 2017) .
 Formation of strategies: Building appropriate strategies which contain suitable
guidelines and directions for effective completion of the project is completed in this
phase of the project. In context of the crossrail project formation of simplified plans is
the main objective of this phase. The managers address any barriers related to the
project and construct short term goals by dividing various procedures into simplified
activities in this phase (Choi and et. al., 2018). This assists the in timely completion of
the project.
 Implementation phase: As this phase revolves around implementation of strategies
which are devised and approved by the high ranking authorities, this involves
supervision of various procedures and daily activities to ensure that all objectives are
met in a timely manner and errors are reduced. Modifications of various activities such
as lengthening of platform to accommodate growing population of Britain upon
finishing of this project is conducted at this phase.

 Closing phase: During the dissolution of the project the related authorities of the
crossrail project neds to terminate contracts with suppliers and see that all the
passengers access the constructed railway facilities effectively. After the completion of
this project the managers will need to evaluate various merits and demerits of project
procedure which will help the company remove those mistakes from the future
projects (Huang, Potter and Eyers, 2020) .
GANTT CHART
Gantt chart is a bar chart which provides information about various tasks scheduled over
time in a visual format. The Gantt chart includes two axis which showcase time and various
tasks which need to be completed. Gantt chart is utilised by authorities involves in the crosrail
project in order to showcase the development of the project in an efficient manner.

Project portfolio
This term involves information about various procedures utilised to accomplish a certain
project
Executive Summary: Crossrail is one of the most ambitious projects taken up by the UK
government. This is project involves construction of passenger railway service in region of
London and is one of the most costly projects taken up the British government.
Objective: The main objective of this project is to build a railway line acros east and west
London in order to improve public transportation of the country.
Procedure: Profound research related to current and future population growth along with
changes in technology is required to maximise consumers expectations (Kim and Irizarry,
2019) .
Cost: This is a multi billion project with overall costs of £14.8bn
Advantages: This project not only improves transportation system in London but also
reduces pollution as passengers access public transportation for travelling across the city.
Time: The total time taken for the completion of this project is of 8 years.
Project Strategy:
 Cost: This is a multi billion project with overall costs of £14.8bn
 Extent: The extent of this project is huge as it employees large number of workers and
increases income of the company (Medini, 2018) .
 Risk: Advanced technology needs to be used in this project in order to minimise risk.
 Resources: This project requires high investment in terms of financial and labour
resources.
SIMPLIFICATION OF ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

TASK 4
P4 Revaluation and critique of effectiveness of project life-cycle in relation to crossrail project
Initial phase of the project: As this project requires huge workforce the leadership style
adopted for smooth and timely completion of this project is authoritative leadership style. This
will help in effective delegation of responsibilities and results in construction of chain of
commant. This will ensure that each employee understands their duties and completes their
responsibilities with full accountability and few faults (Misra, Ravinder, and Peterson, 2016) .
Formulation of strategy: The respective organisation is utilising programme theory in
order to deal with various barriers present in this stage. The logic model attaches various tasks
with their intended outcomes. This helps in construction of a plan which utilises various
resources effectively and provides various stakeholders associated with the project desired result.

Implementation of plans: In context of the respective project the major model used by
the firm in order to maximise performance of employees is performance management. This helps
the firm maintain stable productivity and helps in completion of various short term goals swiftly.
Termination of project: This phase of the project utilises teamwork skills and is centred
around combining every member of the group in order to ensure smooth termination of the
project (Patanakul and et. al., 2016) . This phase is as important as initial activities because it
focuses on maximising consumers satisfaction.

CONCLUSION
From the above report it is determined that operations management plays a significant
growth in the overall development of the firm. Operations management helps improving
efficiency of the organisation and reducing wastage of various resources. An organisation can
supervise effective delivery of various products by using project management. Project
management involves supervising various operations undertaken for smooth completion of the
project. The life cycle of a project involves four phases with four various goals and objectives.
The organisation understand each phase of the life-cycle in order to gain desired result in limited
time frame. Various barriers present in different phases of the project life-cycle ned to be
addressed by using various models such as performance management and appropriate leadership
style.

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