Report: Managing Sustainability and Operational Excellence at Thompson

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of sustainability and operational excellence within Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd. It begins by identifying the challenges associated with implementing sustainability, such as economic and financial barriers, innovation limitations, social considerations, political and legal issues, poor monitoring systems, and environmental concerns. The report then recommends strategies to overcome these challenges, including market and internal analysis. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of genuine commitment to stakeholders and corporate social responsibility (CSR), detailing how Thompson Automotive can convince stakeholders through various CSR activities, including programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, waste reduction through recycling, and ethical programs. Finally, the report introduces a company-wide operations improvement strategy to foster long-term business growth and sustainability.

Managing Sustainability
and Operational
Excellence

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
1. Challenges which are expected to come across with sustainability implementation and
recommendations are regarding strategies which could be used to deal with it..........................1
2. Provide relevant evidence to convince their stakeholders through genuine commitment for
the sustainability..........................................................................................................................3
3. Introduction of company wide operations improvement strategy..........................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Operational excellence is the execution of business strategy which is reliable for the
competitors. Organization use the various strategy which help them to provide sustainability or
operational excellence (Asif and Searcy, 2014). It include the lower risk, low operating cost and
provide higher revenue by following same strategy which other company also follow. It is not
only based on specific methodology or particular philosophy. Thompson Automotive Pressing
Ltd is set up by the young engineers in the year 1996. Company manufacture the comprised
pressure parts for the automotive industry. This report include the various topics such as
challenges which organization face at the time of sustainable implementation, strategy and
recommendation. Along with this, company have to made genuine commitment for the
sustainability of stakeholders. In addition, it include the operational improvement strategy in the
organization.
MAIN BODY
1. Challenges which are expected to come across with sustainability implementation and
recommendations are regarding strategies which could be used to deal with it
Newly appointed Operations Director of Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd. Is being
asked by the board members to formulate a report in order to explain the way in which operation
improvement strategy to include sustainability can be introduced. While implementing
sustainability following challenges may take place:
Economic and financial barriers: While implementing sustainability Thompson
Automotive Pressing Ltd. Can face challenges that are related to economic and financial factors.
In order to take the company at sustainable level it is very important for top managers to analyse
economy of country and conditions in which it can affect an organisation negatively. If the
situations in the economy are not favourable then it can create challenge for enterprise to
implement sustainability. Financial barriers also challenge that takes place due to this
implementation because while an entity plans for growth it requires higher monetary resources
so that all the requirements of company get fulfilled. If Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd. Is
to having sufficient funds then it will become difficult for it to became sustainable (Basu, 2014)
(Basu, 2017).
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Innovation related challenges: In the automotive industry there is lack of innovation
and Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd. is a manufacturing company of parts to auto mobile
products. As now the organisation is willing to implement sustainability, for this purpose good
market image and customer satisfaction is required which can be achieved by providing them
such products which are highly innovative and manufactured according to latest trends of
market. If company is not able to offer innovative products to the clients then it is not possible to
achieve sustainability for company which could be retained for a long period. Hence, innovation
related barriers may also create challenge for Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd. in order to
implement challenge.
Social challenges: While implementing sustainability it is very important for business
entities such as Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd. to focus on social factors such as taste,
preference, buying behaviour, age, income level etc. so that possibilities of social challenges can
be reduced. It is vital to meet requirements of customers so that sustainability can be
implemented successfully. If clients are not satisfied then it is not possible for company to
sustain in the market for a long period. Behaviour of customers regarding a product changes with
time and to motivate them to buy an item it is very important to consider their views while
manufacturing the products. With the help of it sustainability can be implemented successfully
and if company is not focused with their buying behaviour then it may create challenge to
implement it (Edgeman and Eskildsen, 2014).
Political and legal issues: For all the companies it is very important to comply with all
the political and legal factors while formulating strategies for sustainability in order to reduce
interference of government in business operations. To implement it, it is very important for
Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd. to be aware of all the rules and regulations so that
sustainability can be imposed appropriately. If managers forget to comply with legislation which
are required to operate business effectively then it can create issues such as governmental
interference in the activities which are going to be performed for attain it.
Poor monitoring and evaluation systems: Proper monitoring and evaluation is very
important for a company while formulating strategies for betterment. In order to attain business
objectives such as long term sustainability, Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd. is required to
evaluate all the systems which are used to execute business activities. If the process of evaluating
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and measuring is poor and weak then it results in issues for implementation of sustainability for
company.
Environmental issues: As Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd. is an automotive
company which is planning to implement sustainability, for this purpose it is vital for it to focus
on environmental factors and make sure that its operations are not harming it. For this purpose it
can contribute in corporate social responsibility activities in which money could be spent for
betterment of environment. If operational activities of it are affecting environment in a negative
manner then it can create issues for implementation of sustainability.
All the above described issues may take place for Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd.
while implementing sustainability for the purpose of attaining growth for future period.
Following strategies can be implemented to deal with the above described challenges:
Market analysis: It is a type of strategy which could be used by Thompson Automotive
Pressing Ltd. to deal with above described issues by gathering market information and
formulating policies for future according to it. With the help of it information regarding latest
trend, political and legal situations, customer's taste and preferences, laws related to environment
protection etc. can be gathered. This collected data can be used by board of directors to take
future decisions for betterment of company. In this way, challenges to implement sustainability
can be dealt appropriately (Fonseca, 2015).
Internal analysis: It is another technique which could be used by Thompson Automotive
Pressing Ltd. to resolve the issues which are creating issues to implement sustainability. It helps
to gather information regarding organisation's actual financial position, error in monitoring and
evaluation system etc. When it is collected by managers then they can find ways to overcome the
above described challenges and implement sustainability effectively.
With the help of both the above described strategies Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd.
can deal with challenges which may take place while implementing sustainability as both of
them guide to form strategic and effective decisions for betterment of company.
2. Provide relevant evidence to convince their stakeholders through genuine commitment for the
sustainability
Sustainability in the organization is associated with the corporate social responsibility
where company have to fulfill their current need without compromising the ability of future
generation to meet their needs. Sustainability include the process where manager of the company
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maintain financial, social and environmental risk and measure the opportunity which help the
Thompson Automotive Pressure group to increase their productivity or profitability.
Sustainability means for the organization is to maintain strong brand with great pricing
power. Operational efficiency where company use optimum resources for the supply chain
management. Company have to enhance their ability to expand their business in the new market
where to attract new customer and motivate or retail employees.
Company done various commitment to their stakeholders through corporate social
responsibility. It help the organization to analyses the key measurement for the success where
they have to choose between profitability or customer loyalty.
 Firstly, company analyze the wants and demand of a customer which is changes
according to time. So they have to done those activities which help to fulfill the demand
of consumers (Formentini and Taticchi, 2016).
 Company also analyses that, how their strategy help the business to maintain their
customer loyal for the longer period.
Thompson Automotive Pressure Ltd done various activities under the corporate social
responsibility which help the business to maintain their sustainability to satisfy their stakeholder
in order to achieve their business goals & objectives.
Corporate social responsibility is the corporate activity where organization contribute
their some part of profit margin in the society for the well of people or sustainable development.
For the CSR Thompson Automotive dona various efforts for the sustainable development in the
society (Corporate Social Responsibility, 2017). These efforts include the donation for the
voluntary organization who done various activities in respect of society. Company sponsor
various programs or take initiatives for the benefits. Because with the help of society,
organization earn the profit then company also have responsibility to pay back society in
different way which is beneficial for them for the longer duration.
Thompson Limited have to made their commitment for the stakeholders which include
the customer, employees, potential investor, owner, supplier. Government, shareholders etc.
Success of the organization help the shareholders to make their choice regarding targeting
company. Because if company earn high profit then it attract the more shareholder to become
part of this. If organization have impressive track record to being a good citizen then it will
increase the potential investors. So basically corporate social responsibility help the company to
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maintain their brand value and increase their market demand in term of productivity or
profitability. With the help of CSR activity company can increase the following aspects:
Sales: Fully integrating organization who done CSR activity able to increase their sales
and prices. Customer give their attention on those organization who done various things for the
society and react according to the political issues and always ready to resolve their internal or
external conflicts. So, doing CSR activity will help the business to increase their productivity or
profitability which provide the high sale (Ivanov, Tsipoulanidis and Schönberger, 2017).
Reputation:Company will get reputed when they produce a good item for the sale, being
innovative or creative always provide the appropriation from society. When organization provide
good infrastructure for the work, for good governance and great citizenship help the business to
improve their reputation in the market which help to attract more customer which increase sale
of the company.
Customer Loyalty: With the help of CSR activity, company not only get the
sustainability but it will also increase the customer loyalty for the organization. Because
stakeholders fully aware about the organizational activity and their related new in the media. It
will help the consumers to know about their social activities and it will make customer loyal for
the longer time (Jaeger, Matyas and Sihn, 2014).
Their are some CSR activities done by the Thompson Automotive Limited for the
sustainable development in the society and it will be discussed below:
Develop a program to reduce green house gas emission: Company develop a program
which provide the awareness regarding reduction of green house gas. Automotive organization
have to concentrate on various things which they manufacture and the wastage will harm the
economy.
Reduce the wastage with the help of recycling: Company adopt various strategy which
help to reduce their wastage and provide better sustainability. Thompson company recycle their
waste and further utilize in their production. This activity help the organization to provide
environmental safety in terms of their nature.
Ethical programs: Organization done various ethical programs which help the
employees to maintain their ethical standards and complete their work as per code of ethics.
These programs help the individual to became aware regarding various activities which happen
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in the organization. They need to analyze that which is good for the organization and which is
not (Mahadevan, 2015).
3. Introduction of company wide operations improvement strategy
Operation improvement strategy: It is a type of strategy which is used by business
entities to implement sustainability and achieve long term growth for business. Currently
Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd. is dealing with different types of issues such as employee
turnover, decreased growth, social and environmental issues. In order to deal with all these
challenges managers have planned to introduce a company wide operation improvement strategy.
For this purpose following steps are going to be followed:
Alignment of strategic plan: In order to implement an operations improvement strategy
managers align a strategic plan which covers information regarding all the steps which are going
to be taken in future by company in order to achieve growth. In this step managers of Thompson
Automotive Pressing Ltd. will gather detailed information of all the activities of company and
then formulate a strategic plan which could be executed in future for betterment of enterprise.
Conducting a productivity audit: When strategic plan is aligned the productivity audit
is conducted by top level managers to identify issues which are resulting in the decreased growth
of the company. With the help of it reason behind low productivity can be figured out and best
suitable solutions for the same can be implemented for future period. In this stage reason for
business issues such as employee turnover, social and environmental problems are analysed by
Thompson Automotive Pressing Ltd.'s managers (Metaxas and Koulouriotis, 2014).
Conduct research and identify alternative solutions for issues: When a productivity
audit is being conducted and problems are identified then market research is held by company so
that appropriate solutions to deal with challenges can be identified. Managers of Thompson
Automotive Pressing Ltd. analysand market conditions and look for best suitable ways to
respond problems appropriately. They find various ways from which one is selected for the
purpose of implementation. As currently organization is dealing with the issue of decreased
growth, employee turnover etc. in this stage managers try to find solutions for these problems.
They have planned to implement sustainability which can result in solution of the issues.
Operational strategy include the research phase which is very simple process because Thompson
company have conduct an productivity audit in the different departments and then provide a
single solution for it. Organization have to implement the various strategies which required for
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the management of production. In this case, outside guidance such as research findings help the
organization to implement latest technology to improve their production level (Oakland, 2014) .
Thompson company face the social or environmental issues which impact the organization and
employees retention will reduce. So firstly company change their technology according to the
market demand. Searcher will help the business to analyze the latest trend of technology and
them implement in the business to improve their operations functions. Along with this, company
also required training to their staff members regarding use of technology.
Time for implementing solutions: After prepare a list of solution, company have to
review the budget and allocate the resources and then analyze which one can be implemented in
the organization. At the time of implementing new system, Thompson company have to maintain
enough staff members who can quickly revert adopt the changes and accept the solutions. Along
with this, company required a expert at the time of implementing new technology in the
organization. So company need to provide proper training to their staff members which help the
employees to complete their task in appropriate way(Piercy and Rich, 2015). With the help of
training, it will increase the productivity or profitability of the organization. In addition,
manager of the company also provide incentives which provide motivation to the employees to
perform well in their task or make them able to achieve their goals along with organizational
goals & objectives.
Review and done required improvement: After building operational strategy, company
required to review their strategy for the further improvement. It will be done through the
feedback process where every member of the organization provide their valuable feedback which
help the business to consider these points and implement for the improvement. It is the important
step for the every organization because review their results and improve further for the effective
results and profitability.
Continuous improvement in the organization: After reviewing all the functions,
Thompson required to improve and it is not one time process. Company have to improve their
operational work on regular basis which help the company to maintain their efficiency in order to
increase their productivity or profitability. It will further help the business to achieve their goals
& objectives (Thompson, Strickland and Gamble, 2015).
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CONCLUSION
From the above project report it has been concluded that managing sustainability and
operational excellence both are very important for all the business entities in order to operate
business activities appropriately. Different types of challenges are faced by organisations while
implementing sustainability for the purpose of growth. These are financial, economic, political,
innovation, legal, poor evaluation and monitoring, social etc. It has been recommended to the
companies to use market and internal analysis strategies in order to deal with them. In order to
provide evidence to the stakeholders regarding commitment to sustainability enterprises can
provide them information of their corporate social responsibility activities. Implementation of
operation improvement strategy is a tough process because it requires high focus of top level
managers.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Asif, M. and Searcy, C., 2014. Determining the key capabilities required for performance
excellence in higher education. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence.
25(1-2). pp.22-35.
Basu, R., 2014. Managing quality in projects: An empirical study. International journal of
project management. 32(1). pp.178-187.
Basu, R., 2017. Managing Quality in Projects. Routledge.
Edgeman, R. and Eskildsen, J., 2014. Modeling and assessing sustainable enterprise
excellence. Business Strategy and the Environment. 23(3). pp.173-187.
Fonseca, L. M., 2015. Relationship between ISO 9001 certification maturity and EFQM business
excellence model results. Quality Innovation Prosperity. 19(1). pp.85-102.
Formentini, M. and Taticchi, P., 2016. Corporate sustainability approaches and governance
mechanisms in sustainable supply chain management. Journal of Cleaner Production.
112. pp.1920-1933.
Ivanov, D., Tsipoulanidis, A. and Schönberger, J., 2017. Global supply chain and operations
management. A Decision-Oriented Introduction to the Creation of Value.
Jaeger, A., Matyas, K. and Sihn, W., 2014. Development of an assessment framework for
Operations Excellence (OsE), based on the paradigm change in Operational Excellence
(OE). Procedia CIRP. 17. pp.487-492.
Mahadevan, B., 2015. Operations management: Theory and practice. Pearson Education India.
Metaxas, I. N. and Koulouriotis, D. E., 2014. A theoretical study of the relation between TQM,
assessment and sustainable business excellence. Total Quality Management & Business
Excellence. 25(5-6). pp.494-510.
Oakland, J. S., 2014. Total quality management and operational excellence: text with cases.
Routledge.
Piercy, N. and Rich, N., 2015. The relationship between lean operations and sustainable
operations. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. 35(2).
pp.282-315.
Thompson, A., Strickland, A. J. and Gamble, J., 2015. Crafting and executing strategy: Concepts
and readings. McGraw-Hill Education.
Online
Corporate Social Responsibility. 2017. [Online]. Available
Through:<https://www.unido.org/our-focus/advancing-economic-competitiveness/
competitive-trade-capacities-and-corporate-responsibility/corporate-social-
responsibility-market-integration/what-csr>
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