Analyzing Operation Management Practice and Efficiency at Tesco PLC

This report provides a detailed analysis of operation management practices at Tesco PLC, a global grocery and general merchandise retailer. It focuses on total quality management (TQM) as a key operational strategy and assesses its impact on the organization's efficiency. The report examines how TQM principles such as customer-centricity, employee engagement, and continuous improvement are applied at Tesco. It further discusses how technology, including social media and artificial intelligence (AI), can be embedded to enhance TQM processes. The report also identifies supporting functions like quality planning and quality assurance that are linked to operation management and contribute to Tesco's organizational success, specifically focusing on how these functions aid in achieving product standards and overall performance improvement.

CW1 WRITTEN
ASSIGNMENT

Contents
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.......................................................................................................................................3
Determine one operation management practice within an organisation.....................................3
Assess how operation management practice impacts the organisation in respect to efficiency. 3
Assess how technology could be embedded in this process...........................................................3
Discuss what supporting functions are linked to operation management practice and assess
how can they help with ensuring organisational success..............................................................3
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Operation management is defined as one of the most important practises utilised by
businesses to achieve the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness. It also entails
efficiently transforming raw materials into completed goods and services in order to
maximise the company's profitability. Operation management assists a company organisation
in effectively managing and controlling its operations and processes (Magon and et. Al,
2018). Tesco is a well-known global grocery and general products retailer that is the subject
of this study. Jack Cohen created it in 1919, and it now has operations in over 11 countries
throughout the world. This study focuses on a thorough examination of the organization's
operations management processes. This report also discusses how various operations
management methods effect the firm in terms of efficiency, as well as the role of technology
in this process. This research also highlights numerous supporting roles related to operations
management methods, as well as how they contribute to organisational performance (Barnes,
2018).
MAIN BODY
Determine one operation management practice within an organisation
One of the most important aspects of every business is operations management. It is
described as the business procedures employed by a company in order to achieve the best
level of efficiency achievable within the company. The corporate organisation employs a
variety of operations management strategies to ensure that operations run smoothly and that
targeted goals and objectives are met. A large number of business organisations are
experiencing operational issues as a result of the growing changes or trends, and these issues
can be handled or resolved by implementing best practise methods such as quality
management standards and systems, stock control, supply chain management, information
management, and so on (Brown, Bessant and Jia 2018). The complete quality management
practise is taken into account in this report. Total quality management is defined as a
continual process of analysing, determining, and decreasing manufacturing errors, as well as
streamlining supply chain management and improving customer satisfaction. Total quality
management is a structural approach to total business organisation management that focuses
on improving the overall quality of an organization's outputs, including goods and services.
In the case of Tesco, which is one of the most successful retail brands in the UK and the
world's third largest retailer by revenue. Tesco is well-known for its efficient operations

management, which allows the corporation to maintain optimal stock levels. Tesco provides a
strong guarantee in terms of product quality, ensuring overall quality standards throughout
their operations. Total quality management is an efficient operations management strategy for
the organisation since it allows them to maintain correct quality in their products and
services, attracting a large number of customers and improving overall performance. The
following are the several major TQM principles that apply to Tesco (Abubakar and et. Al,
2020):
Customer-centricity: Customer attention is one of the most important core principles
of comprehensive quality management. One of the most important aspects of a good TQM
system is understanding how customers judge quality. Customers' comments and reviews
assist organisations in determining whether the product and service quality is satisfactory.
Tesco, for example, efficiently focuses on their customers, collects continual feedback in the
form of reviews, surveys, and so on, and adjusts their quality accordingly.
Employee engagement: it is another fundamental principle of comprehensive quality
management. Every employee in an organisation is responsible for ensuring that the product
and services are of high quality. Employees must ensure that the target clients receive great
service. In the instance of Tesco, the manager ensures that staff are given the authority to
make their own decisions, as this will allow them to participate in the quality management
process.
Continuous improvement: Using the concepts of overall quality management, a
corporate organisation can enhance its processes and provide excellent services to its
consumers. In the instance of Tesco, applying the lean six sigma principle allowed the
company to create a culture of continuous improvement, inspiring staff to provide high-
quality services to customers and increase its market share (Cachon, Girotra and Netessine,
2020).
Assess how operation management practice impacts the organisation in respect to
efficiency
Total quality management as an operation management strategy has a good and
helpful impact on the organization's productivity and efficiency. From product planning to
scheduling and monitoring, total quality management encompasses all aspects of operations
management. It focuses on enhancing the business' overall quality, allowing them to achieve

a competitive advantage in terms of quality, productivity, customer satisfaction, and
productivity. It has been determined that incorporating Total Quality Management into an
organisation has a significant positive impact on the organization's performance. Tesco has
used total quality management since it allows them to improve their entire efficiency. The
following are some of the ways that total quality management improves Tesco's efficiency
(Torlak, Demir and Budur,2019):
Increased productivity: Total quality management is one of the most important
integrated systems for increasing a company's overall productivity. It aids in ensuring that
quality is maintained throughout the organization's process, resulting in high-quality
products. Tesco's usage of total quality management assists the organisation in increasing
overall productivity.
Waste and defect elimination: The use of overall quality management also aids the
business organisation in eliminating any waste or fault in the operational process. It aids in
the detection of non-productive activities and waste, and regular checks aid in the reduction
of time and resource waste. Tesco's operational manager use smart resource planning to
effectively and efficiently divide the required resources. In addition, the application of overall
quality management practises allows a company to periodically examine its processes,
resulting in the elimination of any waste and increased efficiency (Demir, 2019).
Reduce product defects: Total quality management assists businesses in reducing
product defects. This method ensures that items are made correctly and effectively without
any failures or defaults. Tesco's use of complete quality control allows the company to reduce
product defects and obtain accurate results from various manufacturing processes. This aids
in cost reduction and can be used to improve defective items, hence increasing the company's
efficiency.
Developing an effective communication system: The implementation of proper total
quality management also aids in the development of an effective communication system by
enhancing collaborative sanctions. Tesco, for example, ensures that the organisation has an
effective communication system in place so that team members and departments can convey
their ideas and points of view. This helps the organisation avoid misunderstandings by
fostering clarity of roles and duties, which leads to the achievement of targeted goals and
objectives while also increasing overall efficiency.

Enhance unity: The use of total quality management in the organisation also helps to
improve unity because it is considered an integrated system of the organisation that leads to
the formation of integral unity involving all of the company's stakeholders with a major focus
on continuously improving the company's processes. It aids in enhancing the company's
efficiency. Tesco's use of total quality management aids the organisation in improving its
integral unity, resulting in improved overall performance and profitability (Boscari ant et. al,
2018).
Assess how technology could be embedded in this process
The increasing use of technology by every corporate organisation around the world to
carry out their activities efficiently. In the case of operations management methods such as
total quality management, diverse technology is employed to ensure that their activities run
smoothly. The following is an example of how technology has been implemented in Tesco's
operational management practises (Tönnissen and Teuteberg, 2020):
Social media: it is one of the most widely used technical platforms by businesses
since it allows them to engage directly with their target customers and inform them about the
company's brand image, products, and services. The company's numerous divisions, such as
marketing and human resources, utilise this type of technology. In terms of operations
management, social media also assists the organisation in achieving favourable results. In
terms of comprehensive quality management, the usage of social media allows a firm to
become more consumer-focused, allowing them to gain valuable insight into their target
customer base at a minimal cost. One of the most important and fundamental principles of
comprehensive quality management is to make the organisation more customer-centric and
provide quality services to them, resulting in increased customer satisfaction. Social media is
critical in achieving this goal because it allows companies like Tesco to engage directly with
their target customers and provide them with high-quality services. The usage of social media
platforms assists organisations in gathering data on changing consumer preferences and
tastes, which can then be used by the operational department to execute overall quality
management accordingly. Furthermore, the utilisation of social media technologies aids
commercial organisations in improving employee collaboration and developing effective
communication channels. Interdepartmental communication and collaboration among all
levels of the organisation is considered to be an important part of total quality management,

and the usage of social media technologies can help with this aspect as well. The good
consequence of this technology is that it aids in improving communication and properly
assessing consumer data. The good consequence of this technology is that it aids in
improving communication and properly assessing consumer data. However, collecting
consumer data may pose a cyber security risk to the organisation, resulting in a negative
consequence. In Tesco's case, effective and appropriate use of social media technologies can
aid in the successful implementation of the entire quality management process. It will also
assist the organisation in developing a customer-centric approach and obtaining useful
consumer insight (Choi, Guo and Luo, 2020).
Artificial Intelligence (AI): it is another rapidly evolving technology that businesses
may utilise to improve total quality control and overall operations management. The practical
application of total quality management tools and procedures poses a number of challenges
for the corporation, including concerns with controlling, analysing, and interpreting
organisational data in order to employ total quality management methodology. The
organisation may explore using artificial intelligence to aid in the effective use of TQM
procedures. Artificial Intelligence can also be utilised to improve product and service quality
by utilising sensors and measuring devices. Quality is one of the most essential aspects of
comprehensive quality management, and it may be improved with the help of artificial
intelligence. Artificial intelligence is useful since it allows for a variety of cost-effective and
time-saving approaches for evaluating and inspecting product and service quality. However,
as the business environment changes, AI technology does not improve; it must be enhanced,
which takes more time and money. Tesco's proper usage of AI technology will allow them to
efficiently carry out their operational activities while also improving their quality
management process (Dogru and Keskin, 2020).
Discuss what supporting functions are linked to operation management practice and
assess how can they help with ensuring organisational success
There are several types of supporting activities which are interrelated to the operation
management practice which assist the company management in their success.in relation to the
TESCO PLC, the activities which are linked to the operation management practice has been
discussed below: -
Quality planning: - this is basically the process in which all the aspects are analyse
which are crucial not only for the business process but also essential for the project and

operations. With the help of this proper guidelines are made in order to accomplish those
factors. This comprises of proper planning related to the proper quality standard, practices
and resources. In relation to the TESCCO Plc, proper plan is developed by the operation
management for attaining the set quality standard which result in improving the overall
organisational performance. With the help of proper planning in relation to quality they can
effectively achieve their product standards.
Quality assurance: - this activity is being considered as the most important function
which are linked to the operations practices. Quality assurance is basically an that give
assistance to the management in determining that whether, the products fulfil the set quality
standard or not. In context to the TESCO Plc, the operational practice of TQM assists the
company in offering the excellent quality of products to the target audience by giving them
assurance them any form of defect can be removed. With the help of this the entire
profitability of the firm along with their productivity has been improved by which consumer
satisfaction level has been and the potential base of buyer has been increased. This result in
developing good image of the company in the mind of their customers by which objective
can be achieved.
Quality control: -Another main activity which is linked to the TQM is the control
over the quality. Under this, it is being make sure by the operational management is that the
production of the goods is done by following the set guidelines and standards. In addition to
this, they also continue overlook and control the production function. In relation to the
TESCO plc, this activity allows the company management in promoting the quality
consciousness along with the effectual organisational culture within the firm. This result in
that they can made more emphasis on the continuous improvement. In addition to this,
effective control over the product quality can be done with the help of this function by which
quality product can be offered and desired goals can be attained (Ruparathna, Hewage, and
Sadiq, 2018).
CONCLUSION
According to the findings of the respective report, proper operation
management enables businesses to successfully manage and control all
operational-related activities, hence achieving targeted goals and objectives and

improving the company's overall performance and profitability. This research
examines how operational management practises such as overall quality
management assist businesses in reducing waste and defects, allowing them to
increase productivity and market image. The impact of overall quality
management on firm efficiency, such as greater productivity, waste elimination,
and product defect reduction, is also examined in this paper. The use of
technology in this process, as well as the support tasks related to comprehensive
quality management, are equally important.

REFERENCES
Books and journal
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