Operations Management in Unilever PLC: A Comprehensive Analysis

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MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
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Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3
LO3: DEMONSTRATE AN APPRECIATION OF THE ROLE LEADERS AND MANAGERS PLAY IN THE
OPERATIONS FUNCTION OF AN ORGANIZATION...........................................................................3
P4:.............................................................................................................................................. 3
P5:.............................................................................................................................................. 5
M3:............................................................................................................................................ 7
LO4: DEMONSTRATE AN APPRECIATION OF THE ROLE LEADERS AND MANAGERS PLAY IN THE
OPERATIONS FUNCTION OF AN ORGANIZATION...........................................................................9
P6:.............................................................................................................................................. 9
M4:.......................................................................................................................................... 11
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 12
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................13
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INTRODUCTION
Operation management means the proper arrangement of the business practices to develop a
maximum level of efficiency in the organization. In other words, it is a practice of transforming
the raw material and labor into products or services efficiently for maximizing the profit of the
company. The operation manager tries to cover the cost with the revenue for achieving
maximum operating profit. The activities of operation management involve managing the
equipment, staff, materials, and technology (Nakamura et al., 2015). In order to get efficiency in
the operation, the operation manager has to deal with different strategic issues such as the
acquisition of the raw material, materials handling, and maintenance of inventory level, etc.
The main purpose of the operation management is to minimize the waste and optimum
utilization of the raw materials. The professionals of operation management in the company
understand the needs of the customers, trend in the local and global market as well as the
available resources for operations. It is the responsibility of the operation manager to ensure
that the inventory must be handled properly and should be no situation of excessive
inventories in the warehouse. The Unilever PLC deals in large numbers of goods, therefore, the
need for managing the inventory is very high (Shabanpour-Haghighi and Seifi, 2015).
LO3: DEMONSTRATE AN APPRECIATION OF THE ROLE LEADERS AND
MANAGERS PLAY IN THE OPERATIONS FUNCTION OF AN ORGANIZATION
P4:
The key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers play
Six sigma
In the current scenario, the competition among the business increases and the companies
wants to be more efficient and this can be achieved by making relevant changes in the business
activities. Six sigma is the best approach for the Unilever plc. for improving the quality of goods
or process by minimizing the variations and errors. Quality is an important factor for deciding
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the success and failure of the company. By following this approach the Unilever plc. produces
quality products for the consumers with the help of removing or minimizing the defects or
errors. The main responsibility of the operation manager is to develop a global strategy for
effectively utilizing the available resources and give quality products to consumers (Albliwi et
al., 2015).
Lean production
It is an approach of operation management that emphasis on minimizing the waste obtained
from the production while at the time of maintaining the quality. This approach is properly
applied in the Unilever plc. which covers all the aspects of operation such as design, production,
and distribution of the consumer goods. The operation department of the Unilever plc. cut
down the activities that do not add to the value of production (Jasti and Kodali, 2015). This
approach helps the company to become more competitive as compared to its competitors.
Total Quality management
Total quality management is a continuous process of identifying the defects, eliminating or
reducing the defects in the production process, giving a positive experience to customers as
well as ensuring that employees can increase their speed with training. In the Unilever plc., the
company set the standards for measuring the quality of the product manufactured. Some of
these standards are also set by the law or regulation of the particular country and it is
compulsory for the company to follow these rules (Ross, 2017). The company uses TQM
approach for ensuring the quality of the product.
The role played by the leaders or managers
The primary responsibility of the leaders and managers of Unilever PLC is to ensure the quality
of the product at the end of the production process, monitoring employees activities at the
time of production, measuring the quality of the raw material as well as measuring the
customer satisfaction with the product.
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P5:
Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives of Unilever
PLC
The business objectives of the Unilever PLC can be achieved when all the departments of the
company support each other. The activities of the operation management are focused to gain a
competitive advantage and to increase its market share. For achieving the objectives, the
company focuses on maintaining the quality of its product by arranging and managing the
activities of the operation management. The importance and value of operations management
for the Unilever PLC are as follows:
1. Survival: The primary aim of any business is to survive in a competitive world. The
reason for the success of the Unilever PLC is that it produces the goods according to the
needs of the customers. They produce different products for different customers. This
strategy enhances the growth and development of the organization. In addition to this,
the company not only produces the goods according to specific needs but they also use
differentiated and quality products to make a unique position in the industry (Monczka
et al., 2015).
2. Maximizing revenue: the other factor contributing to the revenue is producing quality
goods. The good quality products of Unilever PLC results in customer satisfaction which
creates a positive image in the minds of the customers. The customers will not think of
switching the product if they are satisfied with the company’s product. The positive
image, as well as a good reputation, will help the Unilever PLC in attracting potential
customers and hence increases the revenue of the company.
3. Customer satisfaction: the company's growth depends on the satisfaction of the
customers. The operation management of the Unilever PLC emphasis on producing the
products according to the needs, taste, and preference of the customers and also the
benefits they get after using the product. The operation management continuously
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makes innovation and invention in their products so that they match with the changing
needs of the customers.
4. Waste reduction: the approaches used by the Unilever PLC to minimize the waste from
the production process are six sigma, lean production as well as total quality
management. All these approaches help in minimizing the waste from the production
and in eliminating the defects or errors in the process. Therefore, these approaches also
add value in the operation management for achieving the objective of the company
(Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018).
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M3:
Evaluate how leaders and managers can improve efficiencies of operational management to
successfully meet business objectives
The leaders and managers of the operation department can improve the efficiency by
concentrating on these activities on a regular basis so that they successfully meet the business
objectives:
 Regulations of government: the products of the Unilever PLC must be manufactured by
keeping the rules and regulations of the government. It is the responsibility of the leader
and manager to analyze the regulations of the government and to communicate it with
the internal organization so that they will follow the same regulation in their activities. In
addition to this, there are several other tasks that improve the overall efficiency of the
organization (Lehmann, 2016).
 Quality control: this term not only shows the quality of the goods but it also represents
the internal management of the Unilever PLC. Customers will definitely choose high-
quality products at lower prices. Due to the increase in competition, almost all the
companies are selling their product at lower prices. The only differentiation strategy used
by the company is the quality of their products. Therefore in order to secure its position in
the industry, Unilever PLC develops the strategy of maintaining the quality of the product
and this will further build the reputation of the organization.
 Inventory control: the Unilever PLC has a large number of the products in its brand
portfolio; therefore it becomes difficult for the leaders or managers to maintain the
quality of the product. The operation manager of the collect the inventory data for
analyzing the current level of the inventory and required inventory so that it does not
affect the production process. The collected data results help in evading the long-term
problem of inventory management.
With the help of these practices, the leaders and managers of the Unilever PLC can achieve
efficiency in its operation which indirectly contributes to meeting the corporate objective of the
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company. The effective management of the input and output by the operation manager of the
Unilever PLC helps in minimizing per unit cost and it increases the profitability of the company.
The importance of operation management in the Unilever PLC increases because they have to
invest huge funds in marinating the inventory which can be minimized with the help of
inventory management (Epstein, 2018).

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LO4: DEMONSTRATE AN APPRECIATION OF THE ROLE LEADERS AND
MANAGERS PLAY IN THE OPERATIONS FUNCTION OF AN ORGANIZATION
P6:
The factors within the business environment that impact operational management and
decision-making by leaders and managers
The business environment of the Unilever PLC is affected by internal as well as external factors,
the internal factors help in the operation while the external factors hinder the operations of the
company. It is the responsibility of the operation manager to identify the opportunity and
threats for the business operation so that it should be included in the decision process to avoid
the negative impact on the operations. The factors within the business environment that
impact the operation management and decision making by the leaders and managers are as
follows:
1. Cost: the company follows a cost-effective strategy that attracts a different consumer
segment and tries to cover the majority of the population. The low-cost products help in
expanding its market share in the industry.
2. Finance: the second important internal factors affect the operation department is the
availability of the finance which is measured through the cash flow statement. The
proper management of several activities helps in strengthening the financial position
(Hermano and Martín-Cruz, 2016).
3. Organizational culture: the culture of the organization also plays an important role in
operation management and decision-making process. This is because the production of
a particular product depends on the culture of that department. Moreover, the
strategies are developed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the workforce.
4. Sustainability: the meaning of sustainability is that the company should manufacture
the products for meeting the current needs without compromising the requirement of
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the future. It is the social responsibility of all the companies that should represent
themselves as the responsibility for protecting the scarce resources in front of the
potential customer so that they will successfully maintain a positive image (Liu and
Almor, 2016).
5. Infrastructure: the internal infrastructure of the company decides the efficiency of the
workforce. The Unilever PLC must provide additional facilities along with the basic
facilities for improving and increasing the production capacities. The additional facilities
include the proper arrangement of the hygiene environment, fresh air, proper
ventilation, etc. thus, it can be said the improvement in the infrastructure facilities will
bring more opportunities for business expansion.
6. Human resources: the decision of the leader and manager are also affected by the
capability of the employees at the Unilever PLC. For example, the target set for
producing the product X will directly depend on the training, skills, speed and the
motivation of the employees. The decisions were made after considering the strengths
and weakness of the employees (Noe et al., 2017).
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M4:
The factors that impact on the wider business environment and the wider community
The external factors of the company largely affect the business environment of the company.
The impact of these factors on the business environment and the wider community are as
follows:
 Legal and political factors: the government of different countries impose several rules
and regulations to the multinational companies so that their products or services must
harm the people and it must be according to their standards. These standards directly
affect the business environment of the Unilever PLC because they have to change their
policies and procedure according to these government bodies (Measham et al., 2016).
 Geographical factors: the company has its operation in several countries and its operation
is affected by cultural differences. People from different cultures are having different taste
and preferences. Therefore the company has to change its products according to different
cultures that directly affect the internal environment of the business.
 Natural factors: the natural factors include the natural resources, animals and all other
living organisms. The operations of the Unilever PLC are not affecting these natural
resources as they follow the rules of the government strictly. But there are several
activities that negatively affect the natural resources are the emission of chemical water,
waste disposal, etc. on the land or water resources. The operation of the company also
affects the community living near the manufacturing area of the company.
 Demographic factors: the policies or the products are also affected by the demographic
characteristics of the population such as education level, income, occupation, gender, etc.
The design and the development of the product are done after considering all of the
factors of the target audience. Segmentation, targeting, and positioning of the products
are done according to demographic segmentation of the target customers (Seyfang and
Longhurst, 2016).
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There are several other factors that also affect the business environment and the wider
community are social, technology, economic factors, etc. The strategies and policy of the
Unilever PLC are developed after considering the elements that can affect the corporate social
responsibility of the company. It is the responsibility of the operation manager to effectively
communicate the policies to the employees and the organization as a whole so that it does not
directly affect the operation of the organization. It is the function of the leader that they
provide required training and necessary resources to the employees for meeting the needs of
different countries and to meet the objectives of corporate social responsibility.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that operation management is the process of
managing the important resources of the organization so that these resources must be properly
utilized. The primary aim of the operation management at the Unilever PLC is to enhance
productivity by using minimum resources. This report consists of the approaches used by the
Unilever PLC for minimizing the waste and to maintain the quality of the report. They use six
sigma, lean production, and total quality management for managing its production operation.
Other than this, the report also includes the importance and value of the operation
management for achieving the corporate objectives. It also includes the factors in the business
environment that affect the business environment and decision of leaders and managers. In
addition to this, this report also includes the impact of the internal and external factors on the
business environment and the wider community.
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