Unit 4 Management and Operations: Approaches, Importance, and Factors

This report examines the key approaches to operations management, including Total Quality Management, Lean Management, and Kaizen, and their role in achieving business objectives. It explores the importance of operations management in delivering products and services, ensuring customer satisfaction, and managing the supply chain, using ASDA as a case study. The report assesses the factors within the business environment, such as organizational culture, corporate social responsibility, and organizational ethics, that influence operational management and decision-making. The conclusion emphasizes the significance of operations management in enhancing productivity, profitability, and overall business performance. The report references relevant academic sources to support its findings.

Management and
Operations (LO
3&4)

Cover Content
 Introduction
 Explain the key approaches to operations management and the
role that leaders and managers play.
 Explain the importance and value of operations management in
achieving business objectives
 Assess the factors within the business environment that impact
upon operational management and decision-making by leaders
and management.
 Conclusion
 References

INTRODUCTION
In business world, different types of products and services are
provided by management and leader by resolving the business
issues which arises in organisation. For understanding about
this, proper approaches and models are uses by management
who identify their activities and deliver right products.

Explain the key approaches to operations
management and the role that leaders and managers
The operation and execution of management plans is needed for organisation
where it is required to deliver the provide right products and services which
helps to manage the activities. For attaining and sustaining in changing
environment there is need to focus on different approaches in operations of
ASDA that are as defined:

Cont..
Total quality management – This means a process and activities which is
related to maintaining the better quality of products and services by
following all process and standard is considered as total quality
management approach which can help to manage the organisation's
product quality and improve the business performance. This helps to
maintain the high brand images and product effectiveness by offering
best quality of products.

Cont..
Lean management – This approach is related to managing an organisation
that focuses on continuous improvement. For organisation it is important to
have good communication and control over production process that helps
to attain the business objectives and fill the demands.

Cont..
Kaizen approach – Whenever organisation wants to bring changes
in their organisation and focuses on continuous improvement
make use of Kaizen approach which helps to maintain the
organisational performance. In other words, continuous
improvement activities is determined as Kaizen approach that is
important for organisation to manage the organisational activities
and deliver the right products to customers.

Explain the importance and value of operations
management in achieving business objectives
Operation management is consider as crucial subject for business operation
which helps to manage the organisational activities and increase the
performance in changing environment by delivering right products and
services. In ASDA, operational and other activities are managed by
management who evaluate the performance and deliver best services
which helps to sustain in business environment by attaining the business
objectives.

Cont..
Chaos theory – This is a theory which uses by organisation for
understanding the dynamic systems and describe the process that
changes constantly which helps to getting the work done
effectively. This theory allows ASDA's management to take a step
back from day to day activities and see how organisation can
perform all functions effectively. This give a well shape to
organisation by operating activities smoothly and managing the
good performance in challenging environment.

Cont..
Management by objectives – This is defined as strategic
management model which aims to improve the organisational
performance of an organisation by defining objectives. For ASDA
it is important to clear the objectives which are decided by
management and increase the organisational performance. This
term is highly important for organisation as objectives are decided
by managers of chosen organisation and perform business
activities accordingly which bring improvements in organisational
performance and deliver the best quality of products.

The importance of operation
management are as defined:
Product quality – Operation management is important for ensuring
the quality that enables proper improvements in products and
services in organisation and maintain the good performance.
Customer satisfaction – The key of successful business is customer
satisfaction that is provided by management and leaders to their
customers and employees which helps to bring improvement in
existing process and take the right decisions.

Cont..
Supply chain management – The role of operation management in
organisation is vital as it ensure good relationship with suppliers
to make sure their raw material supplied for long period of time.
This helps to maintain the good relationship and increases the
business performance. In ASDA, operation management is
working well as it has relations with intermediaries and suppliers
which helps to get the better performance and maintain high
profitability in changing situation. This increases the sales of
products in chosen enterprises and managing the activities
properly.

Assess the factors within the business environment
that impact upon operational management and
decision-making by leaders and management.
Organisational culture – This is important factor in relation to a
business that affected the activities and decision making process. It
has seen that there are different types of people who are following
differ culture, beliefs, values and assumption which are performing
their activities accordingly. In ASDA, mangers are maintaining
effective and working culture by understanding employee's wants
which helps to getting the work done in certain time.

Cont..
Corporate social responsibility – This is defined as responsibility
of every business that needs to be perform by companies while
running a business and managing the activities. This make happy
and create a trust between employer and organisation so all working
can be easy for organisation and improve the organisational
productivity.

Cont..
Organisational ethics – For a business ethics are the moral principles and
set of codes that guides individual behaviour. In organisation it is
important to maintain the ethics and principles in relation to business
which can help to manage the activities and improve the performance.
In ASDA, organisational ethics has affected the decision making process
of management and leader such as decision are taken by managers and
formulated policies which are important to follow.

Conclusion
From the above report it can be concluded that operation management is
important for organisation as it helps to increase the productivity,
profitability, capacity, supply chain and distribution channel for the
purpose of making profits. CSR, ethics and culture are the important
factor that uses by organisation and affected the decision of
management and leaders.

References
Saucedo-Martínez, J. A. and et.al., 2018. Industry 4.0
framework for management and operations: a review.
Journal of ambient intelligence and humanized
computing. 9(3). pp.789-801.
Thomé, A. M. T., Scavarda, L. F. and Scavarda, A. J., 2016.
Conducting systematic literature review in operations
management. Production Planning & Control. 27(5).
pp.408-420.