Vauxhall: Operations and Project Management in Global Market Expansion

This report examines the challenges and opportunities Vauxhall faces in its globalisation strategy, particularly focusing on the Chinese market. It identifies operational management challenges, including market fragmentation, regulatory pressures, and competition. The report analyzes new operational management roles required in a global market, such as production planning, quality management, and outsourcing. It also explores strategies Vauxhall adopts to maintain value, including corporate social responsibility and innovation. Finally, it outlines a project management plan for Vauxhall's expansion, covering objectives, scope, and key elements. The report emphasizes the importance of adapting to market dynamics, managing supply chain complexity, and focusing on customer needs to achieve success in the global automotive industry.

Operations and Project
Management

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3
TASK....................................................................................................................................................3
1. Identifying the challenges that an operation manager can face in the initial stages of the move
towards their globalisation strategy.............................................................................................3
2. Analysing the new operational management roles which will be needed in Global market...4
3. A) Strategies which are adopted by Vauxhall for maintaining their value in global market. .6
3 B) Project management plan for Vauxhall's globalisation.......................................................7
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Operation management can be defined as the procedure which includes planning as well as
execution of routine business operations in service and manufacturing industry. It also involves
forecasting of demand for products or services, inventory control, planning of production, supply
chain collaboration and quality management. Operational management helps manager in
approaching to the routine as well as strategic business issue. Project management mainly includes
planning, organising, motivating and controlling resources in order to accomplish desired business
objectives.
The report will focus on identifying the challenges which operation manager have to face at
the initial stage of implementing globalisation strategy in context of Vauxhall. It is basically a
British company operating business in manufacturing sector. Assignment will emphasize on strategy
adopted by an organisation in order to maintain their value in global market.
TASK
1. Identifying the challenges that an operation manager can face in the initial stages of the move
towards their globalisation strategy.
Globalisation is considered to be as the best strategy for fostering business growth. It has
been adopted by Vauxhall company for expanding their business. Business entity is planning to
expand business in Chinese market. Major reason for which management in Vauxhall has to choose
into Chinese market is that there are great opportunities for increasing profitability. There are
various challenges which an organisation has to face while expanding business operation in Chinese
auto mobile market these are: the structure and competition(Haksever and Render, 2018).
In addition to this other challenge which Vauxhall will have to face in context of
implementing specific globalisation strategy are extreme market fragmentation, regulatory pressure
related to fuel efficiency and air pollution. It is required by manager in Vauxhall to develop the
understanding about China economy, capacity trends of its manufacturers and also about the
variables which influence customers to buy cars. In addition to this, sustainability of Chinese
demand for cars is the other major issue which Vauxhall company might have to face in the initial
stages of the move towards their globalisation strategy. Restrictions imposed by the government in
China might inhibit automotive purchasing in some regions of the country. In such situation,
Vauxhall might need to shift to a new consumer base and accommodate drivers in other parts of
nation.
In addition to the above, other challenges which operation manager of organisation might

face can be due to the stringent legislation. The key challenge which operation manager in Vauxhall
have to face is in making an appropriate choice of technology in relation to continuous
development, emergence of in trends and changing regulatory environment. At the initiation stage
of globalisation strategy, an organisation might have to face various issues such as shifting
demographics., slow growth, intense competition etc. The transformation in the industry can lead to
the uncertainty of the market (Bozarth and Handfield, 2019). In addition to this, other factors which
might influence the decision of operation manager is uncertainty about the long-term motorization
track that China could take. In addition to the above, other challenges which are creating pressure is
environmental protection in China that has highly influences different business policies of the
automotive industry.
Intense competition and increasing environmental concern will also encourage and force
operation manager in Vauxhall for facilitating innovation and bringing improvement in the
procedures. Apart from this,, one of the most important challenge that an enterprise has to face is
related to increase in cost of production. One of the most important challenge which business entity
might have to face in the initial stages of moving towards their globalisation strategy is achieving
economies of scale. Implementation of globalisation can have direct as well as significant effect on
the costs of production and on productivity of firm. Vauxhall might have to adopt the diversification
strategy in order to reduce costs, mitigate political as well as supply chain risks. The other major
challenge which an enterprise might have to face is rising value chain complexity. Rapid
urbanization will require car manufacturing organisations to manage, make as well as deliver an
array of increasingly diverse and customized products to increasingly remote locations.
In context of low assembly plant utilisation, the structural issues will create barriers in
implementation of globalisation strategy by Vauxhall. Few structural; issues which might affect the
influence the decision of operation manager for implementing globalisation strategy these are
increase in domestic auto mobile manufacturers and intense competition. It is required by operation
manager in Vauxhall to develop effective strategies and to become more responsive to
multidimensional challenges which might occur in expanding business in the largest auto mobile
market in the world (Maylor, Söderlund and Browning, 2018). In context of Vauxhall, operation
manager in an organisation have to rethink on implementation of globalisation strategy for
providing suitable response to pressures generated by intensifying competition, state regulators and
consumers.
2. Analysing the new operational management roles which will be needed in Global market
Operational management can be defined as the procedure which is mainly concerned with

transforming input into desired output. It mainly consists of different activities such as transforming
a product idea into a finished product. International operation management deals with production of
goods and services in international locations and markets. It also includes management process
which has to take into consideration various factors such as local production market labour, capital
and international customer requirements. The purpose of quality management is to assist Vauxhall
in delivering quality products and services to customers. In context of Vauxhall, operation manager
in an organisation need to make operational plan considering the needs as well as demands of
customers in Chinese market.
Operation management also involves various other tasks such as planning as well as
controlling the system which produces goods or services. The main role of operational management
in automotive manufacturing industry is to manage the procedure which transform input into output.
There are many new operational management roles which are required to be implemented by
operational manager in order to deal with various global challenges. Manufactures need to strive for
global levels of operational excellence. Energy efficiency is considered to be as an opportunity
which can be captured by Vauxhall by expanding business in Chinese market. Innovation and
product development are the two strategies which can be adopted by Vauxhall, as this will help an
organisation in gaining the competitive advantage in global environment.
The operational management plays significant role in designing the products and offering
services to customers. Outsourcing and quality management is considered to be as two main new
roles of operation management in context Vauxhall (Tonchia, Tonchia and Mahagaonkar, 2018). An
organisation needs to concentrate on improving operational efficiency. It is required by operational
manager in Vauxhall to focus on quality as well as costs, as these tactics will assist them in
accomplishing desired objectives.
Few new operational management roles are:
Tame supply chain complexity: As Vauxhall can face challenges in maintaining balance
between demand and supply of products or services, as preferences of customers are dynamic and
changes quickly. An organisation will be focusing on revising demand planning , where operation
manager in an enterprise will focus on changes in plan according to new demand patterns. In
addition to this, operation manager in an organisation need to develop understanding over delayed
forecasting which can lead to the disruption in operation (Holweg, Davies and Schmenner, 2018.).
Production planning: It is the duty of operational manager in an organisation to make
effective operational plan for Chinese market, as this factor has direct effect on the growth of
company. Operational manager before making the plan for expanding business operations in

Chinese market need to consider the objectives or targets sets by marketing team. Production
planning is the crucial role of operation management as it assist organisation in achieving
uninterrupted flow of materials through production line by making available the materials at right
time and required quantity in context of Chinese market.
Production control: It is considered to be one of the important roles of operation
management which operation manager in Vauxhall has to perform in Chinese market. As this
activity assist in ensuring that production team in an enterprise is able to accomplish desired target
in context of production aim. This role of operation management helps in confirming an effective
as well as efficient utilisation of resources.
Quality management: Role of operational management is to ensure that all the products or
services are designed according to the specifications as well as set quality standards. The job
of operation management is to review as well as monitor the procedure of transforming
resources into final products. Quality management is important in order to support firm in
attracting as well as influencing Chinese people to buy products or services.
Outsourcing: The role of operation management is to outsource few business activities, as
this helps organisation in reducing the cost of production in Chinese market.
3. A) Strategies which are adopted by Vauxhall for maintaining their value in global market
Corporate social responsibility is the strategy which will be implemented by Vauxhall in
Chinese market. There are several dimensions of Corporate social responsibility practices executed
by company. The different CSR strategies adopted by firm have focus on community investment as
well as on quality of workplace which has made significant contribution in maintaining firm value
in global environment. In context of Vauxhall, will be able to create and maintain ethical business
value which will help in contribute to economic development of nation. Manager in an enterprise
can develop good workplace by promoting gender equality. According to the stakeholder theory,
Vauxhall will consider the interest of its stakeholders when making the business decisions because it
is important for the business to focus on needs and preferences of Chinese stakeholders who will be
part of organisation after expansion (Heldman, 2018.). As this strategy will support management in
developing the trust among stakeholder and it will assist manager in gaining their loyalty.
Innovation is considered to be as other one of the best strategies though with Vauxhall can
maintain as well as enhance corporate value in international environment. In context of Vauxhall,
can facilitate innovation in its products or services. In addition to this, it is required by organisation
to give due consideration to effect of its business activities on stakeholders such as employee,
suppliers, shareholders etc. An enterprise needs to concentrate on increasing corporate value by

generating economic as well as social value. Increased organisational citizenship as well as
improved employees relation can be helpful in determining whether an organisation has achieved
their values or not.
Added value model of CSR states that corporate social responsibility can be considered to
be as social and environmental commitments as a means to increase profit. This hypothesis intend
to acknowledged that conflicts persist in business decisions. It is also based on assumption that CSR
investments are capable of generating new revenues. Added value model of CSR Emphasize on
issues like the value of CSR in attracting socially conscious consumers.
3 B) Project management plan for Vauxhall globalisation
Project plan is document which consists of detail about the various activities which will be
executed for accomplishing particular objectives. In context of Vauxhall manager has made project
plan for expanding business operation. Project plan includes various elements such as objectives,
scope of the project, milestones, work breakdown structure, budget, human resource management
plan, risk management etc.
Purpose of the project: The purpose of the project in context of Vauxhall is to increase
profitability and sales by expanding business in china by introducing new product.
Scope of the project: The scope of project is wide and concerned with activities such as
market analysis, product designing, market planning etc. activities will be executed by operation
manager in an organisation before implementing the project.
Roles and responsibilities: Role of project manager is to provide detail about the project to
stakeholders. It is the duty of project manager to manage the project, allocate tasks, set miles stone
etc. Main role of project manager is to plan, execute, manage and execute the project.
Responsibility of leader is to assist each individual in completion of specific task. It is the duty of
leader to provide continuous guidance to subordinates. Role and responsibility of workers is to
perform all the task according to set standards (Nabas and Abdallah, 2018).
Project timeline:

Critical Project barriers: Few barriers which Vauxhall might face in expanding business in
Chinese market include lack of resources, political and barriers, etc. Risks: There is high risk of
market uncertainty in Chinese market. Due to lack of knowledge about the norm, there is high risk
of legal issues.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the report that an organisation has to face many challenges such
as regulatory pressure, intense competition, increase in cost of production etc. after expanding
business international market. The other fact which has been found during the study is that decrease
in the productivity as well as profitability are the two main issues which company might have to
face in global market. It has been concluded from the report that operational management has
essential role to play in transforming input into output. There are several strategies has been
suggested which can be implemented by firm in order to maintain their corporate value in
international environment.
Illustration 1: Gantt Chart

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Bozarth, C.C. and Handfield, R.B., 2019. OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT.
Haksever, C. and Render, B., 2018. Service and Operations Management. World Scientific Books.
Heldman, K., 2018. Project management jump-start. John Wiley & Sons.
Holweg, M., Davies, J., and Schmenner, R.W., 2018. Process theory: the principles of operations
management. Oxford University Press.
Maylor, H., Söderlund, J. and Browning, T., 2018. Old theories, new contexts: extending operations
management theories to projects. International Journal of Operations & Production
Management. 38(6). Pp.1274-1288.
Nabass, E.H. and Abdallah, A.B., 2018. Agile manufacturing and business performance: The
indirect effects of operational performance dimensions. Business Process Management
Journal.
Tonchia, S., Tonchia and Mahagaonkar, 2018. Industrial project management. Springer.
ONLINE:
Five Critical Challenges Facing the Automotive Industry A Guide for Strategic Planners. 2018.
[Online]. Available through :<http://cdn.ihs.com/www/pdf/AUT-TL-WhitePaper-5.pdf>.
Challenges and opportunities for China’s automotive market. 2018.[Online]. Available
through :<https://www.basf.com/cn/en/media/BASF-Information/Resources-environment-
climate/Challenges-and-opportunities-for-China-automotive-market.html>.