Operation Management In Business

We maintain our edge by selling food that simply can’t be beaten for freshness. At the end of the day, we give whatever we haven’t sold to charity to help feed those who would otherwise go hungry. When we were just starting out, a big supplier tried to sell us coleslaw that lasted sixteen days. Can you imagine! Salad that lasts sixteen days? There and then we decided Pret would stick to wholesome fresh food – natural stuff. We have not changed that policy.’

The first Prêt A Manger shop had its own kitchen where fresh ingredients were delivered first thing every morning, and food was prepared throughout the day.

Every Pret shop since has followed this model. The team members serving on the tills at lunchtime will have been making sandwiches in the kitchen that morning.

The company rejected the idea of a huge centralized sandwich factory even though it could significantly reduce costs. Prêt also own and manage all their shops directly so that they can ensure consistently high standards in all their shops. ‘We are determined never to forget that our hard-working people make all the difference. They are our heart and soul. When they care, our business is sound. If they cease to care, our business goes down the drain. In a retail sector where high staff turnover is normal, we’re pleased to say our people are much more likely to stay around! We work hard at building great teams. We take our reward schemes and career opportunities very seriously. Operation Management In Business

We don’t work nights (generally), we wear jeans, we party!’ Customer feedback is regarded as being particularly important at Pret. Examining customers’ comments for improvement ideas is a key part of weekly management meetings, and of the daily team briefs in each shop.

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Adapted from: Operations Management 6th ed – N. Slack, et al., (Pearson, 2010) BBS

1.    Explain the importance of operational management to Prêt A Manger’s business activities or any other organisation business activities.

2.    Analyse the operations functions at Prêt A Manager or any other organisation of your choice.

3.    Evaluate, by using a process model, theoperations management of Prêt A Manager or any other organisation of your choice.

To achieve M1, you will find appropriate solutions in evaluating theoperations management of Prêt A Manager or any other organisation of your choice.

To achieve D2 you will have demonstrated an effective approach to independent research as evidenced from the citations and reference list and study and will have met the deadline to submit the tasks and achieve the unit assessment criteria.

1. Appraise the importance of the ‘Three Es’ to organisations
2. Assess the impact of the tension between cost minimisation and quality maximisation in organisations
3. Evaluate the significance of the five performance objectives that underpin operations management to organisations

To achieve M2, you will apply appropriate methods/techniques in evaluating the significance of the five performance objectives of any organisation of your choice in question 6.To achieve D2 you will have demonstrated an effective approach to independent research as evidenced from the citations and reference list and study and will have met the deadline to submit the tasks and achieve the unit assessment criteria.

1. Assess how linear programming adds value to a given production process
2. Evaluate critical path analysis and network planning
3. Justify the need for operational planning and control in a selected production process Operation Management In Business

To achieve D2 you will have demonstrated an effective approach to independent research as evidenced from the citations and reference list and study and will have met the deadline to submit the tasks and achieve the unit assessment criteria. To achieve D3, you will have to creatively justify the need for operational planning and control in a selected production process in question 9.

You are expected to do a field work to any organisation of your choice. Carefully observe the organisation’s business activities and produce a personal report on your findings on the followings:

1. Produce a set of clearly defined operational outcomes.
2. Produce a network plan and indicate the resultant critical path.
3. Explain how quality could be defined and maintained in the visited organisation

(Please note that the name of the organisation visited must be specified in your report.)

To achieve M3, your findings and research should be well presented and communicated within the report.

To achieve D1 you will have to use critical reflection to produce a network plan and indicate the resultant critical path in question 10.

To achieve D2 you will have demonstrated an effective approach to independent research as evidenced from the citations and reference list and study and will have met the deadline to submit the tasks and achieve the unit assessment criteria.