Abstract
This research sought to understand how operation management, total quality management and information management lead to effectiveness and efficiency in the process of offering a service. In order to understand dynamics in the process of the human resource, it is important to obtain information regarding the process of offering a service in a given organization. The intent of this research is to determine the processes at Bus Cleaning Club Company. Through the analysis of data, the research intends to determine whether the company is experiencing any operational problems. This was determined by identifying the processes that are used in the company and the average times that these processes require.
Chapter 1: Introduction
- Context for Research
Operation management, total quality management and information management are all concepts that are pertinent to the running of an organization. Cognizant of this fact, this research sought to understand how these concepts lead to effectiveness and efficiency in the process of offering a service. In order to understand dynamics in the process of the human resource, it is important to obtain information regarding the process of offering a service in a given organization. The impediment is that there is a lot of variation in such data. This has been attributed to gaps in the planning, coordinating and controlling functions of management. From the information provided, the study aimed at determining how the company in question ought to adapt her marketing plan and the processing of goods and services was used.
- Motive for Research
The intent of this research was to identify the processing at Bus Cleaning Club Company. Through the analysis of data, the research intended to determine whether the company was experiencing any operational problems. This was done by identifying the processes that are used in the company and the average times that these processes require. Consequently, the study made recommendations to the company on how to improve their operational management process so as to increase their customer base. The general feeling was that by identifying the average time that these processes need, decisions on enhancing efficiency can be made, thereby ensuring that the customers will be satisfied. Additionally, there was a clear view of the best operational systems and the processes that the company should rehabilitate.
- Research objectives
The following were the objectives of this research:
- Problem statement
Efficiency of operational processes has an effect on the running of an organization. Operation management turns inputs in an organization into outputs. In this regard, it is important to look into the operational management for efficiency in order to make sure that a company gets the most outputs out the inputs. The cycle time is a very important feature in operational management. The time it takes from the procurement of a service to its delivery reflects very heavily on the efficiency of the operation management function of the business. At Bus Cleaning Club and Company, operation management systems reflect inefficiency, especially in the cycle times. This research delved into this and made recommendations on how to improve their operation management systems.
- Research questions
The following were the research questions used in this study in order to explore the issues outlined:
- What are the operational processes used in the company?
- What is the average time required for the operational processes.
- What can be done to improve the operational management process at the company?
- Build up of the report
This report presents findings of a study aimed at improving operations management systems at Bus Cleaning Club and Company. The first chapter of the report introduces the concepts covered under the study. The chapter also outlines the research questions and objectives that guide the exploration of the issues envisaged in the study. The second chapter of the report gives an overview of the interplay of the factors influencing operation management systems in the company. The chapter is a review of literature from other scholars in order to underscore the pertinent theoretical perspectives. The third chapter of the report outlines the methodology that the study utilized. This included issues to do with data analysis and presentation and ethical considerations. The fourth chapter of the report is presentations of the results and findings of the study. The fifth chapter features the discussions and inferences that were made from the data analysis. This chapter also highlights the conclusions that were made, effectively setting tone for the requisite recommendations. The sixth chapter of the report features the recommendations Operation management, total quality management and information management
Chapter 2: Literature Review and Conceptual Model
2.1. Operations Strategy
An operations strategy is very important in the running of an organization. Business resources are always limited. As such, it is important that the operations strategy adopted by an organization maximizes in the resources available in order to get the most out of them. A good operations strategy specifies the plans and policies governing the use of organizational resources. Additionally, the operations strategy supports the business strategy or model for the organization. It is important to note that even with an operations strategy in place, other elements are required. For instance, operational efficiency is an element that is required to ensure that the operations strategy achieves its mandate. Operational efficiency ensures that the organization performs the tasks that are outlined in the operations strategy better than other competitors (Lewis & Slack, 2003).
2.2. Cycle time and lead time
One cannot look at operational efficiency, especially in the service industry without looking at the cycle time and lead time. Lead time is the amount of time that is required between when a service is procured and when it is delivered. On the other hand, cycle time is the time taken from when a process begins until the process comes to a halt. The amount of cycle time reflects very significantly on the operational efficiency. These two indicators of efficiency are defined both by the customer and the organization. It is incumbent to the organization to ensure that their lead and cycle times are closer to those encapsulated in the definition of the client. Alternatively, the organization can enlighten the client on the dynamics of the process. Failure to do this will create perceptions of inefficiency on the mind of the client leading to customer dissatisfaction (Lewis & Slack, 2003).
2.3. Operations management
Operation management is the transformation process through which inputs are transformed into outputs. The concept of operation management seeks to add value to the product or service at every stage in the cycle. This is done by increasing the value of the output over and above the value of the inputs. As such, operations management ensures that loopholes where losses in value occur are tightly locked in order to maximize on the value of the product or service. In this regard, operation management emphasizes on efficiency. This is a requirement where the activities within a cycle are performed at the lowest cost and the highest cost. A common misconception occurs where one looks that cost in terms of money.
The cost of production encompasses other elements past money to include time, human resources and the physical materials involved. While most of these things have been discussed earlier, it is important to introduce an element that is pertinent to the process of operations management. Operations management is tempered by customer feedback and performance information. The implication here is that the organization should not only rate its efficiency against established standards and parameters. In addition to industry and individual standards, customers’ feedback should form an integral part of the evaluation. This information can be used to single out areas that need to be reformed because the ultimate goal of a business is to ensure return business from customers who are satisfied (Lewis & Slack, 2003).
2.4. Gaps at Bus Cleaning Club and Company
Bus Cleaning Club and Company could benefit from this interplay of factors. This research is limited to the cycle time. Even though other elements are left out, the cycle time can illuminate any operational inefficiency at the company. One of the missing factors is the optimization of resources. If more time is used to deliver a service, this translates to the misuse of other resources. As such, the degree of loss from an inefficiency emanating from one part of the process translates into other parts of the process. Bus Cleaning club and Company should invest in information collection mechanisms. This research will collect data and analyze it for relationships and also offer recommendations on areas that need reform. Nonetheless, information should be collected on a continual basis, something this study cannot do. As such, feedback mechanisms are required (Keogh, 2006).
2.5. Conceptual Framework
The following is a graphical representation of the interplay of factors regarding this study and literature review:
The conceptual framework above shows the linkage between the inputs and outputs in the company. The conceptual framework highlights the importance of feedback mechanisms in order to improve operations management systems, and by extension the efficiency of the bus cleaning processes at the company. These feedback mechanisms are in the form of performance information and customer feedback. Through these mechanisms, the company can evaluate the efficiency of the bus cleaning process on a continual basis, thereby aiding in the improvement process.
Chapter 3: Methodology
3.1. Respondents
The subjects in this study were the employees at Bus Cleaning Club and Company.
3.2. Instruments
The data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Microsoft Excel is an appropriate data analysis instrument for this data set given its numerical nature.
3.3. Procedures
3.3.1. Data analysis procedures
The data was cleaned for outliers and coded before it is used for analysis. The analysis of the data was done using Microsoft Excel. The analysis looked for parameters like mean, standard error. Median, mode, standard deviation, sample variance, kurtosis, skewness, range, minimum and maximum. Many of these parameters were quality controls for collaborating the quality of the data used in the study. However, a parameter like the mean helped find the average time that the bus cleaning processes take as envisioned in the objectives of the study.
3.4. Ethical Considerations
Confidentiality was guaranteed to the respondents before they are used in the study. In order to ensure confidentiality, all identifiers were eliminated when the data is being handled. Additionally, only members who are in the study team were privy to the data collected from the respondents.
Chapter 4: Data analysis and Results
The grouping of the data before analysis was done as follows:
The following is a presentation of the statistics as outlined in the methodology:
One Way ANOVAs
For the ANOVAs above the alpha value was 0.05. The means between the groups and within the groups were different meaning that the cleaning time was not the same.
4.2. Findings and Analysis
The analysis of the data was done with considerations of the nature in which the data was collected. As espoused in the methodology, the data was given for four days in a week for a period of fifty weeks. In this form, it is better to analyze the data in terms of weeks rather that the first day, second day, third day and fourth day. As such, the analysis of the parameters outlined in the methodology was done as per the weeks. Another rationale that warranted this was the fact that since the workers in the company work in shifts, creating relationships between the workers and the cycle time was easier when the analysis was done weekly rather than by the number of days for which the samples were taken.
The analysis of the dataset also found that the dataset had a standard deviation of 7.5. This implies that the numbers in the dataset are relatively spread. This speaks heavily of the accuracy of the data collection process and the responses that were given by the respondents. The equality of the data is also reflected on the variance scores that emanated from the analysis. Variance is a measure of how far the numbers in the dataset are distributed.
The variance in the dataset was at 56.8. Skewness and kurtosis are also measures of the distribution of the numbers in the dataset. The skewness in this data set was established as 0.288. As a positive value of skewness, the implication is that the tail that is on the right hand side of the distribution curve is longer than the one on the left hand side. On the other hand, kurtosis measures the shape that a distribution curve assumes. The range of the numbers in the dataset was established at 27. This implies that the difference between the largest number and the smallest number is 27.
4.3. Discussion
Chapter 5: Conclusions
When looking at the efficiency of operation management systems, it is important to consider the role played by the organizations management as well as the contribution of the employees to the inefficiency (William, 2007). For instance, employees required implements that augment their work process. Employees using manual equipments to clean a bus will require more cycle time when compared to employees using motor powered equipment. Additionally, taller employees working at the same rate with shorter employees will record a shorter cycle time when the two are compared. In this regard, it is very apparent that optimization of the operation process requires the provision of improved equipment and pairing of employees with varied abilities in order to maximize on their attributes. This is in regard to the objective about the average time required during the processes.
Chapter 6: Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study, it is important for the company to heed to the following recommendations in order to improve the operational efficiency of the organization through improved cycle times.
- It is recommended for the company to provide the employees with improved equipment. There is less wastage of water and the other material used when cleaning a bus when motor powered equipment is used for the operational processes. Additionally, this will help the employees post better cycle time compared to when employees use manual equipment (Mahadevan, 2010).
- It is also recommended for the supervisors to pair their human resource in a manner that optimizes their varied abilities. For instance, tall employees can be paired to work with short employees so that they differences in height can complement one another (Keogh, 2006).
References
Keogh, M.K. (2006). Reducing Value Stream Lead Time: A Two-phase Analysis of the Factors that Contribute to the Success of Manufacturing Streamlining Initiatives. Ann Arbor. ProQuest.
Lewis, M. & Slack, N. (2003). Operations Management: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management, Volume 4. Boca Raton, Taylor & Francis.
Mahadevan, B. (2010). Operations management: Theory and practice. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
William J. M. (2007). Operational Excellence: Using Lean Six Sigma to Translate Customer Value through Global Supply Chains. Boca Raton, CRC Press
Appendix 1: Results
The following is the dataset that was collected over the fifty weeks.
