Introduction
This paper analyses the case of Hagen Styles a Kitchen accessories products company. Its aim is to answer three fundamental questions in regard to the importance of operations management to the firm, what exactly makes the company successful and finally the question on how the company fairs in regard to meeting the requirements of the four V’s of operations. The aim of the discussion is to provide a comprehensive analysis of integrated business management Hagen Styles.
Question a.
The importance of operations management in Hagen Style is seen in several aspects that include its commitment to customer satisfaction. In this regard, the company has developed a swift, efficient and effective products delivery system which is an envy to companies running similar operations.
Hence, the importance of proper management of operations at Hagen Style is to ensure that customer expectations are met particularly in regard to the elimination of packing errors that often contradicts the orders made by the clientele. Sentiments by Singh and Kaur (2011, p. 327) support the commitment of Hagen Style operations management protocols noting that social responsiveness, positive word of mouth, competence and reliability are essential in developing consistent and productive relations with customers that would ultimately lead to the success of the organization.
Operation's management is also important to the company as it develops relationships with customers who then seemingly translates into customer loyalty. The prerogative of any business is to develop a sustainable customer base to secure the company’s profitability in the future. This, therefore, means that winning new customers is not in itself sufficient to ensure and sustain the success of the organization in regard to its profitability. In essence, repeat purchase customers form the bulk of sustained profitability by ensuring that they provide the company Hagen Style with a stable market for its products and services. Hence, the importance of operations management to Hagen Style is to ensure that this relationship developed between its clientele and the firm serves to sustain the profitability of the organization in the future. According to Bolton (1998, p. 46) developing a long-term relationship with clientele ensures continuity of the business in regard to future repeat business interactions between the customer and the enterprise.
Primarily, operations management is important for Hagen Style as it enhances its service delivery to its clientele. Moreover, it reduces the amount of time that is expected for the delivery of the products to the customer while at the same time ensuring that customers get exactly what they ordered for in the prescribed quantity and quality. Ultimately, operations management at Hagen Style is important as it is the means through which the business achieves its goals and objectives in regard to continuity and profitability of the business.
Question b.
What makes Hagen Style a successful company is its products that are considered of value. Whereas the products are not innovative as such, they provide standardized quality that makes them quite valuable to clientele. The prerogative of the management of the business is to provide favorable rather than unfavorable customer experience(Bitner et al., 1990, p. 72). Hence, by ensuring standardization Hagen Style serves to meet the expectations of their customers.
The success of the company is also entrenched in its capability to offer customers quality services that serve to meet their expectations. This is because customers are provided with the convenience in regard to the timely delivery of goods from the company. What is more, its operations management protocols ensure that the company packs the goods in the right quantities and quality as ordered by clientele prior to dispatch. Essentially, this has served to ensure that customers get value for their money while at the same time also get quality service customer experience that ultimately leads them to making repeat purchases in the future. Bitner, Booms and Tetreault (1990, p. 71) contend that offering services to the satisfaction of the clientele opens avenues for identifying flaws on the part of the company in an attempt to ensure customer satisfaction. Hence, a company such as Hagen Style can utilize such information to make improvements leading to the success of the firm.
Question c.
The four ‘V’s of operations processes refer to the avenues through which a company manages it operations to move its products and services from the production stage to the delivery stage in the form of tangible and feasible goods and services respectively. They include; volume, variety, variation and visibility(Top 5 - The Four V's of Operations Management, 2013). Foremost, volume regards the capacity of the organization to produce goods and services at a particular level of output. In this respect, the facility has served to produce goods through operations that securely enhance the quality of service that is provided to the customers. Thus, Hagen Style delivers on volume of its products.
With regard to a variety, the company is found to only dwell on its traditional kitchen items although it offers various options for different purposes. On the variation, the company is found to be reluctant in exploring innovative means to deliver its foods and services to clientele. This is because it is no ready to explore alternatives such as cataloguing it products or acquiring space at convenience stores. Lastly, on visibility just as in variation dimension, the company has done very little to maintain a presence in modern marketing approaches such as internet marketing and shopping malls etcetera (Dharmasiri, 2011).
Conclusion
The evaluation reveals that the strength of the company Hagen Style lies in its commitment to operations management that ensures customer satisfaction. This is achieved through standardization of the goods provided coupled by the timely and accurate transmission and delivery of orders to clientele. Secondly, this commitment to quality customer service delivery is as well what makes it a successful company by meeting customer’s expectations.Findings also indicate that the company has met volume and variety requirements of operations management but is still dragging in regard to meeting variety and variation requirements. Essentially, the discussion is a comprehensive overview of the case of Hagen Style company’s integrated business management initiatives.
References
Anon., 2013. Top 5 - The Four V's of Operations Management. [Online] Available at: http://www.managersdoor.com/topic/top-5-the-four-vs-of-operations-management/[Accessed 4 7 2014].
Bitner , M. J., Booms , B. H. & Tetreault , M. S., 1990. The Service Encounter: Diagnosing Favorable and Unfavorable Incidents. Journal of Marketing, Volume 54, pp. 71 - 84.
Bolton, R. N., 1998. A Dynamic Model of the Duration of the Customer's Relationship with a Continuous Service Provider: The Role of Satisfaction. Marketing Science, 17(1), pp. 45 - 65.
Dharmasiri, A., 2011. Pondering on Processes: A Case of Four V's. [Online] Available at: http://www.ft.lk/2011/07/18/pondering-on-processes-a-case-of-four-vs/[Accessed 4 7 2014].
Singh , J. & Kaur , G., 2011. Customer satisfaction and universal banks: an empirical study. Interantional journal of commerce and management, 21(4), pp. 327 - 348.
