Play the games below to learn the basics about the topic that will be covered this week.
6.2: Lecture Session
What is strategy and what is operations strategy?
- The ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ perspectives (Slides 8-9)
- The market requirements and operations resources perspectives (Slides 10 +)
- The process of operations strategy (Slides 17 +)
6.3 Seminar Material
How can an operations strategy be put together?
- There are many different procedures which are used by companies, consultancies and academics to formulate operations strategies. Although differing in the stages that they recommend, many of these models have similarities.
- Central to the idea of strategy formulation is the concept of trade-off. Trade-offs are the extent to which improvements in one performance objective can be achieved by sacrificing performance in others. The 'efficient frontier' concept is a useful approach to articulating trade-offs and distinguishes between repositioning performance on the efficient frontier and improving performance by overcoming trade-offs.
- If an operation uses the trade-off concept to concentrate on a very narrow set of performance objectives, it is known as “operations focus'. Focus can also be applied to parts of an operation. This is sometimes called the operation-within-an-operation or plant-within-a-plant concept.
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Case study:
Long Ridge Gliding Club by
Shirley Johnston |
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Long
Ridge Gliding Club is based at an old military airfield on the crest of a
ridge about 400 metres above sea level. The facilities are simple but
comfortable. A bar and basic catering services are provided, and inexpensive
bunkrooms are available for course members and club members wishing to stay
overnight. The club has a current membership of nearly 300 pilots, who range
in ability from novice to expert. The club has essentially two different
types of customers: club members and casual flyers who come for one-off trial
flights, holiday courses and corporate events. |
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The
club has six paid employees: a full-time flying manager, a club steward, two
part-time office secretaries, a part-time mechanic and a cleaner. In the
summer months the club employs a winch driver (for launching the gliders)
and two flying instructors. Throughout the whole year, essential tasks such
as getting the club gliders out of the hangar, staffing the winches, bringing
back gliders and providing look-out cover are undertaken on a voluntary basis
by club members. It takes a minimum of five experienced people (club members)
to be able to launch one glider. The club's five qualified instructors, two
of whom are paid during the summer, provide instruction in two- seater
gliders for club members and casual flyers. When
club members fly, they are expected to arrive by 9.30 am and be prepared to
stay all day helping other club members and any casual flyers get airborne,
whilst they wait their turn to fly. On a typical summer's day there might be
ten club members and four casual flyers. Club members would each expect to
have three flights during a normal day, with durations of around 2-40 minutes
per flight depending on conditions. But they are quite understanding when
weather conditions change and they do not get a flight. When
the more experienced pilots take to the air, using their own gliders, they
can cover some considerable distance, about 300 kilometres, landing back at the
club's grass airstrip some three or four hours later. Club members are
charged a £5 winch fee each time they take to the air, plus 35p per minute
they are in the air if they are using one of the club's six gliders. The
club's brochure encourages members of the public to: 'Experience the friendly
atmosphere and excellent facilities and enjoy the thrill of soaring above
Long Ridge's dramatic scenery. For just £28 you could soon be in the air.
Phone now or just turn up and our knowledgeable staff will be happy to advise
you. We have a team of professional instructors dedicated to make this a
really memorable experience.' The
club offers trial flights, which are popular as birth day or Christmas
presents, evening courses which include a light meal at the club's bar and
one-day flying courses, although any length of course can be arranged to suit
the needs of individuals or groups. Income from casual flyers is small
compared with membership income and the club views casual flying as a 'loss
leader' to generate club memberships, which are £200 per annum. Members
of the public are encouraged to book trial flights in advance during the
week, although at weekends they can just turn up and fly on a first-come,
first-served basis. Trial flights and courses are dealt with by the club's administration,
which is run from a cabin close to the car park and is staffed most weekday mornings from 9 am to 1
pm. An answer phone takes messages at other times. The launch point is out of
sight, 1.5 kilometres from the cabin although
club members can let themselves onto converted into club memberships. the airfield
and drive there. At the launch point the casual flyers might have to stand and
wait for some time until a club member has time to find out what they want. Even
when a flight has been pre-booked, casual flyers may then be kept waiting on
an exposed and winding airfield for up to two hours before their flight,
depending on how many club members are present. Occasionally they will turn up
for a pre-booked trail flight and be turned away because there are not enough
club members present to get a glider into the air. The casual flyers are encouraged to help
out with the routine tasks but often, they served seem reluctant to do so.
After their flight they are left to find their own way back to their cars. The club chairman is under some pressure from members to end trial flights. Although they provide a useful source of income for the hard-pressed club (over 700 were sold in the previous year). Questions: Post your answers via comment link below
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6.4 On Demand Task
Please watch the video to strengthen your understanding on Operation Strategy (9 min)
Please read the case study below and summarise your findings
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Case study: 566 quadrillion individual muesli mixes – now that’s flexible (Figure. 2.8) |
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The idea might sound somewhat unusual, but it has proved a great success. Three university students, Hubertus Bessau, Philipp Kraiss and Max Wittrock, in the small city of Passau, Germany, came up with the concept of my-muesli – the first web-based platform where you can mix your own organic muesli online, with a choice of 75 different ingredients. This makes it possible to create 566 quadrillion individual muesli mixes – and you can even name your own muesli. So, irrespective of whether you are a chocolate addict, a raisin hater or an athlete, this incredible variety will make it easy, say my-muesli, for anyone to invent their all-time favourite muesli. ‘We wanted to provide customers with nothing else but the perfect muesli’, they say. ‘Of course, the idea of custom mixing muesli online might sound wacky . . . but think about it – it’s the breakfast you were always looking for’ All muesli is mixed in the Passau production site according to strict quality standards and hygiene law requirements. Ingredients are strictly organic,
without additional sugar, additives, preservatives or artificial colours. On
first visiting the website customers first have to pick a muesli fruit, nuts
and seeds, and extras. And the company will deliver it direct by courier to your
door! The name for the
muesli (chosen by the customer) is printed on the can to make it even more
personal. Names chosen by customers for their individual muesli mixes
include: ‘reindeer food’, ‘donkey’s breakfast’, ‘sweet dream’, ‘paradise meal’ and, rather charmingly, ‘darling’s breakfast’. |
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The company purchase their ingredients
from selected suppliers and dealers throughout the world. One of my-muesli’s
great assets is the multitude of eccentric and exotic ingredients (from over
20 countries) included in the product range, like carrots, Tibetan
goji-berries, cedar nuts or jelly babies. Philipp Kraiss, one of the company
founders, is constantly on the lookout for ‘new crazy and tasty’ muesli
ingredients. During its first year my-muesli was awarded several business
prizes (one of which was awarded by the Financial Times Germany), and has now
grown to have annual sales worth over 1 million euros, with over 40 people
working for the company. It has now expanded its operations to the United Kingdom.
‘We seriously hope that my-muesli will find just as many friends here in the
UK as in Germany and Austria’, says Max Wittrock, another of the three
founding members. ‘And we are looking forward to a great deal of feedback, so
we can continue to improve our products. Last year thousands of emails and
user replies in Germany really have helped us immensely with the project.
Because after all,’ Wittrock says, ‘it is supposed to be a user- generated breakfast.’ |
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Mudule crossword on language and concepts (Weeks 4-6):
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Across clues:
(1): The administration of business practices to create the highest level of efficiency possible within an organization.
(3): The ratio of the useful energy delivered by a dynamic system to the energy supplied to it.
(4): The act or process of changing completely.(5): Dependent on or conditioned by something else.(6): Any ordered system that entails a subordinate relationship.(7): The accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants.
(8): Combined action or operation.
Down clues:
(2): To put off intentionally and habitually.(3): Producing the intended or expected result.
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