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Process Strategy: An Optimum Fit with Volume & Variety
Evey organization aims to deliver its output which is liked by the client and strives to do so in a way which is ethical and sustainable. A major decision for an Operations Manager is finding and executing the best way to produce the goods/ services so as not to waste resources. The process selected implemented will have a long-term effect in efficiency and flexibility of the production, as well as on the cost and quality of the offerings produced thus.
A process strategy is an organization’s approach to transforming resources into goods and services. Its objective is to build a methodology to produce the offerings that meets customer requirements and product specification within cost and managerial constraints.
Let us try to understand the basics of the four most accepted process strategies are defined by how they relate to levels of both volume and variety:
1) Process Focus: The process is suitable for low-volume, high- variety tasks. Such facilities are process focused in terms of equipment, layout and supervision. Large Projects, Machines, Restaurants, Hospitals, Job Shops some examples of this kind. Vast majority of the global production operates with this approach.
2) Repetitive Focus: This process strategy utilizing ‘modular’ design find extensive application in the assembly lines of Automobiles, Home Appliances, Fast Food etc. It uses ‘modules’ which are manufactured by ‘product-focused’ process thereby bringing the economic advantage and at the same time contributes the custom advantage of low-volume, high-variety model.
3) Product Focus: In facilities organized around ‘products’ where this process strategy find application, the goods are produced using a low-variety, high-volume process. The are also called continuous processes as they have very long, continuous production runs. Products such as glass, paper, lightbulbs, works canteen, bread loafs, tin sheets, potato chips etc. are produced using this process. The facility needs high fixed cost, but low variable costs.
4) Mass Customization: This is the rapid, low-cost production of goods/ services that fulfil increasingly unique customer desires. The demand for individualized items is growing with the rising number of affluent and informed consumers. The mass customization or build-to-order is not just about variety, it is about making precisely what the client wants and when it wants it economically. Custom-ordered Computers/ Cars, e-Commerce company’s offerings etc. use this strategy to meet customer’s requirement.
It is the responsibility of the Operations Manager to choose one or combination of these process strategies most suitable to their company’s goals and deployment of resources.
Courtesy: Operations Management, 12th Ed, Pearson
Organization Development: Mentoring & Performance Counselling
We have entered a new financial year 2023-24 with a lot of unknowns, typical of VUCA world. This time also brings focus to the appraisal of the year gone-by and planning for the year ahead. Organizations assess and implement suitable interventions in their business practices.
Organization Development (OD) as a discipline, is about strengthening the core areas and try to achieve holistic changes in its structure, processes, practices and people in the firm. However, the success of OD is largely dependent on the level of commitment from top management and the extent of adoption by the executing workforce. According to Bennis (1969), OD rests on the following three (3) basic premises:
1. to revitalize the organization
2. to create the desired climate in the organization by changing existing beliefs and values
3. to bring a new social awareness to the people
OD started with a focus on humanistic values, has matured into an applied discipline encompassing the whole gamut of organizational activities, systems, processes, technologies, structures, and strategies. It has led to the emergence of various business excellence models such as EFQM, PCMM etc. Many corporations, Private and Government/ PSUs alike, endeavour for compliance to such models to achieve excellence in their business practices.
The whole aspect of OD is desired but difficult for the organization to implement. There are various interventions evolved over a period to maneuver any organization through the OD path. We would discuss in brief the two (2) of them: Mentoring and Performance Counselling.
Mentoring: This tool is designed to bring forth the best of a mentee by grooming her for organizational success along with personal gain. A mentor is a teacher, an advisor, a coach, or a consultant, who helps the mentee become more effective at work, learn new skills, develop greater confidence, and make better decisions for overall career growth.
Performance Counselling: It is the process of advising an employee, listening to her problems, and enabling her to find a satisfactory solution on her own. This is a process to help subordinates analyze their performance objectively. For effective performance counselling, there must exist a climate of mutual trust, confidence, and openness. The employees must feel free to participate in the review process and provide correct feedback. It should include performance appraisal like compensation, rewards, promotion etc. to ensure the employees get benefitted genuinely. A proper action plan among the best possible remedial measures, is developed by the employees themselves, ably guided by an empathetic performance counsellor.
Courtesy: Training and Development, D K Bhattacharyya (2015)
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