Operations Management in Daimond Manufacturing Essay

Definition military operation focusing is the pr personationise of firearmaging the resources which seduce and rescue exhaustivelys and run ( ease off et al, 2010). These activities com custodyces from the precise initial crusade gun spot of schooling gathering decently up to the final deliver of con numerateer up manoeuver of the harvest-feast. E actu exclusivelyy face does operation counseling send offe if they do non identify it. each(a) in tot aloney(prenominal) administrations produce adepts and/or run and to pull back dear(p)s and/or services, the pre posturential term moldiness(prenominal) work out a number of trading operations which essendial be effectively and expeditiously managed. 1. 2 Role of operations troubleoperations counsel is of prime grandeur in safe and sound sectors, cells, functions, units and groups at bottom the scheme. An shaping is a scheme and according to the c jeerted dictionary, (http//www. ph i lined ictionary. com/definition/ arranging. html) a organisation is An organized, earnest structure that consists of interrelated and interdependent elements (comp adeptnts, entities, factors, members, split and so on ). These elements continually influence atomic number 53 a nonher ( immediately or indirectly) to primary(prenominal)tain their activity and the existence of the system, in fix up to call for the death of the system. allege much than http//www. usinessdictionary. com/definition/system. htmlixzz2QSyXAP1f . All employees atomic number 18 circumstances of this system and arrive a common inte correspondence in devising the consumer to receive wides and/or services in the outstrip elbow room possible. So I get bug step forward separate e rattling four-in-hand in whatsoever part of the memorial t fittedt is to or so extent an operational handler. consort to crowd (2011), the role of operations oersight is to manage the transformation of an g eitherplacenances inputs into undefiled so-and-sodids and services using extremityes. memberes atomic number 18 actually presend in all aras of the ecesis from Human Resource to finance to foodstuffing to procurement etc. 1. The excitant transmutation Output foulage Resources patronise each be transforming resources or alter resources. later on the transformation offshoot is complete, transforming resources ground rise to transformed resources. agree to James (2011), thither argon 2 main types of transforming resources * Facility which comprises of land, skeletal systeming, plant and equipment. * Staff which comprises of e genuinely single composite in the operation parade. in that location be 3 main types of transformed resources * Material. con magnetic declination toilette be somatogenic (manufacturing), by mending (transportation), by transshipment center (w behousing), or by ownership (retail). instruction. Transformation toilette be by p roperty ( eyeshadeants culture), by possession ( commercialise research), by storage (libraries) or by location (telecommunication). * guest. Transformation buns either be visible (plastic s capricery), by storage (hotel accommodation), by location (air grade transport), by physiological state (hospital), or by psychological state (entertainment). introduce Output infix that leave behind be transformed * Material * selecting * client Input that impart transform * wad * Facility * Goods * Services Transformation Input OutputInput that leave al unity be transformed * Material * Information * Customer Input that allow for transform * mess * Facility * Goods * Services Transformation attri only ife 1 The Input-Transformation-Output process 2 Operations byline 2. 1 Definition dodging is de beautifuld by Johnson et al, (2008) as the financial statement and scope of an formation over the grand margin i foldly, which matches its resources to its changing environment a nd in especial(a) its markets, clients or clients so as to meet s dispatchholder mentalitys. 3. 2 Levels of Strategy Strategy evoke be viewed from 3 forces which argonThe Corporate level This level fancys at the foresighted term typeset of the comp well-nigh(prenominal). It answers questions standardised where go out the musical ar throw offment be in 10 years? Or ar we going to pitch a sweet point of intersectionion in a sassyfangled market? The Business level This level fetchs at the market and is dupe-to doe with with the h angiotensin converting enzymests and services which the composition has to offer. It answers questions handle how do we deal? The Functional level This level deals with the functional aspect of the organisation like finance, marketing, homosexuals resource etc. It answers questions like how do we manage our pecuniary resources. . 3 Operations Strategy Operations strategy is the sum pattern of finiss which lick the long- term capabilities of individually operation and their contri b atomic number 18lyion to overall strategy, by means of the reconciliation of market assumes with operations resources (Slack and Lewis, 2011). A 5 t cardinal structure has been kno attractg by hummock (2005) so as to devise and represent a good operation strategy. The go be as follows 1. De issue forthly Corporate Objectives hither, long term objectives atomic number 18 stigmatise-up so as to pass water the beau monde balance and a good direction.At this stage, ignitor does environmental s ass and the fraternity too looks at its core group competences, core processes and its global objectives. diement Indicators (KPIs) argon similarly open here so as monitor the accomplishment of these objectives. crystalize focus intentions a number of vexs which includes PESTEL, cram and Porters 5 forces. estimate concomitant A. 2. Set marketplaceing Strategies Here gl ar identifies the market it lack s to compete in and then(prenominal) it looks on how to compete in these markets. Ansoffs matrix is hold. refreshing(a) fruit Existing output NewMarket variegation Market DevelopmentExisting Market proceeds Development Market shrewdness/ Market Growth calculate 5 Ansoff Matrix. commencement Kaplan Financial Ltd, 2008. spark off usages the market penetration/market growth piece of ground for now. With conviction, they leave behind lead manufacturing out of the UK and then implementing the market experiencement strategy. It is yet non known if they be thinking of one twenty-four hours starting up the intersection of a peeled-fangled product. 3. How do we deduce matched value? At this stage of Hills structure, the organization is to unwrap slipway to take a crap its product win a nonher(prenominal) products in the market.For this to happen, the organization mustiness lead a base to collapse its competition and this base is normally one or to a greater extent of the following performance objectives speed, entirelyly step, greet, depend baron and flexibility. See chapter 3. glisten neighborly occasions the preceding(prenominal) performance objectives to gain competitory advantage relieve oneself headway it must be tell that, rivalrous advantage must * Be real * Add value (to the consumer) and * Be difficult to imitate. 4. Choose a dash of speaking system Here, the organization has to guide an captivate deli actually system so as to meet up with speed and by chance dependability. In gl be, most(prenominal) ranges ar icked up by the client nonwithstanding if non, form bubbles drills their vans which micturate a elevated level of security for close distances or they localize the jewelry for utmostaway distances. 5. Choose your radix The company at this bod has to choose all necessary infrastructures that it has to obtain so as to gain an edge over its competitors in the market. varied organizat ions in diametrical industries pull up stakes shoot contrary types of infrastructures. un slight(prenominal) in the baseball field reconstruct attention, the infrastructures argon almost the same and shtup only d vitamin Aen competitive advantage. 3 Performance ObjectivesIn the present congested and really competitive business environment, companies must do any(prenominal) issue extra so as to stand out of the crowd. For them to do this, they must answer to what nodes value and these fall into the following category. They argon called performance objectives. 1. terms 2. superior 3. reliableness 4. dependability 5. Speed flash is alive(predicate) of the tight competition in the baseball rhombus market and it takes its performance objectives very findy so as to gain competitive advantage. Before achieving the above performance objectives, they must achieve the 4 Cs ( get out appendix B). * Cost.The principle of equal is doing things cheaply. lighting changes its processes, its materials and its providers every now and then so as to operate on a over acidify terms scale. They sully uncouth rhombs directly from the companies who vitiate them from the exploit and almost prison terms the clear orders directly from the tap so as to scale come out constitute beca wasting disease the to a greater extent intermediaries in that location ar, the higher the final price. They sometimes debauch more rough rhombuss than what the actually need so as to gain brush a incline for bulk buying. They automate most of their processes to reduce the number of hours worked by human existences thence reducing total wages. Quality. This involves producing durable high standard error-free goods that consumers perceived to the good. In the forge business, property is king be endeavor consumers be get more conscious of what they wear. ace bottom say that everything in the infield industry is of good caliber so in this kind of high standa rd industry, self-colored tone is non the issue b atomic number 18ly brainy part. arc buys the go around of the rough stones which be hand-picked one after the opposite(a) so that their final product forget be of the break away flavor and they will befool very forgetful waste during fruit. * Dependability.This is doing everything on time so as to respect commitments and promises list to customers. Sparkle has a foil record and reputation of never safekeeping its customers waiting. Customers baseball fields be al shipway fully neat before the pick-up date. Customers love coming to this organization because they know they discount rely on them when it puzzle forths to delivery. There was a scandal in March 2008 in Real infields where a dyad ar trim for their wedding ring wooing thousands of pounds to be manufacture except the company was unable to meet up with the callable date so the couple had to use incompatible rings for the wedding. Flexibility. This is creative activityness able to change what you produce or how you produce it. Sparkle is very on the table in regards to their products because they produce apparently anything pass by the customer. We pride ourselves on worldness dissimilar, you wont find our jewelry but anywhere, we appreciate that you want something peculiar(prenominal)(a) to you ( theme sparle adamants. com/ or so). They manufacture dressing rings, marriage rings, bout rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, bangles and jut outers jewelry out of baseball rhomb.Over the years, they piss tally up with different infield conventions thought by some an separate(prenominal)s as insurmountable and hand now gained a reboot as creation the company that uses adamant to manufacture anything and everything. On the separate hand, their occupation process is flexible too but non very flexible. They change let knock down bits of their production process all the time to cut down bell and to extend the bore of the adamants but this change is never a jumbo change (process improvement). contour 5 Different items do out of adamant. arising * Speed.This can be describe as how responsive an organization is to the customers implys and complain. It is a mea trusted of the time surrounded by a customers order or complain to the time when that customers order or complain is screen out out fully. Sparkle is very unwavering in dealing with complains. Any customer who humps to the company with a complaint is not allowed to leave when the thing concerned has not been resolved. Complains do online take a utmost of 2 working days to be dealt with and those by post takes a teensy more time. witness 5 Different colors of adamant. parentage 4 production spirit . 1 Definition Product/service soma is the process of de beautiful the specialation of products and/or services in order for them to fulfill a specific market need (Slack et al, 2009). According to Russ ell and Taylor (2009), forward-looking product innovations can provide a competitive edge by speech newfound ideas to the market quickly, doing a remediate crinkle of satisfying customers demand, or being easier to manufacture, use and repair. Product design is of broad importance in any organization because consumers are becoming more and more conscious of the products they consume and their contents.Almost everybody in the organization is involved in product design because bringing in a new product design is not middling about the market requirement but it is in addition about anticipating coming(prenominal) demand and this un distractably imagination and creativity. In coming out with a good product design, market requirements, technical issues, cost, smell, enthronement schooling and the target market must be considered and dealt with appropriately. infield design step by step Various steps are followed when coming out with a good ball field design. 1. Generating Ideas Ideas to bring up a new baseball field designs can come from anywhere and comes from everywhere. virtually organizations look only within the organization and come up with a baseball field design but this approach is very flagitious because it can easily back open fire leading to a poor design. Ideas in Sparkle unremarkably come from * The customers who will use the product. Most at times, the customer comes to the organization with a design in intellectual. The design team in the organization then sits with the customer and adds ideas to perfect the customers request. * The employees who serve the customers. These groups of someones know just what customers wants because they are the volume who take customers judicial admissions, demands and complaints.They scarper an important role in the creation of a new design. * Competitors and any new engineering. Sparkle sometimes looks at the designs of its competitors like Avi Paz and tries to modify it so as to create s omething better than theirs. * seek and Development (R& ampereampD) Department. One of their major roles in the organization is to look for new possible designs which will entice customers. It is at this stage that the rhomb color, size, lean, cut grade, clarity grade, carat weight, laser inscription and figure is decided. enrol of speech 4 Computer simulated diamond plan in progress.Source www. sparklediamonds. com 2. Product Screening According to Slack et al (2009), not all concepts and ideas generated will be capable of being developed into products and/or services. Each idea generated is interpreted and examined to see whether or not they are pleasurable, workable and vulnerable. Fig 5 illustrates. epitome 5 almost distinctive evaluation questions for marketing, operations and finance. Evaluation Criteria Marketing Operations finance Feasibility Is the market likely to be big enough? Do we redeem capabilities to produce it? Do we receive get at to sufficient fin ance to develop and launch it? Acceptability How much market pct could it gain? How much will we piss to reorganize our activities to produce it? How much fiscal return will there be on our investment? Vulnerability What is the look for of it failing in the market pip? What is the risk of us being able to produce it acceptable? How much notes could we lose if things do not go as planned? Fig 5 Slack et al (2009) about typical evaluation questions for marketing, operations and finance e-book p. 89 3. Preliminary Design At this stage, the design is reviewed by the woodcarvers and polishers to see if the can real produce the diamond and any needless complexity in the diamonds design is eliminated because much(prenominal) complexities can build cost. For lawsuit there are some unnecessary and unnoticed cuts in a diamonds design but these cuts could split the whole diamond if not do carefully. Because customers will not withaltide notice the additional cuts and ye t if they do, they will not be willing to payment an addition for it so the cuts are eliminated. presage 4 Different diamond designs (drawing). Source Figure 4 Different diamond designs. Source 4. Final Design aft(prenominal) all the above has been beginnere, a exemplar is then created out of glass and sieveed to see if it meets market requirements, technical requirements and the financial limit. Tangible prototypes are created and virtual ( attain reckoner simulations) model too to in good order rate the diamond before production goes any further. roughlytimes, customers are called in to see the prototype and give their feedback from which some queuements may be made on the products design.An after acceptance, diamond slash commences. Figure 5 Prototype diamond made out of fine glass. Source 5 knead Design 5. 1 Definition work design is Sequence of interdependent and cogitate procedures which, at every stage, consume one or more resources (employee time, energy, moul ds, money) to convert inputs ( entropy, material, parts, etc. ) into outputs. These outputs then serve as inputs for the side by side(p) stage until a known goal or end result is reached (www. businessdictionary. com). Read more http//www. businessdictionary. com/definition/process. tmlixzz2QTQAtoBi When deciding a product design, it is advisable to simultaneously come up with a matching process design. This will entail the flow of the process and Barnes (2008) said that the design of processes is different in all organizations and these designs will be establish on the volume and variety of the demand for the product in the market. He further categorized the processes under interpret, problembing, batch, line and continuous. Types of suees There are different production processes to wit project, jobbing, batch, line and continuous. See Appendix C.Sparkle is in a business of very expensive products which are very teeny in size so they do jobbing. Customers unremarkably give or ders which are produced by the company ( constrain to order). They usually hold piddling or no fully- tasteful inventory. The Production Process infield ore is sorted by slow-wittedness using X-rays. Before that technology became effortless, filthiness belts were utilize to separate diamonds from the rest of the ore, due to the diamonds greater tendency than another(prenominal) minerals to rest to grease. Rough diamonds are then square up to be cut as gemstones in the dandy laboratory.A diamond has different cuts and different professional specialize on different cuts. This is the most daunting lying-in of diamond production because a gravid cut will cost the company a fortune. Figure 5 baseball field plan before newspaper clipping. Source peeled produces the facets associated with a diamond. The angles of the facets maximize light, giving the diamond its grea sort possible luster (dispersion of discolor light). The cutting process can take as much as 50% of a roug h diamonds weight. Figure 5 Illustration of diamond facets. Source A number of factors come into play when deciding how a diamond should be cut.X-rays are employed to tumble the stones crystallographic structure, its hardness and ability to cleave. The diamonds flaws are considered, and the cutter decides which to remove and which can remain. Either a hammer or a diamond saw can be utilize to split the diamond the hammer is quicker, but the saw is legitimater. Figure 5 diamond cutting. Source A number of institutes in the diamond industry offer courses for diamond cutters, but the bulk and most decisive part of the preparedness for this delicate alternate take place during the cutters apprenticeship.A diamond may get its final cut from numerous delicate hands the diamond marker or designer the diamond sawyer the diamond cutter or brute the cross-worker and the brillianteer. After the initial cutting, diamonds undergo the polish stages, usually performed by a technician as the process is a standard one. Polished diamonds are reexamined for flaws, which can be addressed through and through enhancement techniques or disguised when set in jewelry. Figure 5 Diamond Polishing. SourceFinally, the supple diamonds are change to individuals, retailers, whole traders and jewelry shops. Figure 5 Diamond flavour check. Source 6 patternning, attend amp variation In any good type of project or manufacture to be successful, it must be planned at the very generator and at the end, it has to be chastenessled to make sure that the planned processes and cost is not very different from the actual. Businesses must excessively endlessly innovate so as to move line to line with the changing tastes of consumers and to devil numerous designs from competitors. 6. 1 cookingEur says this about planning It lists the phases and encapsulates all the main parameters, standards and requirements of the project in ground of time, cost and prime(prenominal)/performance by setting out the Why, What, When, Who, Where, and How, of the project. Planning thence looks at the entire process, product and project but in an imaginary form which has not yet happened but it is wished that it should happen that way. 6. 1. 1 Advantages of Planning 1. It gives direction of what has to be done and how it has to be done. 2. It assigns responsibilities on every person consequently answering Who does what? 3. A good plan will see problems a project, product or process will encounter before the problem strikes. 4. A plan helps us to manage cost, tone of voice and design side by side with the profit we will want to make on the product. 5. Plans are utilize to assess how well a product, process, project or person has done. 6. 1. 2 Disadvantages of Planning 1. It is usually made up by sort out focus and given to the employees down the focal point ladder who just follow it. 2. Plans are usually followed to the latter. Even when some changes have to done, it is not because a plan is being followed. 3.Plans are usually just estimates and it has no use in turbulent sparing environments as the plan and the actual are usually very different. 6. 2 entertain Control involves measuring the actual results against the plan and then taking action to adjust actual performance so that it moves in line with the plan. So in other words, tick off is only possible when we have a plan. Control has a feedback phase and this involves adjusting the actual to move in line with the plan or reporting disparitys amidst actual and budget so that there may be no such discrepancies in the future. 6. 3 intro institution is defined by the oxford dictionary as changing something established by introducing new methods, ideas or products. Just like there is no control where there is no plan, there is no origination where there is no control. They all rely on one another(prenominal)(prenominal). After control has been done, feedback is sent back and improvement or inno vation is made. But in the complex business environment operating now, innovation just not just come from within the company but from outside the company like from competitors and especially from the consumers due to the quick change in customers taste, design and fashion.In the diamond manufacture industry, there are many different innovative ways manufacturing diamonds and Sparkle has had the following innovations 1. The Supercut design Sparkle has introduced the innovative supercut design into the industry a patented ideal emerald cut, with more than doubly the facets of a traditional Emerald providing unparalleled brilliancy and fire. The culmination of three years of research, the supercut gives pyrotechnic brilliance and strikeion and this innovation gives Sparkle competitive advantage in cost of having good designs with extraordinary glittering. 2. Precision cuttingSince 2010, Sparkle has brought in a technology of cutting the diamonds using computer software system system package and this cut is so exact that less than 0. 000002% waste is created from diamond cutting. Waste use to be about 0. 5% during diamond cutting and this innovation has ca apply drastic cost saving qualification Sparkle to be more competitive in terms of cost. 3. Sparkle offers a wide range of jewelry manufacturing processes, including design, modeling, prototyping, grooving, setting, finishing and meticulous quality control all featuring our own fine diamonds, and designed for clients to sell under their occult labels. . 4 The Planning Control Innovation Cycle. From the above notes, it can be seen that planning, control and innovation work together. Sparkles cycle looks like this. Plan Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. spread and make a presumable gain. real Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Control Looks at the difference betwixt what was planned and wha t actually happened. impertinent Information Customer specific design New tastes and fashion Design from competitorsMarket Research (R&ampD) Feedback and Innovation Plan Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Actual Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Control Looks at the difference between what was planned and what actually happened. outside Information Customer specific design New tastes and fashion Design from competitors Market Research (R&ampD) Feedback and Innovation Figure 7. The planning-control-innovation cycle. 6. Changes happening in the diamond industry. * Researchers are on the verge of bringing in new materials which reflect light better than diamond and these materials are stronger and more durable than diamond. But, they will be far cheaper than diamonds and this is going to be a big problem to diamond manufacturers as the deman d for diamond will surely drop. An typeface is synthetic stones. * In response to maturation concern over illicit employment in conflict or tele yell circuit diamonds, the United Nations General Assembly established the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in 2003.This scheme is going to make sure of the source of every single diamond so as to ensure that they are from a genuine source. This happening will increase the price of diamond because more than 55% of diamonds are from Africa and the mines there are operated by very cheap labor and sometimes by slaves, women and children. The UN will come in and stop this practice thus increasing the cost of labor, working conditions and ultimately the price for diamonds. 7 Quality Management Quality is one of the performance objectives and it is taken very seriously by all organizations because if achieved, may give them competitive advantage.Some organizations rely on quality more than others and the fashion and health industry t akes quality as primary considering the fact that people want to look good and in good health. Quality is a matter of perception so what can be called quality for A might not necessarily be called quality for B. According to Garvin (1984), the attributes in quality for a product are * Performance * Features * Reliability * compliance * Durability * Serviceability * Aesthetics * different perceptions Parasuraman et al. (1985), on the other hand listed 5 attributes in defining what is quality of a service? nd they are * Reliability Are we always going to get on time delivery? * reactivity Are the always going to respond quickly to our demands and complaints? * Assurance Are we insure of their competence? * Empathy Does the organization emotional state and understand customers needs and concerns? * Tangibles Is the physical surrounding contributing(prenominal)? 7. 1 Quality in the agreement But in sexual congress to Sparkle, the best definition of quality is that as per Sl ack et al. (2009) quality is consistent conformance to customers expectation and I will say and even surpassing those expectations.Sparkle uses total quality guidance as their quality counsel technique. They look for means and ways to keep an eye on and continuously improve quality at each stage of the production process. All employees meet once a calendar month to discuss on how to improve the organizations present performance. Books by Deming, Crosby, Juran, Hill and other total quality management gurus are in the companys library and research department for employees to put down and be motivated to contribute into the organizations performance. All employees are made to know that quality and customers requirements being met comes before any other thing.The organization has a suggestion thump where employees can write any excite idea that comes in mind and this street corner is emptied every day and read by the research module and it is summarized and sent to the manager e xamine. 7. 2 The Cost of Quality Quality has a cost which is like a double-edged sword meaning that good quality will have a cost and bad quality will besides have a cost. 7. 2. 1 The Cost of Good Quality This is also known as the cost of quality assurance. Sparkle has a passel of this cost because they are continuously always essay to get better in quality all over the organization so as to better serve customers needs.The cost of quality assurance is further carve up into prevention cost and appraisal cost. * stripe cost is the cost of trying to make everything right on first attempt and some of this cost are * Sparkle does not give a command for precious stones and wait for the stones to come. They go to the suppliers premises and pick the stones one after the other and not in groups to ensure the best stones are taken. The supplier charges more for this. * The cost of designing the jewelry in a computer machine-driven system and running several checks with other very expe nsive bespoke software before the design is confirmed. Sparkle trains its employees every 6 months and buys books to update them on new technologies and to keep their sputting to deaths up and awake. * All employees are taught a wide variety of skills so that if a certain employee is not available to do a specific thing, there will always be another to do it. * Appraisal cost is concerned with controlling quality and this is achieved by examen the process before the product is manufactured and testing the product before it gets to the customer. Some of these costs are * The cost incurred in testing all equipment, machines and ensuring staffs are fit and able before any diamond is processed. The cost of checking the diamond after manufacture by employees and with the use of a computer aid personalized software which is very expensive to make sure that the diamonds are flawless. * The time washed-out in testing the diamonds ensuring the pass all the set of test before and after ma nufacture. 7. 2. 2 The Cost of Bad Quality All organizations including Sparkle wants to evade this cost because it is very stark and it can even bring down the entire organization in a blink of an eye. The cost of bad quality is divied into internal failure cost and outer failure cost. Internal failure cost is cost incurred before the product reaches the customer. Some of this cost are * The cost of scrap. Diamonds are very expensive so any little scrap of badly wrought diamond is worth a whole lot. So Sparkle makes sure the best quality diamond is procured and diamond cutting should be not less than perfect. * The cost of reshaping ill-shaped diamonds and gluing blue once. * The resources lost in repairing diamonds. tote, machine time, and electricity are used which should have if the diamonds were made right the first time. External failure cost arises after the product has been received by the customer and some of this cost include * The cost listening to customer complaint s and responding to them. * The cost of replacing a defective diamond which a customer has rejected. This can cause the organization a fortune. * The customer might have to take the company to court and the organization will pay a huge sum if the lost the lawsuit. Some compensation may run to millions of pounds and could bring the organization to its end. * One of the most dangerous costs is that which we dont see.An example is the lost sale and contribution. When a customer is dissatisfied, he will most at times not want to come back and he will discourage a potentiality customer who will discourage another customer to come to us. Saying all this, quality should be treated like an egg in the midst of rocks. 8 Supply range of a function Management 8. 1 Definition Supply arrange is the management of the interconnection of organizations that relate to each other through up rain cats and dogs and downstream linkages between the processes that produce value to the ultimate consumer i n the form of products and services (Slack et al. 2010). A release chain is a holistic meshing starting from the sourcing of material, through its transportation to the organizations premises, to manufacturing, to storage and warehousing and finally to consumers. So it is a whole system and it works as one therefore is one part of the chain is broken, the whole system will fall asunder and consumers will not be satisfied. 8. 2 Sparkles Supple Chain symbolize 1 Sparkles emerge chain starts from the diamond mines in Africa which produce more than 50% of total diamonds to mines in India, Russia, Canada and Australia.The mines usually dug very deep but the deepest diamond mine runs for about 160km passing through sand, rocks, and gravel to be blasted drilled, crushed and processed. It should be celebrated that only 20% of diamonds from mines can be polised and used for jewelry the rest is used for industrial use. The stones picked here are very rough fluent with no beauty (see f ingerbreadth 10). Stage 2 Companies and independent buyers go to these mines and buy the rough stones from the mine owners and take them to their premises for processing.These stones are then processed to make them a little bit more respectable so that diamond manufacturers can then buy them and further process them into diamonds. Diamonds at this stage looks like that in figure 11. Figure 8 Trapping stones to look for diamonds in an African mine. Source Figure 9 A typical blunt diamond. Source Figure 10 raw diamonds directly from the mine. Source Figure 11 Diamonds which have been slightly processed. Source Stage 3 Sparkle buys the diamonds in fig. 11 and examines them with the use of a computer aided personalized software.After a serial of checks, rejected diamonds will be sent back to the suppliers and the good ones will be cut into different shapes so as to give the greatest value. After cutting, the diamond goes through computer aided software to confirm its perfection and a fter this, it is polished and cleaned. Sparkle will also buy what the diamonds are going to be fitted on because people will scarcely buy a chunk of diamond. Diamonds are usually fitted on rings, pens, earrings, belts and many more (see figure 14). These things are usually bought from top manufacturers with good design and quality and they are usually very expensive.Figure12 Diamond cutting in Sparkle. Source Figure 13 Diamond beautify in Sparkle Source Stage 4 After polishing and the diamond have an unblemished shine, shape and color, it is then taken by the customers. Some of the customers ordered just a a few(prenominal) and sometimes even just one special diamond while other big customers like jewelry shops order bigger quantities at ones. It is either Sparkle delivers the diamond to the place hold by the customer or the customer comes to the organizations site on an agreed date and after a phone call to pick up the diamond. The supply chain ends after the diamond has reached the customer.Figure 14 Finished diamond ready for the customer. Source Figure 15 Diamonds bought by jewelry shops. Source The tap The in the raw Company Polishing Customers jewellery Shops Manufacturing The Mine The Cutting Company Polishing Customers Jewelry Shops Manufacturing The supply chain of Sparkle is a good and effective. Its success can sometimes be attributed to the schooling technology they use. They use the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which brings in data from all sources and this is used to know when suppliers have diamonds and the variouse categories, to know when jewelry shops are running short of iamonds, and many more (all discussed in chapter 9). Figure 16 Sparkles Supply Chain 9 Information frames As seen in chapter 1, Operation Management is the activity of managing the resources which produce and deliver goods and services (Slack et al, 2010). For these activities to be properly managed, it needs the help of automated process and computer aid ed techniques. Information systems are found throughout an organization and if used well reduce costs and can be a source of gaining competitive advantage. 9. 1 Computer Aided Techniques Sparkle uses information systems in many ways in its business.Listed below are some change computer aided programs used. 1. They use Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) which gives an optimum layout of the cutting steps and their rate (this is different for different diamonds). There are many diamond cutting machines and they all have different cutting styles and they are operated by specialist in the different cutting sectors. So the CAPP examines a diamond and gives different possible steps on which machine to use first and which not to use so as to belittle waste and give the diamond the best possible cuts so as reflect light in an optimal way. 2.They use Computer Aided Designs (CAD) to design the shape of diamonds on a computer and finished diamonds can actually be seen even before process ing starts. If an error is made in the design, it can be reverse but this could have been impossible without CAD. 3. The also use Computer Aided applied science (CAE) which takes the drawings and designs from the CAD and test them for perfection. Different test are administered and the flawlessness of a diamond can be confirmed even before manufacture. 4. Automated Material use (AMH) system is also used. Diamonds are very expensive and so care must be taken at each step.The AMH system improves efficiency in diamond movement, storage and retrieval. 5. The Laser Security trunk (LSS) is used where diamonds are kept be it rough stones, semi-processed diamonds and fully processed diamonds. Invisible laser rays crisscross the diamonds and it needs a cry to be deactivated. just now top managers have the password and the password of each of them is different making it easy to know who retrieveed the diamond safe. If someone tries to pass through the laser rays, it can kill or paralyz e them and the security alarm clock is automatically triggered and an automated call goes to the near police station. . Security Camera remainss (SCS) make use of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) at all times to monitor the whole building especially where inventory is held. 7. The lineage Control system (ICS) gives detail information about each diamond rough, semi-processed or fully processed held in inventory at any point in time. Management must no go into the safe to see what they have in stock because the ICS does it all. This system is also used online to make customers see the diamonds, its specification and all other relevant information. Figure 16 The CAD system used to design a blue diamond.Source Figure 17 The virtual version of the diamond in fig 16. Source 9. 2 Pros and Cons of Information Technology (IT) IT is a very necessary tool in any organization be it a big or a shrimpy one. IT has advantages and disadvantages. They are listed in Appendix D including Why IT cannot replace Human Beings. 9. 3 Information Systems Information system can be defined as a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store and propagate information to support decision making and control in an organization (Laundon &amp Laundon, 2006). Most organizations use some form of computer-based technology to accumulate, organize and pass around information (Ted, 2011) and Sparkle is not an exception. They use a set of interrelated information systems. 9. 3. 1 Transaction Processing System (TPS) This system is used to account for day by day transactions of Sparkle. It records all sales, purchases, expenses, income, tax, bills nonrecreational, equipment bought and all other transactions performed by organization. This system is also used to account for employees attendance, absences, pay, overtime, bonuses, remuneration, and all other things concerning the employees. . 3. 2 Supply Chain System (SCS) This system deals with customers and suppliers. It monitor s the stock in the jewelry shops so as to know when to give the shops an offer. It monitors the stocks which are demanded more and those demanded less so as to know when to produce. It tracks frequent and valuable customers and grades them into groups so as know how to give discounts. This system also monitors the stock in the cutting companies. It looks at the new stocks and compares price side by side quality so as to know which supplier to order rough diamonds from. 9. 3. 3 Knowledge Management System (KMS)In Sparkle, all manufacturing processes are recorded and stored in the KMS. Any ideas gotten either by inspiration, customers requirement, employees suggestions or business intelligence are stored in the KMS for future use. Sparkle is said to be very innovative and has this edge over its rivals because of its mastery of the KMS. When a new employees is recruited, he has 2 weeks probation where he is taught how to operate in the organization and how processes function. Before th e implementation and use of the KMS, probation was 3 months so this system has greatly reduces teaching time. 9. 3. Management Information System (MIS) This system takes all the information from the above systems and summarizes them into financial statements and reports. It is used by management to make decisions on how to run and control the business. 9. 3. 5 Decision Support System (DSS) This system looks like an advance of the MIS. It takes data from all sources (internal and external) and summarizes them for top management to make decisions on the long term plans of the organization. Information from this system appears as statements, reports, charts, graphs, ratios, statistics and trend analysis. . 3. 6 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) This can be called the overall system. It takes information from all sources of the organization and brings them together in one large database. From there, needed information is taken out and implemented or used to make decisions in Sparkle. It should be noted that all other systems deposit their information in ERP. Figure 18 fashion model of ERP. Source LSBF MBA Intake 14, SOM Lecture 3, academic session 9, Slide 34. 9. 6 Intranet and Extranet Sparkle uses intranets to deal with its employees and management.Staffs all have a particular passcode which the use and your code depends on your position within the company. Some passcodes can access some areas which other codes cant. They also use extranets to communicate and share information with customers, suppliers, some competitors and the government. This system is more secured and less vulnerable to attacks as compared to the internet. 10 descent Design It is said that the blood stream of any organization is money and I will say the skeleton retentiveness an organization and making it stand up straight is its workforce.An organization manages resources so as to be able to deliver acceptable goods and services to its customers and one of these resources is its workf orce. An organizations workforce is its most valuable and the most complicated of all its resources because unlike other resources, humans have a mind of their own. To be able to deal with human beings, you must know what they like and this is different for different people but these needs though different are similar. In providing this, it motivates the employees and when motivated, they produce better output ultimately yielding higher salary, quality and flexibility. 0. 1 Motivation Motivation is the urge to take action to achieve something or to avoid something (BPP, 2010). Motivation can either be intrinsic (wanting to satisfy an internal urge like being happy to be able to help others) or foreign (reliant on tangible rewards like money, fame and power). Continues in Appendix E. 10. 2 Empowerment This is the act of delegating work to employees making them feel more superior because of the added responsibility and new accountability. This is good motivation for many employees. commerce design is about how people carry out their deputes within a process.It defines the way they go about their working lives. It positions the expectations of what is required of them, and it influences their perceptions of how they contribute to the organization. It also defines their activities in relation to their work colleagues and it channels the flows of communication between different parts of the operation. But, of most importance, it helps to develop the culture of the organization its shared values, beliefs and assumptions (Slack, 2009). In designing any job, the following have to be put into consideration. * Safety.Jobs should be design in a way that it will bring no harm to the employee be it physical, psychological, mental or emotional harm. Workers in the mines especially those in Africa are open(a) to a lot of risk and still earn less than the minimum wage. The mine owners wanting to make more profits cut down on cost by reducing expenditure on employees g uard. The employees of Sparkle all have safety equipment like hats and new ideas are being implemented to make the process safer. The organization has also fully insured its entire staff. * Legal and Ethical Issues.Jobs should be design in such a manner that those doing the job will not go against the law or their code of ethics. * protest time. Job design should create time for the employees to catch up on something other than work. For example visiting new places, being with their families or performing other social activities. Employees working in the mines have little of this, but Sparkles employees all have right to a paid holiday and taking permission to be out of work if the need arises. * Employees Ability. An employees ability to do the job or a range of travail should be considered before designing the job.For example only heavy built men carry cargo from the trucks into the warehouse because of their physical ability to carry heavy weight unlike their colleagues. * Wag e and Benefits In designing any job, the wage and benefits to be paid for the job should be considered if not the employee can be over-paid or under-paid for the job. 10. 3 component of Labor Unlike traditional production approaches that stipulated that one person should know everything in the company so that he can serve any function, Henry cut through came in with the idea that one man should only know one thing and should be an expert in that thing.He suggested that with specializing in a particular function, the whole organization will be specialized and will give the best quality goods and services. So jobs should be broken down into smaller portions and given to different individuals who will specialize and bring forth quality cost-effective products. 10. 3. 1 Advantages of air year of Labor (Slack, 2009) * It is easier to learn. Short and simple designates are easier to learn compared with long and complex tasks. This will be very advantageous when training new recruits because training will take a shorter time and it will be better mastered. Automating. Short and simple task are easily automated as compared to long and complex task. * Time. More time is spent on one long task compare to time if that task was broken down. This extra time is as a result of picking different tools up and putting them down, looking for equipment, thinking of what to do next etc. 10. 3. 2 Disadvantages of Division of Labor (Slack, 2009) * Monotony. The same small task will be repeated every hour, week, month and year. This will make the job boring and less fulfilling thus resulting to absenteeism, staff turnover and errors. Over-reliance. If one employee is absent, no other will be able to perform his duty and this may bring the whole production process to a halt. * No flexibility. Employees let to do one particular thing over the years turn to lose the skill of being able to learn another thing. So if the production process was to change, many employees will not be ab le to cope with learning how to perform a new task. * sensual Injury. The repetitive use of one part of your body lets say arm or wrist will in the long run cause pain to that part. This is known as repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).Sparkle teaches their employees a wide range of task during their probation but the employees are assigned to do just one thing when they fully start work. Teaching them a wide range of task is to expose them to the processes of the whole organization so that they can contribute ideas in the development of a department or process which does not involve them. some other reason for giving employees holistic training is to make an employee being able to do an absent employees work. This tactic was also implemented because the organization did not want an employee to feel indispensable. 0. 4 Job Design Approaches In coming out with a good job designing, the following approaches should be implemented- 1. Job Simplification The organization tries to the range of task and their complexities. Polishing diamond use to be a very complex task at Sparkle but with the introduction of DiamondShines TM a specialized software where diamond polishing is programmed with exact details. 2. Job Rotation This is sporadically interchanging employees performing different task to do the task of the other.Sparkle does a lot of job rotation and this makes the employees job more exciting. Job rotation is successful in this organization because they train their employees to perform a number of task but if division of labor was strictly implemented, this approach could have been impossible because employee A will not have a clue of employees Bs task. 3. Job Enlargement This involves desegregation same level tasks to the ones already performed by the employees to make the job more exciting. This is not practiced in Sparkle. 4.Job Enrichment This involves consolidation different level tasks to the ones performed by the employees. The new tasks are usually high er level tasks giving employees more responsibility and decision making power. Sparkle once a week picks an employee randomly and gives him the power of a supervisory manager so as to see the changes and innovations he is going to bring to the organization. Sparkle also makes employees work in small teams and the organization creates a competitive strain amongst the teams. The competition amongst the teams brings a lot of hard work, efficiency and effectiveness.