Operations Management & Service Excellence Assignment Sample

Operations Management & Service Excellence Assignments

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In the present scenario, operations management and service excellence are very important in growth and success of a business enterprise. Further, every organization whether small or large are required to manage their operations in effective manner. Ineffective operations can affect overall sales and profitability of businesses (Zeithaml, 2010). The present report is based on Java Lounge which is UK based small independent coffee shop. It can be stated that the competition among coffee shops in the country is getting more and more intense with the passage of time. Java Lounge was founded by Akram Almulad with the objective of providing the quality and innovative coffee to people in market. The small coffee shop is located in 115 Alcester Rd, Birmingham, West Midlands B13 8DD. It can be stated that establishing the shop in such a location was a risky and very bold move from Akram Almulad. The reason behind this is that Java Lounge is located just opposite to Strabucks which is one of the leading coffee chains in the world. Therefore, it was not easy for Java Lounge to attract customers by operating in front of such a big brand in market. The building of small coffee shop is very attractive and stylish which captures the attention of people (Bou-Llusar and Beltrán-Martín, 2009). Along with this, furniture made with wood and leather amaze people and encourage them to purchase products and services of Java Lounge at least for once. Another interesting fact about the shop is that even if it is small coffee shops, there is adequate space and it also provides customers with place to plug their laptops. All these efforts are being made to ensure that customers spend more time in the shop and have one of the best experience with coffee. It can be also argued that the food and quality of Java Lounge is outstanding (Mentzer and Esper, 2008). It can be explained that there are different types of customers which the small coffee shop experience during the entire day. This includes working professional which prefer to carry out meting a professional talks over a cup of coffee. In addition to this, there are some regular customers which includes youngsters, males and females and kids with their parents. During my visit in Java Lounge there were different type of customers in the shop. There were total 7 people in the shop which includes working professionals and some youngsters.

There are various kinds of products and services which are offered by Java lounge Birmingham. Some products which captured my attention includes toasted mozzarella wrap which was around £3.50, raspberry bakewell (£2.50). These are the two products which I have personally tried during my visit in the shop. Hot chocolates, milkshakes, paninis and coffee such as espresso are some other products which are being offered by the small coffee shop. It ranges of coffee includes mocha to macchiato and the shop also offers different brews from iced to Yemen. It can be also argued that all the products and services very quite high in quality in comparison with the prices which Java lounge is charging (Campbell, 2010). The shop has not done any kind of compromise in quality and it can be termed as one of the major factor behind its success. The brand believes that coffee is not just a beverage but it is a way of life. For this purpose, Java Lounge always seeks for the ways through which it can provide customers with coffee that offers great taste and rich experience (Giraud and Poeppel, 2012). The interior of Java Lounge is very attractive and vibes received in the shop can be considered as urban and inspiring (Life, 2014). Other than this, there is a mural displayed by Java Lounge which reflects the entire history of coffee..

It can be analysed that the coffee shop is able to generate adequate profit and sales even if it is carrying out its operations in front of Starbucks (Dørum and Garland, 2011). Quality products, attractive ambiance, convenient prices, fast and accurate services are some elements which encourages customers to buy product and services of Java Lounge.

Operations management

Operations management is one of the crucial and most significant aspects of businesses. In simpler terms it can be defined as the management and administration of business practise in order to develop the highest level of efficiency and productivity. Java Lounge operates from 7 am to 7 pm from Monday to Friday (Bogost, 2008). Furthermore, during Saturday timing of coffee shop is from 9 am to 5 pm and on Sunday it operates between 10 am to 4 pm. It has been analysed that Java Lounge import its coffee beans directly from its coffee plantation which is carried out in Yemen. This also helps the brand in offering unique and very diverse taste of coffee to all its customers (Stevenson, 2009). It can be stated that Java Lounge carry out the task of blending those imported beans into two different categories. The process of blending supports in developing coffee which has its won texture and taste. At the time of carrying out its operations, Java Lounge tries to manage its waste management system in most effective manner. The major competent of the shop's waste management includes increasing recycling and promotion of cups which can be reused. It has been analysed that while carrying out its operations, it ensures that less harm and negative impact is made on environment (Nahmias, 2015). In its waste management system, the shops always seeks for ways through which improve its packaging design and offer more reusable cups.

Along with this, it can be also stated that the process of recycling seems quite simple but in reality Java Lounge needs to face many challenges during the same. In the shop, waste is generated by milk jugs, coffee grounds, cardboard boxes and from customers of Java Lounge. In addition to this, the coffee shop also makes sure that all its used cups are accepted as one of the most valuable war material in different type of recycling systems. It has been analysed that the even being a small independent coffee shop, Java Lounge is managing its entire waste quite well. Its waste management system can be termed as effective as well as efficient which is good for its future growth and development (Zimmerman, 2011). Java Lounge also take care of quality control of all its products and services. Further, the shop assure quality of coffee from bean to each and every cup. Harvesting of coffee beans is the first step towards development the perfect blend of coffee. Furthermore, during the process of harvesting soil, nutrients, temperature, humidity are some important factors which are taken care of by Java Lounge. On the other side of this, quality assurance is also considered during picking and processing of coffee cherries. The collected beans are checked and analysis in order to ensure that they are of high quality (Chase, 2012). In addition to this, double cleaning and screening of beans is also very important element of Java Lounge quality assurance process. It has been analysed that the shop also ensure that all impurities are removed from the beans before carrying out the process of roasting. Java Lounge also examine aroma, strength and flavour of its beans before processing them. During the process of roasting, the brand tries to ensure accuracy of temperature at regular intervals in order to maintain quality in its products. It can be argued that for small coffee shop, the process of blending is never easy. Intense amount of skills, expertise and knowledge is required to maintain required acidity (Paris, 2009). On the other side of this, Java Lounge also takes care of quality assurance during process such as packing and storing. Its air cooled coffee is packaged into containers in environments which are free from oxygen. The boxes, containers and bags are made by up of material with the highest quality. It can be expressed that the operation's management and service quality of Java Lounge is very effective. This helps in creating sense of satisfaction among customers and also encourages them buy the products and services of Java Lounge in future as well (Foust, 2008). All day to day activities and operations are managed in such a way that customers do not have any kind of inconvenience in placing and receiving the order. The shop has managed its operations in such a way that as soon as people enter Java Lounge, they feel like they are reborn. In addition to this, hygienic standards and its level of quality assurance is going to be key factors in its future success. Checking and assurance of quality at each and every step helps Java Lounge to offer the best quality and satisfactory products to customers. 

Meaning of 5 performance objectives

Every organization is required evaluate and measure its performance on the basis of five performance objectives. This measurement helps businesses to become aware of the fact that in which direction it is moving. The objectives are quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost. Further, it can be stated that quality is the first and one of the most important objectives of organization. As compared to other four objectives many researches and studies are carried out on the importance of quality in businesses. In simpler terms quality can be defined as specification of particular product or service (Kaplan, 2008). Quality can be termed as good when customers or people consuming/using products and services do not have any kind of complain regarding the same. High quality also results in lowering down overall cost of production, increasing rate of customer satisfaction and loyalty. In terms of Java Lounge, it can be stated that it has maintained appropriate level of quality in all its processes along with products and services (Giraud and Poeppel, 2012). The shop is also able to generate more revenue because of displaying high quality standards. At the time of carrying out its operations there are some mistakes which are being made by the shop. However, it can be argued that its not only quality of products and process which makes a business successful. Speed of products and services delivered to customers is another important aspects upon which performance of businesses can be measured. In simpler terms, speed can be determined as the duration between customer ordering a product or service and receiving the same. There are two major factors which affects the overall speed of services and products. This includes external and internal factors within a business enterprise (Zeithaml, 2010). Responding quickly to customers need helps organizations to encourage repeat purchase from customers. Along with this, it is also possible for businesses to adopt for high price strategy by delivering products and services at fast pace. High speed of services also helps in reducing the overall risk and cost of inventories of organizations. In terms of Java Lounge, it can be stated that the speed of services is appropriate. This means that the services which are being delivered by the shop are not too slow or fast. People are not required to wait for long period to place their order and receive the same (Bou-Llusar and Beltrán-Martín, 2009). However, it can be argued that in order to provide quality services and products Java Lounge, requires some time. Therefore, speed of responding to customers order, need and demand of Java Lounge can be termed as satisfactory.

Another performance objective which is important for the long term success of a business organization is dependability. Further, it can be defined as the criteria which determines whether customer are able to get products or services on time or not. At the time of carrying out their operations every business enterprise is required to ensure that product are being delivered to customers on time. In the modern era, it has become very important for businesses to provide product to its customers when they require. In case if products are not delivered within given time-frame, then people will directly get encourage buying services and products which are offered by other market players (Mentzer and Esper, 2008). In terms of customers dependability is considered as very good thing for success and growth of businesses. However, it can be argued that of customers gets very frustrated and irritated when their placed order is not delivered on time. This is the only reason why objective of business to enhance the chances that customers buy products and services again and again. It can be stated that dependability of people in terms of Java Lounge is very high. The shop always make sure that it deliver products and services on time to all its customers (Campbell, 2010). It also ensures that when people places order they are not required to wait for long time. At the time of carrying out its operations in right in front of Starbucks is not easy. It can be also stated that if customers do not receive food and coffee on time then they will be directly encouraged to buy coffee from Starbucks. It has been analysed that as soon as customer places order, Java Lounge starts processing the same. This supports in delivering products and services within required time (Life, 2014). Other than this, dependability objective also make direct impact on overall cost of operations of Java Lounge. It helps the coffee shop by saving time and money by delivering services and order on time. However, it can be argued that operations which are not dependable cannot commit its customers to provide fast response towards their need and demand.

Another objective of businesses is to take care of their flexibility. Furthermore, it is defined as the ability of organization to carry out different things in given time. In order to survive and sustain in highly competitive markets, businesses are required to become flexible. This means that they should be capable enough to cope with different kind of internal and external changes in business environment. In the present scenario, organizations which operates in rigid way are not able to gain higher profits and sales in the long run. It can be also stated that offering same kind of products and services to customers creates dissatisfaction among them (Dørum and Garland, 2011). In case of Java Lounge, it can be explained that it is somewhat flexible. Its direct competitor Starbucks can be termed as completely flexible as it is able to make changes in its offering as per the market trends and changing customer preferences. After, carrying out competitor analysis it has been observed that that Java Lounge is not much flexible as compared to other small independent coffee shops. Furthermore, its major rivals are offering wide range of products and services to customers. This is not a good sign for the coffee shop and it will create barriers in long term growth and development. The last and another important element of the five performance objective is the overall cost. It can be argued that the cost of operations varies from one business enterprise to another (Hill and Hill, 2012). Other than this, all the above mentioned performance objectives focuses on lowering down the cost. The operations of Java Lounge are not carried out on large scale therefore, its cost of operations is not very high. In addition to this, it is also able to cut down its cost by using highly advanced technologies in its operations. 

It can be explained that as compared to its major competitors which are Centenary Lounge, Home is Where, Faculty etc, Java Lounge operations are capable enough to achieve its short and long term objectives. However, it can be argued that there are some areas where the small coffee shop needs to make improvements. In order to improve its overall competitiveness, the improvements are mentioned below as:

• It is required by Java Lounge to increase its operations to other area of UK. This will help in creating more and more awareness about its products and services in the minds of people in market (Devisscher, 2008). This improvement can be done by opening new stores in other location of UK. This is going to support Java Lounge in becoming brand name in coffee market of the country.
• It is also required by the shop to become more flexible by introducing new range of products and services. It can be stated that coffee, beverages and other food offered by Java Lounge is very limited. Somewhere or the other it creates dissatisfaction among the mind of people (Capraro, 2009). It needs to provide customers with wide range of products and services from which they can choose.
• In order to stay competitive in market place, it is required by Java Lounge to carry out marketing and advertising of its offerings. It can be argued that without marketing, it will not be able to survive in market for long run. Therefore, it needs to market and promote its products to create awareness and attract more and more customers.

Supply chain of Java Lounge

Supply chain can be termed as the process of bringing in raw material, processing it and then supplying the same to customers. The supply chain of Java Lounge consists of three major elements which are importing coffee beans from Yemen. Processing those beans in their stores and then supplying it to customers by its own stores. It can be also stated that the brand do not depends on external suppliers for raw materials to make products. Further, in-sourcing of its products is done by its own plantation which is carried out in Yemen. Furthermore, the objective behind this is to ensure quality of beans use in the processing (Hill and Hill, 2012). Souring raw material from its own sources also helps Java Lounge to provide unique and innovative taste of coffee to all its customers. It can be explained that after importing beans, the process of roasting begins in Java Lounge. Further, finished product is directly supplied to customers by its small shop which is located in Birmingham (Capraro, 2009).

Comparison and contrast of quality process of Java Lounge with Starbucks

In comparison, with quality process of Java Lounge with Starbucks there are many differences observed. It can be stated that Starbucks is global giant in coffee market of the entire world. On the other hand, the operations and quality process of Java Lounge is at very low scale. It has been observed that both the businesses import their raw material from different sources. Starbucks relies on almost nineteen countries for raw material whereas Java Loung's majority of material comes from single country which is Yemen. There are total six roasting centers of Starbucks which perform the task of preparing beans (Capraro, 2009). On the other side of this, Java Lounge has only one center for carrying out the process of roasting. It can be stated that in order to maintain and improve quality, Starbucks adopt new technologies and also tries to improve its overall processes at regular intervals. Furthermore, customer research and surveys are being conducted at regular intervals to identify whether quality of its products and services is satisfactory or not. On the other than, Java Lounge make sure that quality of its offering are maintained to the highest possible level (Bou-Llusar and Beltrán-Martín, 2009). In addition to this, the small shop is also expertise in origin of filter coffee from different places of the world. In contrast, of quality process of Java Lounge with Starbucks it can be argued that it has maintained adequate level of quality. It can be stated that both the brands has developed effective process to maintain quality. Java Lounge is able to give good competition to the Starbucks because of its product and services quality. In addition to this, both the businesses always seeks for way through which they can deliver customers with fast, accurate and quality products. After carrying out comparison of quality process of both the businesses it can be argued that Starbucks maintain quality is global level which a very complex procedure (Zeithaml, 2010). At the time of carrying out its operations, Starbucks prefer to buy coffee beans from framers which are certified under Starbucks Coffee and Farmer Equity. This is done with an objective of importing beans which are best in quality. On the other side of this, Java Lounge do not use such kind of procedure in carrying out its operations. The layout and operation design of Java Lounge is also completely different from that of Starbucks.

Conclusion

From the above report it can be concluded that Java Lounge is carrying out its operations in effective manner. Further, the brand always seeks for ways through which it can enhance quality of all its products and services. It can be concluded that Java Lounge needs to introduce some new range of products in order to attract more customers. Even after carrying out its operations in front of brands such as Starbucks, it has been able to gain adequate sales and profits.

References

Books and journals

• Bogost, I., 2008. Unit operations: An approach to videogame criticism. Mit Press.
• Bou-Llusar, J.C., and Beltrán-Martín, I., 2009. An empirical assessment of the EFQM Excellence Model: Evaluation as a TQM framework relative to the MBNQA Model. Journal of Operations Management.27(1). pp.1-22.
• Campbell, J.D., 2010. Asset management excellence: optimizing equipment life-cycle decisions. CRC Press.
• Capraro, D., 2009. Java lounge, 2012. Section bar for a heater and fluid flow heater, in particular for coffee machines. 14(3). pp. 122.
• Chase, J., 2012. Operations management. Tata McGraw-Hill.
• Devisscher, T., 2008. An analysis of a product service system in Bolivia: coffee in Yungas. International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development. 3(3-4). pp.262-284.
• Dørum, K. and Garland, K., 2011. Efficient electronic navigation: A metaphorical question?. Interacting with Computers.23(2). pp.129-136.
• Foust, A.S.,2008. Principles of unit operations. John Wiley & Sons.
• Giraud, A.L. and Poeppel, D., 2012. Cortical oscillations and speech processing: emerging computational principles and operations. Nature neuroscience, 15(4), pp.511-517.
• Hill, A. and Hill, T., 2012. Operations management. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Kaplan, R.S., 2008. The execution premium: Linking strategy to operations for competitive advantage. Harvard Business Press.
• Life, W., 2014. Hookah on the highway. The Guardian.1. pp.15-2014.
• Mentzer, J.T. and Esper, T.L., 2008. Supply chain management and its relationship to logistics, marketing, production, and operations management. Journal of Business Logistics.29(1). pp.31-46.
• Nahmias, S., 2015. Production and operations analysis. Waveland Press.
• Paris, R., 2009. The dilemmas of statebuilding: confronting the contradictions of postwar peace operations. Routledge.
• Stevenson, W.J., 2009. Operations management (Vol. 8). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
• Zeithaml, V.A.,2010. Services marketing strategy. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
• Zimmerman, R.D., 2011. MATPOWER: Steady-state operations, planning, and analysis tools for power systems research and education. Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on.26(1). pp.12-19.

Online

• About us Java Lounge. 2013. [Online]. . [Accessed on: 23 March, 2016].
• Hallam, K., 2015. Independent coffee shop Java Lounge opens second store in Birmingham city centre. [Online]. . [Accessed on: 23 March, 2016].
• Java Lounge. 2014. [Online]. . [Accessed on: 23 March, 2016].