Operation management - Operational Analysis Essay

Operation management - Operational Analysis - Essay Example Like any other Wal-mart store, ASDA is well known for its bargaining pricing of its products and services that it sells. It is also known for giving access and selling a wide range of products and services to its customers ranging from accessories and clothing to gardening and household equipment. Services include photography and pharmacy services. The motto of ASDA Wal-mat store Inc has been to help consumers save money and also help consumers lead a cheaper, but higher and better living standard (ASDA, 2010). The main objective of this company is to maintain excellent customer service by providing quality products at affordable prices. Another objective is to improve the sales of the store and implement productivity initiatives. The company has enjoyed a number of successes, including the ability to buy in bulk, sell products and services in huge volumes, and be able to survive on reduced on low profit margins. This has in turn helped the organization to pass on the cost benefit to the consumers and at the same time be able to give consumers more value for money which has been a crucial part of the success of the company in a highly competitive market. The paper will take an analysis of ASDA Wal-mart stores mainly concentrating on its current operations management activities. Introduction In any organization or company, operational management deals with the design and management of processes, products, services, and supply chains (BARNES, 2008). This mainly looks at the development, acquisition, and utilization of resources that are required by the organization in order to deliver goods and services to its consumers. Operational management ranges from the strategic level to the tactical level and finally, to the operational level. In other words, operational management is a function that aims at making sure that there is a smooth flow of processes to convert input into outputs in a cost effective and efficient way. There is normally demand for companies to su stain themselves and survive in a competitive market. However, there are two ways which company can adopt to which are cutting their costs or increasing their revenue. In both cases, the OM capacity of an organization is challenged. In this competitive market where competition increases all the time, a company like ASDA to implement effective operational management tools and systems in order to ensure that the production of goods and services is maintained smoothly and that the demands of customers are fulfilled quickly. OM attempts to create the desired balance between costs and revenue to get the maximum profit and at the same time maintain the quality of goods and services. Normally, big companies like ASDA have huge responsibilities to be able to keep up with the operational management activities involving capacity planning, manpower planning, acquisition, and control, scheduling, managing quality, material control, cost control, training and development for employees, and facil ity location and layout planning (LOADER, 2007). Information and Analysis Current Operations Below is an overview