Unit 5004 Resource Management Paper
CHARTERED MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE
Level 5: Management and Leadership
UNIT 5004 Resource Management
Contents
Introduction 3
Aim 3
Methodology 3
Part 1: 6
What are the operational resources required to support goals and objectives? 6
Indentifying resources 7
Resources in the transformation process 9
What is the process by which resources are planned and monitored? 13
What is the process by which costs are agreed? 14
Part 2: 17
What options do I have in terms of providing resources? 17
What is our current supply mix? 17
How efficient is our strategy in terms of predicting and coping with destructions? 18
Part 3: 21
Conclusion 21
Learning log/Reflection: 22
What did I learn the most? 22
What did I find most difficult? 22
What would I like …show more content…
to learn in the future? 22
Recommendations 22
Bibliography 23
Introduction
Unit 5004: Resource Management
Word Count: 2998
I am an Operations Manager in a Decontamination department, which deals with the decontamination and sterilisation of Medical devices, and I’m responsible for the day to day running of the Unit.
Aim
For this assignment I’m to link the resources to my departmental goals and objectives, and to analyse how effective the resources are managed. I’m required to describe the physical and financial resources required to support the achievement of my goals and objectives, explain the process by which resource are planned and monitored, and provide options for the provision of future deliverables and the adequacy of our current supply mix.
Methodology
To research my assignment I used the following tools and methods:
Ray Rawlings Unit 5004 Resource Management – From this work book I was able to learn about and reference most of the models and tools that I have used to complete this assignment.
Kaplan and Norton Balance Scorecard - A management system that maps an organization 's strategic objectives into performance metrics in four perspectives: financial, internal processes, customers, and learning and growth. This model links strategies and relate goals to the entire organisation; however it does take time to formulate and needs more input from other departments.
Neville Dale Harris Transformation Process model – Model showing the link between resources, process and outputs, this model was helpful to see the relationship between resources our processes and outputs.
Decontamination Cycle model – Model describing the decontamination process, this cycle explains the nature of our business.
Porter’s Generic Value Chain – Model describing a series of value-generating activities. This model instigates a deeper exploration of the potential customer and market influence and highlights the areas in the business that requires support; it also requires additional processes for gathering information on an ongoing basis.
PESTEL Analysis – Table describing the external factors that may affect resource requirement or operations. The PESTEL analysis helps to raise awareness of external threats to make planning more effective.
Strategic Business Plan – Model describing how businesses plan to meet goals and objectives, the model was easy for me to understand and I could not identify any disadvantages.
Purchasing Process – A Model describing Synergy Health Plc purchasing process flow chart.
To further support my learning I have identified the various approaches to my investigations, listing some advantages and disadvantages in the table below:
Advantages
Disadvantages
Face to face meetings
It is personal and a lot can be said and learned and agreed.
Schedule appointment, may feel embarrassed to asked confidential questions in person.
Telephone
Quicker and time/cost effective
Not personal a bit distanced, not everyone has time to talk for long amounts of time.
Fax
Quicker and time/cost effective
Distanced errors with system printers etc.
Emails
Quicker and time/cost effective
Distanced errors with system printers etc.
Questionnaires
Data can be gathered from a large number of respondents, information gathered can be easily collated.
Some are difficult to understand and design.
Existing documents
Provides historical data, record of trends and changes in the system
Depends on how well the system has been documented, incomplete and out of date.
Newspapers/Television
Information is readily available, It is current reliability Focus groups
Brainstorming, a lot can be discussed different ideas from different minds
Not enough time to meet
CMI Website
Quicker and time/cost effective information is readily available; it is a reliable source of information.
System errors personally I have found the website hard to navigate at times.
CMI Workbook
Quicker and time/cost effective information is readily available; it is a reliable source of information.
CMI Workshops
Quicker and time/cost effective information is readily available; it is a reliable source of information, a lot can be learned and information and ideas shared between work groups
Related articles and Journals
Readily available from CMI website, time/cost effective information is readily available, reliable
Hard to understand and to extract relevant information
Related Books /Thinkers and Researchers
Quicker and time/cost effective information is readily available
Hard to understand and to extract relevant information
Other related Websites
Quicker and time/cost effective information is readily available
Hard to understand and to extract relevant information www.netmba.com/investigationtechniques For this assignment I chose the following techniques because I found them easier and most helpful:
Telephone conversation
Emails
Existing documents
Media/television and Newspapers
CMI workbook, workshops and Websites Books and related journals from thinkers and researchers.
Part 1:
Describe the physical and financial resources required to support the achievement of my organisation goals and objectives.
In order to identify and describe the physical and financial resources required to support the achievement of my departmental goals and objectives, I must firstly describe the organisation synergy’s goals and objectives as well as my own unit goals and objectives.
Synergy Health Plc - organisational objectives
Homerton Unit – Departmental objectives
Maintain our position as the UK’s most dynamic and creative Healthcare services group by offering an unrivalled service, excellent value for money and products of the highest quality.
Run our business with a consideration for our employees and encourage employees to strive for excellence, develop themselves and care for our customers
Provide the Homerton University Trust with medical devices that are fit for purpose.
Produce and delivery products of the highest quality, giving the customer value for money and to maintain a skilled workforce.
Source: Synergy Health Plc QMS Chapter 0 Doc 2.000
These goal and objectives are set by the share holders and the managing directors of the company, and are published on the quality manual system; in essence all Synergy Health Units must adhere to these objectives.
What are the operational resources required to support goals and objectives?
According to the Collins dictionary resources are “As source or supply of aid or support”. R. Rowlings (2008(a)) describe operational resources as inputs.
Before we decide what physical or financial resource we will require, a contract for sterile services will go for tender.
A short overview of tendering process is as follows (in order):
1. Customer publishes an OJEU notice for the services / products that are required. (Official Journal of the European Union - it presents an opportunity for all companies in Europe to tender for work anywhere in Europe)
2. Synergy response with an Expression of Interest, as do all other interested companies. A customer will give potential bidders a timeframe of between 1 and 3 months to express an interest; the customer receives Expressions of Interest.
3. For the next stage the customer has to option to either first go through a stage asking the bidders to complete a questionnaire or go straight to a tendering stage.
4. If the customer wants to go through a questionnaire stage first, the interested companies are asked to respond to a set of general questions. This is usually called Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire or Selection Questionnaire. The questions are usually around the companies’ background, past experience and a list of references, in this stage the companies are usually not asked to give a price yet.
5. After the customer has received all questionnaires, they will draw up a shortlist of companies who will pass through to the next stage.
6. Next stage is the tendering stage, which is called the Invitation to Tender or Invitation to Negotiate. The tender provides all the information the customer is asking for and provides a cost for the service or products.
7. From the tenders received, the customer will select a Preferred Bidder. The PB is the company that the customer intends to award the contract to, pending clarifications and objections by the other shortlisted bidders. Once the intention to award is announced, the other companies have 10 working days to request a briefing with the customer and object to the decision if they want to. If no objection is raised, PB will be announced.
8. After the contract is awarded, the customer may publish a notification of award in the OJEU.
Source: Michael Langhorn Synergy health Plc Commercial Director
Indentifying resources
The implications for resources required is then identified and determined according to the capacity and the service requirements of the customer. In my scenario the provision of decontamination services to the Homerton University Hospital Trust. The day to day responsibility for management of resources is with Operations and or Site Managers and is overseen by the General and Regional Managers.
This is the reason why, when planning a project in line with the organisational goals, it is important to communicate and/or involve additional resources from within the organisation as described in the Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1992) below.
www.netmba.com
For the purpose of this assignment, I have communicated with the Commercial Director, the Projects Manager and the Central Purchasing Manager.
The following table shows some of the main resource that would be required to support my goals and objectives.
Physical resources
Tangible
Staff
Building
Plant and Machinery
Fixtures and fittings
Computer/Telephones and communications systems
Medical Devices
Raw Materials
Intangible resources
Diversity of functions and manpower
Types of skills or requirements
Training and Development
Health and safety requirements
Medical Device Directive regulations and accreditation
Financial resources
Staff wages, taxes and NI contributions
Cost of purchasing plant , machinery and equipment
Cost of purchasing fixtures
Cost of purchasing raw materials
The cost of service persons, and contractors
Cost of utilities bills and expenses
The cost of depreciation on plant, machinery, fixtures and fittings
Source: David Staley Synergy Health Plc Projects Manager
Resources in the transformation process
Neville D Harris (1989(a)) referred to the transformation of resources as operations management, which is the management of a system which provides goods or services to or for a customer, and involves the design, planning and control of the system.
All organisation transforms inputs or resources into outputs, below is a model of the transformation process, as referenced by R. Rowlings (2008(b))
Inputs/Resources Process
Output
Time
Skilled Manpower
Plant/Machinery/Equipment
Computers/Communication systems
Raw materials
Decontamination
Cycle
Communications with Customers
Sterile Products
Satisfied customers
Adequate traceability system
Adopted from R Rawlings 2008
The transformation process gives an immediate sense of the importance of having the right resources in place when required. In the private sector for example Synergy Health Plc who are a profit making organisation. It is essential that the business returns are of greater value than the business cost. The resources are required in the decontamination life cycle the process as illustrated in the following model: www.bbraun/decontamination cycle.com
After the decontamination process the output would be the sterile products. A criterion is that the product must be produced in a state ‘fit for purpose’ for the satisfaction and approval of customer services.
Many organisations including Synergy Health have a mission statement, goals and objectives that explain the direction of the company. To better understand the activities through which a firm develops a competitive advantage and creates shareholder value, it is useful to separate the business system into a series of value-generating activities of value chain. M Porter (1985) introduced the Value chain model that comprises a sequence of activities found to be common to a wide range of firms.
Porter identified the primary and support activities as shown in the following model:
Porter 's Generic Value Chain http://www.netmba.com The goal of these activities is to offer the customer a level of value that exceeds the cost of the activities, thereby resulting in a profit margin.
Inbound Logistics: The receiving and warehousing of raw materials and their distribution to manufacturing as they are required.
Operations: The process of transforming raw goods into finished products and services. In my line of work is the decontamination cycle.
Outbound Logistics: The warehousing and distribution of sterile finished goods.
Marketing & Sales: The identification of customer needs and the generation of sales.
Service: the support of customers after the products and services are sold to them.
These primary activities are supported by:
The infrastructure of the firm: organizational structure, control systems, company culture, etc.
Human resource management: employee recruiting, hiring, training, development, and compensation.
Technology development: technologies to support value-creating activities.
Procurement: purchasing inputs such as materials, supplies, and equipment.
Neville D Harris (1989(b)) referrers to the Value Chain analysis as a Value Analysis, which is a systematic interdisciplinary examination of the design and other factors affecting the cost of the product and service, in order to devise means of achieving the specified purpose most economically at the required standard of quality and reliability. Value chain sets out to analyse the functions which a product or service performs and to develop a cheaper way of performing them, rather than considering initially the methods by which a product is made or services delivered. I would agree to both Porter and Harris’ theories. As Operations manager I’m need to have an understanding of what resources are required for operations, and how resources linked to our process in order to deliver to our customers. Both theories emphasise the importance of analysing the process in order to maximise returns.
Once the goals and objectives have been established and defined, the organisation is then in a position to analyse the external environment and appraise the internal one before identifying strategies and development plans.
A PESTEL analysis is one method I would use to analyse the external factors that would affect resource requirements or operations. Below is a model showing how the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors that has an impact on resource management and planning.
Political - Changes in regulatory standards and Guidance for example the NICE Guidance 2006. - The ISO9001 (2000) has been updated.
Economic
– There is a recession at the moment and most of our clients are requesting for us to provide saving.
Social
– The impact the media has on the quality of service the decontamination units are providing e.g. Romford Recorder 24th April 2009 and the Metro 14th April 2009.
Technological
– Robotic surgery, Endoscopic surgery and the recently introduced Bariatric surgery for obesity, most of these procedures now require chemical neutral pH detergents whereas before we were using enzymatic cleaners.
Legal
– A change in procedure often mean what ever we are going to introduce will be accredited to the relevant guidance and regulations.
Environmental
– Requirements to environmental control and risk management.
Source: CMI 5004 Workbook R.Rawlings 2008
It is important for me to keep up to date with the external factors that will affect what we do (decontamination services). I can do this by investigating the impact of the future relevant legislation and liaising with other Synergy managers who are experts in that field.
The current economic climate has force most of our customers to seek for products and services of the same quality with the best value in mind, the changes in procedures and technology will often mean there will be some Health and safety issue and risk management.
What is the process by which resources are planned and monitored?
Having analysed the external factors we set our objectives and plan to meet the overall strategies and goals of my department.
R Rawlings (2008(c)) identifies three levels of planning, the objectives and plans from all the different parts of the organisation feed in the overall mission, strategy and goals. Everything is pulling towards the same direction as shown in the model below:
Mission and Corporate Objectives
Aligning plans model (adapted from R.Rawlings 2008) A strategic plan - Is the formal statement of the strategy that has been selected.
It should describe the overall direction in which the organisation is going to move.
A business or tactical – Plan deals with the medium term. If the strategic plan answers the question ‘What are we going to do’? The tactical plan answers the question ‘How are we going to do it’? It describes the means by which the strategic plan will be put into action.
An operational plan - Deals with what needs to happen to produce the products or services on a daily basis.
Plans made at each level are interdependent. A strategic plan can’t work unless it’s linked to a reasonable tactical plan – and tactical plans must be linked to practical operational plans. However far-sighted and exciting the overall strategy of an organisation, it can be realised only if it can be reflected in the day-to-day operational
reality.
In practice, just about any plan, unless it’s completely out of touch with reality, can be put into action if you provide enough resources, such as:
Time
Money
Equipment
Human resources:
In addition, financial resources must be properly directed to enable all other resources to be realised. All major resources e.g. Buildings, Plant/Machinery, fixtures and fittings are planned by the Project manager and the Managing directors of the company. Raw materials are planned and allocated at departmental level by the site managers in accordance with the customer requirements.
What is the process by which costs are agreed?
A financial strategy is created as an integral part of the strategic plans of the organisation, for a profit making organisation like Synergy Health it is about setting figures for a return on capital or setting growth targets. The cost of all major resources e.g. Buildings, Plant/Machinery, fixtures and fittings are agreed by the Project manager and the Managing directors of the company.
A Capex (capital expenses form) is raised for major resources; the Capex is reviewed by the regional manager and or the chief executive of the company. When the Capex has been approved it is then passed to the General or Site manager and a Purchase order is raised to send to the supplying company.
CAPEX requirements should be planned well in advance and should be part of an annual business plan that supports capital expenditure in the next financial year budget planning. We have a purchase order control system, with agreed limits of purchase power; all PO above an agreed company sum should be linked to a defined CAPEX request.
All capital expenditure should be given a life cycle and on book sum based on its combined purchase price excluding VAT. All associated cost should be given and signed off by senior management before commitment to contract or purchase.
Raw materials are purchased by the site managers. Each site manager is allocated a minimum of £500 on their expenses at any time; any orders costing above the limited amount will be agreed by the general manager or the regional manager. A purchase order is raised and passed on to the cost centre manager, usually the operations manager or the general manager. The flow chart below shows Synergy Health Purchasing process.
EQMS Chapter 4
Raw materials can be broken down into four main categories:
1. Disposables/consumables used in production (e.g. packaging materials; or in the case of surgical production it can include such components as swabs and bandages)
2. Reusable products used in production (e.g. surgical gowns & drapes, linen, instruments where bought by Synergy);
3. Services which are used to support production (e.g. steriliser maintenance); and
4. Non-production related products and services (e.g. stationery, recruitment). This chapter sets out the procedures which are required for each category of product/service.
Purchasing raw materials is a key activity in minimising variation of a product 's quality standard. Raw materials which are substandard can both reduce the quality of the product and potentially increase the cost of producing the product. For this reason procedures have been established to ensure that purchased product conforms to specified requirements.
Synergy has in place a computerised purchase requisition system based on approved suppliers for products and services. The route by which any item is purchase depends on its nature and whether it will be held in stores stock. These procedures are described below.
The product will be identified by a Synergy part number and will appear as a product on the Dynamics stock system
The Synergy part number will be related to one or more approved suppliers and each supplier 's part number (or description) via the Dynamics stock system.
The Product will be purchased on Dynamics.
The application for the product and the identity of product will have been agreed by the customer (external or internal)
Where it forms part of a Synergy product, substitution will not be permissible except through written customer agreement
The supplier will carry “approved supplier” status. For consumables used in production of sterile products, products sold as sterile or instruments, items must be CE registered and marked as such.
The Products will be re-ordered through stock replenishment.
Purchase approval is conferred by the identity number of the person ordering and by maximum shelf level.
Source: Amin Kamalludin Synergy Health Plc Central Purchasing Manager
Part 2:
What options do I have in terms of providing resources?
R Rawlings (2008(d)) referrers to suppliers as anybody who provides goods and services that contributes to the operation of the business. Managing the supply of inputs and the distribution of outputs is known as the supply chain managements. Our suppliers are companies who provide us with raw materials, and also include companies supplying telephone links, training and computer systems.
Synergy have a large number of suppliers on the database, the majority of the companies have been selected and chosen by the project managers and the purchasing team.
Personally I do not have the authority to select and decide a supplier, however if I am required to provide raw materials that are not in stock from the current suppliers or new product altogether, I will have to follow the company’s procedure on selecting and choosing a supplier.
Create a vendor assessment
Form is submitted to purchasing manager to approve
If products conform to required standards, regulations and accreditation, then I can continue with the purchasing.
What is our current supply mix?
My department is supplied directly from another department’s stores therefore most of my raw materials are supplied internally. The supply of resources from external sources is managed by the purchasing department. Once we identified what resources we require, the purchasing department decides on who to supply the products, how many suppliers and what quality of the product. It is also important to know how many suppliers to involve in our business, do we rely on a single supplier (single sourcing) or a choice of several suppliers (multi-sourcing).
The table below describes the advantages and disadvantages of single and multi-sourcing.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Single Sourcing
Close relations with suppliers.
Supplier understands the customers
Communication is easier, not a lot of people to deal with
Fewer staff is involved to manage the process.
The price for products may not be competitive.
Limited choice of goods and services.
Higher risk as supply may dry up causing disruptions.
Break down in communication or relationship disrupting service.
Multi – Sourcing
Prices are kept down by competition.
Wider choice of goods and services.
The risk of supply not being available is reduced.
Many relations to manage.
Communication may be difficult and time consuming.
Too many staff may be involved in the process.
There will be legal requirements to contend with. The purchasing team conducts Suppliers and vendor assessments. This involves gathering information about the company, products, safety sheets for chemicals etc and accreditation to the Medical devices directive. All products must conform to the required regulation otherwise we will not be able to use them.
How efficient is our strategy in terms of predicting and coping with destructions?
Synergy has got a group of dedicated purchasing team based in Chorley; suppliers are selected and monitored using criteria in the table below:
The supplier operates to a standard of ISO9001 or a recognised equivalent for CE certification requirements. If the supplier has achieved the standard then no further assessment is necessary and a copy of the certificate should be obtained.
If the subcontractor does not have a recognised quality standard, then the subcontractor must be categorised according to the nature of the product or service supplied to in categories that are determined according to the risk of the product having a material effect on the quality of the finished product or service supplied by Synergy to its customers. The categories are as follows:
Reusable products - For non medical devices, suppliers must meet condition above or have their product pass such tests or trials as are deemed appropriate by senior Synergy management. Where medical devices are purchased, the devices must carry the CE mark.
Services used to support production - All suppliers must meet one of the following:
Condition mentioned above.
Satisfactorily complete the Vendor Assessment Questionnaire Approval of this will be by submission to the Group Quality Manager or deputy.
Have their product pass such tests or trials as are deemed appropriate by senior Synergy management.
Have had products in satisfactory use at another Synergy site for a minimum period of one year
Be qualified for supply by being a customer-nominated supplier.
Once suppliers have been categorised, they can be entered onto the Approved Supplier database on the Notes system. Should a Vendor Assessment be required this should be sent by the person seeking the approval and a copy returned to the Group Quality Manager.
Locally suppliers can be monitored using Fowler and Grave Scoring System adopted from R Rawlings (2008(e)), again I could also use the Lead time / Delivery Date Analysis from the work book page 38.
Another option I could use is to personally visit my main suppliers, know some of the supplier’s management staff, have the suppliers visit my premises and knowing who to contact in terms of trouble.
Because Synergy is a multi sourcing company there is always contingencies for dealing with and coping with destruction, and published in the quality manual system. We have so many suppliers for each raw material that it is sometime impossible not to get the products in the units as requested.
A budget another way or monitoring and predicting and coping with destructions and the cost of coping with the destructions in resources.
A financial strategy will be created as part of the strategic planning of the organisation, and as these strategies develop into plans, the plans need to be identified and costs implicated.
Most organisations have a formalised process of preparing a budget like a financial budget that is set to include financial objectives, forecasting the income and expenditure need within the limits set by the financial objectives, reviewing all the forecasts and finally creating a master budget. I have also looked into several methods of forecasting to name a few:
Cash flow budget – form of a spread sheet easy to use
Box Plot analysis – Graphic display
Box Jenkins Methodology – Mathematical models
The cash flow budget was the easiest to under stand for me, it looked simple to make, monitor and follow as an example. The Box Jenkins and the Box plot were too mathematical to understand therefore I would choose or use the easier cash flow budget to predict future deliverables and the cost associated with. I have no formal contingency plan for coping with disruptions, but I’m now fully aware of where to go and who to ask for extra help within the organisation.
Part 3:
Conclusion
Firstly I looked at the company’s mission statement against my own goals and objective for my unit, I have looked at the assignment question and how I have manages to research and complete the task required, I have looked at the company’s planning process and have compared it to how I would go about planning for resources in the future.
At present I have found out that strategic planning is done well at a higher level however as an operations manager I do not have the authority to source my own suppliers of raw materials locally; however I can source my own services and repairs suppliers locally.
As the threat of redundancies hangs over us a sudden reduction in resource, physical or financial, needs to be considered and planned for. Most sights have a head freeze on man power and the company is on the verge of centralising all resources suppliers although the board. There has been a lot to learn again and the paths I have followed when looking for various theories and techniques has opened my eyes as to how much help is available at my disposal.
I have included some of the techniques that I have learned in this assignment to organise and complete my task. I found other tasks like: Describing Company and own goals and objectives, identifying resources and monitoring cost. While other task I found not be applicable for my work or simply I’m not authorise to implement in my own work, other task I found really difficult to understand the reading and theories behind them. Synergy has such a robust system or procedures for acquiring and monitoring resources, as an operations manager I do not have a lot of influence in the decision making, however I would like to spent time with the other manager responsible for purchasing, product design and the commercial team and understand more about resource management.
Learning log/Reflection:
What did I learn the most?
What I learned the most during this assignment was the understanding of my own role as Operation manager in terms of providing resources to meet the organisation’s goals and objectives.
The assignment introduced me to other managers in the company whom I would not have met and communicated with. I had contact with the Commercial Director, Projects Manager and the Central Purchasing Managers.
I have also learned techniques and theories that I would implement in my work for example the Transformation process and the Value chain analysis.
What did I find most difficult?
I found that the budgeting and forecasting analysis methods much difficult to grasp. Perhaps I should include Budgeting as an area for further development in my on self development plan. Hopefully by the end of this course I will have grasp most of the concepts and be able to implement the in my own line of work.
What would I like to learn in the future?
I would love to learn Synergy Health Plc procedures for purchasing goods and services. As operations manger I do not have the authority to purchase and I would also like to learn how resources are planned, monitored and how the costs are monitored and agreed.
Recommendations
Some of the new techniques learned have been included in this assignment to organise my task; others were not so applicable although surely valuable for the future. This will be indicated in the report. Going forward I need to ensure that I consider any initially enforced limitations in more detail and include plans for increasing resources if the project goes well.
Bibliography
Ray Rowlings
A
B
C
D
Fowler and Graves (1995)
(2008) Resources Management , CMI Workbook Pathway to Management and Leadership, Corby Northants
Page13
Page 13
Page 18
Page 27
Page 35
Neville Dale Harris
A
Neville Dale Harris
B
Ray Rowlings (2008) Resources Management , CMI Workbook Pathway to Management and Leadership, Corby Northants
Page 13
(1989) Service Operation Management, Cassell Education Ltd, London
Page 209
Websites
www.managers.org.uk
www.bbraun/decontaminationcycle.com
www.netmba.com
Level 5: Management and Leadership
UNIT 5004 Resource Management
Contents
Introduction 3
Aim 3
Methodology 3
Part 1: 6
What are the operational resources required to support goals and objectives? 6
Indentifying resources 7
Resources in the transformation process 9
What is the process by which resources are planned and monitored? 13
What is the process by which costs are agreed? 14
Part 2: 17
What options do I have in terms of providing resources? 17
What is our current supply mix? 17
How efficient is our strategy in terms of predicting and coping with destructions? 18
Part 3: 21
Conclusion 21
Learning log/Reflection: 22
What did I learn the most? 22
What did I find most difficult? 22
What would I like …show more content…
to learn in the future? 22
Recommendations 22
Bibliography 23
Introduction
Unit 5004: Resource Management
Word Count: 2998
I am an Operations Manager in a Decontamination department, which deals with the decontamination and sterilisation of Medical devices, and I’m responsible for the day to day running of the Unit.
Aim
For this assignment I’m to link the resources to my departmental goals and objectives, and to analyse how effective the resources are managed. I’m required to describe the physical and financial resources required to support the achievement of my goals and objectives, explain the process by which resource are planned and monitored, and provide options for the provision of future deliverables and the adequacy of our current supply mix.
Methodology
To research my assignment I used the following tools and methods:
Ray Rawlings Unit 5004 Resource Management – From this work book I was able to learn about and reference most of the models and tools that I have used to complete this assignment.
Kaplan and Norton Balance Scorecard - A management system that maps an organization 's strategic objectives into performance metrics in four perspectives: financial, internal processes, customers, and learning and growth. This model links strategies and relate goals to the entire organisation; however it does take time to formulate and needs more input from other departments.
Neville Dale Harris Transformation Process model – Model showing the link between resources, process and outputs, this model was helpful to see the relationship between resources our processes and outputs.
Decontamination Cycle model – Model describing the decontamination process, this cycle explains the nature of our business.
Porter’s Generic Value Chain – Model describing a series of value-generating activities. This model instigates a deeper exploration of the potential customer and market influence and highlights the areas in the business that requires support; it also requires additional processes for gathering information on an ongoing basis.
PESTEL Analysis – Table describing the external factors that may affect resource requirement or operations. The PESTEL analysis helps to raise awareness of external threats to make planning more effective.
Strategic Business Plan – Model describing how businesses plan to meet goals and objectives, the model was easy for me to understand and I could not identify any disadvantages.
Purchasing Process – A Model describing Synergy Health Plc purchasing process flow chart.
To further support my learning I have identified the various approaches to my investigations, listing some advantages and disadvantages in the table below:
Advantages
Disadvantages
Face to face meetings
It is personal and a lot can be said and learned and agreed.
Schedule appointment, may feel embarrassed to asked confidential questions in person.
Telephone
Quicker and time/cost effective
Not personal a bit distanced, not everyone has time to talk for long amounts of time.
Fax
Quicker and time/cost effective
Distanced errors with system printers etc.
Emails
Quicker and time/cost effective
Distanced errors with system printers etc.
Questionnaires
Data can be gathered from a large number of respondents, information gathered can be easily collated.
Some are difficult to understand and design.
Existing documents
Provides historical data, record of trends and changes in the system
Depends on how well the system has been documented, incomplete and out of date.
Newspapers/Television
Information is readily available, It is current reliability Focus groups
Brainstorming, a lot can be discussed different ideas from different minds
Not enough time to meet
CMI Website
Quicker and time/cost effective information is readily available; it is a reliable source of information.
System errors personally I have found the website hard to navigate at times.
CMI Workbook
Quicker and time/cost effective information is readily available; it is a reliable source of information.
CMI Workshops
Quicker and time/cost effective information is readily available; it is a reliable source of information, a lot can be learned and information and ideas shared between work groups
Related articles and Journals
Readily available from CMI website, time/cost effective information is readily available, reliable
Hard to understand and to extract relevant information
Related Books /Thinkers and Researchers
Quicker and time/cost effective information is readily available
Hard to understand and to extract relevant information
Other related Websites
Quicker and time/cost effective information is readily available
Hard to understand and to extract relevant information www.netmba.com/investigationtechniques For this assignment I chose the following techniques because I found them easier and most helpful:
Telephone conversation
Emails
Existing documents
Media/television and Newspapers
CMI workbook, workshops and Websites Books and related journals from thinkers and researchers.
Part 1:
Describe the physical and financial resources required to support the achievement of my organisation goals and objectives.
In order to identify and describe the physical and financial resources required to support the achievement of my departmental goals and objectives, I must firstly describe the organisation synergy’s goals and objectives as well as my own unit goals and objectives.
Synergy Health Plc - organisational objectives
Homerton Unit – Departmental objectives
Maintain our position as the UK’s most dynamic and creative Healthcare services group by offering an unrivalled service, excellent value for money and products of the highest quality.
Run our business with a consideration for our employees and encourage employees to strive for excellence, develop themselves and care for our customers
Provide the Homerton University Trust with medical devices that are fit for purpose.
Produce and delivery products of the highest quality, giving the customer value for money and to maintain a skilled workforce.
Source: Synergy Health Plc QMS Chapter 0 Doc 2.000
These goal and objectives are set by the share holders and the managing directors of the company, and are published on the quality manual system; in essence all Synergy Health Units must adhere to these objectives.
What are the operational resources required to support goals and objectives?
According to the Collins dictionary resources are “As source or supply of aid or support”. R. Rowlings (2008(a)) describe operational resources as inputs.
Before we decide what physical or financial resource we will require, a contract for sterile services will go for tender.
A short overview of tendering process is as follows (in order):
1. Customer publishes an OJEU notice for the services / products that are required. (Official Journal of the European Union - it presents an opportunity for all companies in Europe to tender for work anywhere in Europe)
2. Synergy response with an Expression of Interest, as do all other interested companies. A customer will give potential bidders a timeframe of between 1 and 3 months to express an interest; the customer receives Expressions of Interest.
3. For the next stage the customer has to option to either first go through a stage asking the bidders to complete a questionnaire or go straight to a tendering stage.
4. If the customer wants to go through a questionnaire stage first, the interested companies are asked to respond to a set of general questions. This is usually called Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire or Selection Questionnaire. The questions are usually around the companies’ background, past experience and a list of references, in this stage the companies are usually not asked to give a price yet.
5. After the customer has received all questionnaires, they will draw up a shortlist of companies who will pass through to the next stage.
6. Next stage is the tendering stage, which is called the Invitation to Tender or Invitation to Negotiate. The tender provides all the information the customer is asking for and provides a cost for the service or products.
7. From the tenders received, the customer will select a Preferred Bidder. The PB is the company that the customer intends to award the contract to, pending clarifications and objections by the other shortlisted bidders. Once the intention to award is announced, the other companies have 10 working days to request a briefing with the customer and object to the decision if they want to. If no objection is raised, PB will be announced.
8. After the contract is awarded, the customer may publish a notification of award in the OJEU.
Source: Michael Langhorn Synergy health Plc Commercial Director
Indentifying resources
The implications for resources required is then identified and determined according to the capacity and the service requirements of the customer. In my scenario the provision of decontamination services to the Homerton University Hospital Trust. The day to day responsibility for management of resources is with Operations and or Site Managers and is overseen by the General and Regional Managers.
This is the reason why, when planning a project in line with the organisational goals, it is important to communicate and/or involve additional resources from within the organisation as described in the Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1992) below.
www.netmba.com
For the purpose of this assignment, I have communicated with the Commercial Director, the Projects Manager and the Central Purchasing Manager.
The following table shows some of the main resource that would be required to support my goals and objectives.
Physical resources
Tangible
Staff
Building
Plant and Machinery
Fixtures and fittings
Computer/Telephones and communications systems
Medical Devices
Raw Materials
Intangible resources
Diversity of functions and manpower
Types of skills or requirements
Training and Development
Health and safety requirements
Medical Device Directive regulations and accreditation
Financial resources
Staff wages, taxes and NI contributions
Cost of purchasing plant , machinery and equipment
Cost of purchasing fixtures
Cost of purchasing raw materials
The cost of service persons, and contractors
Cost of utilities bills and expenses
The cost of depreciation on plant, machinery, fixtures and fittings
Source: David Staley Synergy Health Plc Projects Manager
Resources in the transformation process
Neville D Harris (1989(a)) referred to the transformation of resources as operations management, which is the management of a system which provides goods or services to or for a customer, and involves the design, planning and control of the system.
All organisation transforms inputs or resources into outputs, below is a model of the transformation process, as referenced by R. Rowlings (2008(b))
Inputs/Resources Process
Output
Time
Skilled Manpower
Plant/Machinery/Equipment
Computers/Communication systems
Raw materials
Decontamination
Cycle
Communications with Customers
Sterile Products
Satisfied customers
Adequate traceability system
Adopted from R Rawlings 2008
The transformation process gives an immediate sense of the importance of having the right resources in place when required. In the private sector for example Synergy Health Plc who are a profit making organisation. It is essential that the business returns are of greater value than the business cost. The resources are required in the decontamination life cycle the process as illustrated in the following model: www.bbraun/decontamination cycle.com
After the decontamination process the output would be the sterile products. A criterion is that the product must be produced in a state ‘fit for purpose’ for the satisfaction and approval of customer services.
Many organisations including Synergy Health have a mission statement, goals and objectives that explain the direction of the company. To better understand the activities through which a firm develops a competitive advantage and creates shareholder value, it is useful to separate the business system into a series of value-generating activities of value chain. M Porter (1985) introduced the Value chain model that comprises a sequence of activities found to be common to a wide range of firms.
Porter identified the primary and support activities as shown in the following model:
Porter 's Generic Value Chain http://www.netmba.com The goal of these activities is to offer the customer a level of value that exceeds the cost of the activities, thereby resulting in a profit margin.
Inbound Logistics: The receiving and warehousing of raw materials and their distribution to manufacturing as they are required.
Operations: The process of transforming raw goods into finished products and services. In my line of work is the decontamination cycle.
Outbound Logistics: The warehousing and distribution of sterile finished goods.
Marketing & Sales: The identification of customer needs and the generation of sales.
Service: the support of customers after the products and services are sold to them.
These primary activities are supported by:
The infrastructure of the firm: organizational structure, control systems, company culture, etc.
Human resource management: employee recruiting, hiring, training, development, and compensation.
Technology development: technologies to support value-creating activities.
Procurement: purchasing inputs such as materials, supplies, and equipment.
Neville D Harris (1989(b)) referrers to the Value Chain analysis as a Value Analysis, which is a systematic interdisciplinary examination of the design and other factors affecting the cost of the product and service, in order to devise means of achieving the specified purpose most economically at the required standard of quality and reliability. Value chain sets out to analyse the functions which a product or service performs and to develop a cheaper way of performing them, rather than considering initially the methods by which a product is made or services delivered. I would agree to both Porter and Harris’ theories. As Operations manager I’m need to have an understanding of what resources are required for operations, and how resources linked to our process in order to deliver to our customers. Both theories emphasise the importance of analysing the process in order to maximise returns.
Once the goals and objectives have been established and defined, the organisation is then in a position to analyse the external environment and appraise the internal one before identifying strategies and development plans.
A PESTEL analysis is one method I would use to analyse the external factors that would affect resource requirements or operations. Below is a model showing how the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors that has an impact on resource management and planning.
Political - Changes in regulatory standards and Guidance for example the NICE Guidance 2006. - The ISO9001 (2000) has been updated.
Economic
– There is a recession at the moment and most of our clients are requesting for us to provide saving.
Social
– The impact the media has on the quality of service the decontamination units are providing e.g. Romford Recorder 24th April 2009 and the Metro 14th April 2009.
Technological
– Robotic surgery, Endoscopic surgery and the recently introduced Bariatric surgery for obesity, most of these procedures now require chemical neutral pH detergents whereas before we were using enzymatic cleaners.
Legal
– A change in procedure often mean what ever we are going to introduce will be accredited to the relevant guidance and regulations.
Environmental
– Requirements to environmental control and risk management.
Source: CMI 5004 Workbook R.Rawlings 2008
It is important for me to keep up to date with the external factors that will affect what we do (decontamination services). I can do this by investigating the impact of the future relevant legislation and liaising with other Synergy managers who are experts in that field.
The current economic climate has force most of our customers to seek for products and services of the same quality with the best value in mind, the changes in procedures and technology will often mean there will be some Health and safety issue and risk management.
What is the process by which resources are planned and monitored?
Having analysed the external factors we set our objectives and plan to meet the overall strategies and goals of my department.
R Rawlings (2008(c)) identifies three levels of planning, the objectives and plans from all the different parts of the organisation feed in the overall mission, strategy and goals. Everything is pulling towards the same direction as shown in the model below:
Mission and Corporate Objectives
Aligning plans model (adapted from R.Rawlings 2008) A strategic plan - Is the formal statement of the strategy that has been selected.
It should describe the overall direction in which the organisation is going to move.
A business or tactical – Plan deals with the medium term. If the strategic plan answers the question ‘What are we going to do’? The tactical plan answers the question ‘How are we going to do it’? It describes the means by which the strategic plan will be put into action.
An operational plan - Deals with what needs to happen to produce the products or services on a daily basis.
Plans made at each level are interdependent. A strategic plan can’t work unless it’s linked to a reasonable tactical plan – and tactical plans must be linked to practical operational plans. However far-sighted and exciting the overall strategy of an organisation, it can be realised only if it can be reflected in the day-to-day operational
reality.
In practice, just about any plan, unless it’s completely out of touch with reality, can be put into action if you provide enough resources, such as:
Time
Money
Equipment
Human resources:
In addition, financial resources must be properly directed to enable all other resources to be realised. All major resources e.g. Buildings, Plant/Machinery, fixtures and fittings are planned by the Project manager and the Managing directors of the company. Raw materials are planned and allocated at departmental level by the site managers in accordance with the customer requirements.
What is the process by which costs are agreed?
A financial strategy is created as an integral part of the strategic plans of the organisation, for a profit making organisation like Synergy Health it is about setting figures for a return on capital or setting growth targets. The cost of all major resources e.g. Buildings, Plant/Machinery, fixtures and fittings are agreed by the Project manager and the Managing directors of the company.
A Capex (capital expenses form) is raised for major resources; the Capex is reviewed by the regional manager and or the chief executive of the company. When the Capex has been approved it is then passed to the General or Site manager and a Purchase order is raised to send to the supplying company.
CAPEX requirements should be planned well in advance and should be part of an annual business plan that supports capital expenditure in the next financial year budget planning. We have a purchase order control system, with agreed limits of purchase power; all PO above an agreed company sum should be linked to a defined CAPEX request.
All capital expenditure should be given a life cycle and on book sum based on its combined purchase price excluding VAT. All associated cost should be given and signed off by senior management before commitment to contract or purchase.
Raw materials are purchased by the site managers. Each site manager is allocated a minimum of £500 on their expenses at any time; any orders costing above the limited amount will be agreed by the general manager or the regional manager. A purchase order is raised and passed on to the cost centre manager, usually the operations manager or the general manager. The flow chart below shows Synergy Health Purchasing process.
EQMS Chapter 4
Raw materials can be broken down into four main categories:
1. Disposables/consumables used in production (e.g. packaging materials; or in the case of surgical production it can include such components as swabs and bandages)
2. Reusable products used in production (e.g. surgical gowns & drapes, linen, instruments where bought by Synergy);
3. Services which are used to support production (e.g. steriliser maintenance); and
4. Non-production related products and services (e.g. stationery, recruitment). This chapter sets out the procedures which are required for each category of product/service.
Purchasing raw materials is a key activity in minimising variation of a product 's quality standard. Raw materials which are substandard can both reduce the quality of the product and potentially increase the cost of producing the product. For this reason procedures have been established to ensure that purchased product conforms to specified requirements.
Synergy has in place a computerised purchase requisition system based on approved suppliers for products and services. The route by which any item is purchase depends on its nature and whether it will be held in stores stock. These procedures are described below.
The product will be identified by a Synergy part number and will appear as a product on the Dynamics stock system
The Synergy part number will be related to one or more approved suppliers and each supplier 's part number (or description) via the Dynamics stock system.
The Product will be purchased on Dynamics.
The application for the product and the identity of product will have been agreed by the customer (external or internal)
Where it forms part of a Synergy product, substitution will not be permissible except through written customer agreement
The supplier will carry “approved supplier” status. For consumables used in production of sterile products, products sold as sterile or instruments, items must be CE registered and marked as such.
The Products will be re-ordered through stock replenishment.
Purchase approval is conferred by the identity number of the person ordering and by maximum shelf level.
Source: Amin Kamalludin Synergy Health Plc Central Purchasing Manager
Part 2:
What options do I have in terms of providing resources?
R Rawlings (2008(d)) referrers to suppliers as anybody who provides goods and services that contributes to the operation of the business. Managing the supply of inputs and the distribution of outputs is known as the supply chain managements. Our suppliers are companies who provide us with raw materials, and also include companies supplying telephone links, training and computer systems.
Synergy have a large number of suppliers on the database, the majority of the companies have been selected and chosen by the project managers and the purchasing team.
Personally I do not have the authority to select and decide a supplier, however if I am required to provide raw materials that are not in stock from the current suppliers or new product altogether, I will have to follow the company’s procedure on selecting and choosing a supplier.
Create a vendor assessment
Form is submitted to purchasing manager to approve
If products conform to required standards, regulations and accreditation, then I can continue with the purchasing.
What is our current supply mix?
My department is supplied directly from another department’s stores therefore most of my raw materials are supplied internally. The supply of resources from external sources is managed by the purchasing department. Once we identified what resources we require, the purchasing department decides on who to supply the products, how many suppliers and what quality of the product. It is also important to know how many suppliers to involve in our business, do we rely on a single supplier (single sourcing) or a choice of several suppliers (multi-sourcing).
The table below describes the advantages and disadvantages of single and multi-sourcing.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Single Sourcing
Close relations with suppliers.
Supplier understands the customers
Communication is easier, not a lot of people to deal with
Fewer staff is involved to manage the process.
The price for products may not be competitive.
Limited choice of goods and services.
Higher risk as supply may dry up causing disruptions.
Break down in communication or relationship disrupting service.
Multi – Sourcing
Prices are kept down by competition.
Wider choice of goods and services.
The risk of supply not being available is reduced.
Many relations to manage.
Communication may be difficult and time consuming.
Too many staff may be involved in the process.
There will be legal requirements to contend with. The purchasing team conducts Suppliers and vendor assessments. This involves gathering information about the company, products, safety sheets for chemicals etc and accreditation to the Medical devices directive. All products must conform to the required regulation otherwise we will not be able to use them.
How efficient is our strategy in terms of predicting and coping with destructions?
Synergy has got a group of dedicated purchasing team based in Chorley; suppliers are selected and monitored using criteria in the table below:
The supplier operates to a standard of ISO9001 or a recognised equivalent for CE certification requirements. If the supplier has achieved the standard then no further assessment is necessary and a copy of the certificate should be obtained.
If the subcontractor does not have a recognised quality standard, then the subcontractor must be categorised according to the nature of the product or service supplied to in categories that are determined according to the risk of the product having a material effect on the quality of the finished product or service supplied by Synergy to its customers. The categories are as follows:
Reusable products - For non medical devices, suppliers must meet condition above or have their product pass such tests or trials as are deemed appropriate by senior Synergy management. Where medical devices are purchased, the devices must carry the CE mark.
Services used to support production - All suppliers must meet one of the following:
Condition mentioned above.
Satisfactorily complete the Vendor Assessment Questionnaire Approval of this will be by submission to the Group Quality Manager or deputy.
Have their product pass such tests or trials as are deemed appropriate by senior Synergy management.
Have had products in satisfactory use at another Synergy site for a minimum period of one year
Be qualified for supply by being a customer-nominated supplier.
Once suppliers have been categorised, they can be entered onto the Approved Supplier database on the Notes system. Should a Vendor Assessment be required this should be sent by the person seeking the approval and a copy returned to the Group Quality Manager.
Locally suppliers can be monitored using Fowler and Grave Scoring System adopted from R Rawlings (2008(e)), again I could also use the Lead time / Delivery Date Analysis from the work book page 38.
Another option I could use is to personally visit my main suppliers, know some of the supplier’s management staff, have the suppliers visit my premises and knowing who to contact in terms of trouble.
Because Synergy is a multi sourcing company there is always contingencies for dealing with and coping with destruction, and published in the quality manual system. We have so many suppliers for each raw material that it is sometime impossible not to get the products in the units as requested.
A budget another way or monitoring and predicting and coping with destructions and the cost of coping with the destructions in resources.
A financial strategy will be created as part of the strategic planning of the organisation, and as these strategies develop into plans, the plans need to be identified and costs implicated.
Most organisations have a formalised process of preparing a budget like a financial budget that is set to include financial objectives, forecasting the income and expenditure need within the limits set by the financial objectives, reviewing all the forecasts and finally creating a master budget. I have also looked into several methods of forecasting to name a few:
Cash flow budget – form of a spread sheet easy to use
Box Plot analysis – Graphic display
Box Jenkins Methodology – Mathematical models
The cash flow budget was the easiest to under stand for me, it looked simple to make, monitor and follow as an example. The Box Jenkins and the Box plot were too mathematical to understand therefore I would choose or use the easier cash flow budget to predict future deliverables and the cost associated with. I have no formal contingency plan for coping with disruptions, but I’m now fully aware of where to go and who to ask for extra help within the organisation.
Part 3:
Conclusion
Firstly I looked at the company’s mission statement against my own goals and objective for my unit, I have looked at the assignment question and how I have manages to research and complete the task required, I have looked at the company’s planning process and have compared it to how I would go about planning for resources in the future.
At present I have found out that strategic planning is done well at a higher level however as an operations manager I do not have the authority to source my own suppliers of raw materials locally; however I can source my own services and repairs suppliers locally.
As the threat of redundancies hangs over us a sudden reduction in resource, physical or financial, needs to be considered and planned for. Most sights have a head freeze on man power and the company is on the verge of centralising all resources suppliers although the board. There has been a lot to learn again and the paths I have followed when looking for various theories and techniques has opened my eyes as to how much help is available at my disposal.
I have included some of the techniques that I have learned in this assignment to organise and complete my task. I found other tasks like: Describing Company and own goals and objectives, identifying resources and monitoring cost. While other task I found not be applicable for my work or simply I’m not authorise to implement in my own work, other task I found really difficult to understand the reading and theories behind them. Synergy has such a robust system or procedures for acquiring and monitoring resources, as an operations manager I do not have a lot of influence in the decision making, however I would like to spent time with the other manager responsible for purchasing, product design and the commercial team and understand more about resource management.
Learning log/Reflection:
What did I learn the most?
What I learned the most during this assignment was the understanding of my own role as Operation manager in terms of providing resources to meet the organisation’s goals and objectives.
The assignment introduced me to other managers in the company whom I would not have met and communicated with. I had contact with the Commercial Director, Projects Manager and the Central Purchasing Managers.
I have also learned techniques and theories that I would implement in my work for example the Transformation process and the Value chain analysis.
What did I find most difficult?
I found that the budgeting and forecasting analysis methods much difficult to grasp. Perhaps I should include Budgeting as an area for further development in my on self development plan. Hopefully by the end of this course I will have grasp most of the concepts and be able to implement the in my own line of work.
What would I like to learn in the future?
I would love to learn Synergy Health Plc procedures for purchasing goods and services. As operations manger I do not have the authority to purchase and I would also like to learn how resources are planned, monitored and how the costs are monitored and agreed.
Recommendations
Some of the new techniques learned have been included in this assignment to organise my task; others were not so applicable although surely valuable for the future. This will be indicated in the report. Going forward I need to ensure that I consider any initially enforced limitations in more detail and include plans for increasing resources if the project goes well.
Bibliography
Ray Rowlings
A
B
C
D
Fowler and Graves (1995)
(2008) Resources Management , CMI Workbook Pathway to Management and Leadership, Corby Northants
Page13
Page 13
Page 18
Page 27
Page 35
Neville Dale Harris
A
Neville Dale Harris
B
Ray Rowlings (2008) Resources Management , CMI Workbook Pathway to Management and Leadership, Corby Northants
Page 13
(1989) Service Operation Management, Cassell Education Ltd, London
Page 209
Websites
www.managers.org.uk
www.bbraun/decontaminationcycle.com
www.netmba.com