Interdepartmental Cooperation In Related Fields For Managing Business Activities

Understanding the Business Processes of Jaguar

Describe about the Interdepartmental Cooperation in Related Fields for Managing Business Activities?

Business functions can be defined as the process or the operations that ate undertaken by the business organizations on a routine basis so that the aims and objectives and mission of the organization are achieved effectively and efficiently (Piercy, 2012).

Thus taking into consideration the above aspects, the report would emphasize upon understanding the business processes for delivering the desired outcomes, developing plans for the implementation of the operational plans, mentoring the appropriate systems for enhanced organizational performance and the ways in which health and safety at workplace can be managed. Moreover the above facts would be analyzed in the context of the Jaguar Halewood Plant in Liverpool.

Interrelationships between Organizational Departments of Jaguar

Analyzing the business functions of Jaguar, it can be inferred that, the two most important departments that has strong contributions to the success in delivering the right products to the right customers at the right place and in the right quality include the purchase department and the production department.

The production department of the company is involved in converting the inputs into outputs and thus the backbone of the department is the purchase department since it facilitates the production department with the right procurement of the materials at the best possible prices with proper negotiation with the suppliers. Moreover the production department depends upon the raw materials and the infrastructure for efficiently producing the goods (Burr, 2007). However its smooth functioning mainly depends upon the efficiency of the purchase department in context of ensuring the fact that the right materials are made available at the right time for the right price and at the right place and until and unless the purchasing department is efficient it would not lead to effective production of the goods. So both the purchase and the production department should work in a coordinated manner for effective flow of goods and services and this should be kept in tandem with the organizational capacity.

The methodology used by Jaguar for producing its products by efficiently converting the inputs into outputs can be termed as the input-transformation-output process. The methodology can be explained with the help of the following figure:

[Source: www.saylor.org]

Taking into consideration the case of Jaguar, the products are produced and assembled with the help of the manufacturing operations and with the help of the assembly department and thus the inputs are in the form of plastic, steel, tyres, cloth and other materials that are used for the assemble of the vehicle (Zhang, 2010).

Justifying the Methodology for Mapping the Processes

Moreover the inputs can be in form of materials, customers and information.  The materials are transformed in the operation process by making a change in their physical properties and this practiced in organizations like jaguar. Again transformation of information takes place in the organizations to make innovations in their products to cater to the specific needs of the customers (Hernández et al., 2008). Again transformation of customers takes place in organizations like jaguar by producing a product and then creating a demand. As for example the basic needs of the customers can be satisfied with a general car but luxurious cars of jaguar add value since it can be looked upon as a status symbol on the part of the customers.  

The requirements that need to be followed for development of the product refers to the quality gateway and thus the requirements need to be properly checked and evaluated before being handed over to the design department. So quality gateway can be held responsible for evaluating the requirements before they are incorporated within the specifications of the car. Thus in this context, the quality gateway ensures that the requirements are associated with specific criteria which would facilitate in evacuating whether the requirement would be suitable or not. On the other hand maintaining the transparency of the process is the responsibility of the process map model and this is done by simplifying the complex process. So this facilitates in defining the steps that need to be carried out in order to conduct the process efficiently which involves effective communication among the staff members, the management and the customers. Thus it can be said that the process map model facilitates the management in gaining an understanding of the processes that re involved in the production and how resources can be allocated efficiently in order to achieve the desired output. Thus it is inferred that quality gateway works in a coordinated manner with the process map model at Jaguar so that the requirements can be efficiently measured against the specific criterion to become a part of the specification of the output (Taiwo, 2001). This can be illustrated with the figure as follows:

[Source: www.informit.com]

Plans for Promoting Goals and Objectives

Being involved in the product development department of Jaguar, I would like to mention the fact Jaguar which is looked upon as the world class automotive company strives towards seeking opportunities in the developments that are taking place in the technology so that the performance of the products can be enhanced. So in order to achieve the above mentioned objective, Jaguar moved towards working with the Virtual Engineering Centre so that they can utilize their expertise for developing scientific workflows and enhance the process of simulation and modeling (Stfc.ac.uk, 2011). So this facilitates the company in analyzing the product performance at very early stages of designing and this result in a minimized use of the physical prototypes which tends to minimize the costs involved in manufacturing.

Evaluating the Output and Quality gateways

The above plan of the company is to achieve certain SAMRT objectives which are as follows:

To enhance the performance of the vehicles taking into consideration the safety of the pedestrians.

To lower the costs involved in manufacturing.

To produce cars which would attract the customers and offer added services besides satisfying their basic needs.

To become a carbon neutral company in the future.

To establish a direct link with the end customers.

To achieve a growth of US $8 to $10 million by the year 2020

Enhance customer satisfaction

Standardize the quality of the products and its performance e across the globe.

To implement the SAP system to enhance the CRM process by the end of the year 2015.

The organization in order to achieve the objectives needs to train their employees so that they become capable of using the implemented technology to enhance the performance of the vehicles and enhance their design and become capable of operating the SAP system for enhanced CRM process.

The company in order to achieve the above mentioned objectives would strive towards implementing the quality systems together with entering into a tie up with the Virtual Engineering Centre for the development of scientific workflows and implement the Computer-Aided Engineering Process in collaboration with the Virtual Engineering Centre where scientific workflows would be integrated with high performing computer resources to design vehicles with redesigned model and enhanced performance. This would lead to the development of various designs bringing into play powerful tools for modeling with the help of the automatic procedures which would provide the opportunity of exploring the vehicle design and the performance.

Moreover the total quality systems would be implemented would be implemented to improve the quality of the cars through efficient quality testing which would enhance the satisfaction on the part of the customers and would directly influence its sales and revenue (Hicks and Upton, 2010). This system would lead to reduced manufacturing costs by eliminating mistakes and wastes.

In addition to the above systems, the implementation of SAP would facilitate the organization to maintain and record the data related to the performance of the vehicle and data related to the customers. These data would be processed which would facilitate in creating a perspective intelligence which would again be utilized in making certain modification and innovation and development of the vehicle.

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is used by the project managers to simplify the execution of the project and thus following benefits are associated with the process:

Developing Plans for the Implementation of the Operational Plans

Accurate organization of the undertaken project

Efficient distribution of the responsibilities of the team members.

Clear definition of the control points and the milestones of the project

Effective estimation of the time, cost and risk involved

Clear illustration of the scope of the project so that the scope of the project can be easily understood by the stakeholders (Eric Kirkland, 2014).

Again while managing a project it is important the activities involved in the completion of the project are completed within the specific time and this is important because, if any deadline is missed or if any task is started without the sequence then it would influence the success of the project and would appear as a cot on the part of the organization. So if the activities are clearly defined and are visible by the team members i.e. when a particular activity needs to be started and completed then it would facilitate in achieving the deadlines. So in this context, Gantt chart facilitates in conveying the above information visually (Wright, 2002).  

Critical Path Analysis facilitates he project manager in efficiently depicting the activities involved in the project and the time involved in accomplishing the activity with the help of the diagram and also shows the shorter time taken to complete each activity.

Systems for Managing and Monitoring Quality Standards

It is important on the part of the business organizations to produce quality product in a sustainable manner and should care for the workers. Thus the various systems that is used by jaguar to manage and monitor the standards of quality are as follows:

ISO/TS 16949 developed by ISO and IATF (International Automotive Task Force)

ISO 9001: Quality management systems, Resource management, responsibilities of management, product realization and measurement analysis and improvement (Taiwo, 2001).

Life Cycle Assessment : evaluate the environmental burdens that are associated with the product and the process

ISO 14001: Environmental Management System

ISO 50001:2011: Energy Management

OHSAS 18001 : Health and Safety at workplace

The above mentioned quality management systems would facilitate in effective management and development of the quality standards within the organization in all aspects. It would guide the management to achieve highest standards in production of the product together with the fact that the production process does not have any adverse impact on the environment and the ways in which wastes are dumped (Taiwo, 2001). Moreover the systems would also guide the management regarding the workplace health and safety so that the employees can work in a healthy and safe environment.

Enhanced decision making process

Implementation of systems by Jaguar

Optimization of the manufacturing process

Implementation of ERP and Six Sigma

The above recommendations would facilitate the organization to enhance its time-to-market which would reduce the costs involved in the production. Again it would also lead to satisfied workforce and a work culture where the employees can take part in the decision making which would promote creativity and innovation. Again the ERP would facilitate in Just and Time delivery of the materials and thus prevent the company to make investment in stocking the materials.

With the implementation of ERP and Six Sigma, the organization would experience enhanced quality standards since it would facilitate in minimizing the defects in manufacturing, enhance the profitability of the business and enhance the productivity and the efficiency which would facilitate in catering to the specific needs and expectations of the customers (Snee, 2010). The effects and implications can be described with the figure as follows:

[Source: www.sixsigmagroup.com]

Risk Assessment

The steps involved in risk assessment can be illustrated with the figure as follows:

[Source: www.healthyworkig.com]

In the context of Jaguar, various legislations would guide the organization towards effectively identifying, managing and mitigating the risks and they are:

Workplace Regulations 1992: Health, safety and welfare

Personal Protective Equipments at Work regulations 1992

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 19998

Risk	Explanation
Risk Identification	Use of  Vibrating Hand Tools for excessive time period as prescribed
Risk to Employees	Can cause Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome on the part of the employees
Risk Reduction Plan	Appoint a supervisor to ensure that the tools are use by the employees for the stipulated time period only (HSE, 2011).
Developing Monitoring and Measurement System	Implement systems to identify the time period for which the tool is being used.  Implement systems to evaluate the level of vibration. Set alarms which would start ringing once the usage of the tools crosses the time.
Review	Keep a record of the incidents that are taking place and then compare the record with the previous results to identify the improvements.

Various health and safety regulations and legislations include the following:

Health and Safety Act

Health and Safety Act 1974

Health and Safety Policy Act 1975

Facilities and Conveniences, welfare, safety standards and working hours

The Factories act 1948

Safety Representatives and Safety standards (Simeons, 2005).

Slip and Fall at workplace

The fatal accident act 1955

First Aid Casualties

Health and Safety act 1974

Fire explosion

Fire from flammable substance act

Equipment and Machinery at work

Workplace equipment provision act 1988

Amended safety machinery regulation act 1992

Noise

Act related to control of noise

From the analysis of what health and safety legislations are practiced and properly maintained at workplace, it has been observed that jaguar is effective in maintaining the Health and safety Act, has defectively applied the safety standards, the working hours, welfare of the employees, facilities and c conveniences, effectively applied the health and safety legislations related to first aid causalities and noise.  On the other hand, it has also been observed that it lags behind in applying the legislations related to the work equipment and machinery, fire and explosion and slip, trip and fall.

Thus it becomes important that the organization should implement or use some machinery to keep the production floor dry, the machineries should undergo overhaul maintenance at regular intervals and the extinguisher should be serviced regularly for it proper functioning.

Slip, trip and fall	Make contract with housekeeping company the employees of whose would be responsible to keep the floor dry
Work Equipment and Machinery	Enter into contact with vendors who can send the mechanic for the overhaul maintenance of the machines and equipments.
Fire and Explosion Act	Should conduct fire mock drill

Conclusion:

From the above discussions it is observed that business organizations like Jaguar should strive towards achieving efficiency in all areas of business to achieve success starting from production to maintenance of workplace and environment (Spitzer, 2005).

References:

 Burr, A. (2007). Interdepartmental Cooperation in Related Fields. Am. J. Phys., 5(1), p.41.

Eric Kirkland, C. (2014). Project Management: A Problem-Based Approach. Project Management Journal, 45(1), pp.e3-e3.

Hernández, J., Mula, J., Ferriols, F. and Poler, R. (2008). A conceptual model for the production and transport planning process: An application to the automobile sector. Computers in Industry, 59(8), pp.842-852.

Hicks, J. and Upton, S. (2010). Jaguar Land Rover “transition to high performanceâ€Ã‚ training program. Industrial and Commercial Training, 42(5), pp.247-250.

HSE, (2011). Land Rover fined for failing to assess risk. [online] Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/ [Accessed 21 Aug. 2015].

Piercy, N. (2012). Business history and operations management. Business History, 54(2), pp.154-178.

Simeons, C. (2005). Health and safety regulations—A key issue for the board. Long Range Planning, 19(3), pp.86-92.

Snee, R. (2010). Lean Six Sigma – getting better all the time. Lean Six Sigma Journal, 1(1), pp.9-29.

Spitzer, D. (2005). Learning Effectiveness Measurement: A New Approach for Measuring and Managing Learning to Achieve Business Results. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 7(1), pp.55-70.

Stfc.ac.uk, (2011). Accelerating product design at Jaguar Land Rover. [online] Available at: https://www.stfc.ac.uk/ [Accessed 21 Aug. 2015].

Taiwo, J. (2001). Systems approaches to total quality management. Total Quality Management, 12(7), pp.967-973.

Wright, J. (2002). Effective Project Management. International Journal of Project Management, 20(8), p.633.

Zhang, G. (2010). Model of Lean Production System for Automobile Manufacture Enterprise. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 46(02), p.93.