Developing an Operational Plan

Discuss about the Impact Of Operational Planning On Small Business Retail.

This is the process by which an organization plans its business operations to achieve goals. The organization’s mission and plan will help the organization achieve its objectives (Mihanovi?, 2016).The operational plan in this organization will help dictate the steps and type of resourcing methods that help achieve its objectives.  

In Australia, all organizations must abide by all the regulations and legislation laws  (Gaskill, 1994). Some of the areas of legislation that will apply to these operational plan will include the following:

• Health and safety laws
• Privacy legislation
• Australian consumer law
• The Workplace relations legislation

The policies in an organization will indicate all the aims and objectives of organization. The procedures will support these policies (Noroozi, 2014). The procedures will provide specific guidelines on how to implement policy and do specific functions.

Performance management policies and procedures

• Purpose of the policies

In BBQ fun, the purpose of the policies is to ensure that management of performance is fair, consistent and transparent with regard to all the requirements in the organization.

• The scope

This shows all the processes of managing performance by the contractors, managers and junior employees in BBQ fun.

• The resources

Specific policies and procedures with regard to the company resources have to be followed. The procedures followed in BBQ fun have been discussed below.

• Responsibilities

These will be some of the roles of the managers in the organization:

• Indicate all documents regarding the management of performance to record all the reviews on performance.
• Ensure all the employees have access to training and training facilities

• Legislation acts
• The Fair Work act of 2009
• Privacy Act
• As ISO 15489. Record management
• Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act

It should first be noticed that the operational plan is one of the most fundamental tool in directing the activities of an organization.

The following are some of the ways the operational plan will be communicated to the staff:

• Holding meetings that will explain the major aspects of operational plan.
• Partitioning of the operation plan into parts then each part is communicated to the staff responsible of such a meeting.
• Measuring and reporting of all the strategies enhancing development.
• Providing of training to all the workers so that they understand their responsibilities.
• Explain all aspects of the operational plan.

• Regular investigations of achievements
• implementation of corrections when some tasks are not achieved
• Regular confirmation of resource availability
• Supervise, support and motivate all workers
• Adjustments to the plan in case need arises
• In case of problems, superiors should be informed.

There should be adequate planning and approval from the management to ensure the e-commerce plan is achieved. Resourcing of the physical and human resources are the first steps.

1. 6 trucks that will deliver products
2. Website development in fifty days
3. 3 forklifts required
4. Reconfiguration of the office spaces

1. 6 drivers will be employed
2. 8 online sales persons
3. Staff retraining
4. 4 warehouse workers will be employed

• Template of the Action plan for e-commerce plan implementation

These will enable one track the performance of this plan and incase some problems are found then solutions will have to be developed.

Some of the performance indicators are shown below:

• Key result areas

These are those areas in performance that help determine the success of an organization in achieving its objectives (Parmenter, 2015). As per this e-commerce plan the following are some of the objectives that must be obtained:

• Ensure financial improvement
• Increase professionalism
• Improved business operations (internal and externally)
• Ensure consumer satisfaction

• Key performance indicators

These are also important indicators of measuring performance. These will include the output and input.

• The performance targets

These are the things supposed to be achieved in a particular time frame. They should be compared with performance to analyze the entire company operations. Targets should be specific, measurable, agreeable, realistic and time-specific.

• Underperformance from employees
• Risks from managements
• of health and safety rules
• Inefficient online sellers
• Untrained personnel
• Loss of IP ownership when contract terminates with the website designer.

The legislation and regulations

Regarding the physical sourcing, the company will have to acquire external resources such as external advisor (Campo, 2015). The company will also be required to deliver forklifts and vans, which will assist in developing and upgrading the company’s website

1. Request sourcing

The management staff files a request order of physical resources for operational purpose

1. Approval

The request order is approved by the CEO.

1. Quotation

After the approval of the order the quotation is sent to the supplier listed.

1. Purchase order

The best quality product is selected and then sent back to the management.

1. Payment

Payment is made by the CFO after his approval.

Physical sourcing strategies

BBQ fun company prefers the supplier who takes the shortest time possible to deliver the products, although, the quality and price of the physical resources depends on the choice of the suppliers.

In any business strategy, the choice of the supplier sourcing operations need not to compromise organization’s comparative advantage. The competitive advantage of the company does not usually occur in its yields but in its core competencies, capabilities, and resources (Mihanovi?, 2016). It always a fact that, when a company outsources the risk of losing its core competencies, like technology become very high. Therefore, it is important for BBQ fun to choose innovative technologies that have responses with high quality dimensions. The budget ($90000) should be delegate for improvement of the website.

Non-disclosure agreement will be used in the protection of IP.  The company can also apply the use logbooks and passwords to protect the movement of the company’s confidential information.

Re-development fees payment

After, carrying out the service test run and installation, the company’s CFO will provide the last approval through the provision the expenditure approval form.

BBQ fun company will require five online staffs, five delivery drivers and two warehouse staff.

Human resourcing Process

1. Human resource matters and solutions
2. Human Resource job description, Plan and Approval
3. Job Advertisement preparation
4. Cost of Hiring an Employee
5. Selection standards and interview Questions
6. Reference Checking
7.  Job Offer Preparation
8. Mentorship and training programs for the new employees.
9. Probation review for a period of three months
10. Reviewing and monitoring of the Human Resource Plan.

Human resourcing Strategies

The company will hire the right individual based on the job description. The firm will also give preference to internal candidates than the external candidates.

IP assets’ Protection

The organization is made up of all the employees. In the process of operating the business, we may access the company’s confidential information. At such, the firm will adopt confidential agreement to protect the IPs of BBQ Fun.

Potential candidates’ Interview Plan

1. Interview Type Walk in interview 2 hours
2. Aims To identify the right individual for the position of sales
3. Approach The interview board comprises the HR, OGM, and the CEO. The three will set up situation and observe the suitable candidate suiting the job description
4. Scheduled Time The Interview will be conducted for 15 minutes

Starting from 9:15 am August 2018.

1. Question and Answers Did you evaluate the individual performance?

  Can you appeal to her/his weak and strong points?

What was his or her take?

Can give the details the responsibilities of the job?

 At what time did the related person work for the firm?

Policies and procedures in BBQ fun that relate to Operational plan

Could you determine when the employment period started and ended?

At what dates did the individual leave the firm? What were the reasons for his/her leaving the company?

What was his salary when he started the job?

Role Play

First Candidate – Michael B

In this role play interviewee is identified as ‘A’ and Interviewer as ‘B’

A: Please, may I come in?

B: Yes. Please take a seat.

A: Thank you

B: I received your curriculum vitae. Why are you interested in this position?

A: First, let me thank you for calling me for an interview. I possess an advanced diploma in management. Apart from my educational qualification, I also have the necessary experience. I gained my experience from an Italian Restaurant.

B: When was your last date of working in the said Italian Restaurant?

A: I worked in the restaurant three years ago after completing my undergraduate studies.

B: What was your job description in your previous position?

A: In my previous position I was involved in organizing tasks for the team. Also, I advised the management on improving the number of clients’ bookings.

B: Why do you think we should hire you?

A: I possess relevant educational qualification and experience. If given opportunity, I will ensure that I contribute positively to the company’s development.

A: Please, may I come in?

B: Yes. Please take a seat.

A: Thank you

B: I received your curriculum vitae. Why are you interested in this position?

A: I have always dreamt of working with your organization. I also have relevant experience that will help me contribute positively towards the company’s objectives.

B: What are the two key things you plan to achieve in our organization?

A: My first objective is to increase the sales revenue. Secondly, improve the quality of the food. These two are key in helping develop brand loyalty.

B: Whom do you prefer to work with?

A: I Choose to work with the team.

B: What did you cherish most in your previous position?

A: I enjoyed working with my team. The members were creative and kept positive attitude when confronted with a challenging task. At such, we were able to win several awards and also help the organization to grow.

B: Ok. Thanks for your time.

A: Welcome.

From the above assessment and evaluation of interview conducted between the two candidates, it’s clear that Sarah should be hired since Sarah marked 16 unlike Benjamin who marked 15.

Conclusion:

BBQ fun plans to commence its operation before 2016, therefore it requires to have human and physical resourcing as early as possible. This is important because human and physical resources are delegated parts of the current e-commerce strategy.

  The following plans will help monitor performance of the organization:

1. The chief finance officer must prepare a three month financial statements. He will also be responsible to oversee all the budgets for specific projects
2. The marketing manager will also help manage all marketing activities in the organization while the Operations manager will be responsible of ensuring that all the daily activities are running smoothly and all other objects that affect operations are monitored
3. The external consultants hired will help manage all the operational activities and offer consultation with regard to the company e-commerce plans(Mclauglin, 1991). Additionally, the Human resource manager has been tasked with coaching of all the employees that are not performing well.
4. The Marketing manager together with the sales manager are tasked with tracking the progress by looking at the key performance indicators.
5. The e-commerce plan should be in progress by October 1^stof 2017
6. The procedures for resourcing of the physical and human resources should go in line with the standards, legislative laws and policies of the company.
7. The chief finance officer must report all the financial statements after 3 months of each budget year(Noroozi, 2014). Reports about employees should be gathered from the marketing managers, sales managers and the store managers by the human resource manager who will compile all the data after every three months.
8. The human resource manager should work hand in hand with all the employees to monitor the employee objectives and contribution to BBQ fun. It is essential that there is regular analyzing of the objectives, progress assessments and ensure training to the employees.

Financial and budgetary performance

• It is essential that all the incomes and expenditures are well documented so that there is a realistic and measurable budget that help anticipate the financial year returns.
• The chief finance officer is tasked with making financial statements and budgets.

1. The productivity performance

• In any organization it should be noted that the production capacity will increase when output increases faster than the inputs(Gaskill, 1994). The production capacity reflects how efficiently resources are being utilized.
• The marketing manager is tasked with all the aspects regarding marketing schemes.
• The operations manager must ensure that all the daily activities in the company are efficient.

1. The sales manager has been tracking all the company progress with respect to the key performance indicators
2. Some of the recommendations that will improve the company’s performance:

• Motivate all employees
• Offer adequate training to employees
• Ensure there is open communication

Campo, F. B. &. R., 2015. Assessing the Global Dimension of Sourcing: An Exploratory Study on Italian Companies. International Journal of Supply Chain Mnagement, 4(3), pp. 4-23.

Gaskill, L. R., 1994. Impact of Operational Planning on Small Business Retail Performance, Iowa: Iowa State University.

Mclauglin, C. P., 1991. The Different Operations Strategy Planning Process for Service Operations. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 11(3), pp. 50-67.

Mihanovi?, Z. M. &. D., 2016. Operational planning level of development in production enterprises in the machine building industry and its impact on the effectiveness of production. Journal of Economic Research, 29(1), pp. 326-330.

Noroozi, S., 2014. A Framework for Sales and Operations Planning in Process Industries , Linkoping: Linkoping University Institute Of Technology.

Parmenter, D., 2015. Key Performance Indicators: Developing, Implementing and Using Winning KPI’S. 2 ed. New Jersey: Wiley Online Library.