Introduction
Operation Strategy refers to the actions chosen, mandated option, and is stimulated by an organization within its operations functions to be able to meet the mission and objectives. A firm must make decisions that are in line with its strategy. The decisions must bind with the organization’s rules and should provide a consistent response to competitive forces in the market. This will give the firm-wide range above its competitors in the market. The strategic goals are translated into clearly defined implementation targets which are aligned to the value proposition. The strategy entails a master-plan that integrates the elements and gives the specific timelines to specific assignments and has a master plan as the basis for the process.
An operation business model is an organization essential logic template used in consistently achieving the principal objective by maximization of the available resources, policies, and systems to be able to realize maximum output to the benefit of the business. Some of the key elements of operation strategy include; human resources and job description, capacity and location, the strategic implication of operation decisions, matching the productive system design to market needs, techniques, and suppliers.
For the business to remain competitive in the market, it must employ the process and the principle of Strategy formulation which is a process by which an organization determines its competition in the industry. This process entails the determination of goals and policy development for the achievements of the goals (Meredith & Schafer 2002). For an organization to achieve the maximum possible output, and to have a distinct advantage over the other players in the market, various disciplines and other functions in the business must have come into play.
Literature Review
Organizations always have structures that aid in ensuring that their performance is measured and that they do not lose focus on their key mission. A few of these strategies change over time but some stand the test of time. Balance scorecard and McKinsey 7S framework for example have been used in firms for a very long time. The McKinsey 7s was developed by two consultants Robert Waterman and Tom Peters then working at the McKinsey & Company consulting firm. The model entails aligning seven aspects of an organization to ensure its operation yield the desired results. It can be used widely in different situations where an organization needs to align its operations. This approach is useful to an organization to align the different functions in the firm; it also helps determine the best strategy to be used. An organization may also want to know what changes it needs to effect over time to realize maximum output, here McKinsey 7S becomes very useful. They include; skills, staff, shared values, strategy, systems, style, and structures. For an organization to perform these seven elements must be aligned and mutually reinforcing. BSC is used to measure both the financial and non-financial aspects of a firm. It’s a model of performance and it acts as a link between the inputs and outputs in an organization. It takes into consideration what an organization has set as targets and deliverables in a given period and also the physical input like human resources etc. It involves the identification of a small number of financial and non-financial aspects and attaching them to the laid down targets.
Discuss and critically evaluate the role and importance of performance
Measurement
An organization’s main objective is to perform and generate maximum output. The management concern, therefore, needs to constantly evaluate the performance of the business if it is in line with what is expected. Business performance review, therefore, is significant because it helps in ensuring the business remains focussed to achieve this goal. To evaluate how well an arm of the firm is doing, for example, an agency, it is important to carry out an evaluation. This process consists of two variables which are organizational performance data and benchmarks that create a framework for analyzing the data.
BPM helps organizations to have control over the systems and also the HR to ensure certain roles are executed in the organization, function heads always have designed guidelines that aid in executing control in the organization.
Demonstrate knowledge and critical awareness of the complexity of business performance
The importance of BPM at times is difficult to quantify but most organizations have come up with a few reasons why it is necessary. Matching and aligning performance measure with the business strategy is not easy for most of the organization (Hannagan 2002). There are financial and non-financial measures that relate to performance. Financial measures relate directly to the firm’s financial books of accounts and give the position where the organization is in terms of how much they have made for the given financial period. Such elements as net profit, expenses are the key components of financial measure. Non-financial measures do not appear in the financial charts and may include customer satisfaction, system quality, and even environmental factors like office accessibility, etc. Performance measures can be complete or incomplete, responsive, or nonresponsive.
There is the aspect of key performance indicators (KPI) in business which can be related to Human Resource Utilization (HRU), market conditions, and also the process performance. Measures here include tangible things. These are often included in the chart accounts for example list of debtors, creditors, inventory, etc. Examples of intangibles include but are not limited to knowledge level, skills, creativity, and innovation (Taylor 2000).
Critically review the different approaches for nonfinancial business performance measurement
Financial Data such as profits have limitations as a measure of a firm’s performance (Neil 2010). There are however other performance indicators that are non-financial such as quality and innovation, customer satisfaction, employee wellness, and employee satisfaction, intellectual capital, and customer loyalty.
Firms have also incorporated the approach of nonfinancial measures to be able to determine their productivity. Reference Models are well-established measures and include TQM, Six Sigma, and EFQM. Customer Value analysis- Firms have deployed technologies and measurement systems that manage business activities and either directly or indirectly incorporate the customer’s needs and they provide firms with integrated data hence the ability to measure customer aspects like satisfaction, complain handling process, etc (Neil 2010). Quality Programs are continuous improvement frameworks within an organization and focus on product quality is more or less concerned with other business processes.
Review of the Business Performance Concepts
The business that exhibits the greatest performance is the BSC when compared to other firms such as KPI and Stakeholder Scorecard.
Causal Measurements
This process of identification may be really hard because it could take firms a long period within which the firm is to prove statistically the causal linkages that exist between performance matrices. This can affect the diagnostic advantages that are to be supplied by the systems (Brown, et al. 1996).
Several firms do struggle with subjective measurement that can give insights by use of less time and effort. At the same time, some firms have indulged in the course of establishing measurements that are in closed-loop forms hence very complex. These complexities too are possessed by the correlative measurements that require a complex data source.
BPM Principle Violation
The principles are the defining performance of a firm, accurate measurement of performance, and contingent rewards upon measurement (Teece 1997). The only problem that may occur is the continued acceptance of the principles. Though there are companies that violated the three principles but still ranked high in performance.
Making proposals for the improvement of business performance measurement and Research an area of business performance in a chosen organization
A well-established business performance measurement gives an organization the capability to prevail over the competitors. All process of measuring performance appraisal needs the use of statistical models to get results. There are also those parameters that can only be determined via observation (Brown, et al. 1996). Collect appropriate data- Data is the primary source of information that an organization uses to identify if they are on track, so for a firm to improve on their performance measurements, then correct data must be collected and tabulated appropriately.
Dashboards are used to display performance measurements. An organization may need to use correct data to come up with a proper dashboard and this gives direction in terms of an organization achieving its goals and objectives.
There also needs to be proper systems in place to be able to analyze these data to give direction. A firm also needs to continue to invest in manpower through training and the conceptualization of the expected results. There is the need to have experts who know how to interpret the data and communicate it to the organization’s management.
Critically evaluate proposals and justify any recommendations based on Concrete Evidence
Marketing
Marketing is very important in any business set up. It plays a big role in contributing to the increase in performance of any type of business. Through marketing, one can gain a large series of clients who would improve the business in terms of income. For web-based businesses, marketing increases the number of hits a particular website gets. This is encouraging because one would know for sure that his or her products and services are valuable, therefore, the person would look for the next strategy to employ in that particular business. Every business deserves marketing and the related strategies to survive (Jacoby 2009).
Financial worth
Finance is another key investment in the business. It is the basic data analysis factor for any business to improve. It is all about placing a monetary value on the existing products (Manaj 2003). The important points for research when adding financial value to any business are tax consideration, risk management, internal control, time value, and improving cash value.
Management and Technology
This is important in the line of a business model. The art of technological advancement has to lead to recognizable exponential growth to all business types, small and big. Studies such as management information systems are good to go by when one has ventured into a business (Krajewski & Ritzman 2002). Computer manufacturing and virtual reality are some of the advancements that can be included in businesses. This would improve business.
Ethics of the Business
These are the right principles to be followed in a business set up. They provide ground for which a good business can thrive. Topics for research in this area relate to whether business ethics can be cost-effective. This can be answered when there is additional value to the business in question. Any good thing has value and has to be cost-effective. This would automatically result in improvement in the business strategy.
International Payments services
The most renowned international payment service since time immemorial has been the western Union Money transfer service. This service provides an interface for customers to send and receive money across countries. This service is very much available at MHB. The MHB allows customers to send money overseas via the bank. This can take place in any branch of the bank and is safer and faster. The transaction takes place in a few minutes. One should do not bear any cost when receiving money (Anthony 2011). One is always informed about the time his or her money has come as soon as possible by a telephone or a letter. One does not need to make a statement about the source of the money. There is no limitation to the amount of money transacted via MBH. Finally, it does not bear an income tax. The forms of remittances are domestic, inward, individuals overseas, and the most common inward remittance via Western Union.
Reports Submission
The main motive of this bank is the confidence of the customers. It is in the process to put lots of effort towards a strong and perfect development. The Bank works day and night to perfect its agency in money transfer. It had increased to about 194 locations. It is also working to increase its service revenue of a whole connection. Their reports are up to date and are on the positive move for the sake of customers. There is good coordination on the proper services given to customers.
The use of Anti-money laundering has got significant benefits both locally and internationally. This has resulted in reduced cases of crime. The issues of anti-money laundry transaction services are relatively expensive because they are subjected to intense scrutiny. This service is rare and only limited financial institutions have access to such service (Brown, et al. 1996). It is important for clients to always verify. The AML ensures financial stability and fighting corruption and crime (Jacoby 2009).
The management of Nostro accounts is done perfectly by the workers. They would help in foreign exchange transactions or trade transactions. This will ensure the monitoring of the service fees.
Financials
The bank is stable. It has provisions for interest negotiations between the bank and the customers. There is a stable clientele. There is a program for management by external firms. The MHB Equity increased to VND 3000 Billion from VND 1000 Billion.
The bank uses both BSC and the McKinsey 7S framework to be able to ensure that the bank’s realized maximum profit. It uses both the approach of financial and nonfinancial aspects and sets out achievable goals. The bank strength is the personnel and everyone has been assigned roles that are commensurate with their qualification. Systems have also been put in place to ensure the bank can review the progress and ensure it remains on track in its endeavor to serve customers better with improved products and services. The bank has invested a lot more in systems and technologies in all the areas of operations such as Automated Teller Machines, POS terminals, Internet Banking, etc. The MIS has been implemented as a bank’s project and this adapts fully with the IAS and ensures the bank’s operations comply fully with statutory reporting requirements. The project has helped the bank in mapping out the strategy by the international practice for banking. The staff has also grown so much in number and the bank has consistently employed experts in both business and personal banking and also all the other departments. This the bank does to consolidate operations as well as remain very competitive in the market.
Reference List
Anthony, P 2011. ‘Money Transfer Policy’, The Economist.
Brown, S et al., 1996. Operation Management Strategies, Butterworth, New York.
Hannagan, P. T., 2002. Practice and the Management Concept, 3rd ed., Pitman, London.
Jacoby, D 2009. ‘Performance Expert’, The Economist, 21 October, p. 7.
Krajewski, L. J., and Ritzman, L. P., 2002. Operations, Management, Strategy and Analysis, 6th Ed., Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
Manaj, S. J., 2003. Assessment and Outcomes, 2nd Ed., John Wiley & Sons. New York.
Meredith, J. R., and Schafer, S. M., 2002. Operations Management, 2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.
Neil, T. F., 2010. Business Excellence: Quality Management, 4th Ed., Routledge, California.
Taylor, J. T., 2000. Business Impacts, 20(12), Strategic Management Journal.
Teece, D. J., 1997. Dynamic Management capabilities, 18(7), Strategic Management Journal.