Operations Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Operations Management - Assignment Example Techniques such as network analysis and critical path will be applied on McDonald’s restaurant as it is planning to set up a new franchise in Oxford town. 3.1. Linear Programming Linear programming is a technique that is used to identify the best possible outcome for the project considering the constraints or limitations the project manager or the operation manager has. Generally, the best possible outcome would be to achieve the lowest cost or to achieve the highest revenues from the project (Barlow, 2005). There are several reasons why organizations around the world use linear programming. McDonald’s can also make use of linear programming technique as they are setting up a new franchise in Oxford town. There can be different ways by which McDonald’s can use linear programming and some of the ways include: They can use this to find the optimal solution whether they should open the franchise or not in Oxford. Linear programming can be used to identify the number of staff the restaurant should keep. McDonald’s can also use linear programming to decide which products they need to offer. Therefore, McDonald’s can make use of linear programming to find the best solution and make sure that the new franchise is profitable. 3.2. ... Delays in the critical path would result the project manager in delaying in the whole project. By using network analysis, the management of McDonald’s can identify different tasks that would be required to start the new franchise at Oxford town. On the other hand, critical path would be used by the management of McDonald’s to identify the most important activities and there should not be any kind of delays in activities that are in the critical path because it would lead to the delay in the completion of the project. 3.3. Why a large McDonald’s restaurant needs Operational Planning and control Operational planning and control are of immense importance in making sure that the objectives of the project are achieved. Planning allows management to identify what and how things would be done and controlling would enable the management to analyze the performance against what has been planned. Deviations in the execution can be identified and adjusted only if the project is controlled effectively and if proper planning of the project is present (Simha and Word, 2009). Operation planning and controlling are important for every organization regardless of its size (Chase and Aquilano, 1977). Therefore, even large firms like McDonald’s would need to have proper operational plans and control. If the company does have an operational plan, it would lead to delay in the project and there might be possibilities that the project might not be completed. With proper planning, everyone including the operation or project manager would know what is required and how it would be performed and what each person is supposed to do. Controlling similarly will be of high importance to McDonald’s as the company would be able to identify and