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Operating Plan Return to chapter video Go to Business Plan Question |
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Planning and designing systems and processes for business operations involves the arrangement of management and staff, their roles and functions and business administration requirements. It also takes into account business facilities and equipment, inventory management as well as policies and procedures for other business functions.
To plan business systems effectively you can utilise the following planning process:
- Analyse the Business Situation: this involves taking into consideration the current business environment and the costs and benefits of implementing a new system.
- Establish the System Purpose and Goals: define the purpose of the new system and what you expect to achieve from it. This could be for example, to improve staff productivity when making a sale.
- Assign Responsibility and Milestones: assign responsibility for implementing the strategy to individual employees, with a timeline to achieve the identified goals.
- Communicate the Strategy and Plan to Employees: ensure that employees understand what is required of them and the direction that they follow.
- Acknowledge Achievement of Goals: when goals and objectives are met, offer some form of reward as an incentive to encourage and thank people for their efforts.
To learn more about managing operations in your small business, please visit the 'Operations Management' module of the website.
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Build your business plan by answering the questions below. A plan will automatically be generated based on your responses. Avoid changing your answers offline as they will not be saved to your profile.
Operating Plan
Q.1 What systems or processes will you implement in relation to the management of your staff? Give Answer
Q.2 What is the total cost of all your equipment? Give Answer
Q.3 To what extent will your operations be automated? Give Answer
Q.4 Is this the most effective option for your business and why? Give Answer
Q.5 What is the total cost for achieving your desired level of automation? Give Answer
Q.6 How do you plan on achieving and managing quality in your operations? Give Answer
Q.7 What does this mean in terms of costs to your business Give Answer
Q.8 What steps will you take or what strategies will you implement to minimise defects in your products/services? Give Answer
Q.9 How do you plan on dealing with defects if and when they arise? Give Answer
Q.10 What system will you have in place to manage your inventory? Give Answer
Q.11 What does this mean in terms of costs to your business? Give Answer
Q.12 How will this system add value to your business? Give Answer
Q.13 Assess the maximum operating capacity of your business. Give Answer
Q.14 How do you plan on dealing with inefficient parts of your business i.e. that may not operate at their full capacity? Give Answer
Q.15 Describe your current capacity strategy and how does it line up with your operational goals? Give Answer
Q.16 If you are required to expand your operational capacity, what factors will you consider while taking this decision and why? Give Answer
Q.17 What steps will you take or what strategies will you implement to minimise process constraints in your operations? Give Answer
Q.18 How do you plan on dealing with process constraints if and when they arise? Give Answer
Q.19 Describe the types of equipment you will be using. Will it be general-purpose or special-purpose equipment? Give Answer
Q.20 What is the total cost of all your employees? Give Answer
Q.21 Will you be having a flexible workforce i.e. employees that are capable of doing many tasks? If so, why have you chosen this option and what advantages will it provide to your business? Give Answer
Q.22 What system will you have in place to recognise and reward employees for achieving business goals and objectives? Give Answer
Q.23 What systems and procedures will you have in place to ensure quality control? Give Answer
Q.24 How will this process structure add value to your operation? Give Answer
Q.25 Will operations management be a core focus for your business? If so, how will you go about achieving this? Give Answer
Q.26 Will you be hiring an operations manager or will you be undertaking this role yourself? Give Answer
Q.27 Will there be an emphasis on good project management within your business? If so, how will you go about achieving this? Give Answer
Q.28 How will you approach undertaking a new project? I.e. do you plan on hiring new project team members to suit the demands of a new project or will you only be taking on projects that will only require your existing team's capabilities? Give Answer
Q.29 What are some of the tools you will use to monitor projects? i.e. Gantt charts Give Answer
Q.30 Will you be conducting any risk assessments before commencing a project? If so, how? Give Answer
Q.31 What are your competitive priorities? Give Answer
Q.32 Describe your process strategies and how they line up with your competitive priorities? Give Answer
Q.33 Why are these the most effective strategies and how will they add value to your operation? Give Answer
Q.34 Describe the process structure of your operation and how you plan on managing it. Give Answer
Q.35 Why did you select this structure and have you considered other alternatives? Give Answer
Q.36 To what extent will customers be involved in your business from an operational point of view? Give Answer
Q.37 Taking into consideration the efficiency of your operations, what are some of the potential difficulties that may arise from customer involvement? Give Answer
Q.38 Alternatively, what are some of the potential advantages of having your customers involved in your operations? Give Answer
Q.39 What does this mean in terms of costs to your business? Give Answer
