Blackberry Hill Farm in South England - Case Study Example

Systems and Operations Management Introduction Today, most businesses in almost all sectors of the economy have adopted the information systems in their day-to-day operations. Information systems have enhanced operational management in the agricultural, construction, banking, insurance and transportation sectors across the world (Sadagopan 1998, p. 123). Information technology (IT) has enabled the flow of information in many businesses, which increases the efficiency of operations such as manufacturing, packaging, selling and more. As a result, there is consumer satisfaction due improved service delivery. Some of the business models applied in operation management include the input-process-output and value chain models. Information systems refer to a group of interrelated parts, which collect, process and distribute information in order to enhance control and decision making in an organization (Lee, Shiba and Wood 1999, p. 145). Blackberry Hill Farm Case Study In a case study of Blackberry Hill Farm in South England, various business models can be used to analyze the problems faced in their day-to-day activities. These models include the input-process-output model (IPO), value chain model and consumer direct models. The challenges to be analyzed involve balancing the performance of activities, reducing complexity of some operations, as well as, staff management. Operational management involves transforming resources to products and services (McKeown and Leitch 2003, p. 67). The operations in the Blackberry Hill Farm involve agriculture and tourism. The input resources include cattle, crops, mixed woodland, poultry and farm heritage exhibits. The transforming input resources include the facilities such as a farm and the work force (employees). The transformational processes include cultivation, bee keeping and tractor riding. Others processes include selling at farm shops and café, bakery, preserving kitchen, pick-your own operations, and securing the farms and the car parks, as well. The output products include the fruits, vegetables, dough nuts, satisfaction of visitors and more (Kachiru 2007, p. 231). Input-Process-Output Using the IPO model, one can analyze the challenges by classifying the operations in the farm. It is necessary to arrange and sort out the major and minor activities. Jim and Mandy, the core managers at Blackberry Farm Hill have focused much on agritourism. This may be because of the increased number of visitors reporting to the farm in the previous seasons. Also, due to the adoption of many operations aimed at attracting more visitors would have contributed to low performance in farming. More workers are employed to manage the farm shops, control tractor riding and preserve the kitchen and, therefore, few workers are left in growing fruits and vegetables. The IPO model can also be used to analyze the problem of complexity in the managing the farm operations. The managers, Jim and Mandy, seem to have employed fewer workers in some operations particularly in managing the visitors. The organizational structure in Blackberry is ineffective and the duties allocated to the workers are unequal where some employees work for long hours. Mandy admits that he feels exhausted more due to the increased firm’s activities. The work breakdown structure of the firm’s operations is also ineffective. The problem of poor human resource management can also be analyzed using the input-process-output model. The model clearly defines the employees are the transforming resources to the company. Staff management problems could be emanating from the complexity of the company’s operations. Managers hardly get time to talk with the employees as a way of motivating them. Although the company gets high profits, the workers still strain much in performing their tasks on a daily basis. This could be because; the managers had not planned for future expansion of the firm’s operations or they have insufficient knowledge in staff management. The Blackberry Hill Farm has undergone a sudden business growth, which confirms why there is overworking and poor management of workers. The fact that the owners, Jim and Mandy have not assigned managers of the different department could also be the cause of mismanagement of the employees. Value Chain Model The value chain model can be used to identify the causes of the challenges experienced at Blackberry Farm Hill. The value chain model is supported by the demand and supply models. In these models goods, services and information are delivered through multiple enterprises to the end user. Blackberry produces products such as fruits and vegetables that are sold out in the local markets. The company does not seem to apply the value chain model because few resources have been allocated in managing the supplying fruits and vegetables to the end user and that is why the revenues obtained from farm products have reduced. Value chains manage the customers and the direct sales (Collier and Evans 2007, p. 67). The value chain models can also be used to sell products directly to the customer through stage fronts. Therefore, the cause of complexity of activities is because Blackberry adopts queuing method when receiving the visitors. This involves most employees in controlling the visitors as they move around the recreational farmyard kitchens, as well as, tractor riding. The value chain models have some administrative aspects where the manager can control the parties involved in the supply chain. Blackberry Farm Hill deals with direct sales to the consumers and the visitors and, therefore, the managers find supply chain management easy. The company has gradually expanded, which reveals why the supply of goods to the customer has become complicated. Jim and Mandy failed to lay down correct procedures in managing the company’s operations and that is why there are many problems while treating the visitors. The value chain model requires proper management of the supply chain in order to ensure consumer satisfaction (Netessine and Tang 2009, p. 90). Jim and Mandy claims that they have reaped more profits from the ever coming visitors to their Farm. However, they received conflicts from the police that their tourists park their cars on the local roads in an inappropriate manner. In this way, the managers seem to have not fully satisfied the visitors because there are inadequate spaces for parking in their Farm. The company, therefore, has a potential risk of losing the visitors if in case the police start to harass them on the roads. Consumer Direct Model Consumer direct business models support the transactions involving the sharing of information and supply of goods and services. The models clearly define the problem of complexity in the Blackberry since they have not adopted the self-service techniques for the visitors. Jim and Mandy still operates on the old systems of queuing, which consumes much time. Both Jim and Mandy has plans of making their Farm attractive to a wide range of visitors including students from schools. They are planning to construct school rooms as spaces for teaching the visitors about the farming traditions. They are also planning to develop a maize maze in order to attract more visitors as other companies in Europe. In the coming years, the managers are planning to improve the business operations in terms of service delivery, efficiency, as well as, eliminating the extra costs. Offering full-time employment to the preserving Kitchen Ladies is also a strategy formulated by the owners of the Farm. Note that as the Farm expands, security remains as a major concern especially for the welfare of the tourists. The best strategy in improving the operation processes in Blackberry Farm Hill involves using Information Technology in controlling the day to day activities. First of all, they should introduce a computer system that encompasses programs that are appropriate in ensuring consumer satisfaction. This will be geared towards achieving good flow of information from the managers to the workers, as well as, the customers. Although, the Farm may not fully exploit the technology currently used by businesses in the world, it remains necessary for the owners to adopt some information systems in order to improve the operational management (Sadagopan 1998, p. 127). The information systems adopted should ensure efficiency both in the short-run and the long run. Some of the components in the information system include a website software programs and hardware that would allow sharing of information. The hardware products include computers, data-back up devices and other computer spare parts. Then, with the help of computer experts, the company will create a website that includes the following links; catalog, booking, marketing, member, products, promotions and financial statements. The Catalog will contain the Catalog Entry and Catalog Group options. The company will be able to communicate via the Internet to visitors about the conditions of the Farm to prevent overcrowding as in the previous seasons. Also, the company can promote their product via the Internet thus reaching many customers. The website would also help the managers in searching for qualified members of staff who can run the operations of the Farm (Lee, Shiba and Wood 1999, p. 150). When the visitors access the website, they can book their visits in advance, which is beneficial to the operations managers when they are planning. The company would restructure their organizational structure where they would create other departments such as sales department and human resource department (Pycraft 2000, p. 38). The managers should also ensure that workers are allocated duties according to their capability. In all the stated ways, the information systems will enhance smooth operations in the business. The manager will be able to control their workers, as well as, engaging in decision-making through the information systems. With the information systems, the managers can issue directives or internal memos to the workers than improving the vertical communication in businesses. The employees’ relation with the managers will also be improved through sharing information in the internal environments (Jawadekar 2004, p. 234). Other equipments can be installed in order to ensure people and properties’ security. Although it might be very expensive to install CCTV cameras in the 200-hectare land, the IT experts should install CCTV’s in the car parks, as well as, other unsafe areas in the farm. In order to maximize consumers’ satisfaction and security, the company should increase self-servicing in the parks as well as payment for services offered in the Farm (Horne 2014, p. 142). Other equipments used to support the information systems include electronic point of sale (EPOS) and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR). ANPR will improve the flow of visitors’ vehicles of thus easing congestion (Koontz and Weihrich 2007, p. 120). Reference List Collier, D A & Evans, J R 2007, Operations management: goods, services and value chains, Mason, OH, Thomson/South-Western. Horne, R 2014, Improving business processes: how an ecosystems model can enhance business operations, [S.l.], Business Expert Press. Jawadekar 2004, Management Information Systems, New York, Gardners Books. Kachru, U 2007, Production and operations management: text and cases, New Dehli, Excel Books. Koontz,H & Weihrich, H 2007, Essentials of management: an international perspective, New Delhi, Tata McGraw-Hill. Lee, T H Shiba, S & Wood, R C 1999, Integrated management systems: a practical approach to transforming organizations, New York [u.a.], Wiley. McKeown P G & Leitch, R A 2003, Management information systems: managing with computers, Fort Worth, Dryden Press. Netessine, S & Tang, C S 2009, Consumer-driven demand and operations management models: a systematic study of information-technology-enabled sales mechanisms, New York, NY, Springer. Pycraft, M 2000, Operations management, [Cape Town], Pearson Education South Africa. Sadagopan, S 1998, Management information systems, New Delhi, Prentice-Hall of India. Read More