Lakshya - A Beacon of Knowledge, December 2020

Lakshya is an initiative by Club Kaizen which is our monthly supplement designed for people who dare to think above the average and believe in connecting the dots. In an age where technology has taken over every sphere, information is abundant and data is omnipresent, we have conspired to bring to you a collection of thoughtfully created and carefully curated pieces of work by some bright aspiring minds of ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad on the current trends and hot topics in the field of Operations Management and their relevance in different Industries.

Everything is growing at the pace of nanosecond and hence it is quintessential to know about every minute change in the eco system. With Lakshya we aim to present our readers with compact yet explicit articles on vivid topics such as Internet, Banking, IT, IoT, etc. A fair share of this edition focuses majorly on the banking systems and payment gateways. With the constantly evolving technology it will be interesting to ponder over changes that could be seen in the near future.

We look forward to providing the students with some valuable insights and inculcate the passion for reading once again within our readers.

Lakshya is an amazing platform for readers as well as aspiring readers to showcase their talent and pen down their thoughts which in turn will be a gold mine for information for the students of not only IBS but from the outside world too.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

1

OUR KNOWLEDGE PARTNER

Club Kaizen is privileged to have The International Supply Chain Education Alliance (ISCEA, USA) as the Knowledge Partner from Lakshya’s 24th edition.

To be a single source for Total Supply Chain Knowledge through Education, Certification, and Recognition is the mission of ISCEA. Many workshops/events are conducted by ISCEA to improve the knowledge of manufacturing and service industry professionals.

ISCEA provides a platform to explore leadership potential to the aspiring leaders in the supply chain industry while developing the skill sets and knowledge desired by corporations, through SCNext (ISCEA Young Supply Chain Professional Association).

Some of the internationally recognized certification programs developed by ISCEA include1. Certified Supply Chain Analyst (CSCA).

2. Certified Demand Driven Planner (CDDP).

3. Supply Chain Case Competition.

To know more about ISCEA, visit http://www.iscea.net/india.

We look forward to working with ISCEA in spreading knowledge and reaching greater heights together.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

2

EDITOR’S LETTER “"With Evolution, Changes happen in every part of the world every day, every time."”

Welcome to the twenty-ninth edition of “LAKSHYA”, our monthly supplement designed for people who dare to think above the average and believe in connecting the dots. In an age where technology has taken over every sphere, information is abundant and data is omnipresent, we have planned to bring to you a collection of thoughtfully created and carefully crafted pieces of work by some bright aspiring minds of ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad on the current trends and receiving close review in the field of Operations Management and their relevance in different industries.

From the ninth edition, we created a new segment, ‘The Corporate Angle’ where article will be featured from prominent business leaders which will enlighten minds of young managers and business enthusiasts. IBS Hyderabad and Club Kaizen express a sign of gratitude to all corporate leaders for taking out time and scripting their thoughts for our magazine.

We have introduced 'Faculties Insight’ from the eighteenth edition, where the articles will be featured from experienced faculties from all over the world that will shed light on the minds of young managers and business enthusiasts. Club Kaizen is grateful to all faculties for taking time out and writing their thoughts for our publication.

We hope that you like this issue and please let us know if there are any subjects, you'd look forward to be addressed in upcoming editions. Please write to us and become a part of this discussion.

Email ID: kaizenclub.ibs@gmail.com

LVS SAI CHARAN JOINT SECRETARY – KORE Kaizen – IBS Hyderabad Batch 2019-21

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

3

CONTENTS

S. NO.

TITLE

PAGE NO.

1

From the Mentor’s Desk

5

2

Total quality management in HRM

6

3 4

Employability and Employment with reference to Higher Education How to Achieve Operational Excellence by Means of People Management

9 13

5

Operations Management Is Evolving

18

6

Voices in the Head

21

7

Demand Forecasting in New Normal

22

8

A Pen is mightier than Sword

24

9

The Voice of the Unvoiced…...

26

10

Objectives of Production Management and Operations Management in an Organization

29

11

The Art of Process Design and Analysis

32

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

4

From the Mentor’s Desk In the era of competition, it is imperative for students to be prepared for the ever-changing business environment.

Knowledge creation plays an important role to learn to tackle the dynamic nature of business.

I appreciate and congratulate the initiative of club KAIZEN for bridging the gap between corporate world and academia through LAKSHYA which is an excellent platform where industry practitioners, academicians and researchers can share their knowledge and experience, acting as a beacon guiding students to reach their goal.

My best wishes to club KAIZEN in their endeavour of knowledge creation through LAKSHYA.

Nishit Kumar Srivastava Mentor, Club Kaizen

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

5

Faculties Insight

Dr. M. Showry Associate professor, IBS Hyderabad.

Total quality management in HRM

0 0 0 0

“Doing the Right Thing, Right the First Time, All satisfaction. TQM as a philosophy presents a set of the Time; always striving for Improvement & golden principles that drive continuous always satisfying the Customer.� improvement of quality. TQM is an integrated organizational approach to delight customers both The business world witnesses unprecedented Internal and external to meet the expectations by competition and spiralling turbulence due to the relentless emphasis on processes, products and disruption in technology. Hence, organizations, in services. As a quality control measure, when order to be sustainable and competitive must implemented TQM would bring about a continuous embrace TQM philosophy. The measurements, improvement in the way organizations do their that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic business also bring about drastic change in the and time more than any other inputs like money, culture to deliver superior quality and services to its machines and materials are becoming hugely customers thus lead to numerous benefits to the responsible for the success of the organizations business. Essentially as a strategy, TQM is quality today. This short article focuses on the importance driven and customer focussed, implemented quality of TQM and attempts to explore the relationship processes on a daily basis to achieve total customer between TQM and Human resource management to satisfaction by providing quality products or services at optimum cost.

It brought about become competitive. fundamental shift in the practices of the Total Quality management is a path breaking organizations to eliminate waste and prevent there by ensures customer philosophy that aims at continuous improvement of defects the business processes to achieve customer satisfaction. Organization like GE, Motorola or

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

6

Federal express took the advantage of the principle proposed by Deming and Juan to significantly increased their profits by embracing TQM in management process.

Regardless of business, TQM for long has been narrowly associated with operations but in this era of knowledge base business TQM has made inroads into all functions including the Human resource management especially in engineering, pharma and IT sector. HRM is the backbone of any organization, thus issues pertaining employees and nature of employment are becoming dramatically critical to the success of the organization. The emerging issues of diversity, changing demographics of employees, attrition, talent development and obsolescence of skills etc are of grave concern. Absence of commitment to quality in HRM in the long run would lead to a quiet slow death of business. Thus, changes in HRM policies and practices by implementation of TQM would be of paramount importance to initiate change of culture. This adoption of TQM in HRM would be exceptionally fruitful as it would lead to creation of new HR policies that not only focus on compliance and cooperation but driving quality by laying sharp emphasis on satisfaction and development of internal customers namely the employees. Several organizations recognized the celebrated relationship between high performance work systems and TQM. A philosophy that treats employees as internal customers will have an outstanding impact on the organisational outcomes. When the quality of HRM practices dramatically increases, the quality of employee contribution simultaneously rises. Hence, TQM in HRM undoubtedly would stimulate employees more and results in decisive improvements in the way employee do the work to bring about organisational performance and its ability to accomplish its goals. TQM affects HRM to create leading edge companies by bringing fundamental changes by employing the techniques of quality in

the way performance is measured and compensation systems are established. It would also trigger change in the attitudes like organizational commitment, job involvement and engagement.

Total Quality HRM Several organizations like Nestle HR Policy reflects TQM orientation by its relentless emphasis on quality to build a culture of quality among its employees. “The prime responsibility of the HR managers and their staff is to contribute actively to the quality of HR management throughout the organisation by proposing adequate policies, ensuring their consistent application and coherent implementation with fairness. They are supposed to provide professional support in handling people matters but should not substitute themselves to the responsible manager.” It is also essential to design and implement policies to satisfy the needs and expectations of the internal customers of the organization employees. HRM can adopt TQM in the following functions to increase the competitiveness and performance of HRM processes.

Job analysis: The employment of TQM techniques in conducting job analysis and job design would result in immense benefits in terms of quality. It can have an impact on satisfaction, safety, attrition, absenteeism etc.

Human resource planning: TQM based approaches lead to sophisticated recruitment and selection methods that can multiply attraction of talent and positive effect on selection. TQM based selection would have a high impact in talent acquisition ensuring recruitment

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

7

and allocation of right employee to the right Amidst the growing complexity of the business, position. leading to changing demands for the skills needed, Training: the Human Resources Department can design and deliver training programs to institutionalize a quality-orientation and intensify the efforts to develop strategically relevant competencies.

management. A compensation policy that is not sticky but clear and transparent based on tangible measures stimulate employee motivation and commitment.

Performance appraisal

Conclusion

The primary objective of performance appraisal is to evaluate how well an employee is doing that provide a basis for employee outcomes like Pay or Promotion. A performance appraisal measurement system that is aligned with the vision and mission laying firm emphasis on continuous improvement and quality would lead to high performance culture in the organization. Countless organizations have adopted methods like behaviourally anchored rating (BARS), 360-degree feedback or management by objectives (MBO) etc to instil a culture of quality.

The success of any organization today depends its ability to design effective human resource management practices that can stimulate, measure and control the quality of employees’ inputs. No other techniques than techniques based on TQM principles bring about effectiveness of the organizations. Hence, it is imperative for organizations to refine the quality of HR practices by implementing TQM orientation to ingrain a culture of quality among employees to become competitive and sustainable. If managers fail to recognise the importance of TQM orientation in HRM may result in loss of quality aspect in the responsibilities and processes resulting in loss of customer satisfaction and competitiveness.

Compensation A fair and strategic compensation is one of the most distinguished element of human resource

About the author: Dr. M Showry He is an Associate Professor at The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education Hyderabad with teaching areas being primarily Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior and Psychology with 15 years of experience in higher education and education industry

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

8

Faculties Insight Mushtakhusen S. M Assistant Professor, IBS Hyderabad.

Employability vs Employment with Reference to Higher Education In today’s dynamic environment, the challenge for employability is a global issue. This also includes nations like India and China where there is no lack of educational institutes, but still, people are unemployed or if employed not up to the expected level of employment. By and large, the picture that surfaced is one of extensive concern with employability as an issue that ought to be addressed in the stipulation of courses, but with ample differences between universities and between subjects about how it is most apt to offer employability-enhancing know-how. The spectrum may vary from Business schools where it is considered that the knowledge and skills obtained in becoming a competent management professional through classroom teaching are useful in a wide range of occupations. On the other hand, for some institutes, approaching an internship program of learning along with the regular curriculum is in operation to manage businesses effectively.

Moreover, the academic qualification of the degree is just a statement that the graduate has proved the capacity to execute to a particular point of academic proficiency and, perhaps more significantly,

possesses the ability to be trained. To this end, an attempt is made in this paper, to find out the role of required skills in the curriculum of higher education for enhancing employability prospects in the current employment scenario of India.

Employment v/s Employability: Today’s brisk globalization and soaring mobility have thrown up several challenges for Education institutes in terms of teaching delivery. In today’s hyper world, to be triumphant as an education provider, institutes need to change the rules of the game. To be dominant in the information age, institutes have to be equipped with the best training on employability skills that cuts through the competition; and reinvent their curriculum, teaching practices and processes by embracing life skills and related skills for the development of industrial friendly incumbents.

Nevertheless, to start with, the comprehension of the distinction between Employment and Employability is vital. On the detailed note, as comprehended from Wikipedia.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

9

“Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as: "A person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, where the employer has the power or right to control and direct the employee in the material details of how the work is to be performed." Black's Law Dictionary page 471 (5th ed. 1979).

In a commercial setting, the employer conceives of productive activity, generally with the intention of generating a profit, and the employee contributes labour to the enterprise, usually in return for the payment of wages.

Employability refers to a person's capability of gaining initial employment, maintaining employment, and obtaining new employment if required (Hillage and Pollard, 1998). In simple terms, employability is about being capable of getting and keeping fulfilling work. More comprehensively, employability is the capability to move self-sufficiently within the labour market to realize potential through sustainable employment.

working people, these endow the modus operandi to handle complex people.

Life skills are vital for the success of any business particularly those who deal with their clientele directly.

Unemployability is all about having obligatory educational qualification but lacking aptness and potential to execute the tasks at the place of work regardless of the availability of employment prospects. In many parts of the world, students own educational qualifications to be selected for an interview but not succeed to get the job as they don’t reveal the desired skills and approach expected by the prospective recruiters which are nothing but life skills. As an end result, Life skills are referred to as employability skills.

Employability Skills with special reference to Functional English:

Employability of candidates is more imperative than their academic qualifications. Despite the fact that most of the curriculum-vitae are impressive, but the aspirants are not able to perform up to the Employability enrichment with special reference to mark. It’s usually quite late when mistakes are realized. What could be the probable timely the training of Life Skills: solutions?

Life skills comprise concepts such as communication skills, body language, teamwork, Job aspirants need Academic Skills as well as problem-solving, positive attitude, adaptability to Occupational/Employability Skills today. An change etc. These skills are not inevitably graded in ordinary degree fetches an ordinary job, but one a conventional sense but might be evaluated with with a ‘specialization’ fetches a better job. rational rubrics. These skills might also be already ‘Specialization’ in the context of knowledge of there in lessons and may only need to have a little English- means, besides knowledge of her/his emphasis added, so learners see the skills’ value. subject matter – specialist skills such as better English pronunciation, correct grammar, These endow certain qualities and attributes among appropriate diction, good communication skills, the scholars resulting to personal, professional and pleasing personality, negotiation skills, selfsocial endurance and success. For the students confidence, positive outlook, good social skills and passing out from educational institutes, these self-control – all of which go well with a good attributes would facilitate them getting a job as per knowledge of English – are other qualities a the requirement of the corporate who emphasize potential Employer looks for in our youngsters. more on a plug and play workforce. For the KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

10

Suggested Action plan for solving the issue:

Conclusion

The obligation is on the Indian education system and the quality of teaching institutions provide. In a large country like India, the number of leading institutions producing candidates annually is enhancing day-by-day, and the competition between the institutions result in quantity production rather than quality. This gap between quality and quantity makes the entire job market susceptible to what corporate may see as ‘misfit in industry requirement’.

Almost all corporate managers today will agree that good academic qualifications are the gateway to any job interview, but the actual selection is on the basis of performance in the interview.

What could be the appropriate action plan to bridge this gap? Who is going to ensure the education quality as per industry requirements? Questions are non-ending and answers are scarce. It is a ferocious circle and it is very complex to get one aside as to have a concrete solution to resolve the matter, of course in a gradual and planned manner.

Hence the higher education authorities should take this issue seriously and plan out an effective teaching plan which will ensure excellence from the basic level in terms of employability. This will gradually lead to industry-friendly educated youth to whom industry will be happily looking forward to absorbing in suitable profiles. It may also be noted that this change in scholars will not take place at once; it has to be an everyday affair in primary, secondary and graduation level education.

Thus, it is apparent that there is a disparity between desired qualifications and competencies. The accomplishments in terms of academic qualifications do not show up in terms of competencies in the work area. The emergent economy is countering shortage of skilled employees. There is a big difference between the actual learning outcomes and the required learning outcomes. Hence, the transformation in the higher education system is inevitable in which care is needed to be taken that qualified graduates should be given appropriate value additions in the curriculum in order to meet the demands of the emergent economy. This industry-academic gap can also be bridged by incorporating the inputs of industry professionals while designing the curriculum since they are the one who can update on the current market skills required for employability and not for employment.

Thus, authors feel that all universities, management schools, premier engineering institutions, IT schools and similar centres of learning should seriously let industry heads, entrepreneurs, HR heads and similar manpower managers actively Hence it is extremely must that the change in the participate in the course and curriculum designing. education system needs right from the kick-off This way higher education will prove to be stage because it will be least effective at the meaningful by making professionals ready not only execution stage. for employment but also for employability.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

11

Bibliography: i. Ma Foi Randstad Employment Survey (METS) ii. www.wikipedia.org iii. www.digitallearning.in iv. www.timesascent.in v. The ICFAI Journal of Soft Skills – ICFAI Publication vi. An M. Phil. Dissertation on “Employability Skills with Special Reference to Functional English” by Mushtakhusen S. M. x. http://www.merinews.com/article About the author: Mushtakhusen S. M Assistant Professor at The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education Hyderabad with 17 years of experience in higher education and education industry.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

12

Corporate Angle

Dr. Shraddha Kulkarni Director-MDP & Consulting, IIMS, Pune

How to Achieve Operational Excellence by Means of People Management Operational Excellence forms an important part of the strategical approach of any successful organization. While I am throwing light on one of the lesser explored areas of operational excellence, which is the correlation between operational excellence and people management, let me discuss about my idea of operational excellence first. A simple definition of operational excellence is a problem-solving approach of the organization for achieving success. Though, operational excellence considered to be a part of organizational strategy, the actual philosophy has to be inculcated as a part of organizational culture.

Operational Excellence is a scientific concept and can be achieved by using various models such as Lean Management, Agile Approach, Kaizen, Six Sigma etc. according to the need, size, vision and values of the organization. Organizations have to focus on systematic flow of event, integrated decisions and effective problem solving to avoid any kind of inefficiency.

Having said this, I strongly believe that any of these models is only successful with the excellent people management practices in the organizations and though, operational excellence requires technical capabilities and scientific models, the execution of Organizations that focus on continuous this, is possible with the efficient and effective improvement and percolate down the growth people management. mindset from top to bottom are those who emerge as successful organizations.

Not only the Thus, I am of the opinion that for achieving leadership is driven by continuous learning, change operational excellence, the leadership at and improvement, but also there is a shared vision organization needs to focus on people management amongst all levels of employee. Operational at each level. An organization who is successfully Excellence approach helps organization in achieves operational excellence is able to seek continuous growth and supports sustainability and balance between process efficacy and effective innovation at the same time. It also helps people management. The model demonstrated organizations to achieve customer delight by below explains the correlation between operational providing high quality product or service. excellence and people management.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

13

Diagram 1. For attaining operations excellence, • Striving for Perfection and Creating people management can be a tool as described in Learning organizations the below diagram.

Striving for perfection is considered to be an important component for achieving operational excellence. Striving for perfection in terms of understanding the customer needs, making changes in the product/service accordingly, consistently challenging the activities towards excellence at every level of employment and measuring progress to make the most of the opportunities. This process needs employee to have a system approach to look at the situation from a broader perspective, as a part of the system, rather than an individual action, a shared vision created through continuous interactions with employee, understanding of the values of the organizations, considering team members as a source of learning than rivals and a strong faith in their own capabilities. These are the Attaining Operational Excellence by Means of principles of learning organization as coined by Peter Senge. Applying these principles in People Management organizational set-up will help the organization in • Problem Solving Approach and Developing striving and achieving perfection.

Employee Mindset • Continuous Improvement and Inclusivity and Respect for Employee Problem solving is a process of finding the best possible solutions to a complex problem in available resources. It involves logical step by step Continuous improvement is the key to operational course of action to deal with any kind of critical excellence as it denotes that progress and situation/problem or hurdle faced while ensuring improvement is a life-long process and not a onethe timely and effective task performance. time activity. Continuous improvement can be Effective problem solving is important at strategic, achieved by incremental or breakthrough tactic as well as operational level. Thus, it is innovation. It is a persistent process of excelling in imperative for the organizations to inculcate the products or practices or processes. To achieve mindset of its employee towards problem solving continuous improvement, it is vital for an approach. Unless the employees understand the organization to create a culture where each and significance of problem solving and are willingly every level of employee can express their ideas and committed to adopt and practice it, the opinion for improvement. It is extremely crucial for organizations cannot achieve operational the employee to respect everyone working in the excellence. Thus, the employees need to be organization irrespective of their background, role encouraged to learn from mistakes, taking risks and or diversity. An inclusive and ‘respect for all’ trying out innovative solutions to a given problem. culture will help the organizations in seeking

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

14

support from everyone in terms of continuous as a natural process and part of their profile. improvement.

• Customer Delight and High Employee • Shared Vision and Imparting an Engagement Environment of Openness and Feedback Customer delight is a current trend and a necessary Shared vision is the understanding of the employee practice for the organizations to succeed beyond of the vision, mission, purpose and expectations of surviving. It is the next level of customer the organization from each one of them. Unless the relationship management and high-quality employee has a clarity over the very reason of the customer experience. Organizations in the current organization’s existence, the employee will not be era, focus a lot on customer delight and many of able to perform their role with optimum level. those understand that the secret of happy customer Organizational leaders who have been able to is happy employee. According to various research, communicate the vision to its employees have those organizations who are able to accomplish achieved operational excellence. Communicating high level of active engagement of employees are the vision at every level is possible if the employees the organizations with high level of customer are open to experience and ready to share feedback satisfaction, loyalty and delight. For ensuing that without hesitation, fear or pressure. Therefore, it is the customer receives best quality service/product, central for the organization to impart a culture of the organizations have to ensure that the internal openness and feedback to be able to communicate customer that is the employees in the organizations the vision to each and every employee. are engaged effectively.

•

Quality Assurance and Clarity on Driving • Values and Principles

Quality assurance is the essence of operational excellence. Quality assurance is a process to seek standards and quality of a product/service by improving the process of production or by eliminating errors in the process. A high-quality product/service is the parameter for operational excellence. It is also the values, vision and motive of an organization. Those organizations who strive for excellence, includes quality as a part of the core values, principles and strategy of the organization.

To ensure that the quality standards are maintained at every level of production, the organizations have to transfer the values and principles among the employees in a resourceful manner. In certain cases, where, the employees having clarity over the values and principles of the organizations will be able to ensure the quality of products and services

Cost Effectiveness and Transparency and Participation in Decisions

Cost effectiveness is a need of time and is imperative for the organizations, who are aiming operational excellence. Cost effectiveness can be achieved by production efficiency, resource management, waste management, inventory management, effective supply chain and getting optimum outputs with minimum inputs. This process involves employee from different level and functional areas to contribute in saving the cost and coming up with ideas for cost effectiveness. This can be easily achieved by the organizations who maintain transparency in the functions, communication and procedures.

The organizations who encourage participation of employees in decision making process will be able to infuse fresh and innovative ideas from numerous

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

15

minds and are able to execute practices for effective long way and it will also be useful for branding of cost management. organizations as eco-friendly and responsible. To achieve effective waste management, organizations • Effective Waste Management and Effective have to ensure proper training on sensitivity & responsible behavior, effective use of resources, Training Process waste management, socio-environmental Waste management refers to the use of resources in technology and innovation for reducing the the best possible manner and to decrease the industrial waste to its employees. These kinds of industrial waste. It also refers to sustainable trainings will be helpful for the organizations to be approach by recycling and using various tools to effective in waste management. manage the waste effectively. Effective Waste Management is a byproduct of operational Though, operational excellence plays a vital role in excellence. Looking at the current environmental creating sustainable, successful and socially issues and the global warming, awareness and responsible organizations, fact remains that it is actions towards sustainable development by the possible with the buy-in from all the employees in organizations is a need of the hour. To ensure the organization. Therefore, people management decreased waste from different processes in the can be considered as an extremely useful tool and product/service life-cycle and to ensure better use strategy for an organization to achieve operational of resources along with up-to-date waste excellence. management strategy can take the organizations

Author Bio: Dr. Shraddha Kulkarni Dr. Shraddha Kulkarni is a seasoned versatile professional. A Corporate Consultant & Trainer, Image Consultant, Coach-to-Transformation & Powerful Image, Business Etiquettes & Grooming Expert and International Speaker. She has been conducting training & consulting assignments for various corporate clients for 12 years. She serves as Director-MDP & Consulting at IIMS, Pune. She worked as Dy. Director and in Role of Professor with reputed Business Management Institutions.

Shraddha is a winner of “Mrs. India 2018” and “Face of Swarovski 2020” Beauty Pageants and working as a Grooming Expert with various PR Agencies, Beauty Pageant and Modelling Agencies.

Shraddha has featured in International brands, magazines and calendars as Super Model.

Shraddha has completed PhD in HRM on the topic of “Leadership Behavior” and MBA in HRM. Shraddha is conducting different consulting and training assignments in companies from various sectors and one-on-one coaching & image consulting for individual clients.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

16

Shraddha received prestigious awards such as Best Teacher 2020 & 2018; Superwoman 2020; Motivation Speaker 2020; Best Pageant Coach 2019 etc. Shraddha also graced event internationally as a Guest Speaker at France, Spain, Dubai, Sharjah, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and South Korea.

Shraddha is working with various NGOs as Change-Maker and holds respectable position as Maharashtra State President for Life Skills Council, WICCI. Shraddha is a passionate dancer, pet-mom, cook and voracious reader.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

17

The Corporate Angle

Mr. Manwendra Singh Program Management Manager at Flex, Pune, Maharashtra.

Operations Management Is Evolving As we know Operations management is the process that generally plans, controls and supervises manufacturing and production processes and service delivery. Operations management is important in a business organization because it helps effectively manage, control and supervise goods, services and people.

But in 2020 Operations management is much different than the one that we are used to. As COVID-19 has made waves across the world, we are seeing distinct changes within manufacturing and the economy, in which supply chains are disrupted and production is slowing down. 2020 has put supply chain and manufacturing on the map, which is why it is ever so important to ensure that you are updated and keeping up with the current situations pertaining to COVID, manufacturing, and operations management.

operations management. Understanding these trends are key when determining adequate preparation and determining the right outcome to take. Therefore, we are going to briefly discuss the trends of operations management in 2020, post COVID19.

Top 5 Trends for Operations Management 2020 (Post COVID19) the top trends pertaining to operations management in 2020 (post COVID19) pertain to the following: 1.Streamlining Communication:

Streamlining organization communication to both management and frontline workers is essential.

Utilizing communication tools for your organization is necessity during this time, especially when new information is being broadcasted very frequently. There are many While there are many aspects to understand different communication tools that can be utilized, pertaining to COVID, manufacturing and such as below etc.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

18

training accessibility and enhancement will be key in determining the outcome of your operational efficiency.

4. Health and Safety Emphasis: For obvious reasons, safety and health will be another key factor for the upcoming months and years. Individuals and employees will be particularly health conscience for a period, in which health and safety will be a top priority for all While these tools are can play a vital role in operations managers. It is important to remain business, they at times can fail to incorporate updated and understand the important of health and frontline workers or any employee that is not safety when attempting to improve your facility behind a desk. Enhanced communication can be extremely beneficial and may boost 4.a Demand Responsiveness Improvement: manufacturer’s bottom line as more information is By far one of the most key aspects to understand exchanged. and investigate demand responsiveness. In a matter of only a few weeks, demand for some goods are 2.Automation Efficiency: dramatically changing leaving businesses baffled.

Automation has hot topic from long time within Whether it was a substantial increase or a drastic manufacturing. As automation continues to develop decrease, demand responsiveness and being agile is rather quickly, we can easily see an increase in extremely important. Depending on your industry, profitability and productivity as these technologies it is important to be prepared for any potential surge are implemented into production lines. This has and decline in demand, especially as seasons become a hot topic again as the future has become change and we prepared for a second wave. uncertain and robots and automation do not require human intervention.

An Automation of operations management process is must for modern-day manufacturing operations 3.Frontline Workers Upskilling: due to customer demand for increased product mix Businesses and manufacturing facilities will have and fast delivery combined with downward cost to navigate the aftermath of COVID19 for a pressures. With frequent changing market and substantial period. Operations managers will need uncertainty organizations cannot just rely on to locate creative ways to save their companies time regular ERP systems. and money. One of the most substantial challenges Organizations and workforce are restructuring and includes companies experiencing backlogs due to enabling themselves with latest technologies poorly trained workers. 2020 is the time where suitable for business and that is must for survival.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

19

About the Author: Mr. Manwendra Singh - PMP®, PMI-ACP®, PRINCE 2®, CSM®& CSPO®, He works as a Program Management Manager at Flex, Pune. He is also the vice-president of Corporate Outreach. He has been awarded PMI Young Professional Award. He is an active member of PMI Pune Deccan India Chapter and has been certified in courses related to Project Management.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

20

Corporate Angle Ms. Saba IT Analyst, Tata Consultancy Services

Voices in the Head Well, 2020 was the year of personal time. To be honest, nothing could have been worse, but I’m still grateful. I had the resources to survive (and a stable paycheck). Moving on, this year did make me think a lot. By lot, I mean big Huge “LOT”. One of the things that I felt becoming very obvious, was the cacophony of the loquacious voices, which of course is the source all the confusions and dilemmas I go through, and my foot-in-the-mouth moments. I finally had a few moments to think about a tight space, the always busy, crowded place I know. My Brain. My Head.

actually sift those voices. Instead of focusing on what the voices said, I tried to figure whose voice it was. Why is it important that we recognise those voices? Because we listen to them and be harsh on ourselves for actions, we would have otherwise been okay with. Don’t let those voices judge you.

Those judgements aren’t truly your feelings. Don’t let things that had affected you, or people that hurt you bother you again. Recognising those voices, is important. Some of those, belong to people or places you have left behind and moved on, for good. Don’t let them have the same power over you again.

Those voices which make me think, rather confuse me before I decide to do anything. (Just think of a Did I apply this on myself? Of course, yes! Did verb, and voilà, those voices start talking). So, it’s those voices go away? Unfortunately, they didn’t. not a voice but, “voices” here!

And I know they are here to stay. But, did I get anything positive out of it? Heck Yeah! It’s become It’s called “Voices” in your head for a reason...! way easier now, to decide whether I allow those to Yes “Voices”. Only some of them are yours. Listen bother me or not. It feels so much better to have to those voices, what do they sound like? Or “Who” some type of control, in the otherwise disorganised, do they sound like? Those are the voices, the self-running, machinery of my Head. Well, this is opinions (good/bad) which mattered to us (at some something I say to those Voices now. “You may get point of time). But now, we need to find which into my head, but you are about to lay at the bottom voice sounds more like us. The abundance of my most layer of the compost bin! You’ve been alone time or “Me time”, gave the opportunity to warned, Voice in the Head.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

21

x Emerging Managers Ms. Sohini Mukherjee MBA, Batch 2020-2022 DMS, IIT(ISM), Dhanbad.

Demand Forecasting in New Normal In March 2020, Forbes Magazine signified the appropriateness of using VUCA to explain the Covid-19 pandemic in one among its articles. VUCA was an acronym coined by the students of the US Army War College in the late 1980s to express the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of the world after the Cold War. Now in the present scenario, the Covid19 pandemic has made VUCA an inherent reality.

The Covid-19 virus outbreak has disrupted supply chains all across the globe with companies facing issues ranging from complete shutdown to delays in receiving orders, and longer lead time. These unforeseen disruptions, and the lockdown imposed in various countries has brought about a major change in consumer behaviour. Fear, uncertainty and loss of freedom has led to a change in purchasing patterns, and they are here to stay. As a consequence, there has been an abrupt shift in demand trends, both upwards and downwards which have resulted in the companies facing newfound challenges in demand forecasting.

of predictive analytics which tries to understand and predict customer demand to optimize supply decisions by corporate supply chain and business management.� To put it in simpler terms, it is a process which makes use of historical sales data of a company to predict future demand patterns.

Conventional ERP planning systems across various companies have been using statistical demand forecasting models that rely heavily on historical data to draw upon inferences. These models function under conditions that show a stable demand pattern, and they need a long time period to successfully analyse the changing trends. Steady growth and seasonality are also paramount for these models to predict the future demand patterns accurately. As a result, these algorithms are unable to dynamically capture the changing patterns of consumer behaviour.

Organizations need to improve forecasting accuracy by implementing a modern approach. Use of machine learning (ML) algorithms along with AI driven forecasting models can enable organizations Now, what exactly is demand forecasting? to dynamically assess the rapid changes in Wikipedia defines demand forecasting as, “a field purchasing patterns. Algorithms based on these

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

22

technologies are more efficient than traditional statistical forecasting models and can generate forecasts based on real time data. However, these approaches come with their own set of limitations.

While these algorithms are adept at self-learning and dynamically capturing the changing trends, they frequently need to be retrained to adjust to rapidly changing data. In such a situation, certain data need to be manually overridden to help the algorithms adjust to the altered patterns.

Therefore, in these uncertain times, managers need to understand that the unprecedented changes in consumer preferences are likely to stay in varying degrees and forms. Modern technologies can only help to a certain extent in making the process more dynamic and streamlined. The need of the hour is to plan well, keep the data clean and adopt a proactive approach to the problem at hand.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

23

Emerging Managers

Ms. Mini Sinha MBA, Wellingkar Institute of Management

A Pen is mightier than Sword The pen which simply means the power of Knowledge, wisdom, and intelligence in a person.

Since ages, we all have known that the one thing none can steal from is their knowledge. Wisdom is the only weapon a man needs to carry to concur the world. This simply justifies the importance of words in our lives.

A sword which only comes after war or violence always leads to destruction but these are the words which help us unite. We are concerned about the moon; we have invented nuclear equipment and we can't neglect that the solution of all problems is always written in words. The basic use of a sword is in wars, those wars are also documented just by a pen.

knowledge can change people’s life and perception forever.

Even history justifies the power of knowledge, everyone must have read Mahabharata once in their life. Lord Krishna is the best example for this, he never fought the war but he still managed to make Pandavas win.

“A sword always ends up suffering and loss, whereas writing is a gift to mankind.”

Not even history, our present-day scenario also justifies the heading. Recently our Indian soldier wing commander Abhinand was left in Pakistan after an attack, it was the power of word, treaty, and knowledge that actually got him back to his We are living in a scientific age, it’s all because of country. the kindness of words not swords.

Not even this, since our childhood we are relying We can easily assault someone, make them bend on different scientists and their theories for our their knees in a minute but it won't be something education, those scientists are dead long back but that will last long but the magic of Words and it’s actually their knowledge which is keeping them

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

24

alive.

speech and talking of speech I only get one person in my mind, our honourable Prime Minister Shri An artist, an Engineer, a teacher, a doctor or even Narendra Modi, he can influence a country just by cartoonist all are active in this world because a pen the power of speech and the magic of words. is something which has given them a chance to show their knowledge and express themselves in And most importantly Gandhi Ji who acquired this world. A Journalist who actually depends on a India's independence through non-violence protest pen for their life. A newspaper which can actually and writing. He never used a sword to get what change someone’s thought over a topic is a miracle he wanted. All the sword can do is kill. of a pen.

On the other hand, there are people who believe a Is it really a question? Of course, a pen beats a sword is a way to get things done. The opposition sword in every way possible. I stand with a mighty states that issues need to be acted on by physical pen to oppose the power of great injustice. A pen forces. is permanent and can make impacts over several generations. A clash of arms can never influence However, the opposition is flawed because a wound people or change ideas. It is the pen and the can heal, but words last forever. Ideas on paper are persuasive man behind them that do so. Think of rarely forgotten, and a pen has the ultimate power how many people can get influenced by a good to unite people and start a movement.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

25

x Emerging Managers Ms. Pallavi K Vanjari MBA Operations, RMD SSOMS, PUNE.

The Voice of the Unvoiced…..

It’s going to be almost a year and we are still in the situation where in we are experiencing the feeling of isolation. This pandemic has taught us how-to live-in isolation. It was difficult and it is still difficult to stay locked in home for such a long duration. Nevertheless, it is going to end someday for us.

We humans live with a hope and we know hope will turn into reality someday. But this is not the case when we talk about the unvoiced creatures like the birds, the animals or any living creatures who have been living all their life in isolation and never can We humans never think about them. But we do hope or expect to get a freedom. think about ourselves and we do have right to raise We all are having a tough time and most of them a voice for ourselves but those living creatures are feeling anxious and caged in this situation of don’t. And it’s not just one or two there are millions pandemic. Living creatures do go through same of living creatures who have been living their life situation. Animals do feel like us, all the living under isolation. It is a question for humans. Do we creatures who have been locked years and years of have right to take away their freedom? No, we don’t their life feels like us. They get depressed when but still we have been doing it. And they are the one separated from their natural habitats and loved who have been accepting whatever comes their way. ones.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

26

Dear Humans, They have got life like us, they can breathe, eat, move but the only thing they can’t do is unvoice their feelings.

But now is the time to be their voice… The voice for these unvoiced creatures…

There are number of real examples how animals have spent almost all their life in isolation and here is one such story to share. The story of late Gajraj who was been used as the temple elephant for more than 50 years in Aundh located in Satara, Pune. The • local devotees saw him as an icon of worship as he played an important role in festivities and temple processions. He lived more than 50 years of his life chained on foot and his life was not just an isolation • but was also a painful one. Like so many other • elephants chained in temples and tourist areas, he knew nothing but pain and misery for most of his life, before PETA India fought for his release.

Gajraj was freed with the help of PETA and was taken to Wildlife SOS in 2017 and later lived a life of freedom since then. As his age was advancing and he was suffering from several medical issues like foot and hip abscesses and arthritic joints. He passed away in July last month at the age of 70.

Wasn’t his journey a painful one? Yes, it was. And • we applaud his strength and perseverance to the • very end.

The moto of giving an example of Gajraj here is that we never think about the feelings about these creatures. It’s like we treat them like a non-living thing honestly. It’s not just about animals but every living being deserves to not livein captivity because we are guests of this planet and not masters. These were the examples on how the life of living creatures has got affected because we kept them in isolation and how carelessness are has affected their lives and here are few things what we can do at our levels to bring in the change in their life and give them the freedom they deserve.

Avoid adoption of birds and keeping them into the cage instead adopt dogs or cats as pets. There is one such example of Hyundai showroom who adopted a dog who used to come and sit outside the

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

27

showroom every day. They named him Tucson Prime and he is now allowed to eat and stay there & live-in dignity.

Avoid keeping fish tanks or turtles’ tanks in the house because it’s again the isolation for those creatures.

Do not hit animals and give them the respect they deserve.

The first aspect clearly says that we have been affecting life of these creatures by putting them into isolation and here is the second aspect which comes into picture where our isolation due to pandemic is again affecting the lives of these living creatures.

Humans are not the lone sufferers of this crisis as it is badly hurting animals as well. This pandemic has changed many things in life of those living creatures particularly talking about the stray animals, they are literally finding for food on streets. The only thing they need is our support and it is our collective job and obligation to feed these living beings.

A journey of positive step starts with yourself and when you start it alone and move ahead it’s not just you later, but two more people joins you for the good deed and this will continue. We as a human being must accept that these creatures are the part of this planet and we must live with them and let them live in peace. Let them enjoy their freedom and let’s treat them with empathy and kindness they deserve because a lot of these animals trust human beings because they have been helped by them in past. Let’s be gentle and humane to all creatures of Also, birds are in search of food and water all that God and keep helping & supporting them. you can do is ground feeding the birds and keeping a bowl of water as most of them are working from And keep spreading Love and Affection. And lastly home we can surely contribute. be the voice for these unvoiced creatures….

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

28

“ Emerging Managers

Ms. Shristi Sharma MBA, Batch 2020-2022, IBS Hyderabad, India.

Objectives of Production Management and Operations Management in an Organization “Management is, above all, a practice where art, science, and craft meet.” –Henry Mintzberg Production Management is based on the scientific process which includes the transformation of raw materials into desired outputs by adding value. It deals with the decision-making so that the specified products can be manufactured within the scheduled time and able to cater to the demand with the Objectives of Production management minimum cost.

Well defined line and support functions are the key Production Management points of any successful organization. Production is the part of the line and it directly impacts the Production Management is based on scientific customer experience. The production function process which includes transformation of raw focuses on adding value to the product and create a materials into desired outputs by adding value. It long-lasting relationship with customers. It can be deals with the decision making so that the specified achieved with proper coordination among the products can be manufactured within the scheduled marketing team and production team. Effectively time and able to cater the demand with the utilizing and controlling the production parameters minimum cost. Production techniques can be to create value is called production management. classified broadly into three categories that are- The main objectives of production management are Production through segmenting the raw materials, 1. Production of the right quality production by improvement or modification of raw 2. Planning and controlling of materials material, and production by assembling the 3. Analyzing the market different raw materials.

4. Help boost the economy

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

29

Operations Management Operations management is defined as the process of converting raw materials and labor into goods and services as efficiently as possible. So, the role of operations management is to increase the efficiency of the production function. It is more of the administration of business practices for achieving the highest level of efficiencies. Operations include manufacturing, assembly, packaging, serving, and training. The scope of operations management includes production planning, production control, and quality control.

Operations management help in analyzing the following factors for an organization 1. Identification and conversion of customer demands into value-added products. The organization just needs to forecast the number of products that will be required for a specific time.

2. Depending on the product raw material requirements, work on the backward integrations.

3. Engage internal and external vendors to improve the supply chain and facility allocation.

4. Functions of operations management include finance, operation, strategy, and product design.

5. It provides the optimum solution for the utilization of resources.

Objectives of Operations management

Difference between operations management and production Characteristics

Operations Management

Production Management

1. Output

It is the set of administrative activities Operations is about both products concerning towards transformation of and services. raw materials into finished goods

2. Decisions

It is regarding design, quality, quantity It has wider scope which covers and cost. storage, transportation, waste management etc.

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

30

3. Objective

Provide right product in right time

Best possible resources.

utilisation

of

4. Importance

Organisations engaged in production of It is about managing regular business goods activities hence it is important for all kind of organisations.

Conclusion: Both production and operations management are equally important for an organisation. Both of them help ensuring that the products are generated in effective and efficient manner. The focus of an organisation should be on both the management principles to maintain business growth. Earlier operation management was considered to be less valuable by employees but with the increase in competitiveness they are understanding the values of operations management as well. With the advancement in technology both the management

principles are cha ging their faces and adopting new techniques. Integration of robots in production assembly line and leveraging data science for operations are the new additions. Businesses are trying to lean the various processes for efficiency improvement. Increase customer interaction and customization of products has raise the overall expectation of target customers. The new age companies are all ready to take up new problems and challenges!

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

31

Emerging Managers

Mr. Chinmay Bhalerao MBA, Batch 2020-2022, IBS Hyderabad, India.

The Art of Process Design and Analysis The objective of any organization is to deliver services and/or products which satiate the needs and wants of the customer and create value for them. A product and/or a service is designed on the basis of the customer feedbacks and the market requirements. On the other hand, Process design is done based upon the executional needs of manufacturing a product or providing a service. In process design the product or service is broken down into parts, which further are allocated in the actual manufacturing or service delivery process.

For example, in the manufacturing of Air Conditioners, the process design has to be such that maximum supply is achieved during the months of summer when demand of the product is at the highest. To meet the seasonal demand and ensure continuous production throughout the year, people, process and machines have to be aligned so as to establish stability.

development for process designing can be summed up through the following steps: 1. Process Requirement: This is the initial step of the design process wherein the objective is to collect data and convert it into information to create a structure for the final goal that is to make process requirement document highlighting various stages, risk and stakeholders for production. This is the sum of available technologies, raw material requirements, factory/plant layouts and forecasted demands.

2. Team Building: Once the gathered data is analysed, the requirements are finalized and are broken down into smaller objectives, for each objective, a team is finalized based on skills required and the experience. The Function of the team is to get accustomed with the whole process structure and Designing a process need thorough analysis and work on the objectives. planning at all stages. The initiation of process design starts at understanding the requirement and 3. Planning and Implementation: ends at end of life of the product or service. The art The assigned teams further develop modules, of Process Designing is cavernous and requires an policies and procedures/protocols based upon the extensive analysis. In general terms Process requirements identified and the information KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

32

gathered. To start with the implementation phase the data collection and analysis begins and it goes both internal as well as external approval is taken, on even after the end of the product or service. To and then the implementation is carried out. develop newer and better offering for the market analysis plays a major role. On the basis of the continuous analysis and data collection, 4. Audit: To ensure that implementation is proper, checks organisations are able to understand the deviations and balances are a necessity. Regular audits are in the processes and then develop points of conducted to ensure that process thus implemented improvement for the future endeavours. are in line and delivering value to the customers.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” This quote 5. End of Life: Products and services also have expiry dates, they seems to be simple but has a fathomless meaning. cannot continue forever without any changes or It is said that in any venture, planning is the most without being replaced by newer products and essential step, but with the current data driven services. With the end of the existing products and world, there is one more thing that has joined services the processes behind them also come to an planning in the space of the most essential steps in a successful business and that is analysis. Plans end. have to be created continually but analysis is its A successful process design has to take into account backbone, and together they have empowered the the fit of the process with the overall organizational biggest organisations in the world from the likes of objective.

Process design requires an Amazon, Apple inc. to the whole of the silicon city. unprecedented view of the whole organization and This combination has given rise to one of the best should not have a myopic outlook. It is essential “Process Designs”. With the rising global warming that the process should deliver value to the and the increasing carbon footprint, people were customers with constant involvement of the scared how to reduce the costs at the same time management at various stages. In the past few years while helping the environment, but Apple inc. the process design has undergone change and new world’s first trillion-dollar company has promised concepts like Flexible Manufacturing Systems have to become 100% carbon neutral by 2030, and this come up, these processes help in delivering become only by analysing their current process efficient and effective production design and design, the market, customer demands and then using the gathered data to optimize their process analysis. design and set new benchmarks in the world of Even though the cycle comes to an end, its value innovation. still remains high, from the thought of development

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

33

ABOUT US The word “Kaizen”, where “Kai” = change “Zen” = good, simply means “change for better”. In English Kaizen is typically applied to measures for implementing continuous improvement. It is an approach to activity organisation based on common sense, self-discipline, order and economy and is a strong contributor and fundamental part of a lean production process model in lean manufacturing.

Kaizen- The Official Operations Club of IBS Hyderabad believes in relishing in the essence of "Constant Change and Evolvement" and hence we, as an organization work willingly for the betterment of the student community.

KORE- Kaizen’s Operations and Research Entity, one of our primary wings which flaps to cater to the needs of students and motivate them to soar high by polishing their technical competencies. KORE’s area of expertise includes Case Based Research, Consultancy, Live Projects and Workshops.

LAKSHYA, an initiative taken by KORE primarily focuses on the concepts of operations management and various articles based on the day to day operations and logistics of an organisation.

NISHU KUMARI KEJRIWAL EDITOR IN CHIEF - KORE Kaizen – IBS Hyderabad Batch 2019-21

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

34

LAKSHYA is an academic print and is not for any commercial sale. Reliability and Responsibility, for sources of data for the article vests with the respective authors.

Please feel free to drop in your suggestions at kaizenclub.ibs@gmail.com KORE: Kaizen’s Operations & Research Entity.

Kaizen – The Official Operations Club of IBS Hyderabad All Rights Reserved

Designed by

KAIZEN’S OPERATIONS & RESEARCH ENTITY

35