BUGEMA UNIVERSITY

KAMPALA CAMPUS

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

COURSE UNIT: PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

LECTURER: MR. SSEMPEBWA BRIAN

STUDENT NAME: KAJJURA SAMUEL

REG NO: 18/PSM/BU/R/1006

QUESTION; Coursework 2
“Productivity of many manufacturing companies in Uganda has been declining

for some good years; some have scaled down operations while others have

closed down”. Assume you have been appointed as operations manager of one

of these companies, discuss the causes of this and how you boost its productivity.

(15marks).

“Centenary bank in Uganda is known as bank characterized with long queues

when students are returning to school”. Assume you have been appointed as
operations manager of this bank; explain how you manage this situation.
(10marks)
1(a) CAUSES

Lack of Employee Training

You can often trace low productivity at work to a lack of proper training for employees.
When your workers aren’t able to perform up to the standards necessary to complete
important project milestones it is often the result of insufficient education or training.
Employees that are properly trained are able to perform their tasks without hands-on
supervision, which isn’t the case for employees who make mistakes or who take a
long time to perform basic tasks. Low productivity at work will result, because you will
need to have higher-performing employees correct the mistakes of the untrained
employees, which means that they can’t complete their work on time, leading to a
decrease in productivity.

Ineffective Management and Supervision

Whether you have implemented a top down organizational structure or one that is
more fluid you still need effective managers and team leaders to ensure workplace
efficiency. Low productivity at work can result from managers who lack the leadership
to motivate employees and to keep them performing at peak standard. Poor
management is often characterized by inconsistent communication, micromanaging
to such an extent that employees are afraid to make even the most basic decisions
without approval, and the failure to reward a job well done. A low productivity
employee will often give you the signs you need to evaluate your management.

Ineffective Organizational Structure

In some instances, a low-productivity employee is the victim of an organizational

structure that doesn’t maximize that person’s skills and talents. For example, let’s say
you run a content writing business and generating content ideas for your clients is the
key to producing great work and keeping productivity levels high. You’ve decided to
set up a top-down structure, in which you, as the company leader, comes up with all of
the ideas and you communicate those ideas to team leaders, who then relay these
ideas to your employees. But then you notice that your writers are lagging behind in
content creation, and you discover the reason for that is that your writers don’t believe
in the content ideas you’ve instructed them to write. In that scenario, you may need to
restructure your organization to a flat organizational structure, in which your writers
generate content ideas that everyone evaluates, before they are approved. By making
this change, you now empower your writers to take ownership of content, and you
motivate them to increase productivity,

1(b). Boosting productivity

Review Your Existing Workflow,

You won’t know what can be changed until you know how everything works now. Three areas
contain critical information to help you identify needed changes. People with the right skills in
the right places a project manager to keep the critical pathway visible and on track are objectives
clearly defined, realistic, and safe, Processes when was the last time you mapped your processes
Have you used value stream mapping to assess process improvement projects? Where are the
pain points and bottlenecks Equipment and technology, Is all your equipment in good repair is
the technology you rely on optimal for your current needs how easy it to make changes in
production

Update Processes and Technology

once you have reviewed and mapped your existing workflow, start identifying areas where
processes and or technology could use some updating or changing. Processes that have been in
place for a long time may be riddled with workarounds as new equipment was added or
production methods changed. Automation is a powerful tool for increasing efficiency and
reducing error new software solutions can help with scheduling, inventory, and monitoring
workflow. Improvements in equipment can improve production speed and quality.

Commit to Scheduled Maintenance

the fastest way to slow things down is by ignoring regular maintenance. Downtime for
maintenance costs much less than downtime due to broken and worn equipment. Maintenance
can be scheduled; breakage always comes at the worst possible time. Train all operators in
regular maintenance and troubleshooting procedures. Schedule preventive maintenance at regular
intervals. Preventive maintenance ensures that your equipment continues to run smoothly
without unexpected downtime or work stoppage.
 Train and Educate Employees. Employee education and training is an ongoing process. In
some industries, certain types of training are mandatory, such as daily safety training for all
personnel using safety gear. New equipment and technology requires training to get the most
value. Employee education is also an excellent retention tactic; new employees take time to
become proficient, causing a slowdown in production.

Schedule training sessions for all operators when new equipment is installed.

Keep accurate records of training and schedule refreshers if needed.

Offer educational opportunities for employees who wish to advance or obtain new skills

Organize the Workspace

Reduce travel time and distance wherever possible. If a product must be moved from one
machine to another, is there a way to shorten the distance, orient the product, or move the
product more quickly yet safely to the next step in the process? Is there a software solution that
could improve scheduling.

Maintain Optimal Inventory .If you have too much inventory you need a place to store it and
hope you will use it all. If you have too little, you run the risk of a work stoppage as you wait for
more inventory. Optimizing inventory is especially important if you are following lean
manufacturing principles such as the use software to track inventory and create automatic
notifications of shortages. You may be able to allow vendors direct access to your inventory
counts and automatically fulfill needed supplies.

Create favored vendor relationships to gain accountability for the quality of parts and time lines
of deliveries.

Make predictions about the impact of particular shortages and put processes in place to mitigate
production delays.
1(c).

Use Online Services

Because consumers are conducting more and more business online, your bank can gain more
customers by making it easy to choose and use your services on the Internet. Invest in a
series of banner advertisements to reach out to customers, and place them on websites that
are visited by your target audience. Tailor each advertisement to the readership of the site.
For both existing and new customers, streamline your operations and web interface so that
they work smoothly with mobile phones and personal computers. Your customers should be
able to perform their banking duties without trouble, maintain a sense of security and have
easy access to customer support.

Use of Technology and automation 

The role of technology in banking has been mentioned several times already, but
because of its broad, enterprise wide impact, the use of technology and automation
also merits individual attention as part of the overall efficiency improvement effort. The
overarching goal is threefold. To have applications that allow customers to make
transactions or obtain information on a self-service basis without requiring employee
efforts. To use technology to reduce the time employees spend on finding information;
and. To use automated business rules and decision models to move work more quickly
and efficiently through processes.

Use of Credit Cards

As a global payment solution, credit cards are the most common way for customers to pay
online. Merchants can reach out to an international market with credit cards, by integrating a
payment gateway into their business. Credit card users are mostly from the North America and
Europe, with Asia Pacific following suit.

Use of Mobile Payments

A popular payment method in countries with low credit card and banking penetration, mobile
payments offer a quick solution for customers to purchase on ecommerce websites. Mobile
payments are also commonly used on donation portals, browser games, and social media
networks such as dating sites, where customer can pay with SMS. Majority of mobile payments
are done in the Asia Pacific, with 64 million users expected by the year 2016.

Use of Bank Transfers

Customers enrolled in an internet banking facility can do a bank transfer to pay for online
purchases. A bank transfer assures customers that their funds are safely used, since each
transaction needs to be authenticated and approved first by the customer’s internet banking
credentials before a purchase happens.

Use of Ewallets

An ewallet stores a customer’s personal data and funds, which are then used to purchase from
online stores. Signing up for a ewallet is fast and easy, with customers required just to submit
their information once for purchases. Additionally, ewallets can also function in combination
with mobile wallets through the use of smart technology such as NFC (near field
communication) devices. By tapping on an NFC terminal, mobile phones can instantly transfer
funds stored in the phone.

Use of Prepaid Cards

An alternative payment method, commonly used by minors or customers with no bank accounts.
Prepaid cards come in different stored values for customers to choose from. Online gaming
companies usually make use of prepaid cards as their prefered payment method, with virtual
currency stored in prepaid cards for a player to use for in-game transactions. Some examples of
prepaid cards are Mint, Ticketsurf, Paysafecard, and Telco Card. It appears that age rather than
income is the trait that affects the adoption of prepaid cards, according to Troy Land’s research.

Use of Direct Deposit

Direct deposits are when customers instruct their banks to pull funds out of their accounts to
complete online payments. Customers usually inform their banks on when funds should be
pulled out of their accounts, by setting a schedule through them. A direct deposit is a common
payment method for subscription-type services such as online classes or purchases made
with high prices.
Use of Cash

Fiat, or physical cash, is a payment method often used for physical goods and cash-on-delivery
transactions. Paying with cash does come with several risks, such as no guarantee of an actual
sale during a delivery, and theft. There are different types of payment methods to choose from.
But by understanding how each one functions, and knowing who your target audiences are
(particularly, where they are located), can help you decide which payment methods to integrate.
If you need help on setting your business up with appropriate types of payment methods, send us
an email at bizdevpaymentwall.com.