BUACC5931 Research and Statistical Methods- Operations Strategy

Choose a well-known organization (or an organization for which you can easily access relevant information).

 

1) Identify its business objectives and strategy (perhaps as stated in its mission statement). 
2) Identify its operations strategy by analyzing its actions in the key decision areas of structure and infrastructure. 
3) Identify its operations performance objectives. (e.g. cost, quality, speed, dependability and flexibility).) What are the organization's competitive priorities? Assess its internal consistency and its contribution to the organization's competitive advantage. 
4) What are the biggest operations management challenges for the organization? What advice would you give to the organization regarding its operations strategy in the future? 

Answers

1. Introduction

Report’s objective and scope

The main objective of this report is to make a review of the chosen organization’s (World Bank, 2016) business objectives and strategies. Identify its operational strategies, performance objectives, its competitive priorities and assess its internal consistency. The report is also intended to identify the organization’s challenges and recommend the necessary strategies to deal with outlined challenges to improve service delivery.

Company’s background

Business objectives and strategy

The World Bank is a renowned international financial institution whose aim is to assist the growth and development of its member nations, promote and supplement private foreign investment as well as long range balance growth in the international trade.

Core objectives

Its core objectives include;

1. Inducing long run capital investment for the assurance of an equilibrium in the balance of payments and development of international trade
2. Provision of long run capital to its member countries to aid in economic development
3. Provision of loans guarantee to both small and large units and projects in other member countries

World Bank strategy

The World Bank working strategy has the listed elements;

1. The bank ensures there exists a good two-way communication between their office and the member countries via a communication strategy which responds to the interests of the member countries (Borges, 2011).
2. The bank actively advocates for the interests of its member countries which should be in line with their objectives
3. Setting their office priorities in respect to bank policies and some of the operational issues that need much focus

2. Operation strategy

Identify its operations strategy by analysing its actions in the key decision areas of structure and infrastructure

The World Bank recently put up a new strategy which focuses mainly on the goals of promoting shared prosperity and ending the extreme poverty. This strategy encompasses all the four main principle agencies that work together as one World Bank group (World Bank, 2016). The strategy indicates how the WBG is meant to reposition itself basing on some value preposition that best serves the development community in the pursuit of the set goals. The focus is on customized development aligning its main activities with the two goals (Sumner, 2012a). To implement the strategy organizational change is required and also a new framework specifically for the medium term financial sustainability and this ensures that the bank’s resources are commensurate with the outlined responsibilities (World Bank, 2011).

Key concepts of the strategy

The two main concepts of this strategy are ending of extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity by fostering the income growth for the 40% population at the bottom of every member country. The central mission of World Bank has always been to fight poverty. Shared prosperity is a reflection of the aspiration for the inclusive increase in the living standards (Custer et al., 2015).This call for a long term approach to ensure the results are lasting and also to establish a foundation that is solid for the coming generations.

How the organization will achieve its operational strategy

To achieve the set strategy in a manner that is sustainable work by all countries and international institutions is required in almost equal measures so as to overcome the multifaceted challenges. The most obvious challenges are finances. For instance, to improve infrastructure globally so as to meet the development needs it may cost close to $ 1.5 trillion annually (Fafchampset al., 2011). There is need for knowledge development so as to help with program design, technical expert and analysis for capacity building and implementation. There is need to promote gender equality and inclusion, boost crisis response capability, supportenvironment sustainability as well as confronting fragility problems everywhere.

The bank also aims at supporting member countries to ensure development progress is sustained (Bruhn et al., 2011). All these will be achieved via proper delegation of responsibilities to the employees ensuring different sectors are handled by experts only (Custer et al., 2015).

3. Operations Performance objectives

World Bank’soperations performance objectives

The operations performance objectives for the World Bank are stipulated in five sections i.e. cost, speed, quality, dependability and flexibility.

Define the key concepts

Cost; this is referred to as the amount of money which has to be given or paid up so as to get something either a product or service. It’s a monetary valuation of risk incurred, effort, material, utilities and time as well as foregone opportunities in the delivery of services and goods in business (Blattman and Niehaus, 2014).

Quality; it’s a measure of some form of excellence, or being free from deficits as well as significant variations. This is achieved by the commitment to some standards strictly so as to satisfy customer requirements (World Bank, 2015d).

Speed; in the World Bank context it’s the swiftness or rather rate of performance or action so as to meet set objectives within some stipulated time

Dependable; it’s the capability of being depended on. It’s all about being trust worth or reliable.

Flexibility; in the World Bank context is being susceptible to medication, change and able to adapt to such changes with minimal interference with the relationships between the bank and its member partners.

Examples on how the bank has been able to practise the five objectives (García and Moore, 2012).

Cost; the bank has been able to achieve the objective of reducing the global costs incurred in transferring of remittances from 10% to 5% in a record time of five years. This has been achieved via enhanced transparency, information, cooperation with partners and competition

Quality; this is achieved by the commitment to some standards strictly so as to satisfy customer requirements. (Besley, 2015)

Speed; this objective has been met by having the right infrastructure in place as well as having enough human resource involved in carrying out different roles to ensure they are met within given time.

Dependable; to achieve this, the bank has ensured that all the promises are delivered through set objectives and everything done is of good quality and thus winning trust from their stakeholders.

Flexibility; to get this objective achieved the bank does not operate on rigidity, its open to criticism and ready to embrace positive changes that aim at improving its operations and service delivery.

Organization’s competitive priorities (Gorgens and Jody, 2010)

Definition: Competitive priorities are the operational dimensions which are critical in which a process, supply chain or organization has to possess with an aim of retaining current and future competitiveness in the market (Sumner, A. 2012b).

World Bank’s internal consistency

How the bank achieves its competitive advantages

Low costs; to achieve the low costs of living the bank has put up development projects in countries faced with poverty and these projects ensure access to the basic needs at an affordable price as well as educating and sensitizing various communities on how to engage in income generating activities to earn a living.

Access to quality services; this has been achieved via providing funds to improve infrastructure such as medical facilities and roads in poverty stricken areas so as to ensure every individual has access to good services (Huq, 2010).

Innovations; the bank channels more monetary resources to projects that are innovative and focus on food security to eradicate poverty in member countries as well as promote shared prosperity.

Strengths in achieving its key performance indicators

Availability of sufficient funds, presence of enough manpower and other human resources and well developed and laid down infrastructure (World Bank, 2015a)

Weaknesses

Lack of corporation from member countries and failure to repay loans. Politically instigated fights from the world’s superpowers as well as failure to sustain their ongoing projects in war stricken countries.

4. Operations management Challenges & Recommendations

Challenges

For a long time there have been no signs for the improvement of efficiency internally. The bank has therefore become more inward looking instead of being outward looking with the managers and staffs being called to fulfil internal demands (World Bank, 2012).

Lack of accountability within the organization; This due to the nature of the work as well as the duration taken before getting evident results which is often long.

Proliferation of control functions instead of strengthening line accountability. For example, the budgetary control function has grown to more than 500 official numbers this encourages risk averseness.

The main goal of the bank being a global knowledge bank has become elusive failing the networks when it comes to their mandate of knowledge delivery.

De-professionalization of bank staff; Use of general workers to deliver on the internal driven requirements of the bank, instead of specialists (Bourguignon and Platteau, 2015)

Decentralization being a double edged sword; this has been a welcome development however it’s become of questionable relevance  to some more sophisticated and growing population of the middle class clients.

Recommendations

Internal efficiency should be given much focus so as to improve

Accountability should be embraced within the organization and the duration for feedback is shortened

Line accountability should be strengthened instead of just focusing on the proliferation of control functions

The back should refocus on being a global knowledge bank

Role of specialists should not be replaced by general packagers so as to foster efficiency in service delivery

Decentralization should be embraced in a manner that it’s of relevance to the middle income clients.

Conclusion

The main goals of World Bankis to end poverty and promote shared prosperity. To achieve this it has set aside key objectives which include provision of long run capital to its member countries and ensuring key projects are implemented. Its operational performance objectives are mainly focused on cost, speed, quality, dependability and flexibility. All these are achieved through laying down strategies that ensures the tasks within the organization are done to completion.

The banks competitive priorities have been to ensure low cost of living among its clientele, quality delivery of services and promotion of innovative projects. Some strengths in achieving its key performance indicators include; Availability of sufficient funds, presence of enough manpower and improvement of infrastructure. However, the bank also faces some challenges which include lack of improvement in internal efficiency, lack of accountability and failing to be global bank knowledge.

References

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