Global Environment and Operations Strategy in Ooredoo, Ras Gas, Qatar Airways, and QNB Companies - Case Study Example

The Global Environment and Operations Strategy Author’s Name Institutional Affiliation The Global Environment and Operations Strategy Introduction Operations strategies are the sum methods a company employs towards the attainment of organizational goals and objectives during the production process. They are activities aimed at enhancing effectiveness and efficiency in the production process for optimal utilization and efficient resource allocation. A Company’s Global Strategy is designed to harmonize the company’s operations globally, multinational and internationally in their respective subsidiaries. On a global scale, the strategies are aimed at achieving the expansion objective for bigger market share and profit maximization. An analysis of the Ooredoo, Ras Gas, Qatar Airways and QNB companies with their operation strategies in the global environment being the area of focus will highlight the importance of operations strategies by analyzing how the companies formulate and implement them as the market leaders in Qatar and internationally. Ooredoo deals in the service provision of mobile, wireless, wire line, and content services internationally. RasGas Company deals in liquefied natural gas (LNG) while Qatar Airways is a travel service provider and QNB a financial services provider. Operations strategy encompasses six elements (Lasserre, 2012). The production system design, production and services facilities, the product or service design and development, technology selection, development, and process development, allocation of resources, and focus on facilities planning. In the formulation of the operations strategy, the identification of system production design comes first. It entails the selection of the practical tools to be involved in the production process. They include the processing design of the goods and services as well as the methods of inventory to be used and accounts for all the processes and infrastructures used in the whole production process. After the design has been identified, the facilities and services to be used towards actualizing the design are identified. The designing and development of the Product or Service design follows a process that works towards attaining economies of scale, harnessing the scarce resources and output maximization (Lasserre, 2012). This element also includes market trial runs which are aimed at establishing the products that best meet the market needs. Technology selection involves picking out the best-suited technology that will ensure optimal resource utilization and minimize redundancy in the production process. The Allocation of Resources phase involves taking into account the opportunity costs in the production process to overcome the problem of scarcity of resources (Lasserre, 2012). After the allocation, the planning of the production plant, its capacity and layout is done under the operations manager’s direction. This step is crucial for enhancing proximity of the factors of production to the site taking into account future expansion plans (Lasserre, 2012). These elements are therefore the key elements of the operations strategy aimed at creating competitive products to ease an organization into the global business environment. Why Operations Strategy is Important in the Global Environment Cost reduction in the production process is crucial for profit maximization (Lasserre, 2012). The operation strategy caters for cost reduction by identifying the most effective infrastructure and the most efficient resources to run the production process fast and reduce redundancy and wastage of resources (Lasserre, 2012). In a global environment context, the operations strategy diversifies the production process into lower wage rate areas which reduces the labor cost exponentially. The operations strategy process analyzes the activities in the production process which leads to the elimination of activities that do not add value to the company (Lasserre, 2012). Cost reduction enables the company to achieve economies of scale through the production of in-demand products at a competitively lower price than their competitors. This competency enables the production of product or service in bulk which maximizes profit through reducing the production cost per unit (Lasserre, 2012). The operations strategy through the selection of the best production techniques and technology assists in cost cutting. By reducing expenses on running outdated systems, costs are reduced while geographical costs are reduced or totally eliminated through identifying the best location to set up the firm in relation to the market (Lasserre, 2012). The resource allocation process also reduces costs through the prioritization of needs which means the company doesn't incur additional costs in meeting non-profitable needs. High-quality goods and services make and define a brand, and the operations strategy acts as a pointer for the production process towards achieving the production of quality products (Lasserre, 2012). A high-quality product is gauged by its performance in the market alongside the competitors' products. Performance refers to the extent to which a product fulfills a consumers needs and exceeds their expectations (Lasserre, 2012). Its level of conformity also defines a high-quality good to predetermined product standards set by market regulators as well as its durability and reliability. Serviceability and the aesthetics appeal of a product also determine how the customers feel about the product which in turn affects the total sales made (Lasserre, 2012). The operations strategy enables the duplication of these characteristics on products by identifying the best technology and technical know-how that can produce the best outputs. In a global environment where a company producing the same products had subsidiaries in different countries, the operations strategy acts as a denominator for guiding the production process and ensuring the uniformity of output and input during the production process (Lasserre, 2012). It identifies the best production practice to ensure this through the technology selection process and process development. Core competencies are a company’s strongholds in terms of key strengths and resources. These aspects are important especially in the competitive global business environment in creating points of relevant differentiation from the competitors (Lasserre, 2012). Although the core competencies are different one industry and business to the other, they include human resources, factors of production, strategic business locations as well as marketing and technological expertise (Lasserre, 2012). By identifying core competencies, the operations strategy enables the business to develop production and marketing strategies which put them ahead of their competitors through maximization of the firm's strengths. Companies in the same industry always present varying strengths and weaknesses which makes the operations strategy a crucial tool in making decisions like market segmentation and the location of the firm to give the company an advantage over their competition (Lasserre, 2012). Isolate its key abilities and hone them into organization-wide strengths. The operations strategy enables the company to establish its unique capabilities through the process development which is critical for continued profitability and in developing points of relevant differentiation. On a global platform, the operation strategy acts as a unification factor for subsidiaries across different countries and facilitates the exchange of know-how among different branches (Lasserre, 2012). The key competencies are also useful in the resource allocation process of the operation strategy and ensure that resources are diverted from unnecessary ventures to areas of competence for the further fortification of the company in the marketplace (Lasserre, 2012). The operations strategy through the core competencies helps in the creation of the brand image and identity which is necessary for product differentiation in the marketplace and helps narrow down the customer's choice to the company's products. How different companies manage their operations strategies Operations management refers to the function of applying the operations strategy elements in the production process for the proper functioning of the business (Lasserre, 2012). In operations management, these elements comprise of product design, resource allocation, facility planning and process development as well as all the other aspects of operations strategy. Positioning the production system.RasGas has a total of 7 trains which produce 7.8 million tons of liquefied natural gas. They produce the product themselves and also manage two sales gas production facilities, helium production facilities, major shipping contracts and global commercial partnerships. RasGas also oversees the construction of the Barzan Gas Project (RasGas, 2016). Ooredoo is a communications company that deals with the provision of internet and broadband services (Ooredoo, 2016).Qatar Airways is an airline that provides travel services across the world while QNB is a financial service provider. Focus on factories and service facilities. Ooredoo has facilities in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia (Ooredoo, 2016).RasGas has operations in Asia, Europe, and America (RasGas, 2016).Qatar Airways has operations all over the world, and QNB only bases its operations in the United Arab Emirates. Ooredoo has operations in Algeria, Indonesia, Palestine, Iraq, Kuwait, Singapore, Oman, Tunisia, and Maldives. The Product/Service design and development is different for each company. RasGas, Ooredoo, Qatar Airways and QNB’s operations management system insists on ensuring quality standards and controls (Lasserre, 2012). The people in charge of the operations coordinate with each other across continents to ensure that the production processes comply with the company’s quality standards (Lasserre, 2012). The high-quality design is showcased in the product design and development, customer engagement, factories design, and human resource management. RasGas designs their product in the form of tanks, Oredoo in cables and other internet connection devices, QNB in monetary form and Qatar Airways is a service provider. Technology selection and process development (Lasserre, 2012). Qatar Airways has come together with Qatar Petroleum, Shell, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Qatar Science & Technology Park, and Woqod in the promotion of the use of Gas to Liquids (GTL) kerosene blend.IT IS a cleaner-burning alternative fuel technology which is meant to reduce the airways carbon footprint and reduce air pollution (Qatar Airways, 2016).Ooredoo is working towards the development of 5G technology via Ooredoo networks which is aimed at improving their operations by providing faster mobile Internet, ultra-low latency, and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions which will enable more devices to connect to one network without slowing the speed down (Ooredoo, 2016). QNB’s operations systems work towards the maximization of the labor force in the product development and design process. They also work with their suppliers in ensuring product uniformity by giving specific product designs to them. QNB was the first bank in Qatar to install the Interactive Teller software. The Interactive Teller technology facilitates the service provision of a live teller to customers through remotely controlling the ATM to help clients with up to 95 % of traditional transactions to reduce queues and hasten their service provision process (QNB, 2016).The companies, therefore, use technology to effectively and efficiently run the production process. Facility planning of the companies refers to the layout and location of the firms (Lasserre, 2012). The firms manage this aspect through making the layout design customer friendly by allowing ample space and having minimal décor to avoid distracting the clients’ attention from the products. Conclusion Through the operations strategy in a global environment, I have learned a lot of important lessons in both the formulation and implementation of the operations strategy as well as the impact it has on the overall running of an organization (Lasserre, 2012). I have learned that the customer should be the nucleus of the operation strategy and management. Since profit maximization is the primary purpose of the business process customers, form an integral pillar towards profit maximization (Lasserre, 2012). A customer-centered operations strategy leads to the production of goods and services that meet their needs. The clients’ custom made products centered production process ensures that the products have a ready market and since customer specifications are met, it creates brand loyalty which in turn leads to customer retention. Some of the loyal customers act as brand evangelists and through their word of mouth, they attract new customers to purchase the product (Lasserre, 2012). Therefore, the customer should be the main focus of the operations strategy. I have also learned that the employees in the production process are equally important in the operations process (Lasserre, 2012). Their needs should also be accounted for in the operations strategy formulation and management. They form an important part of factors of production as the human capital, and without them, the operations strategy cannot go beyond being just a document. Employee friendly operation strategy makes job satisfaction levels higher which in turn leads to low turnover rate and higher output per head since they feel that their efforts in the work process are appreciated and will be rewarded (Lasserre, 2012). This also reduces the levels of redundancy in the operations strategy formulation process which leads to resource maximization leading to lowered production costs since all resources are appropriately utilized (Lasserre, 2012). Employees are also the innovators and inventors in the production process, so the production strategy is specifically designed for them to follow in the process of producing quality goods and services. I've also learned that the competitors should be factored in the formulation of the operations strategy (Lasserre, 2012). The concentration on what the competition is doing right gives the operations manager a chance to improve his work strategy while focusing on what they are doing wrong informs the manager about the key areas that need more resources in order to bridge the supply gap left by the competitor's weakness (Lasserre, 2012). They are also important in highlighting the business's key competencies and competitive advantages which informs the resource allocation element of the operations strategy. In the global environment, they are an important tool in assessing the new market shares and formulation of market entry strategies which the operations strategy informs (Lasserre, 2012). They also act as an information source in the production system positioning since the product has to be designed in a way that differentiates it from the competitors’ product which can be used as a substitute good. Data is also an important part of the operations strategy. It informs the operations manager about what has worked in the past and what hasn't. It, therefore, acts as a crucial pointer in the selection of the type of technology to be used in the production process based on its factual data backed performance. Data also plays an important role in the selection of the location of the firm. Through market research, the operations strategy is informed on where there is a demand gap. Data also in a global environment facilitates the uniformity of the output in the various branches of the same company. The uniformity in the final output ensures that the client can enjoy the same quality product from any part of the world from different factories. The operations strategy in a global environment is, therefore, an important process in ensuring product continuity, uniformity of the product and in attaining the goals and objectives of the organization. References Business Banking. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2016, from http://www.qnb.com/cs/Satellite/QNBQatar/en_QA/enBusiness Lasserre, P. (2012). Global strategic management. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Ooredoo Corporate | The Ooredoo Corporate website. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2016, from http://ooredoo.com/en/ RasGas Company Limited. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2016, from http://www.rasgas.com/ Welcome your friends and family to Qatar. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2016, from http://www.qatarairways.com/qa/en/homepage.page Read More