Procedures and processes that affect the day-to-day operation of a business
Procedures and processes that affect the day-to-day operation of a business
Guidelines for the Operations Report (Step 2)
What is an Operations Report?
An operations report details the procedures and processes that affect the day-to-day operation of a business. A comprehensive operation report would be hundreds of pages thick and would be updated frequently as new policies and procedures become necessary. It is therefore a living document which management and staff can use to manage the business on a daily basis. In this subject you have been asked to design an operations report for two components of a business. Your report will be about 3,000 words, 1,500 on each component (not including title page, references and appendices).
What should the Operations Report Contain?
You should use the knowledge you have gained from the workshop modules in this subject, along with any readings, case studies and knowledge from other subjects to complete you operations manual. The manual should be structured as indicated below. The questions are intended as a guide to help you think about what should be in each section. Some questions are not relevant to certain types of tourism operations. It is normal that there may be some overlap between sections. In these cases it is not necessary to repeat information; you should simply refer the reader to the relevant coverage in another section. The style of writing should be a report format with headings numbered using the decimal format.
I. Title Page
» Identify the business and the document.
» Identify the location and telephone numbers of the business or where the principals can be reached.
» Identify the reporter
II. Table of Contents
III. Report
1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction
3. Operational Procedures – selecting any two of the 6 topics
3.1 Human Resources
» What are the human resource needs of the business? What positions are needed? How many are full time, part time, casual, volunteer?
» Duties and responsibilities. Who does what? Who reports to whom? Who makes final decisions?
» What skills will your employees need in the near future? In five years?
» What are your plans for recruiting and training personnel?
» How will you deal with staffing if your business is seasonal? How will you manage staff turnover?
3.2. Public Relations
» How will you manage the public relations aspects of the business?
» What procedures do you have in place to deal with crises?
» How will you measure the success of marketing efforts? – maybe adjust this point to fit into Complaints and Public Relations (from Jane)
» How can you use the latest technological advances to market your business globally? – and adjust this point as well (from Jane)?
3.3 Visitor Experiences and Service Quality
» What quality control systems would you put in place to ensure high quality visitor experiences?
» What performance standards will you used and how will you measure quality?
» How will you manage the relationship with customers?
» How to achieve customer’s satisfaction?
» How will you deal with complaints and implement service recovery to gain customers’ confidence?
» How will you manage the quality of the tangible aspects of your product (e.g. buildings)? How does the design of your facility (i.e. the servicescape) influence visitor behaviour and encourage satisfaction? Consider the characteristics of services marketing and apply in the chosen firm.
» What can you do to ensure aesthetic appeal, cleanliness, maintenance and comfort and security of your facilities?
3.4 Partnerships and Suppliers
» What alliances and partnerships would be beneficial for the survival of the business?
» What will you do on a day to day basis to develop and nurture partnerships?
» Who are your suppliers? How will you deal with them? How will you maintain a good relationship with suppliers?
» Why it is important to manage a strategic supplier relationship and its impact on overall customers’ satisfaction?
3.5 Legal compliance (including Safety)
» What legal responsibilities do you have to employees, visitors and others affected by the business?
» What are the perceived risks and threats to the physical safety of clients, guides and any other person who may be affected by the business? What steps will you take to manage any risks associated with claims of negligence?
» What steps will you take to legally protect the business against claims arising from overbooking, overcrowding, delay and disappointment?
» Refer to the government’s regulations on business including human resources, hygiene practices and why legal compliance is crucial to the business operations
3.6 Sustainable Management
» What procedures can be put in place to manage the economic, social and environmental sustainability of your business?
» Will you have a code of ethics for visitors? For employees?
» Would the business require environmental accreditation?
» What environmental standards or programs would the business adhere to?
» What are the environmental risks and what steps need to be taken on a day to day basis to mitigate these?
» What are the social impacts of the business on the community and other users of the land and how can these be mitigated?
» What corporate social responsibility initiatives can help to boost the firm’s image in the general public perception?
4. Conclusions
IV. References
The various references cited in your report should be presented in a Reference List. The Reference List should be presented in APA format and sorted alphabetically as covered in workshops. Referencing relates to both your use of in-text citations and the provision of an appropriately presented Reference List.
V. Appendices
Label your Appendices: Appendix A; Appendix B… This section includes information too bulky for the body of the report but useful to the reader. Remember to refer to your appendices in the text of the report. Use your appendix section wisely, making sure that information that you present here is of sufficient importance to warrant its inclusion. Overuse of the appendix section is just as bad as failing to utilise this section when perhaps you should have. Placing too much material in your appendix section may leave the reader feeling overwhelmed and perhaps even annoyed.
How should the Operations Report be presented?
Your Operations Report must be typed and you must adhere to the following guidelines:
» Notations and references must use the APA style.
» Use 1.5 line spacing
» Margins: at least 2 cm.
» Typeface: 12 point Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri.
» Number every page.
» Write your name and business on every page.
» Staple your pages together (do not use paper clips, pins or folded corners.)
» Do not use place individual pages in plastic sleeves but feel free to use a display folder.
» Presentation of the report is professional.
» Always keep a paper copy of your work, as insurance against loss or misadventure. Back up your files in more than one place.
» Attach the standard College of Business, Law and Governance Coversheet.
» Submit an electronic copy to SafeAssignment on BX3193 LearnJCU: Tuesday, 10 January 2017 before midnight.
Hardcopy on Wednesday, 11 January 2017 to your tutor in class.
NOTE: You can choose any hotel or restaurant