1. What makes Hogsmeadow Garden Centre an 'operation'?

2. Identify three micro-operations found at Hogsmeadow Garden Centre.

For each one: a. Identify the transforming and transformed inputs. b. State which is the predominant transformed input. c. Describe the output of each micro-operation. 3. All operations managers have to cope with variation. Mention three major sources of variation that Hogsmeadow Garden Centre has to cope with? How might these sources of variation impact Hogsmeadow Garden Centre's

4. What are the main issues/problems the operations manager of Hogsmeadow Garden Centre faces? ability to match supply and demand?

M Sari MRA - ere is a cooking on oluline olje for aroundnes alfa could be obited staff ! Chodela air and in In the and a large s h e is a complete range of plants, shrubs and ww w th planting well-tended if a little more other smaller garden centres. Half a dozen bedding plants cost in the 1299 com toimilar plants which could be obtained for around 2 or other garden centres Professionally qualified staff both tends and art the information centres located around the grounds. the The plant there is also a comprehensive array of outdoor stone ornaments. mac valed in cress of 200 on show Prices range from 25 to 23,/00. e a large number of water features, compost and peat, garden sheas, keratones, playhouses, decking, wooden furniture, garden machinery, playground Aquipment, fencing slabs, rocks and stones. Homes Row Honeydules seves morning coffee, lunches and afternoon tea. It is part self-service and part assisted service. Customers enter, pick up a tray, help themselves to cakes and pastries, and onder meals from the counter staff. They then pass down the line and are served drinks, pay, pick up the cutlery and make their way to a table. A metal rail separates the queue from the seating areas. At lunchtimes queues, can reach 10 people during the week and sometimes in excess of 20 people at the weekend. At peak times, it can take up to 15 minutes to move from the back of the queue to complete the purchase. Regulars often 'save' tables by putting their coats and bags on them whilst they wait in the queue. On a normal weekday lunchtime, there are 12 staff, seven of whom are in the kitchen preparing food, one is responsible for taking money, one serves drinks, one deals with hot food, one deals with clearing tables and the washing-up. In addition, there is a manager, Christine Wilson. Christine Wilson feels that Honeydukes has almost become a victim success of its own "A lot of the people who visit Honeydukes have toddlers in tow, we've set up a family area with toys for the children to play with. We also recognised that children can be a bit fussy so they can ask for a children's lunch box which we make up for them according to their preference. The children's lunch boxes are very popular but they are time-consuming for the staff to make up and queues do tend to form. I know that at times people turn away when they see the queue which is very frustrating, particularly as often we are only half full. One step we have taken to reduce the queue is to advise customers that at weekend lunchtimes they cannot just have a drink. But that does tend to cause aggravation, particularly if the customer hasn't seen the signs and has had to queue for some time.' Assignment #1 Hogsmeadow is a large village situated in the Cotswolds, a popular tourist area of the K. It has an interesting range of shops and restaurants, mainly catering for the tourist trade. About half a mile outside the village is the Hogsmeadow Garden Centre. The garden centre is served by a good network of main roads but is inaccessible by public transport. Growth over the last five years has been dramatic and the garden centre now sells many other goods as well as gardening requisites. It also has a restaurant. It is open seven days a week, only closing on Christmas Day. Its opening hours are Monday- Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. all year round. Outside the centre The centre has a large car park which can accommodate about 350 cars. Outside the entrance a map indicates the various areas in the garden centre. Most customers walk round the grounds before making their purchases. The length of time people spend in the centre varies but, according to a recent study, averages 53 minutes during the week and 73 minutes at weekends. The same study shows the extent to which the number of customers arriving at the garden centre varies depending on the time of year, day of the week, and time of day. There are two peaks in customer numbers, one during the late spring/early summer period and another in the build up to Christmas, as Hogsmeadow puts on particularly good Christmas displays. Indoor sales area The range of goods has increased dramatically over the past few years and now includes items such as: Pets and aquatics; Seeds; Fertilisers; Indoor pots and plants; Gardening equipment: Garden lighting; Conservatory-style furniture; Outdoor clothing: Picture gallery, Books and toys; Delicatessen; Wine; Kitchen equipment; Soft furnishing: Outdoor eating equipment; Gifts, stationery, cards, aromatherapy products; Freshly cut flowers; Dried flowers