OM-2 Assignment

Case 1: Resource Planning at Akshaya Patra, Vasanthapura

Section: C Group :3

Group Members:

Gaurav Sukhwani 19PGP175 Shubham Shakar 19PGP216

Gaurav Ogrey 19PGP174 Rahul Kr Tiwari 19PGP204
Anoop K N 19PGP161 Shahrukh Siddiqi 19PGP212
Nitin Jangra 19PGP198

Q1. Prepare a process chart of the production process of rice and sambar from procurement to
dispatch.

Ans: Process Chart of the Production Process of Rice:

 Market Rice: Government Rice = 1:3

 Lead Time 4 days
 Minimum Size of delivery = 10 tons/delivery
 Rice is put to De-husking and De-stoning machines (only GR)
 It then goes to Master Silo
 Then it moves to Rice Silo
 Then MR sacks are transported into stores at second floor and retrieved as needed by pre-
processing section
 Rice is retrieved in containers and transferred to a tub wherein the rice is soaked and washed
with water
 Fill water in the rice cauldron = 3 minutes
 Allow it to heat for 5 minutes
 Rice is transferred to first floor through chute and then the mixture is boiled for 10 mins and
allowed to cook for 18 minutes
 The rice is unloaded from the cooking section and divided between two outlets
 These containers move over roller conveyors where they are closed with a lid
 The packed rice containers are then moved to loading bay from where they are dispatched in
the vans
a.

a.1.
a.2.
a.3.

Process Chart of the Production Process of Sambar:

Procurement

 Dal and pulses (qty below 5 tons/delivery and for more than 5 tons, the delivery is staggered)
 Safety Stock of 7 tons of Toor dal
 Lead Time is 1-2 days
 Vegetables are ordered everyday, two days before consumption
 Groceries delivered in a single monthly shipment except for Sugar and Chilli. Lead time for
delivery is 1 day except for chilli and salt
 Spices have a lead time of 2 days except sambar powder which has a lead time of 5-6 days
 Palm oil has a lead time of 1 week and delivery size is 8 tons/ delivery
 Ghee/vanaspati/sunflower oil has a lead time of 4-5 days

Pre-Processing and Cooking

 Fresh Vegetables depending on their time undergo different processes like de-seeding,
peeling, cutting, etc.
 Dal retrieved from dal silo is soaked and washed with water
 Sambar Cauldron is filled with water for 10 mins and allowed to heat
 Dal is added through chute, from the pre-processing section
 Then the mixture is allowed to cook for about 63 minutes
 Vegetables, Pulses and salt are then added through the chute
 After 22 mins of cooking, tomato paste is added
 Then masala, tamarind and seasoning are added after 10 mins
  Then the sambar is allowed to boil for 30 minutes
 It is then unloaded after 8 minutes into the tank and in the packaging section

Packaging and Dispatch

 Unloaded sambar is collected in a tank and stirred manually

 The tank contains an outlet valve used to fill sambar containers
 These containers are moved over slotted conveyors and sealed with lid
 Then the packed sambar containers are moved to loading bins through roller conveyors
 Then it is loaded in the dispatched vans and sent to respective schools

b.

b.1.
b.2.
b.3.
Q2. What would be the throughput time for the production of rice and sambar in the cooking
section?

Ans:

Throughput Time for Rice Preparation:

Process Time + Inspection Time + Move Time + Queue Time

From Exhibit 17:

Water Addition Time = 3 mins

Boil for 5 mins
Rice addition at 8th minute
Boiling for next 10 minutes
Unloading time after 18 minutes
Set up time = 2 mins
Cleaning and preparing time = 2mins

Total Throughput time = 40 minutes

Throughput Time for Sambar Preparation

From Exhibit 18:

Water filling and heating time = 10 mins

Dal addition time and cooking = 63 mins
Vegetable addition time immediately after this
Pulses and salt addition time immediately after this and cook for 22 mins
Tomato paste addition time immediately after this
Masala addition time after 10 mins
Tamarind addition time immediately after this
Boiling time = 30 mins (Temp = 96.03 degree C)
Inspection Time = 8 mins
Set up time = 2 mins
Cleaning and preparing time = 3 mins

Total Throughput time = 148 minutes

Q3. Consider an instance wherein there is only one rice cauldron and sambar cauldron. How
many containers of rice and sambar can be produced?

Ans: Given,
1 Rice cauldron = 12 containers
1 sambhar cauldron = 61 containers

Rice preparation

1 rice cauldron = 12 containers

Total operating time = 6 hrs

Total time for cooking rice = 36 minutes

2 min for setting up next cauldron (we don’t need this time) and 2 min for cleaning current cauldron

Total Throughput time = 40 minutes

No of batches = 360/40 = 9

Total number of rice containers that can be produced in one day = 9 batches * 1 cauldron* 12 containers

= 108 containers

Sambhar Preparation

1 sambar cauldron= 61 containers

Total operating time= 5.5 hrs

Total Throughput time for cooking sambar = 148 min

No of batches = 330/148 = ~2

Total number of sambar containers = 2 batches*1 cauldron*61 containers

= 122 containers
Q4. Now consider the instance where eight rice cauldrons and eight sambar cauldrons are
available. Within the operating times of the cauldron, how many containers of rice and sambar
would it be possible to produce in a day?

Ans:

Rice containers

1 rice cauldron = 12 containers

Total operating time = 6 hrs

Total time for cooking rice = 36 minutes

2 min for setting up next cauldron and 2 min for cleaning current cauldron

Total number of rice containers that can be produced in one day = 9 batches * 8 cauldrons* 12
containers = 864 containers

Sambar containers

1 sambar cauldron= 61 containers

Total operating time= 5.5 hrs

Total time for cooking sambar = 135 min

2 min for setting up next cauldron and 3 min for cleaning

Total number of sambar containers = 2 batches*8 cauldrons*61 containers = 976 containers

Case 2: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company: The Quest for Service Excellence

Q1. What is Ritz-Carlton's business strategy, e.g., who are their primary customers?

The Ritz-Carlton
business strategy is
to cater to the locality
their hotel is within.
They’re very good at
adapting to the
locations they open in
and are sure to make
each and every Ritz-
Carlton unique while
retaining the same
customer service and
experience quality.
Their primary
customers are
meeting event
planners and all-
around travelers
whether it be for
vacation or business
reasons.
The Ritz-Carlton
business strategy is
to cater to the locality
their hotel is within.
They’re very good at
adapting to the
locations they open in
and are sure to make
each and every Ritz-
Carlton unique while
retaining the same
customer service and
experience quality.
Their primary
customers are
meeting event
planners and all-
around travelers
whether it be for
vacation or business
reasons.
The Ritz-Carlton
business strategy is
to cater to the locality
their hotel is within.
They’re very good at
adapting to the
locations they open in
and are sure to make
each and every Ritz-
Carlton unique while
retaining the same
customer service and
experience quality.
Their primary
customers are
meeting event
planners and all-
around travelers
whether it be for
vacation or business
reasons
The Ritz-Carlton
business strategy is
to cater to the locality
their hotel is within.
They’re very good at
adapting to the
locations they open in
and are sure to make
each and every Ritz-
Carlton unique while
retaining the same
customer service and
experience quality.
Their primary
customers are
meeting event
planners and all-
around travelers
whether it be for
vacation or business
reasons
Ans: The Ritz-Carlton business strategy is to cater to the locality their hotel is within. They’re very
good at adapting to the locations they open in and are sure to make each and every Ritz-Carlton
unique while retaining the same customer service and experience quality.

Type/ Comfort level

• Luxury Hotels (Ritz-Carlton)

• Upscale Hotels (Hyatt)
• Mid-price Hotels (Holiday Inn)
• Economy hotels (La quinta)
• Budget Hotels (Motels)

Ownership/ Management

• Owned and managed by the same individual/ group

• Individual property owner works with a franchisee for a stipulated fee
• Owned by an individual owner but managed by a company

In order to provide optimal services, it’s always very important to understand and define the type of
customer base an organization is targeting at. This is important as it helps to consolidate the services
being provided regardless of the type of industry. In case of hospitality industry, it can be
categorized by the extent of comfort services provided and the way in which the hotel(s) are
managed. Based on the target clientele as a luxury hotel Ritz was targeting at pleasing, rich, elite,
corporate traveller who able to pay the price demanded by the hotel for the services offered. Their
primary customers are meeting event planners and all-around premium travellers whether it be for
vacation or business reasons.

Q2. Among consumers, what accounts for Ritz-Carlton's reputation as a high-quality hotel?

Ans: Quality is generally looked at providing consistent services repeatedly, over a period. In
case of hospitality industry, that would be services rendered to the customers, ability of an
organization to satisfy the customers, level of satisfaction experienced by the customers.

Before elaborating on what a customer perceives as quality, it is important to understand who the
customer is, what do they want in order to provide service matching their expectations and unvoiced
needs. The wants can be categorized into two types (base expectations/ needs and desires). Both
means the customer is happy. But fulfilling the latter will give a positive experience to the customer
and will more likely influence their decision in the future to return.

Since we know Ritz exclusively serves the elite/ rich/ corporate traveller, the following may contribute
to a customer’s experience of rating the services of the hotel:
• Expectations of this subset of customers.
• Have a smooth entry and exit procedures (no delay in check in/ check out)
• Seamless room service provision
• Concerns to be immediately addressed/ instant pacification

Apart from this, loyal customers would expect their preferences to already be of knowledge to the
personnel/ staff catering to them.

The Ritz-Carlton is the only hotel to have achieved the Malcom Bridge National Quality Award twice
and was also first to achieve such an award. On top of this, they are a global five-star hotel chain,
which to the public eye is the cream of the crop. They’ve been featured in dozens of magazines over
the years as a best resort or location based on their many hotels which includes the Zagat magazine,
one of the most common magazines used for hotel reviews that is read and used by consumers
frequently. Besides their awards, their employees take the time to remember small details such as
guests’ names and be sure to acknowledge them at all times.

Q3. How is quality defined by customers, i.e., user-based view? How is quality defined by the
hotel, i.e., manufacturing (or service providers) perspective?

Ans:

Before elaborating on what a customer perceives as quality, it is important to understand who the
customer is, what do they want in order to provide service matching their expectations and unvoiced
needs. The wants can be categorized into two types (base expectations/ needs and desires). Both
means the customer is happy. But fulfilling the latter will give a positive experience to the customer
and will more likely influence their decision in the future to return.

Since we know Ritz exclusively serves the elite/ rich/ corporate traveller, the following may contribute
to a customer’s experience of rating the services of the hotel:

• Expectations of this subset of customers.

• Have a smooth entry and exit procedures (no delay in check in/ check out)
• Seamless room service provision
• Concerns to be immediately addressed/ instant pacification

Apart from this, loyal customers would expect their preferences to already be of knowledge to the
personnel/ staff catering to them.

It does indeed concern itself regarding the control of defectives in a manufacturing environment and
or complaints in a service environment. Quality can be defined by how hands on and personal the
employees are as soon as they set foot on the hotel’s property. As mentioned in a previous answer,
they take the time to remember guests’ names and acknowledge them when present. Each of its’
hotel from its’ hotel chain claims distinctive build, facilities and an unusual environment, highly
personalized services, and exceptional food and beverages. On top of these simpler practices, the
hotel can even go so far as monograming the guests’ initials onto a commemorative towel of their
visit to that specific location. Going above and beyond to show a guest what they mean to the
company and employees is a sure-fire guarantee to having them return in future.

Q4. How is quality defined within Ritz-Carlton? Does the DQPR data in the ritz.xls spreadsheet
indicate any significant quality problems?

Ans: Ritz defines quality as being able to provide services and have systems enabling and motivating
corresponding commitment throughout the organization. By using process management, process
control, quality improvement techniques similar to those implemented in a manufacturing setting
focusing on the customer and the services provided to them. The hotel also added few other
channels via which they could assess the quality of the services provided like

• Integrated System (Mr. BIV – Mistakes, Rework, Breakdown, Inefficiency, Variation)

• DQIS / DQPR system

The DPQR system is a weekly report that involves analysis and trending of the defects seen in the
data collected in the hotel. This report is the primary source for identifying process that deviate from
the standards set by the hotel. While the DPQR is a good system, it is not without flaws.

► Employee based reporting

The DPQR bases its data collection on the employee reporting. This assumes that the employees will
report any defects/ issues always in a timely manner. This may not always be the case. The
employees are tasked with instant pacification and routine duties which will be their main focus. Also,
sometimes the employees may not report an incident for the fear of being seen as poor performers.

► Undefined methods for data analysis

The hotel has not set any defined methods for analysis of the data collected from the DPQR system
implemented. This leaves a huge margin for error since there is no base standard set to consistently
compare the results with.

► Training personnel on DPQR

The personnel are not given any formal training on quality conduct. There is no documented
evidence to keep a record of how many personnel were trained and how often this training occurred.
(Fraiman & Green, 2008)

Quality is promoted and defined throughout Ritz-Carlton’s Gold Standards. It is the best guest
service they can provide. On the summary counts page, you can see the biggest problem area by a
wide margin is room cleaning issues at 183 incidents on one report. This shows issues with
cleanliness and probably the housekeeping department. Other mostly occurred issues they faced are
related to Front office where guests are allocated to a room different from their requirement. Also,
there are issues related to communication and reservations too where either guest receive a
wrong wake-up call or they didn’t receive a wake-up call.

Q5. What kind of corporate culture supports Ritz-Carlton's high-quality endeavours?

Ans: The ability to establish a culture that invokes high value for the people working in an
organization invokes intrinsic sense of identity, innovativeness, creativity and commitment that forms
the main recipe for ultimate sustainability of services and profitability. Organizations leaders and
scholars concur that people are the most important elements in an organization because they not
only articulate the established policies but innovatively contribute to their holistic improvements
through sustained experiences.

1. Harrison-Handy model of organization culture

Though scholars appear divided over the actual definition of the term ‘organization culture’, they
tend to agree that all organizations create unique operating systems that fit with their internal
capacities and guided towards their objectives. The Ritz-Carlton organization culture can best be
described through two subunits of the Harrison-Handy model. Power culture reflects centrality of
authority in a highly bureaucratic outline where orders define the expected targets based on the
organization objectivity. On the other hand, the role culture creates a set of rules and guidelines that
do not give employees the needed room for contributing to the management.

2. Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen

In order to allow employees to offer a high quality of customer service, the Ritz-Carlton has
eliminated the bureaucracy typically involved with flagging and resolving customer complaints.
Instead, they have decentralized this power by granting every employee discretionary spending of
$2,000 (per incident) to satisfy a customer.

3. Focus on data collection and analytics

Daily, employees record data points to track a myriad of customer interactions and events. These
data points serve two purposes. First, it allows managers to better analyse the business in real-time
and react quickly to any arising trends. Second, it permits front-line employees to utilize information
to surprise and delight frequent customers with their favourite scented candle or personalized
welcome tray.

4. Internal processes to ensure organizational alignment

Employees have a daily 15-minute ‘line-up’ meeting during which daily plans, special events, special
guests, and ‘wow’ moments are shared with the entire staff. These ‘line-ups’ allow the company to
frequently and consistently communicate its values with all employees.

5. Cultural alignment across geographies and roles

To ensure that a culture of class and luxury permeates all Ritz-Carlton hotels, the company utilizes
frequent trainings and specific language. The vision and values of the Ritz-Carlton are not simply
words on a page: employees undergo a lengthy upfront training period with frequent re-trainings.
The goal is that all employees, across its 89 locations, can both articulate and live the Ritz-Carlton’s
mission. Additionally, the use of language is important in instilling culture. The company motto,
which is oft referenced, is, “We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen,” signalling
the importance of employees as a resource.

6. Designs to maximize customer experience

The Ritz-Carlton focuses on both physical product designs and process designs to maximize
travellers’ hotel experiences. Care is taken to ensure that sophistication and elegance is
communicated in even the subtlest details. For example, many Ritz-Carlton hotels continue to set
their tables with cobalt blue glasses. This cobalt blue was considered a status symbol in 1920s New
England, because only the wealthy could afford the blue glass, which had to be imported from
Europe. In more recent years, the Ritz-Carlton has become one of the earliest luxury hotels to
incorporate mobile technology into the customer experience. By incorporating mobile into customer
processes like checking in or poolside ordering, the hotel is able to create an experience that
younger generations appreciate.

Q6. If you were to select a category of defect to address from the DQPR data, which category
would you address first? Why?

Ans: Room cleaning because it is the most frequent complaint (183 incidents) and has the
potential to severely affect the guest’s stay in the hotel. It is also the most basic of standards for any
hotel.

Q7. For the defect category you selected, which processes might be generating the defects?

Ans:

- Perhaps there is not enough housekeeping staff to keep up with the current demand
- Training may be an issue if someone with little experience trained the employees
 - If cleaning rooms is set up as a reward system, employees may be rushing in order to get the
bonus

By fixing the above-mentioned issues Ritz-Carlton can fix their room cleanliness issue and increase
customer satisfaction while reducing the number of complaints regarding the same.