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Linda Michelo Zyongwe, 6483, Assignment Seven

Assignment Cover Sheet

Student Name: Linda Michelo Zyongwe

Student Number: 6483
Course: Diploma in Business Administration – Level 4
Assignment No: Seven

Marking Criteria:

We expect the learners to write minimum one well expressed point in three lines against each
allocated mark. This means one needs to write 15 lines with 5 well expressed points to get high
grades for a 5 marks question.

For high grades use examples and illustrations where appropriate.

Please insert your completed assignment ( in word format) here:

1. Give short answers to the following questions: (15)

i. What are the resources of a company?

Successful businesses understand the resources that they have as an organization,

how they function in the business model, and how to make the most out of them. A
resource is said to be any factor that is necessary to accomplish a goal or carry out
an activity. In other words, they are the components that a business needs in order
to perform its business. Resources often may include employees, working space,
equipment, or capital. Firms create value by exploiting their internal resources and
capabilities in order to meet market demands. Resources are diverse and can be
classified as either tangible or intangible.

Tangible resources include:

 Physical

 Financial

 Organizational
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Linda Michelo Zyongwe, 6483, Assignment Seven

 Technological

Intangible resources include:

 Human

 Reputation

 Innovation

Examples of commonly used resources include:

 Labor

 Management

 Expertise

 Equipment

 Finances

 Energy

 Land

 Time

ii. What is an effective resource management system?

Resource management can be defined as being the process of pre-

planning, scheduling, and allocating your resources to maximize efficiency.

A resource is anything that is needed to execute a task or project such as the skill

sets of employees or raw materials. An effective resource management system is
one that is centered around optimization and efficiency. Having the right resources
assigned to a project based on skills is very important. An effective resource
management system helps to achieve that. An effective resource management
system adds the following benefits to organizations:

 Fewer workplace conflicts. 

 Lower overhead costs. 

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Linda Michelo Zyongwe, 6483, Assignment Seven

 Greater productivity. 

 Better profits. 

 Improve quality in projects and products. 

 Reduced burnout rates. 

Ultimately, businesses that practice effective resource management are able to

produce higher quality work more quickly and with less overheads.

iii. Outline the main problems relating to managing resources.

Resource planning involves allocating the right resource, to the right project, at the
right time. It however has several challenges.

 Resource capacity planning is poor

 Resource risks are not assessed
 Not enough appropriately skilled resources
 Resource use is not optimized
 Schedules/deadlines are unrealistic
 Resources are assigned inconsistently
 Too many unplanned requests for resources
 Shifting resources in response to unexpected problems
 Resource utilization is poorly documented
 The transition process for shared resources is inadequate
 Missed project deliverables and deadlines 
 Ineffective documentation on billable hours 
 Lack of project resource visibility 
 Assigning the wrong people to teams 
 Accounting and project management disconnect 
 Inefficient cash forecasting 
 Under-informed decision-making 
 Failure to meet financial reporting standards 
 Missed opportunities in business
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Linda Michelo Zyongwe, 6483, Assignment Seven

 Increased project costs

 Reduced employee performance
 High employee turnover
 Delays in meeting project deadlines
 Client dissatisfaction and loss of business
iv. What is the relationship between operation functions and resource management
in a business?

Operations management is concerned with how businesses take raw materials and
convert them into saleable goods which are either products or services. The
organization uses operations management to be as efficient as possible. If it is
efficiently done, goods and services are produced at a higher capacity while
reducing the cost per unit which in turn leads to the organization making more
money. Making more money is the ultimate goal of every profit making business, so
being successful in creating efficient systems means that a significant goal has been
achieved.

The relationship of operations management with other functional areas in the overall
organizational strategy is important to consider. There is need to consider all levels
of costs from operations, sales, administrative and distribution. Strategies
implemented must match the overall mission and vision of the business. This calls
for coordination between operation functions and other functions including resource
management. Coordination helps to achieve objectives quickly. It helps to minimize
the conflicts, rivalries, wastages, delays and other organizational problems that may
arise as it ensures the smooth working of the organization. Therefore, with the help
of coordination an organization can achieve its objectives easily and quickly.
Coordination improves relations in the organization and leads to higher efficiency.

The operations function in a financial organization drives both profitability and

reputation as well as contributing to business development and support. The
complexity of operations create a need for a high degree of coordinating with
resource management as they are charged with managing resources. Successful
operations teams are built on talented resource and effective management.
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Linda Michelo Zyongwe, 6483, Assignment Seven

v. Why are trusted suppliers very important for a business?

A business needs suppliers either to provide the resources for the products or
services it sells, or to supply resources needed to run the business. The key
advantage of strong, healthy supplier relationships is that the business can
gain better value for the business. Through this, the supply chain becomes more
efficient, cost effective and productive.

The importance of good supplier relationship management can be listed as follows:

 Supply chain consolidation which cuts complexity and the risk of duplication.
 Cost control
 Efficiency gains
 Swifter Problem resolution
 Timely Delivery of Quality Materials
 Smooth-sailing Production
 Customer Satisfaction
 Take Advantage of Great Deals
 Excellent Support
 Lower Costs
 Outsourcing Activities
 Ongoing Improved Operations
2. Maintenance of the raw materials is important for a business and needs special
(7)

management’. Discuss.

Raw materials inventory can be defined as the total cost of a manufacturer’s

components, subassemblies, and supplies currently in stock that haven’t been used
for manufacturing. There are two types of raw materials that go into making a final
product which are direct and indirect materials.

Inventory management is the process that is followed to ensure that there is enough
stock on hand from direct materials and indirect materials, to keep production
moving.
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Linda Michelo Zyongwe, 6483, Assignment Seven

Raw material inventory management is important because bad decisions could be

detrimental to the business. For example, stocking up materials could be a bad move
since the inventory could expire or cost additional storage costs. This will lead to an
increase in manufacturing costs. Too much inventory can be just as dangerous as
too little.

It is therefore essential to determine the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ), which is

the optimum quantity of goods that are to be purchased at one time in order to
minimize the annual total costs of ordering and holding items in inventory. Reorder
levels and stock levels are very important in raw material management and are key
elements for efficient material management.

3. Managing resources is an essential part of running a successful business”.

Discuss. (8)

Resource Management is defined as the process of planning, scheduling,

forecasting, and optimizing the entire resource lifecycle to ensure successful delivery
of a project. It unleashes the maximum potential of each resource, improves
business profitability, and beats market volatility.

Resource management plays an important role in improving a business’s profitability

and sustainability. It helps in contributing to the success of a business through the
following:

 Minimize project resource costs significantly

 Improving effective/billable resource utilization
 Bridge the capacity vs. demand gap proactively
 Use scarce resources effectively in a matrix organization
 Monitor and improve organization health index
The growth of any business depends on the successful management of resources to
ensure the businesses success. The best and efficient ways of managing the
resources will lead to reduced overheads, costs and increased profitability.
Managing of the resources needs to be done effectively in order to achieve
maximum benefits for the business.
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Linda Michelo Zyongwe, 6483, Assignment Seven

REFERENCES

1. https://thebusinessprofessor.com/en_US/business-management-amp-
operations-strategy-entrepreneurship-amp-innovation/internal-
resources-and-capabilities-strategy
2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.06.001 Get rights and content
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/
S0019850116301092
4. https://www.saviom.com/blog/what-is-resource-management/
5. https://opentextbc.ca/projectmanagement/chapter/chapter-11-resource-
planning-project-management/
6. https://www.wrike.com/blog/what-is-resource-management/
#:~:text=Resource%20management%20is%20the%20process,or
%20the%20adoption%20of%20software.
7. https://teamdeck.io/project-management/effective-resource-
management/
8. https://www.planisware.com/hub/blog/top-ten-resource-management-
challenges
9. https://teamdeck.io/project-management/resource-management-
challenges/
10. https://www.fullsailpartners.com/FSPblog/bid/287939/10-Most-
Common-Resource-Management-Problems
11. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/relationship-operations-management-
overall-organizational-strategy-25424.html
12. https://www.ipl.org/essay/Relationship-Between-Operations-And-
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Linda Michelo Zyongwe, 6483, Assignment Seven

Operations-Management-FJXJBPGD46U
13. https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/relationship-and-resource/
9780750654883/
14. https://www.pay4.com/supplier-relationship-management-important/
#:~:text=The%20key%20advantage%20of%20strong,preferential
%20pricing%20and%20special%20terms.
15. https://www.greenlight-itc.com/blog/the-importance-of-supplier-
relationship-to-your-business
16. https://www.oxfordcollegeofprocurementandsupply.com/the-
advantages-of-a-well-managed-supplier-relationship/
17. https://katanamrp.com/blog/raw-materials-inventory-management-
guide/

Student Statement:
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Linda Michelo Zyongwe, 6483, Assignment Seven

By submitting this assignment, I confirm that this is my own work.

Student Signature: Linda Michelo Zyongwe Date: 28/06/2022

For Tutor / Assessor Use Only

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