Optimizing Project Management Strategies for Sustainable Tea Production

4-3 Assignment: Project Management Strategies 1 4-3 Assignment: Project Management Strategies Miranda Yarnall QSO-321: People, Planet, and Profit Professor Geer Southern New Hampshire University

4-3 Assignment: Project Management Strategies 2 I have been asked to evaluate the current process flowchart for tea production to identify what steps do not belong based on the lean manufacturing principles. After reviewing the production workflow process, there are some steps that I found that would not add any value to the business by using them. These four steps are included in the following:  In the processing stage, step 1 (bags of tea are reweighed) should be eliminated because we already know what the capacity of the tea leaves are. They were put into 50 kg bags from the farm workers.  In the processing stage, step 11 (leaves are visually inspected) and step 12 (poor-quality leaves are thrown away) are both accomplished in step 10 (leaves are removed from trays and reweighed; poor-quality leaves are thrown away). There are a few steps provided in the packaging and shipping stage that can catch any tea leave discrepancies. This will assist in improving productivity by removing some of the redundant steps from the flowchart.  In the processing stage, there are two oxidation steps that both don’t need to be in this stage. There is step 13 (leaves are moved to an oxidizing area) and step 14 (leaves are oxidized). I would advise on removing step 13 since the leaves will be oxidized in step 14 prior to going to the final step for the oxidation process. By implementing these four steps, it would reduce the labor cost, the cost of materials, and remove the unnecessary steps. I have provided an updated version of the process flowchart that will go along with this report in order to better illustrate my new workflow tea production chart. There are two aspects of the NationaliTeas corporation processes that I have found that would assist with making the company more sustainable.

4-3 Assignment: Project Management Strategies 3  Our teabag products heavily rely on utilizing paper products due to the paper being used to make the teabags. The way that we can improve the environmental sustainability is by moving toward using paper products that are only made from recycled products. Another improvement that can be made is when making our products we need to figure out ways on how to use less material.  Currently the cardboard packs are being wrapped in plastic for extra protection. I recommend that we use 100% recyclable packaging instead of using plastic wrap. By utilizing recycled materials, this will allow our business to move in the right direction to becoming more environmentally sustainable. The negative impact that our company has is that we have a more complicated production chain which can lead to unnecessary resources, it can slow the workflow, and it can reduce the businesses profits. I think that our company can assist in streamlining the tea making process by addressing a few changes that can be made from the issues that were previously mentioned. Albeit making changes comes with its own challenges, we need to ensure that the changes that are being made are completely understood by everyone in the workforce. We need to also provide a training program that will assist the employees with using the new process flowchart. Even though the company will be implementing these changes, we will need to inform our employees that we will not be decreasing the number of individuals that are working for our business. In order to be able to achieve our vision, we must make certain that each worker knows where they fit and for everyone within the business to be on the same page (Oliveira, 2020). While looking at the issue log, I have come across some recommendations that the stakeholders and the procurement department have mentioned. I would like to address these requests in the following:

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4-3 Assignment: Project Management Strategies 4  Since the stakeholders are confused on their involvement and the level of their decision- making power with our business, I would like to have a meeting to discuss the concerns with them and to ensure that they understand our standard operating procedure which will describe what each members responsibilities are.  In regards to the stakeholder’s recommendation to switch our current packaging to a shiny foil packaging, I would have to politely decline that request since this type of packaging goes against our company trying to be more environmentally friendly. The packaging would only be their for authentic reasons which doesn’t align with our goal to reduce waste and improving sustainability.  While taking a look at the request that the procurement department mentioned about wanting to increase their project budget by three times the original amount so that more testing and researching can be done, amongst finding a new supplier for compostable packaging material, I fully support this idea. However, before we agree to give them their budget amount that they have requested, I would like to get a team together so that we can find out how much we can spare for the project at this time. I also want the team to analyze the cost to benefits. The operations management can add a considerable amount of value to NationaliTeas in numerous ways. By implementing project management techniques, this will allow us to manage our business more effectively. For example, this can assist us with contingency planning. It can also assist with our managers being able to adapt to any situation that might arise in the production process. “The skillset that project managers bring to an organization and its stakeholders — time management, budget management, risk management, communication, leadership — enables that organization to fulfill their most essential purposes: to deliver on

4-3 Assignment: Project Management Strategies 5 strategy and realize target outcomes” (Harris, 2021). By implementing lean manufacturing techniques, the company can assist with streamlining the production process. They can also help to remove waste. It would be beneficial for the business to eliminate the unnecessary steps in the process so that they can improve the quality of the products. It is also good for them to eliminate the processes that aren’t needed because it can also save them money (Thomas, 2015). References: Harris, K. (15 July, 2021). The Value of Effective Project Management. Georgia Tech. Retrieved from https://pe.gatech.edu/blog/industry-trends/project-management-value Oliveira, L. (9 Jan., 2020). Managing Changes With the Lean Change Management Model. Creditas Tech. Retrieved from https://medium.com/creditas-tech/managing-changes- with-the-lean-change-management-model-c3566935e10b Thomas, J. (28 Mar., 2015). Lean Manufacturing, its Importance and Benefits. LinkedIn. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lean-manufacturing-its-importance- benefits-joel-thomas

4-3 Assignment: Project Management Strategies 6

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QSO-321 Assignment 4

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