Question 1

Ready-Made Meals is a manufacturing organisation that produces pre-packaged frozen meals. The business was established in 2010 in response to increased consumer demand for pre-packaged meals. Ready-Made Meals has not achieved the same growth as its competitors. The owner has called in a consultant, Ms Tembo, to address this situation. Following her preliminary investigations, Ms Tembo has identified the following problems:

Customers think Ready-Made Meals' products are inferior to those of its competitors.

There are unacceptable levels of waste in the production process.

Current recruitment practices are not addressing future staffing needs. Ms Tembo has recommended the following:

1.A renewed focus on materials management

2.Improvements to the management of quality

3.A review of current practices in the establishment phase of the employment cycle.

Outline methods that Ready-Made Meals could use to implement Ms Tembo's recommendations. Discuss how the use of these methods could overcome the problems identified by Ms Tembo.

(10 marks)