Review of Operational Effectiveness
for
South of Scotland Enterprise
(SOSE)
2
Executive Summary
The purpose of this report is to evaluate the operational effectiveness of the Scottish
Government’s newest economic and community development agency – South of Scotland
Enterprise (SOSE).
The choice of location was determined by the Scottish government using the Weighted Factor
Method to assess what area would benefit from additional financial investment. This led to
the creation of SOSE.
SOSE’s processes have medium to low volume and medium to high variety and measure
success based on the ability of the organisation to be flexible and maximise outcomes from
cash invested.
SOSE has a limited capacity and unpredictable demand. This results in underutilisation of
staff when demand is low and the potential for staff to become overworked when demand is
high.
Budget monitoring ensures that SOSE maximises outcomes from, and spends in full, the cash
budget awarded annually to invest in client projects.
The following key recommendations were made that could potentially improve efficiencies or
decision making:
-track progress of the key factors specific to the South of Scotland that were used to
justify the creation of the SOSE organisation.
– increase the number of people who can approve investments to reduce the likelihood
of bottlenecks within the approval process.
-introduce demand monitoring
Bias was present in all the sources and tools used in this evaluation. It was both directly via
the authors of the written sources but also indirectly through the assumptions included during
the construction of the process map.
3
Contents
1. Introduction 5
2. Evaluation of Operational Effectiveness 5
2.1 Location 5
2.2 Operations Process Design 7
2.2.1 General Transformation Process 7
2.2.2 Operations Process Map 8
2.2.3 Operational Performance 9
2.2.4 The Four V’s 10
2.3 Capacity and Demand 11
2.4 Financial Controls 13
3. Evaluation of Tools and Data Sources 14
3.1 Date sourced from SOSE/Scottish Government Website 14
3.2 Operations Management Textbook (Slack & Brandon-Jones, 2019) 15
3.3 Online Articles 15
3.4 Process Mapping 16
4. Conclusion 16
References 18
Appendices 21
1. SOSE Investment Approval Process Map 21
4
1. Introduction
The purpose of this report is to evaluate the operational effectiveness of the Scottish
Government’s newest economic and community development agency – South of Scotland
Enterprise (SOSE). This report will look at the operational effectiveness of SOSE across a
range of dimensions. The choice of location will be discussed followed by operational process
design, layout, capacity, demand and financial controls. Recommendations will be made
within each section on possible changes that could improve efficiencies or decision making.
An assessment of the tools and data sources used will then follow.
The organisation was established on the 1st April 2020 and aims to increase sustainable
economic growth and social development within the geographical area covered by Dumfries
and Galloway Council and Scottish Borders Council (South of Scotland Enterprise Act 2019).
SOSE had a cash budget of £28.1m to invest in client projects and building up a staff of over
80 people during the year to 31st March 2021 (Scottish Government, 2020). The budget and
headcount are expected to increase over the next two years.
The majority of staff SOSE employ work in operational roles. Operations are responsible for
appraising investment applications received from clients that include: individuals, businesses,
social enterprises and community organisations (South of Scotland Enterprise, 2020). These
applications are assessed against a range of criteria to determine if the projects are consistent
with the SOSE priorities detailed in the organisation’s Operating Plan and the Scottish
Government’s Economic Strategy. If approved by the senior management team at the
investment panel meeting, financial and non-financial public resources are invested in clients
to ensure their projects successfully return economic and social benefits.
2. Evaluation of Operational Effectiveness
This section evaluates SOSE’s operational effectiveness. In particular, the choice of location,
process design, capacity, demand and financial controls will be discussed to determine if they
are appropriate for the SOSE organisation.
2.1 – Location
The choice of location for operations is crucial for all organisations both initially when the
organisation is established and also when expanding (Hill & Hill, 2012). For SOSE the
situation is slightly different because the organisation was established to improve the
economic position of clients rather than the economic position of the organisation itself.
5
The Scottish Government embarked on a review of support for enterprise in 2016 to determine
where best to deploy resources in support of their economic strategy (Scottish Government,
2017). The Scottish government used the Weighted Factor Method to determine where in
Scotland would benefit from further investment.
This exercise took into account the following factors:
-Size of the investment directed to the area
-Population changes
-Proportion of economically active residents
-Population Density
-Transportation Links
For commercial enterprises the scoring would favour positive aspects of a location however
for the Scottish Government the scoring favoured locations with the most problems to address.
For example, a business may score highly an area with high population density and good
transport links however the Scottish Government would have scored these two characteristics
lower and would have scored low population density and challenging transport links higher.
The outcome of this exercise was that the best location for further investment would be the
South of Scotland. This resulted in the establishment of South of Scotland to address
problems and take advantage of opportunities in an area.
Although the challenges within the area are documented (Skills Development Scotland, 2019)
it should be noted that the main influence for the creation of SOSE was political. In particular,
the requirement within the Scottish Government’s Economic Strategy to promote inclusive
growth. This means that all individuals, communities and businesses in Scotland should not
be disadvantaged as a result of their location in the country. Since there was no economic
agency based in the South of Scotland, SOSE would address this.
Other techniques to determine the most appropriate location such as the breakeven and
centre of gravity method would have been less appropriate.
Breakeven may have been complex to calculate and would have perhaps been too difficult for
the general public to understand. This method would have considered the financial spend on
investments in clients by SOSE against the anticipated future benefits from the investment.
The calculation could have been quite subjective based on the significant assumptions that
would need to have been made to account for potential future economic state of the region.
6
The centre of gravity method is generally used where a decision on a new location is required
in relation to existing locations (Hill & Hill, 2012). For SOSE there was no interdependency
with other locations so using this approach would be at the expense of the aspects considered
as part of the weighed factor method.
SOSE may wish to ensure that the factors that were considered in the setup of the organisation
are tracked to monitor progress. This can be used to confirm that public funds are continuing
to be spent in the way originally intended. This could also provide a justification to ask for
increased budget for the region from the Scottish Government or as justification for Scottish
Government to re-allocate funds to other regions or organisations.
2.2 – Operations Process Design
2.2.1 General Transformation Process
The General Transformation Process shown in figure 1 shows that information that operational
staff obtain from clients and other sources is converted, using information technology
facilitates and office facilities, into bespoke investment products that suit an individual client’s
needs. Staff can also provide access to professional services and advice in addition to cash
investment.
Figure 1: General Transformation Process Model (Adapted from Slack & Brandon-Jones,
2019).
7
2.2.2 Operations Process Map
The high level SOSE operations process map in figure 2 shows the primary process of the
organisation (a larger diagram is included in appendix 1). SOSE exists to invest in clients
within the South of Scotland Region.
Key:
Figure 2 SOSE Investment Approval Process Map
Clients are assigned an operational staff member as their single point of contact. They work
with clients and other sources to get sufficient information to appraise the client’s investment
application. After a meeting with their line manager, Head of Operations, they determine if the
application will progress to the Investment Panel Approval Meeting. Success at this meeting
means that the client is awarded the financial and non-financial support within the application.
The client continues to work with their operations staff contact to track progress and submit
financial claims as agreed milestones are met.
8
2.2.3 Operational Performance
SOSE’s operational performance can be assessed using the five performance objectives:
quality, speed, dependability, flexibility, cost (Slack & Brandon-Jones, 2019). The most
important performance objectives for SOSE are flexibility and cost.
SOSE has a flexible investment appraisal process that allows operational staff to work with
clients in an iterative way to address the issues that prevented access to other sources of
finance such as banks or philanthropic trusts. When staff understand why the client has been
unable to access alternative sources of finance, they are able to design an investment
package that resolves the issues while at the same time mitigating risks for the client and the
organisation.
Keeping the process limited to one member of staff at an early stage, as detailed in the
previous section in Figure 2, ensures that only those applications that are fully prepared and
are likely to be approved are progressed to the Investment Panel Approval Meeting. Clients
also value a more personalised approach as they get the opportunity to explain what factors
influence their organisations and how best to invest in growth (The Good Economy Partnership
& The Ethical Finance Hub, 2019)
No electronic system based submission are required so this ensures all dialogue is efficient
and is suitable for the individual circumstances of each client. From an internal perspective
the flexibility allows applications to remain in appraisal stage until sufficient information is
gathered to reject or proceed for approval.
SOSE must also operate in a cost-conscious way because they are spending public money.
The way that funds are spent will be scrutinised in significant detail and the public could
perceive that the money could be spent in better ways or used to fund other vital public
services.
SOSE measures operational performance by monitoring the following performance measures:
-Percentage of budget spent
-Number of Jobs created
-Increase in turnover of client organisations
-number of clients engaged in fair work practices
-number of organisations with increased capacity to grow
From a customer perspective if a grant is awarded this will provide greater benefit compared
with other sources of finance such as a bank loan. The bank loan will need to be repaid
9
however the grant does not. This is in addition to the benefits, such as increased turnover,
that the investment is intended to generate. Social value created should also considered
however this is difficult to measure (Patchett, 2019). Achieving the performance measures
above will be relatively easy however inclusive economic growth that includes social value
and is sustainable in the longer term will be more challenging.
SOSE decision making has a flat structure that allows for investment decisions to be made as
quickly as operational staff can appraise the application. Valid claims received from approved
investments can be paid to clients within 10 days.
2.2.4 The Four V’s
Operations processes can be differentiated by considering the Four V’s – volume, variety,
variation in demand and visibility (Slack & Brandon-Jones, 2019).
Volume – SOSE volume is low due to bespoke nature of each investment. Initial enquiry
volume may be high since the organisation does not limit who can contact it however the
proportion of clients that get progressed to the appraisal stage are relatively small.
Variety – Although the appraisal process is repeated for every client the format and
consequences of the information gathered may be different each time. SOSE offers bespoke
investment options that suit an individual client’s needs. Each client’s situation can be
complex and understanding the best approach can be time consuming.
Variation in demand – In general, SOSE does not market that investment is available so
demand is largely driven by word of mouth. This means that it is difficult to manage or predict
demand. This leads to underutilisation of staff at times and demand that exceeds capacity at
other times.
Visibility – SOSE clients have some visibility of the process as they provide information and
explanations for the investment application. This will increase the cost as these interactions
and progress reports have to be conducted in a professional way.
The Volume and variety that a process is required to produce will determine the design of the
process (Slack & Brandon-Jones, 2019). SOSE has medium to low volume and medium to
high variety so SOSE could therefore be considered to follow professional services process
types.
10
Staff spend significant amounts of time working with clients and performing due diligence on
potential investments. They create customised, bespoke financial solutions that meet the
needs of individual clients. These solutions are often more flexible than other sources of
finance as staff take the time to understand the client’s organisation and structure the
investment to fit the needs of the organisation.
Potentially some basic grants for low values that required very little due diligence could be
processed more like a service shop and therefore the bespoke service offered by SOSE
deviates from the natural line of fit in the product process matrix. This means that providing
the investment to clients in these circumstances costs more and provides greater flexibility
than is required to meet client needs.
SOSE would benefit from value stream mapping to ensure that each part of the process is
adding value for the customer and is optimised for efficiency and cost. SOSE could start by
identifying value add tasks to assess if further value can be leveraged from the tasks or if they
can be completed at a lower cost. If the organisation identified tasks that are underperforming,
they can either change them to be a value add activities or eliminate them. If a task doesn’t
add value but remains necessary SOSE could reduce the costs of executing the task. If a
task is created because of ineffectiveness in other parts of the organisation, improvements
should be implemented in the other part of the organisation.
2.3 – Capacity and Demand
SOSE is currently willing to work with all organisations that are based or planning to locate in
the South of Scotland. This means that demand may be vary significantly but the capacity of
applications that can be processed is limited to the number of working hours that operations
staff have to complete appraisals. There is also a limit to the number of applications that can
be presented to the Senior Leadership team at the weekly investment panel approval
meetings.
This is probably not sustainable in the longer term as staff have the potential to become
overwhelmed if demand is high or be underutilised if demand is low. High demand could lead
to long delays for clients waiting for investment decisions or it could lead to staff being over
worked. This may be without any warning and could result in substandard work as they try to
appraise more projects than the number of working hours permits. An increase in the number
of investment applications presented at the Investment Panel Approval Meeting could result
in time constraints for each application. This may prevent a comprehensive discussion of
each application and therefore bad decision making may result.
11
Little’s Law could assist with planning (Little, 1961). Figure 3 shows that based on the average
time required per application the 20 operational staff that have responsibility for working with
businesses could engage with 400 businesses. There are 11,500 businesses in the South of
Scotland so the organisation would have the capacity to work with 3.5% of them annually.
Figure 3 Littles Law Applied to SOSE Business Team (Adapted from Little, 1961)
SOSE currently has no techniques to manage demand. The organisation does not currently
limit the number of organisations that it is willing to work with. Based on the previous
calculation this is an unsustainable position. Stricter investment criteria could be used to
reduce demand to a level that can be managed within the capacity available.
In addition, the organisation could consider how electronic solutions may assist with managing
demand. There are a number of implications of automating decision making however in
particular transparency for stakeholders both for internally and externally should be
considered from an early stage (Allen, 2020)
Capacity could be increased by employing more staff however with no management of
demand the current utilisation issues would still be present. An alternative could be to reduce
the time taken per client. If operational staff perform less due diligence or provide less ongoing
support this may increase the risk of investments failing to obtain the intended outcomes.
Managers at SOSE could arrange for each element mentioned in Figure 3 to be measured
and regularly reported. This will clearly show if there is an issue and allow for it to be
addressed. It will also show if the remedial action has been successful (Little, 2011).
12
2.4 – Financial Controls
Unlike a commercial enterprise that may aim to maximise organisational profit or shareholder
wealth (Arnold, 2019) SOSE exists to spend money on investments in projects that will result
in economic and social returns for individuals, businesses, social enterprises and communities
located in the South of Scotland.
SOSE is awarded an annual budget by the Scottish Government that must be invested in full
during the year. There is not opportunity to carry cash forward to future financial years.
Finance business partners provide management information to the Investment Approval
Panel. In particular, they track progress of spend against budget. Although the finance
department may provide the information it is the responsibility of operational managers to plan
how the budget will we spent and deliver these plans (Atrill & McLaney, 2019).
All investment decisions are made by the panel of at least 3 senior managers or directors. A
director must be 1 of the panel members. This approach limits the number of people making
decisions so allows for a clear and quick decision making process. The senior managers and
directors have access to decision ready management information that ensures they know if
there is sufficient budget available prior to approving investment.
If demand is high this approach has the potential to create a bottle neck at the Investment
Panel Approval Meeting stage and delay investments being approved. SOSE could consider
expanding the scheme of delegated authority to allow less people or more junior members of
staff to approve investment proposals. This could allow investments below a certain value to
be approved by more junior members of staff rather than by the panel. This would reduce the
number of investments approved via the panel meeting. It would be important that any staff
approving investment had access to appropriate management information to ensure that
budget was allocated in the correct way and total commitments did not exceed total budget
awarded.
Now that the operational effectiveness has been evaluated the next section will assess the
tools and data sources used.
13
3. Evaluation of Tools and Data Sources
This section will evaluate the main tools and data sources used in section 2 using the OPVL
method. The Origin, Purpose, Value and Limitation of each will be reviewed as well as
advantages and disadvantages.
3.1 Date sourced from SOSE/Scottish Government Website
Origin – The websites contain information produced and published by SOSE and the Scottish
Government. It is the most up to date source of information as well as a repository for historic
information. Reports and information on these sites can sometimes have named authors or
can be created by teams within the organisation.
Purpose – The information is published to keep key stakeholders informed. It is an
opportunity for the organisation to justify its existence to the public. The details of any
publications are always accurate but may be used in a way that tells a version of the truth. It
is for that reason that it could not be considered an impartial source.
Value – This is a very useful source since all official publications and reports can be found
online from these websites. SOSE and Scottish Government have no choice but to provide
factual or statutory information such as the legal framework and policies that the organisation
must work within. The organisation can choose if they proactively use them or link external
communications to them. The information has not been reviewed independently however often
refers to third party input or public consultation.
Limitation – Since SOSE is a new organisation there is very little publicly available
information. Currently sources are limited largely to the SOSE and Scottish Government
website. The Scottish Government and other public sector agencies dedicate significant
resources to ensure the provision of reliable information. This does not mean that the
information published is comprehensive and therefore vital details may be missed. There is
significant organisational and political bias since SOSE exists to implement the policies of the
political party in power. Information is likely to be more positive than the reality may actually
be.
14
3.2 Operations Management Textbook (Slack & Brandon-Jones, 2019)
Origin –The book was first published in 1995 and last updated in 2019 when the nineth edition
was published. This indicates that the text has credibility and has kept up to date with
changes. The Authors Neil Slack and Alistair Brandon-Jones are professorial academics who
have experience in industry, research and as authors of books and papers. This provides a
more rounded approach to theory by bringing in real life experience.
Purpose – The purpose of the book is to educate the reader. Academic books such as
Operations Management (Slack & Barndon-Jones, 2019) are good at providing theoretical
explanation of key definitions, concepts, frameworks, models and theories. The authors are
attempting to provide the reader with information and tools to better understand and potentially
improve the organisation that they work in. Since the book has not been written for any
particular organisation or industry it could be considered an impartial source.
Value – This is a very useful source since the authors have compiled information from a variety
of other sources to provide comprehensive and verified comments on the subjects covered.
Limitation – Academic books can be considered objective however since they are written by
humans there would be an element of subjectivity. This may give rise to the introduction of
personal biases of the authors.
3.3 Online Articles
Origin – Online articles that do not originate from an academic journal, such as those from
Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, are posted rather than published so there is
uncertainty surrounding the degree of review prior to posting online. The authors are stated
however there is little detail on their work experience or current employment. Academic
journal articles undergo scrutiny prior to publication and the work includes references this is
not the case for these online articles.
Purpose – The purpose of the information is to provide a point of view that may rely more on
opinions rather than facts. The details of any publications are not expected to be impartial
and may be trying to advance a particular agenda. It is for that reason that it could not be
considered an impartial source.
Value – This source is a useful way to get a single authors opinion or information from a
particular organisation. In this case since the article is published on the website of the
Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply it is expected that there would be some degree
of review prior to publication.
15
Limitation – This source cannot be considered in isolation and must be considered subjective.
The bias will be personal as well as towards the professionals that subscribe to or read the
articles on the website. The advantage of the article is that it provides an unstructured point of
view that could provide the catalyst for future academic research.
3.4 Process Mapping
Origin – The process map in this document was created based on knowledge of the process
since no such process map has been published by the organisation either internally or
externally.
Purpose – A process map provides clear documentation of a particular process. It can show
the number of tasks, the order they need to occur and how they are interdependent. The
information should be factual however this will rely on collaborating with relevant members of
staff to ensure the process map accurately reflect reality. It can also be open to challenge and
can be easily updated as required.
Value – Process mapping is useful to build up knowledge of an organisations process. It can
also be used to assist document process improvements (White & Cicmil, 2016). Internal
stakeholders are best placed to verify a process map.
Limitation – The staff involved directly in the process should be consulted in the construction
of a process map. The greater the input from staff involved in the process the more reliable
the process map will be. Failing to involve staff with knowledge of the process will leave to
greater assumptions that may result in inaccuracies. In addition, managers may introduce
personal bias to convey their personal views on how the process should work rather than how
it is currently working.
3. Conclusion
This report has reviewed the operational effectiveness of SOSE across a range of dimensions.
The choice of location was discussed. The Scottish government used the Weighted Factor
Method to determine what area within Scotland that would benefit from additional financial
support. This led to the creation of SOSE.
SOSE’s processes are influenced by the fact the organisation has medium to low volume and
medium to high variety. Successful performance is measured by SOSE’s ability to be flexible
16
with investment funding for the individual needs of clients and maximise outcomes from costs
incurred.
SOSE has a limited capacity and unpredictable demand. This results in underutilisation of
staff when demand is low and overworked staff when demand is high and exceeds capacity.
The investment approval and budget monitoring part of the operational process ensures that
SOSE maximises outcomes from, and spends in full, the cash budget awarded each year to
invest in client projects.
The following key recommendations were made that could potentially improve efficiencies or
decision making:
-track progress of the key factors specific to the South of Scotland that were used to
justify the creation of the SOSE organisation. This could provide justification for
additional funds to be allocated to the region.
-expand the scheme of delegated authority to increase the number of people who can
approve investments to reduce the likelihood of bottlenecks within the approval
process.
-SOSE should monitor demand against available capacity to ensure remedial action
can be taken in a timely manner.
Bias was present in all the sources and tools used in this evaluation. It was both directly
through personal bias of the authors composing the written sources but also indirectly when
assumptions of those constructing process maps are considered.
17
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Appendices
1. SOSE Investment Approval Process Map
