A REAL WORLD STUDY AT

MALAYALA MANORAMA
PATHANAMTHITTA
A Real World Study report submitted in partial fulfilment of requirement
for the award of degree of

Master of Business Administration of Kerala University

Submitted by

SHIJU M RAJU (Roll No: 0805344)

BIBINSHA B (Roll No: 0805313)

IRISHI KIRAN PR (Roll No: 0805318)

Under the guidance of

Faculty guide Project guide

Mr. S AMBEESH MON Mr.AJEESH MURALIDHARAN

IMK SUB EDITOR

Institute of Management in Kerala

(UIT-CME)

ADOOR

2008 November

1
 DECLARATION

We declare that the project report entitled “A real world

study at “MALAYALA MANORAMA” submitted by us for the award of

the degree of Master of Business Administration of the University of

Kerala is our own work. The report has not been submitted for the award

of any other degree of this University or any other University.

Place: Adoor

Date: 22-11-2008 Shiju M Raju

BibinSha B

Irishi Kiran PR

2
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

At this juncture, we accord our deep sense of thanks and gratitude to Faculty
guide Mr.Ambeesh Mon S for his valuable directions enabling us to
complete this project.

We take this opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks to the MALAYALA

MANORAMA, Pathanamthitta an opportunity to do the project in their
organization.

We would also like to express our sincere thanks to Mr. AjEESH

MURALEEDHARAN, Sub Editor and Mr.Teji K Vargheese
Circulating Executive for their valuable help.

We express our ultimate gratitude to the God Almighty that has been
instrument for enlightening us on our academic venture.

Last but not least, we take this opportunity to thank our parents who
helped us in making this endeavour a success.

Shiju M Raju
Bibin Sha B
Irishi kiran P R

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Chapter No. Title Page No.

INTRODUCTION
1 • Introduction 5
• Objectives 7
7
• Methodology
8
• Scope of study
• Limitations 9
• Chapterisation 10

11

2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 11-23

23-27
3
INDUSTRIAL PROFILE

4 COMPANY PROFILE 27-30

4
 5 ACTUAL STUDY 30-36

FINDINGS, CONCLUSION &

SUGGESTIONS
6
 Findings 36-38
 Suggestions
 Conclusion

7 BIBLIOGRAPHY 39

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The main aim of this real world study is to gain

an organizational familiarization and a practical exposure of the
implementation of various layouts.Malayala Manorama is a popular
Malayalam daily newspaper in Kerala, India. This is India's largest
circulated "regional newspaper".[citation needed] The Manorama group,
which manages the newspaper, also runs the Manorama Yearbook, a
circulated yearbook in the region. Malayala Manorama, which first appeared
on 14 March 1890, as a weekly, currently has a readership of over 16
million, with a circulation base of over 16 lakhs copies.Manorama is
Kerala's largest selling and most widely read newspaper[citation needed].
Malayala Manorama has the largest readership among Malayalam dailies.

5
[citation needed].The Malayalam word Manorama roughly
translates to "Entertainer." Even though this news paper is credited
with mass circulation, the legitimacy of its news content is often
questioned. It is also widely known for sensationalizing news
events to attract public attention.
A joint stock publishing company, destined to acquire the status of
the first joint stock publishing company of Republic of India, was
incorporated by in 1888 by Kandathil Varghese Mappillai at
Kottayam, then a small town in the kingdom of Travancore,
currently, a part of Kerala state, India. The first issue of Malayala
Manorama was published on 22 March 1890 from the press
owned by Malankara Metropoltan H.G Joseph Mar Dionysius of
Orthodox church. The name Malayalam Manorama was chosen
by the poet,Raghavan Nambiar, Villuvarvattathu from Tiruvalla
Kerala Varmagranted the symbol which is a part of the Travancore
kingdom symbol. In a period of two years, from the date of
incorporation till the publication commenced, the company
witnessed several challenges. The undertaking had pumped money
in to the state at a time when money lending and upper class living
were just privileges of elite Hindus or royalty. This sudden change
in the economy and reform in banking promoted by a minority
community (considering the population of Syrian Christians in
Kerala) earned the wrath of the ruling Travancore regime. Once
the paper was closed down owing to this and a bank owned by
Manorama was locked out. Manorama has recently ventured into
broadcasting

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1.2 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The objectives of this real world study conducted by us are:

 To see and understand different types of layouts in an

organization.

 To get an idea about the Print media industry.

 To get a clear idea of how the layout process is

carried on in malayala manorama.
 To identify the implemented layout in the
organization.
 To study the advantages and disadvantages of that
layout.
 To study what are the steps to implement a layout.

 To know the process of plant and product layout.

 To get an overall idea of the layout process.

1.3 METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN OF STUDY

7
 The study aims at evaluating the layout carried out at malayala

manorama

1.3.1 Types of data used & Sources

Data were collected from primary and secondary sources by

personal interview and going through the despatch sheets of the
organisation, browsing internet, etc…..

Primary data was collected through interview with the

editors ,reporters , executives, managers….etc

Secondary data about Malayala manorama were collected

from organizational records.

The methodology of study adopted by us is that of “Direct

Interview”. In other words most of the data that we made use of is primary

data and are collected by us. All the data collection is done by us by directly

interviewing the people concerned with the function at various levels. In

addition to this in order to get a clear idea of layout process we have also

interviewed a number of reporters , technicians ,sub editors….etc.

1.3.2 Period of study

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 Period of study was for 1 day, during November.

1.4 SCOPE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

plant layout is one of the most important functional areas of

operations management. This study conducted by us helped us to clearly

understand how this complicated function is carried out in a print media like

malayala manorama.This is of great significance to us because by studying it

we are now in a position to understand and also undertake confidently the

task of layout process.

1.5 LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

As usual for any research, this study was also having certain
limitations as mentioned below:

• An in-depth study was not possible because the time limit was the
main constraint.

• In some departments, actual data was not provided since they had no
time to go through the record. So the data collected may have the
unforeseen bias in terms of the accuracy and validity even though
precautions were taken while recording the data.

9
 • It is difficult to get information from the workers about the specific
layout because they don’t know how to relate these facts with the
theory.

1.6 Chapterisation

Chapter I : Deals with Introduction, scope and significance

of the study, Objectives o the study, Methodological Design and Limitations

of the study

Chapter II : Deals with Review of Literature

Chapter III : Industry Profile

Chapter IV : Company Profile

Chapter V : Actual Study

Chapter VI : Deals with Findings, conclusions and Suggestions

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 CHAPTER-2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

PLANT LAYOUT

Introduction
Plant layout is a floor plan of physical facilities which are used in
production. Layout planning refers to the generation of several possible
plans for the spatial arrangement of physical facilities and select the one
which minimizes the distance between the department

BASIC PRINCIPLES

The basic principles of plant lay out are there fore, as follows:

a) The total movement of materials should be minimum. For this, one

has to consider the movement distances between different work areas
and the number of times such movement occur per unit period of time.

b) The arrangement of the work area should have as much congruence as

possible with the flow of materials within the plant(from the stage of
raw materials to the stage of finished goods.

11
 c) The layout should ensure adequate safety and healthy working
conditions for the employees.

d) A good layout should take into consideration all the three dimensions
of space available. In addition to the floor space, the vertical space
available should also be taken into account while designing the work.

e) The layout should be adaptable or flexible enough so as to allow for

probable changes in the future as all systems should anticipate
changes in the future

f) A good layout has to satisfy, therefore ,the availability of space, the

size and work area requirements of machinery and other utilities ,the
flow direction, type and number of movements of the material ,
workers, and also the future anticipated changes.

The objectives of plant layout are:

• Minimize investment in equipment.

• Minimize overall production time.

• Utilize existing space most effectively.

• Provide for employee convenience , safety and comfort.

• Maintain flexibility of arrangement and operation.

• Minimize materials-handling cost.

• Facililitate the manufacturing process.

• Facililitate the organizational structure.

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CLASSIFICATION OF LAY OUT

Layout can be classified into the following four

Categories.

1. Process layout

2. Product layout

3. Fixed position layout

4. Group layout (combination layout)

PROCESS LAYOUT or LAYOUT BY FUNCTION

This is typical of the job shop type of production where the equipment
performing similar operation is grouped together. For instance, grinding
machines could be grouped together to form a work area, milling machines
could be together, drilling machines could be grouped together , etc. such a
layout particularly useful where the volume of manufacture is low and the
variety of the jobs is great . Process layouts are found primarily in job shops,
or firms that produce customized, low-volume products that may require
different processing requirements and sequences of operations. Process
layouts are facility configurations in which operations of a similar nature or
function are grouped together. As such, they occasionally are referred to as
functional layouts. Their purpose is to process goods or provide services that

13
involve a variety of processing requirements. A manufacturing example
would be a machine shop. Therefore, facilities that are configured according
to individual functions or processes have a process layout. This type of
layout gives the firm the flexibility needed to handle a variety of routes and
process requirements. Services that utilize process layouts include hospitals,
banks, auto repair, libraries, and universities.

Improving process layouts involves the minimization of transportation cost,

distance, or time. To accomplish this some firms use what is known as a
Muther grid, where subjective information is summarized on a grid
displaying various combinations of department, work group, or machine
pairs

stores Assembling Painting

Sub assembling

Grinding

Receiving Plant office

shipping Turning Welding

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Advantages
1. Reduced investment on machines as they are general purpose
machines.

2. Greater flexibility in the production.

3. Better and more efficient supervision is possible through

specialisation.

4. Employees in this type of layout will probably be able to perform a

variety of tasks on multiple machines, as opposed to the boredom of
performing a repetitive task on an assembly line. A process layout
also allows the employer to use some type of individual incentive
system

Disadvantages

1. There is difficulty in the movement of materials.

2. This type of layout requires more floor space.
3. there is difficulty in production control.
4. Production time is more as work-in-progress has to travel
from place to place in search of machines.
5. There is accumulation of work-in-progress at different
places.

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PRODUCT LAYOUT

Product layout also called the straight –line layout or layout for serialised
manufacture ,product layout involves the arrangement of machine in one
line, depending upon the sequence of operations. Materials are fed into the
first machine and finished products come out of the last machines. In theory,
this sequential layout allows the entire process to be laid out in a straight
line, which at times may be totally dedicated to the production of only one
product or product version. The flow of the line can then be subdivided so
that labour and equipment are utilized smoothly throughout the operation
Two types of lines are used in product layouts: paced and unpaced. Paced
lines can use some sort of conveyor that moves output along at a continuous
rate so that workers can perform operations on the product as it goes by. For
longer operating times, the worker may have to walk alongside the work as
it moves until he or she is finished and can walk back to the workstation to
begin working on another part (this essentially is how automobile
manufacturing works).

On an unpaced line, workers build up queues between workstations to allow

a variable work pace. However, this type of line does not work well with
large, bulky products because too much storage space may be required.
Also, it is difficult to balance an extreme variety of output rates without
significant idle time. A technique known as assembly-line balancing can be

16
used to group the individual tasks performed into workstations so that there
will be a reasonable balance of work among the workstations.

Product layout efficiency is often enhanced through the use of line

balancing. Line balancing is the assignment of tasks to workstations in such
a way that workstations have approximately equal time requirements. This
minimizes the amount of time that some workstations are idle, due to
waiting on parts from an upstream process or to avoid building up an
inventory queue in front of a downstream process.

Advantages

1. Product layouts can generate a large volume of products in a short

time.
2. There is a high degree of labour and equipment utilization.
3. This type of layout avoids production bottlenecks.
4. It requires less floor area per unit of production.
5. Work-in progress is reduced and investment thereon , minimised.
6. Early detection of mistakes or badly produced items is possible.

Disadvantages

1. Product layouts are inflexible and cannot easily respond to required

system changes—especially changes in product or process design.
2. The system is at risk from equipment breakdown, absenteeism, and
downtime due to preventive maintenance.
3. This type of layout is also expensive.
4. Any breakdown of equipment along the production line can disrupt
the whole system.

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FIXED-POSITION LAYOUT

As the term itself implies, fixed position layout involves the movement of
men and machines to the product which remains stationary. A fixed-position
layout is appropriate for a product that is too large or too heavy to move. For
example, battleships are not produced on an assembly line. For services,
other reasons may dictate the fixed position (e.g., a hospital operating room
where doctors, nurses, and medical equipment are brought to the patient).
Other fixed-position layout examples include construction (e.g., buildings,
dams, and electric or nuclear power plants), shipbuilding, aircraft, aerospace,
farming, drilling for oil, home repair, and automated car washes. In order to
make this work, required resources must be portable so that they can be
taken to the job for “on the spot” performance.

Due to the nature of the product, the user has little choice in the use of a
fixed-position layout. Disadvantages include:

• Space. For many fixed-position layouts, the work area may be

crowded so that little storage space is available. This also can cause
material handling problems.

Administration. Oftentimes, the administrative burden is higher for fixed-

position layouts. The span of control can be narrow, and coordination

18
 FIXED LAYOUT

Drill Mill

Lathe Grind

Stores WORK PIECE Warehouse

Saw Assembly

Weld Paint

COMBINATION LAYOUTS

Many situations call for a mixture of the three main layout types. These
mixtures are commonly called combination or hybrid layouts. For example,
one firm may utilize a process layout for the majority of its process along
with an assembly in one area. Alternatively, a firm may utilize a fixed-
position layout for the assembly of its final product, but use assembly lines

19
to produce the components and subassemblies that make up the final product
(e.g., aircraft).

CELLULAR MANUFACTURING (CM) LAYOUT

Cellular manufacturing is a type of layout where machines are grouped

according to the process requirements for a set of similar items (part
families) that require similar processing. These groups are called cells.
Therefore, a cellular layout is an equipment layout configured to support
cellular manufacturing.

Processes are grouped into cells using a technique known as group

technology (GT). Group technology involves identifying parts with similar
design characteristics (size, shape, and function) and similar process
characteristics (type of processing required, available machinery that
performs this type of process, and processing sequence).

Workers in cellular layouts are cross-trained so that they can operate all the
equipment within the cell and take responsibility for its output. Sometimes
the cells feed into an assembly line that produces the final product. In some
cases a cell is formed by dedicating certain equipment to the production of a
family of parts without actually moving the equipment into a physical cell
(these are called virtual or nominal cells). In this way, the firm avoids the

20
burden of rearranging its current layout. However, physical cells are more
common.

An automated version of cellular manufacturing is the flexible

manufacturing system (FMS). With an FMS, a computer controls the
transfer of parts to the various processes, enabling manufacturers to achieve
some of the benefits of product layouts while maintaining the flexibility of
small batch production.

Some of the advantages of cellular manufacturing include:

• Cost. Cellular manufacturing provides for faster processing time, less

material handling, less work-in-process inventory, and reduced setup
time, all of which reduce costs.
• Flexibility. Cellular manufacturing allows for the production of small
batches, which provides some degree of increased flexibility. This
aspect is greatly enhanced with FMSs.

Since workers are cross-trained to run every machine in the cell, boredom
is less of a factor. Also, since workers are responsible for their cells’
output, more autonomy and job ownership is present.

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OTHER LAYOUTS

In addition to the aforementioned layouts, there are others that are more
appropriate for use in service organizations. These include
warehouse/storage layouts, retail layouts, and office layouts.

With warehouse/storage layouts, order frequency is a key factor. Items that

are ordered frequently should be placed close together near the entrance of
the facility, while those ordered less frequently remain in the rear of the
facility. Pareto analysis is an excellent method for determining which items
to place near the entrance. Since 20 percent of the items typically represent
80 percent of the items ordered, it is not difficult to determine which 20
percent to place in the most convenient location. In this way, order picking
is made more efficient.

While layout design is much simpler for small retail establishments (shoe
repair, dry cleaner, etc.), retail stores, unlike manufacturers, must take into
consideration the presence of customers and the accompanying opportunities
to influence sales and customer attitudes. For example, supermarkets place
dairy products near the rear of the store so that customers who run into the
store for a quick gallon of milk must travel through other sections of the
store. This increases the chance of the customer seeing an item of interest
and making an impulse buy. Additionally, expensive items such as meat are
often placed so that the customer will see them frequently (e.g., pass them at
the end of each aisle). Retail chains are able to take advantage of

22
standardized layouts, which give the customer more familiarity with the
store when shopping in a new location.

Office layouts must be configured so that the physical transfer of

information (paperwork) is optimized. Communication also can be enhanced
through the use of low-rise partitions and glass walls.

A number of changes taking in place in manufacturing have had a direct

effect on facility layout. One apparent manufacturing trend is to build
smaller and more compact facilities with more automation and robotics. In
these situations, machines need to be placed closer to each other in order to
reduce material handling. Another trend is an increase in automated material
handling systems, including automated storage and retrieval systems
(AS/AR) and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). There also is movement
toward the use of U-shaped lines, which allow workers, material handlers,
and supervisors to see the entire line easily and travel efficiently between
workstations. So that the view is not obstructed, fewer walls and partitions
are incorporated into the layout. Finally, thanks to lean manufacturing and
just-in-time production, less space is needed for inventory storage
throughout the layout

3.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE

The Origins of Newspapers
The history of newspapers is an often-dramatic chapter of the human
experience going back some five centuries. In Renaissance Europe
handwritten newsletters circulated privately among merchants, passing along

23
information about everything from wars and economic conditions to social
customs and “human interest” features. The first printed forerunners of the
newspaper appeared in Germany in the late 1400’s in the form of news
pamphlets or broadsides, often highly sensationalized in content. Some of
the most famous of these report the atrocities against Germans in
Transylvania perpetrated by a sadistic veovod named Vlad Tsepes Drakul,
who became the Count Dracula of later folklore.

In the English-speaking world, the earliest predecessors of the newspaper

were corantos, small news pamphlets produced only when some event
worthy of notice occurred. The first successively published title was The
Weekly Newes of 1622. It was followed in the 1640’s and 1650’s by a
plethora of different titles in the similar newsbook format. The first true
newspaper in English was the London Gazette of 1666. For a generation it
was the only officially sanctioned newspaper, though many periodical titles
were in print by the century’s end.

The Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution, as it transformed all aspects of American life and

society, dramatically affected newspapers. Both the numbers of papers and
their paid circulations continued to rise. The 1850 census catalogued 2,526
titles. In the 1850’s powerful, giant presses appeared, able to print ten
thousand complete papers per hour. At this time the first “pictorial” weekly
newspapers emerged; they featured for the first time extensive illustrations
of events in the news, as woodcut engravings made from correspondents’
sketches or taken from that new invention, the photograph. During the Civil
War the unprecedented demand for timely, accurate news reporting
transformed American journalism into a dynamic, hard-hitting force in the
national life. Reporters, called “specials,” became the darlings of the public
and the idols of youngsters everywhere. Many accounts of battles turned in
by these intrepid adventurers stand today as the definitive histories of their
subjects.

Newspaper growth continued unabated in the postwar years. An astounding

11,314 different papers were recorded in the 1880 census. By the 1890’s the

24
first circulation figures of a million copies per issue were recorded
(ironically, these newspapers are now quite rare due to the atrocious quality
of cheap paper then in use, and to great losses in World War II era paper
drives) At this period appeared the features of the modern newspaper, bold
“banner” headlines, extensive use of illustrations, “funny pages,” plus
expanded coverage of organized sporting events. The rise of “yellow
journalism” also marks this era. Hearst could truthfully boast that his
newspapers manufactured the public clamor for war on Spain in 1898. This
is also the age of media consolidation, as many independent newspapers
were swallowed up into powerful “chains”; with regrettable consequences
for a once fearless and incorruptible press, many were reduced to vehicles
for the distribution of the particular views of their owners, and so remained,
without competing papers to challenge their viewpoints. By the 1910’s, all
the essential features of the recognizably modern newspaper had emerged. In
our time, radio and television have gradually supplanted newspapers as the
nation’s primary information sources, so it may be difficult initially to
appreciate the role that newspapers have played in our history.

THE MAJOR 05 NEWSPAPERS IN INDIA

1. The Hindu
2. Indian Express
3. Times of India
4. Malayala Manorama
5. Sakal

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 Chapter-4

COMPANY PROFILE

Malayala Manorama is a popular Malayalam daily newspaper in

Kerala, India. This is India's largest circulated "regional
newspaper".[citation needed] The Manorama group, which
manages the newspaper, also runs the Manorama Yearbook, a
circulated yearbook in the region. Malayala Manorama, which first
appeared on 14 March 1890, as a weekly, currently has a
readership of over 16 million, with a circulation base of over 16
laks copies.Manorama is Kerala's largest selling and most widely
read newspaper[citation needed]. Malayala Manorama has the
largest readership among Malayalam dailies.[citation needed].The
Malayalam word Manorama roughly translates to "Entertainer."
Even though this news paper is credited with mass circulation, the
legitimacy of its news content is often questioned. It is also widely
known for sensationalizing news events to attract public attention
Manorama is Kerala's largest selling and
most widely read newspaper.Now K.M Mathew is the Chief Editor
of malayala manorama. There are 10 independent editions inside

26
kerala and there is also editions from New Delhi ,Bangalore,
Mumbai, Chennai and there are two international editions from
Bahrain and United Arab Emirates. In total there are 16 editions for
Malayala Manorama

Timeline

• 1888 Malayala Manorama founded

• 1890 First issue of Malayala Manorama was published on 14th March
• 1892 Publication of Bhashaposhini commenced
• 1901 Malayala Manorama becomes bi-weekly
• 1904 Kandathil Varghese Mappillai, the key figure passes away on
6th July
• 1915 Malayala Manorama commences publication of daily World
War I supplements
• 1918 Malayala Manorama becomes triweekly on 2nd July
• 1928 Malayala Manorama becomes a daily from 2nd July
• 1929 On 29th May, Akhila Kerala Balajana Sakhyam formed
• 1930 Malayala Manorama’s first Annual Number appears
• 1937 Commencement of Malayala Manorama Weekly from 8th
August
• 1938 Travancore state proscribes Malayala Manorama on 10th
September
o An issue appears on 14th September from the state of Cochin-
from the Kunnamkulam press of the Orthodox church.
• 1939 K. C. Mammen Mappillai was convicted and imprisoned on
trumpeted charges of corruption and fraud
• 1941 Mammen Mappilla released after being absolved of all false
cases
• 1947 From 29th November, Malayala Manorama re-commences
regular publication
• 1950 Installation of the first rotary press
• 2007 Becomes the only regional language daily in India to cross 15
lakh copies.
• 2008 Becomes the only regional language daily in India to cross
16lakh copies

27
The Malayalam Manorama group of publication has a long list of best
selling magazines and reference books, including the following:

1. The Week (English news weekly)

2. Bhashaposhini (Malayalam literary review monthly)

3. Karshakashree (Agricultural news monthly)

4. Manorama Weekly (Malayalam weekly)

5. Manorama Varshikapathippu (Annual)

6. Vijayaveedhi (For grade 10 students)

7. Vanitha (Women's bi-weekly magazine - Malayalam, Hindi)

8. Kalikkudukka (Pre-primary school publication in Malayalam)

9. Magic Pot (English weekly for pre-primary students)

10.Balarama (Children's weekly)

11.Balarama Digest (Children's information magazine - weekly)

12.Amarchitrakatha (Children's weekly consists of picture stories)(Amar

Chitra Katha is from the publishing house India Book House)

13.Thozhilveedhi (A weekly for job seekers)

14.Knowledge Adventure CDROM (General Knowledge CD ROM)

15.Ente Malayalam - Multimedia CD ROM (to promote Malayalam)

28
 16.Hindi Year Book

17.English Year Book

18.Tamil Year Book

19.Malayalam Year Book

20.Bengali Year Book

21.Tell me why (reference resource for children)

22.Aarogyam (Health magazine)

23.Sampadyam (Business magazine)

24.Sreeman (Men's magazine-annual)

CHAPTER 5 BOD
BOD
THE ACTUAL FINDINGS

LAYOUT IMPLEMENTED IN MALAYALA MANORAMA

Among the various layouts as above mentioned,

Malayala manorama adopted the various layouts in the practical aspect. The
Pathanamthitta unit is a three storied building. Each storey built in
purposeful for their smooth working

Ground floor
In the ground floor they arranged reporters bureau, editorial
board, circulation wing, marketing wing, finance department , advertisement
wing , MM News studio, a recently started a matrimonial website named
mformarry.com, reception, press, stock room.

29
First floor
In the second floor they created a Senior co-ordinater
cum editor’s cabin (He is the real protégé of the entire unit), sub editors
board ,proof readers room, ,designing room .

Second floor
The second floor is set up for pre printing works and rest of
floor is reserved for their FM radio named RADIO MANGO and it is
coming soon in the Pathanamthitta district.

30
 SECOND FLOOR

Pre press

Conference hall

FIRST FLOOR

Editorial

Personal and administration

Materials

GROUND FLOOR

News bureau

Finance department

Marketing

Circulation

STEPS TO IMPLEMENT PRODUCT LAYOUT

31
 Product layout involves arranging the various
manufacturing processes to fit the sequence required by the product.
Detailed design involves allocating work tasks to locations. The decisions to
be made are:

• What cycle time is needed?

• How many processing stages are needed?
• How should variation in time taken for different tasks be dealt with?
• How should the layout be balanced?
• How should the stages be arranged?

CYCLE TIME

The cycle time of a product layout is the time between completed products
emerging from the operation. Cycle time is a vital factor in the design of
product layouts and influences most other detailed design decisions. It is
calculated by considering the likely demand for the products over a period
and the amount of production time available in that period.

NUMBER OF STAGES

The next decision concerns the number of processing stages, where a

processing stage is a distinct period of time to carry out part of the unit

32
manufacture. The number of such stages can be anything between one and
several hundred, depending on the cycle time required and the quantity of
work involved in making the product. The latter quantity is called the ‘total
work content’ of the product. The larger the total work content and the
smaller the required cycle time, the more stages will be necessary.

TASK-TIME VARIATION

At the moment we can imagine a line of five stages, each contributing less
than a quarter of the total work content in processing the single unit. In
practice of course, the flow would not be so regular. Each stage might on s

BALANCING WORK TIME ALLOCATION

The most problematic, detailed design decision in product layout is ensuring

the equal allocation of tasks to each stage in the line. This is called line
balancing. For this particular factory, we have assumed that 16 minutes of
work content has been allocated equally to the five stations. This is nearly
always impossible to achieve in practice and some imbalance in the work
allocation between stages will inevitably result. This will increase the
effective cycle time of the line.

33
The effectiveness of line balancing is measured by balancing loss. This is
the time wasted through the unequal allocation of work as a percentage of
the total time invested in processing the product.

The real beginning of a newspaper is starting

from the bureau. The reporters collecting news from outside and bring it into
the editorial table. Under the Pathanamthitta unit there are seven sub units
and all the seven sub units are connected to the Pathanamthitta unit via
networking and all the 16 editions are interconnected to the main unit at
kottayam. Reporting news is the primary step in the creation of a news paper

The collected news from the reporters trimmed and

reshaped into a soothing manner to read and send it to the sub editors table
and then they arrange the news according to its priority in the news paper.
The front page , sports page and last page are solely designed at the
kottayam (head office).Usually all the three pages are same in all editions
the pages from main unit are send to all editions in the late 10 pm through
on line. and rest of the pages are printing in the responsible units.

The next step is designing the news paper or

making layout for the news paper and this job is doing by veterans in the
industry. The designing process is doing in a special software called
ADOBE IN DESIGN 2.0 and SMART FLOW. the arranged layouts
allowed to proof checking .And the checked layouts are send to pre press
section.

The pre press section contains proof reading,

composing ,sheet preparation which means the PDF files transferred to
aluminium sheets. The aluminium sheets are used for printing the news
paper . Very sophisticated machinery are used for all these purposes.

The penultimate step is printing the newspaper.

A gigantic machine is used for printing the news papers its name is Mitch
gin which is imported from Russia. And the paper for printing is imported
from Russia, Brazil, China, Thailand and also from our own Assam and
kerala.

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parameter
target Previous Current month average

month

ontime >95% 93.16 - 89.90

quantity >77%

<3% 2.88 2.99 2.80

Total waste

Down time <12% 1.33 1.44 1.26

This table is used for computing the total wastages in

the production section and redress the garbage

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 CHAPTER 6

FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND

SUGGESTIONS

FINDINGS

Some of the major things that came to my notice are mentioned below.

1. Good management employee relationship.

2. More quality conscious than quantity.
3. Separate supervisors for separate sections.
4. Qualified employees.
5. For quality improvement they are using quality check point at the end
of each stage.
6. Well sophisticated machines are used for the production.
7. powerful advertisements.
8. Brand name.
9. concentration in right politics
10.more religious oriented news.
11.Giving more importance in advertisement.

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 CONCLUSION

Print media in India and around the world has gone through dynamic
changes through globalization. In this modern world the other types of
medias like electronic media, internet, radios etc. are very popular and they
catch the major part in this industry. But today print media has its on
importance. The layout plays an important role, because maximum
utilization of the space within the plant gives the employees to work
independently and freely. This leads to the job satisfaction and finally
results in low employee turnover. The organization taken for the study is
following the product oriented layout. In product oriented layout they are
using assembly line technique for the mass production. Malayala manorama
is ranked as one of the top ten news papers in India. They are also giving
much importance to the quality rather than the quantity. For quality check
they examine the whole unit instead of taking a sample for the whole
produced items.

SUGGESTIONS

• Should implement new technologies to reduce cycle time.

• Ensure workers participation in managing layout decisions.

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• Put suggestion boxes for collecting the data about the layout and
spacing of the production plant.
• Should encourage more sales promotional activities.
• Collect feedback from the employees about the particular layout.
• Employees should be provided with more technological training.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Company Journals

2. Operations Management - SN CHARRY

3. Operations Management – Jay Heizer and Barry Render

Eight Edition, Pearson Education (2008)

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WEBSITES

1. www.wikiepedia.com
2. www.google.com
3. www.malayalamanorama.com
4. www.rediff.com

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