OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Foundations of Operations Management



Operation Management in Business

Question 1

Understand the Nature and Importance of Operational Management

Operations management is the area of Business Administration dedicated to both research and the implementation of all these actions tend to generate greater value added through the planning, organization, direction and control in the production of both goods and of services, all aimed at increasing quality, productivity, improve customer satisfaction for customers and reduce costs (Pilkington & Meredith, 2009, pp. 56). At the strategic level, the objective of Directors of Operations is involved in finding a sustainable competitive advantage for the company.

Importance of Operational Management

Operational management is understood or "managing down" which makes the public management into your organization to increase its ability to achieve their political purposes. It includes changes in organizational structure and system of roles and functions, the choice of leaders and mid-level advisor, the process of training of permanent staff, continuous improvement of the functioning of the organization with its current technology and the introduction of technical and strategic innovations in line with ongoing projects (Lowson, 2002, pp. 78). Operational management is all activities related to the deliberate transformation of materials, information or customers. Operating function includes activities that result in manufactured goods and services supplied by the organization to the external environment. Organization may vary greatly in nature operating functions. For example, in industrial raw materials are processed, and the first from the raw produce individual parts and components, then assemble them into finished products.

Need to Product Safely, on Time, to Cost, to Quality and Within the Law

The organizations must ensure that the employ effective improvement practices and methods like lean manufacturing techniques for maintaining the competitive advantage in the market. The quality and cost of the products are certified by the universal standards like ISO 9001 (Shim & Siegel, 2009, pp. 78). This assists the organizations in maintaining the quality of the products. All business professionals including managers and executives are involved in accounting costs. Mostly, the organizations set up complex and latest management systems still run their accounting system based on traditional cost accounting principles of business management. Many of the organizations focus on diverse kinds of safety of the products. Some of the major categories are as follow:

1. Waste Management

2. Fire Safety

3. Radiation Safety

4. Chemical Hygiene

5. Biological Safety

Link between Operations Management and Strategic Planning

The operational and strategic management are not opposed to each other, but are complementary elements of the management process. Moreover, operational management acts as a natural stage of translating strategic. The decision in favor of the type of management and strategic planning can lead to the loss of the current profits of the company, creating a financial hardship and threaten its very existence (Mahadevan, 2009, pp. 123). Therefore, the challenge is to provide the optimal combination and balance between strategic and operational planning management.

Question 2

Systems Diagram to Illustrate a Typical Business

A typical business consists of the following five operations which are necessary to operate for the smooth running of ...