Strategic Operations Management

Strategic Operations Management

Introduction

Operations management includes the process's management. These processes involve the delivery and production of services and goods. All the organizations manage their processes no matter that they have operations department or not. Thus, all the organizations and firms carry out activities of managing operations because each and every organization delivers services or produces goods (James, 2011). Resources that are involved in the processes of operations are managed by the operations manager. Inputs of organizations are transformed into finished services and goods with the help of these processes and the management of this transformation is the role of operations management. All the areas such as marketing, finance, HRM etc include processes within the organization. There are two major types that are used to transform the processes. One type is facilities such as equipment, process technology and building (James, 2011). Other type is staff i.e. all those people who are engaged in processes of operations whereas in case of services, customers will be involved as a resource of transformation.

There are three major categories of transformed resource. They are materials, information and customers. Materials can be transformed by location i.e. transportation, physically i.e. manufacturing, by storage i.e. warehousing or by ownership i.e. retail. Information can be altered by possession i.e. market research, by property i.e. accountants, by location i.e. telecommunication or by storage i.e. libraries (James, 2011). Customers can be altered either by storage i.e. hotels, by physiological state i.e. hospitals, physically i.e. hairdresser, by psychological state i.e. entertainment or by location i.e. airlines.

Strategy is the scope and direction of a firm for the long period of time. Preferably, it matches the resources to its varying environment and in specific its customers, clients or markets in order to meet the expectations of stakeholders. Strategy exists in 3 major levels and they are business, functional and corporate (James, 2011).

Corporate level strategy gives long range direction for the entire firm at the corporate or highest level. Corporate level strategy describes that in what business should the organization be. Business level strategy describes the way organization competes in their business (James, 2011). The concern of this strategy is with the services or products that are required to offer within the market identified at the corporate level. In functional level strategy organization's functions (for instance marketing, operations or finance) construct plans that are long range which helps in supporting the competitive gain which is being followed by the business strategy. Functional level strategy describes that how functions play a part to the business strategy (James, 2011).

Operations strategy is based on the decisions of total pattern which helps in shaping the long standing potentials of any operation and their participation in complete strategy, by the settlement of market needs with resources of operations (James, 2011).

Operations strategy uses market based method in order to make decisions related to customers and market within their targeted market. Market positions of the organization are the main aspect in which the performance of the organization facilitates ...