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integral functions in businesses around the world, and we have to face it from day to
day whether we work in production or service industries. If we only choose a limited
functional perspective, we will surely restrict our decisions. In other words, we cannot
see an overall picture and do not meet requirements of employers. Additionally, we
study operations management to maintain efficient production or service processes with
a workforce in order to readily adapt to new equipment and schedules, on the other
hand, to ensure smooth and efficient operation. Studying operations management
provides necessary ideas, techniques and principles which can be used in both
manufacturing and service industries. The principles of process thinking can be applied
across the business. Overall, operations Management is an interesting and challenging
field of study.
2. What is the difference between the terms “production management” and “operations
management”?
3. How does the function of an operations manager differ from the function of a
marketing manager or a finance manager? How are these functions similar?
The function of an operations manager is to create the supply of goods, whereas the
marketing manager’s function is to create the demand for goods. Meanwhile the
function of a finance manager is to secure and allocate the capital to produce the
goods.
These functions are similar because decisions made by all three managers affect four
types of operations decisions including process, quality, capacity and inventory.
Therefore, a high level of integration is needed between decisions made by the
marketing, finance, and operations managers.
4. How is the operations management field related to the fields of human resources,
information systems, or accounting?
The human resources function directly influences the skills level of operations workforce,
their capacity and availability to perform work, and their ability to work as a team
towards common goals. Operations management is a major internal customer of
information systems, and as a result, these systems generally support specific operations
decisions such as capacity determination, forecasting, quality management, inventory
control, and scheduling. Be similar to finance, accounting interacts with all four decision
categories in operations, particularly when capital or measurement of operations is
required.
a. A college library
b. A hotel
a. A college library
Products: Services and products in the forms of books, periodicals, reference materials,
the internet, etc.
Process: First, designing the way the facility is arranged with an emphasis on fiction,
non-fiction, reference, periodical, and administrative sections. Second, we decide the
kinds of office equipment will support the students and staff. Third, we determine how
materials will be recorded, checked in/out, and returned to their proper book-shelf.
Fourth, we determine the type of information technology equipment that used to
support the circulation process and student internet access. Fifth, we consider who will
be responsible for library operation and who will monitor and evaluate their
performance.
Quality: Be sure that materials are up to date and relevant. Make sure that the staff is
available to assist library. Manage feedback system to monitor student and faculty
satisfaction.
Capacity: The library services and materials’s demand affect the size of the shelves, what
it carries, the number of librarians, and when those employees are scheduled
Inventory: How many books, magazines, encyclopedias, computers needed to meet the
demands of students and faculty
b. A hotel
Purpose: Provide a comfortable place for guests
Products: Services and goods in the forms of room service, beds, premium linens, pools,
night-clubs, foods, etc.
Process: First, information architecture will be required to support the guest reservation,
payment, check in/out, and entertainment processes. Second, equipment needed to
support the room, housekeeping, and food service divisions. Third, job descriptions and
performance standards required for staff in each of those divisions. Fourth, management
needed for monitoring employee performance and resolving guests’ feedbacks.
Quality: Be sure that the rooms are clean, and affordable. Make sure that staff maintains
friendly attitudes with guests.
Capacity: Local demands determine the number of available rooms, the convenience
provided, and how many employees of each department will serve.
Purpose: Provide merchandise with high quality to the consumer at the lowest possible
cost
Products: Physical goods come along with the essential services to support those goods
Process: What type of industrial facilities will be equipped? How large a facility will be
needed to house the production line and administrative support offices? How the goods
will be designed, manufactured, packaged, marketed, and supported?
Quality: Use a quality control process to detect and reduce defects. Make sure that staff
maintains friendly attitudes with customers during all levels of the sales and support
processes.
Inventory: What, when & how much raw materials kept on hand to facilitate the
manufacturing process?
Input: The library’s staff decides and collects books, periodicals, reference materials
which match the college’s requirements
Transformation: First, accountant pays out for the cost of buying books, shelves, and
other facilities. Second, librarians arrange and lay out books so as to make them
available to students and faculties.
Output: Students and faculties refer and borrow books, periodicals, reference materials.
b. A hotel
7. Describe the decision-making and the process view of operations management. Why
are both these views useful in studying the field of operations management?
The process view of operations management provides a basis of defining service and
transformation process as well as a foundation for analysis and design of operations.
Both these views are useful in studying the field of operations management because the
decision-making provides a foundation to divide operations into part such as process,
quality, capacity and inventory. Meanwhile, the process view provides essential insights
for the productive processes in functional areas.
8. Write a short paper on some of the challenges facing operations management in the
future. Use newspapers and business magazines from the library or the Internet as your
primary sources.
Operations management is not a sustainable thing. It always changes and copes with
new challenges in the future. First, globalization is one of the integral challenges facing
operations management today and into the future. Operations managers will have to
face global competition today and in the future. One of the examples is the lawsuit
between Apple and Samsung now. Apple has started proceedings against Samsung for
copying the designs of iPhone and iPad (Daily Mail, 2011). Although Samsung – a
Korean company is a supplier and partner of Apple – an American group, the lawsuit still
happens because they are competitors on mobile devices field. Second, environmental
responsibility will affect operations management in the future. The changes in
environmental rules may change processes and capacity. Third, operations management
will face awareness of technology and its trends as an indispensable challenge.
Technology has changed everything in operations and it will continue. For example,
automation system could replace human resource more than ever. Overall, those things
are only three parts of challenges facing operations management in the future.
However, they are typical challenges today and into the future.
9. Review the want ads in The Wall Street Journal or use the Internet to look for
management positions that are available for operations management graduates.
10. How do changes in the environment, such as demand changes, new pollution
control laws, the changing value of the dollar, and price changes, affect operations?
Name speciﬕc impacts on operations for each change.
11. Find examples of well-run and poorly run operations in recent business periodicals
such as BusinessWeek, Fortune, and the Wall Street Journal. What can you learn from
these examples?
On the Wall Street Journal, there is an article that describes Fujitsu, a well-run operation
in the difficult time after disasters (Osawa, 2011). Fujitsu has prepared for all possible
contingencies in order to reconsider the production process after catastrophes. I can
learn from this example something valuable, particularly, Fujitsu has clear plan and they
made decision quickly after disasters. Therefore, the production system was not
interrupted for a long time. In one BusinessWeek’s article, MGM Grand had an issue on
engaging employees with operations. Sometimes employees did not know what
meetings were at the hotel (BusinessWeek, 2009). From this example, it is clear that
stuck of staff would affect operations such as customer loyalty, return visits, and
spending in the hotel.
12. Identify some of the current trends in operations that you think are of critical
importance.
Global Competition
Operations Strategy
Supply Chain Management
Lean manufacturing
13. Describe how operations process thinking can be applied to the following types of
work:
Process: Consider and seek to take over another company or at least gain a controlling
interest in that company.
Capacity: Ensure that we can borrow a significant amount of money to pay for the
acquisition.
Process: Corporate staff makes some of the process decisions. They have developed a
standard that is simply sized to ï¬t customers’ demand.
Quality: Products must follow certain standards for quality that have been set by the
corporate staff.
Capacity: Decisions about capacity determine the maximum level of output of products
Inventory: Select appropriate suppliers and decide how much components to order and
when to place orders.
Capacity: The information system has ability to satisfy every work today and into the
future.