WHAT IS OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT? A Practical example
An organization will either offer services or products to its potential customers.
The trick is in knowing how to offer high-quality services and products because this way the organization can attract customers, builds trust with the customers, boosts their sales, and overall gain a competitive edge in the market.
This is obviously easier said than done since the questions then become;
- How do you achieve this?
- How do you ensure that the services and products you are offering are competently manufactured or offered?
When starting a business there are three important aspects you need to have at the back of your mind and these are;
- what exactly are you going to do, basically your operations,
- how will people know about the outputs, that is, marketing
- and how do you intend to finance all these.
Our focus here is managing your business operations, specifically answering the question what is operations management.
What is operations management?
There are a number of ways operations management can be defined. Â
Operations management is a function that involves processes driven towards efficient and effective management of resources to create output in the form of tangible goods and/or intangible services that can fulfil specific customer requirements.
Another answer to the question what is operations management is;
The design, operation and improvement of the internal and external systems, resources and technologies that create and deliver the organisation’s primary goods and service combinations.
What do we learn from both definitions of operations management? A number of things actually
Both definitions tell us that:
- The operations function is responsible for creating and delivering products
- The primary aim of operations management is to meet customers’ requirements
- High performance operations satisfy customers’ expectations, but with minimum costs for the business.
Example of operations management in various businesses
It is important to understand that operations is not the same as operational. Operations is one of the core functions in any organisation. Along with the marketing and finance functions, which we mentioned earlier, operations contributes directly to the achievement of an organisation’s objectives.
Here are examples of how this happens in organisations
- In a Fast food business operations to be managed will include sourcing ingredients to business used from external suppliers. Producing and serving food, for instance a chicken burger to a customer at the sales counter.
- The answer to what is operations management in Airline industry will include among other things, Source high-quality, packaged meals and serve them to
- In Manufacturing organisation it means seeking transportation services to move manufactured items from factory to warehouse for storage, or to a retailer for sales
You get the picture, so to sum this up I want you to remember that Operations refers to the resources and processes that create and deliver products in order to meet customers’ requirements, and the idea is to manage all that.
Operations is one of the 3 things every business need to worry about. Basically
- Operation
- Finance
- And marketing
Meaning what do you do, how to you finance it and how do customers become aware of it and pay for it
Importance of Operations Management
Operations management is at the core of any business and this is because of the roles it plays some of which are;
- Operations management runs the entire operating system of any business
- Operations management is critical for a business to manage its daily activities effectively.
- Operations management controls all the processes and handles issues including design, operation, maintenance, and improvement of the systems. It also maintains smooth, effective, timely production of products and services even when unexpected situations arise.
- Operations management helps improve the reputation of a business and as such has a positive influence on the businesses capacityto achieve growth and stability goals.
- Operations management ensures that products meet the quality standards and customers’ expectations. This will increase the possibility of customers referring other customers to your business
Conclusion
Irrespective of the type and size of the industry, organization or business you are in, operations management is one of the most significant components of running every business.
Getting maximum value out of your resources is the key to profit in every business. If you are seeking a career in operations management, it’s essential to understand the role, responsibilities, and requirements of this field.
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