Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Operations Management - Essay Example An earlier model of workforce management is the Japanese concept of lean operations which has replaced the old method of mass production. Lean philosophy aims for elimination of waste to achieve faster, more dependable, high quality products and services at low costs. The system requires job rotation, job enrichment, team-based problem solving and multi-skilling (Tariq, 2005). 2. Quality of Products and Services – a Critical Issue Whereas in the past, firms employed mass production to achieve economies of scale and generate profit without regard to quality, in the future, quality will be the distinctive character that will differentiate the leader from the rest (Pride and Ferrell, 2009). The customer of the future would be demanding for quality which is one great responsibility the manager of the future has to take upon himself. Such personalized quality can happen only by engaging in mass customization using sophisticated product designs and flexible production processes and support systems (Stevenson in Tariq, 2005). To achieve this at a reasonable margin would require the proper coordination of these company-based systems in place, from the supply chain to product design to the production processes to customer service. ... A restaurant’s capacity is measured by the number of tables it operates. If there are too many tables provided yet are not filled because the demand is less, it results in under-utilisation (Wild, 2003). Unfilled tables mean that some space is unutilized yet being paid for in rent, unrecovered costs of acquisition of service facility, energy wasted, under-utilised service of assigned personnel, and therefore eventual loss of revenues. If insufficient capacity is provided, meaning there are less tables available than the present number of customers, it would result in some customers waiting unreasonably or being turned away and going elsewhere and would mean loss of income opportunities and diminished business image. 4. Operating for Competitive Edge Operations management is an activity that converts resources into outputs, and since outputs relate to customers, its aim is to ultimately satisfy the customer (Wild, 2003). Operations management can therefore be seen as a strategy for achieving the corporate goal of competitive leadership. Since operations management involves the use of resources and converting these into meaningful outputs that should lead to customer satisfaction, it plays a crucial role in every step of the process, from the sourcing of the raw materials, the final configuration and production of the product, the distribution of the finished product and the consequent after-sales service. Each of these steps can contribute in many different ways towards developing a finished product that will truly cater to the demands of the customers: lesser acquisition costs from the supply chain, best final design at least production cost, competitive pricing and efficient methods of delivery and