Essay On Operations Management

Every organization has varied operations which relates to utilization of resources to meet the demand of the clients for services or goods. Operations management is defined “as the management of direct resources that are required to produce and deliver value”. Irrespective of the size of an organization the importance of operations management for efficient functioning is understood in the present times. The nature of business determines how operations management is carried out in an organization. Business today is highly competitive with increasing globalization and customer’s loyalty towards some products. Operations management can help to achieve competitive advantage by proper planning and control.

NEED FOR OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Operations management plans and controls all activities in an organization in the required manner so as to increase productivity and reduce costs. Plans and strategies have to be developed after assessment of customer needs and market trends. Strategic management decisions help in building a future and helps in efficient working with a proper approach to attract customers. Right choice of technology and proper management including employee participation and material management would improve the organizations performance. Time is a crucial factor in providing the customers requirement, in service as well as manufacturing industries. When a firm responds quickly to customer needs it can get an advantage in the market which would result in growth and profitability. Operations management has to consider customers participation also because they specify the requirement of the final product. (Everett,E. et al.1994).The existing highly competitive business markets due to globalization and growth of e-commerce has made consumers more powerful. As the demand is to receive higher value for money it is necessary that operations management should focus on providing high quality products with good customer service. Operations managers have to get the feedback from the customers for providing total satisfaction. Maximum utilization of existing facilities and reduction in costs results in higher productivity. The recent trends in operations management has helped to increase efficiency in the various processes involved in production.

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT IN THE PRESENT MARKET

Business now has changed and the organizations need to coordinate internally as well as externally to meet the demands in the market. The operation managers of the present market have to cater to the variety of needs of the customers. So they follow mass customization. It is a great challenge for managers to provide to the consumers timely demands which calls for renewing business strategies quite often. Computers have helped to make the present day operations more efficient as they are helpful in designing and manufacturing of the products. (Groover, 1997). Product development and processes redesigning is possible with the help of computers. As the life cycle of products have become short and gets replaced often, new products are to be developed rapidly and operations redesigning is to be carried out for speedy processing. The supply chain has to be managed in such a way that it caters to the demanding customers .Due to the continuous changes taking place and as suppliers need to have expertise, many organizations outsource people in the supply chain. Creativity and customized production is the trend in the present times and so operations are designed for better processing. Employees are treated as resources due to the technical working environment. Decision making responsibilities are given to individuals and employee empowerment is undertaken with the development of Human resource management. Another concern for the present day operations managers is to design products and process that is environment friendly. To sustain ecology, biodegradable and packaging products that can be recycled need to be produced.
Internet helps to carry out business by many sellers and buyers in the open market irrespective of geographical location. Customers have access to a lot of information and hence they compare between products. As it is possible to analyze the changing trends of business due to automation, necessary changes in the operations can be carried out. Technology is useful to campaign for products and all other activities related to expanding market. The customers and the society as a whole are the important stake holders of an organization. The operational decision making should take into consideration the effect on society and environment. With the latest technologies available, new models for effective management is followed by the organizations. Constant monitoring of production activities is essential for maintaining quantity and quality in an organization and for making necessary changes.
Organizations management helps in maximizing productivity which results in a better standard of living. Operations management is essential to coordinate and introduce innovative cost efficient system of production to achieve maximum profitability. Accountability can be demonstrated as all the details of production process and performance can be analyzed any time. High quality goods are made available to consumers at lower costs due to competitiveness of the market. Goods and services are made available to the customers in a timely manner. Operations management has become necessary as it adds value to the product by efficient utilization of available resources and is applicable to all the functional operations of an organization.

Works Cited

Everett, E.et al,(1994) Production and Operations Management, Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, 5th Edition,
Groover, P.A. (1997).CAD/Cam: Computer -Aided Design and Manufacturing.