What is operations management?

The Encyclopedia of Small business defines operations management as a “multi-disciplinary field that focuses on managing all aspects of an organization’s operations” (2002).

What does multi-disciplinary mean?

It refers to the skills required to act in an operations management capacity.

What does productivity performance measure?

Productivity performance measures:

Return on investment

Individual and team review

Gap

Motivation

Mutual reward

Benchmarks

Growth and economics

Value added

What are the three types of coordination?

Pooled coupling, sequential coupling and reciprocal coupling.

What are the responsibilities of an Operations managers?

An operations manager is usually responsible for increasing productivity, reducing costs, improving upon flexibility of the process, enhancing product quality and improving customer service (Operations Management, 2002).

Why consider competition?

• Competition can be a driving force in the strategic plan of a company.
•  The strategic plan is converted into operational processes through the use of process mapping.
• Not correctly identifying your competition can result in an ineffective strategic plan.
• Competition is more than identifying who your current rivals are.

What are the six main aspects of operations that are of greatest concern?

• Product or service
• Building size and location
• Marketing plans
• Processes and equipment
• Employee training and supervision
• Means of measuring quality

What are the Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy?

• Rivalry among existing competitors
• Threat of new entrants
• The bargaining power of suppliers
• The bargaining power of buyers
• The threat of substitute products and services

Rivalries exist when competitors decrease prices through every day discounts or sales, create new products, launch massive advertising campaigns, improve upon the quality of the product or improve upon the quality of the service.

When does rivalry become increasing difficult?

It becomes difficult when there are several competitors, growth of the industry is sluggish, exit barriers are high, commitment on behalf of a competitor is high or competitors are unable to determine what the competition is planning to do next.

Define best practices.

Best practices, also known as benchmarking, is “the process of comparing the practices and strategies of other companies.”

What are the eight forces of change that could have an impact on the future of organizational quality.

These forces consist of global responsibility, consumer awareness, globalization, the increasing rate of change, the workforce of the future, the aging population, the 21st century quality and innovation (Hertz, 2010).

Define quality management.   

Quality management is defined as an approach taken by management to assess, maintain and improve upon the activities of a process in order to maintain the quality of a product or service.

• Makes money
• Meets the needs of others
• Loyalty from customers
• Loyalty from employees
• Ethical choice

According to Total Quality Management, what are the five main factors attributing to a successful system?

The five main factors attributing to a successful system – the planning process, process management, process improvement, total participation and customer focus.

Define supply chain management.

“a system management concept employed by some organizations to optimize the factors of material costs, quality and service” (Raedls, 2001, p.224).

Who is involved in supply chain management?

• Suppliers
• Purchasing Department
• Operations Management
• Employees
• Transporters
• Retailers
• Customers

Why should a company consider developing a supply chain?

Those companies that have moved forward with supply chain management have found an improvement in the products and services they offer, a definitive improvement in the amount of time it takes to get the product to the market, an overall reduction in production costs, an improvement in customer satisfaction. They have gained a competitive advantage because of this practice.

Define Outsourcing.

Outsourcing is “the contracting or subcontracting of noncore activities to free up cash, personnel, time, and facilities for activities in which a company holds a competitive advantage” (“Outsourcing”, 2011).

What does SWOT stand for?

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats