Operations management = the transformation process that
converts resources into finished goods and services
-> important to organisations and managers for 3 reasons:
1. It compensates both services and manufacturing:
• Manufacturing organisations: produce physical goods
• Service organisations: produce non-physical goods
-> in this organisation, the transformation process isn't
really evident
Both organizatiosn turn transform inputs into outputs
2. Managing productivity:
Improving productivity has become number 1 goal in every
organisation -> high productivity leads to economic growth and
development in a country. For organisations high productivity
leads to better competitive prices.
productivity is a samenstelling of people and operations variables
-> to improve productivity, managers should focus on both -> by
successfully integrating people into the operations system you
maximise productivity.
3. Stragetic role of operations management:
Operations management plays a crucial role in the overall
organisational strategy to establish and maintain global leadership
Value = the performance characteristics, features and attributes and
any other aspects of goods and services for which customers are willing
to give up resources (money). -> but to get something like that, there
are a lot of participants and processes involved -> value chain = the entire
series of organisational work activities that add value at each step from
raw materials to finished products.
Value chain management = the process of managing the sequence of
activities and information along the entire value chain
Value chain management is externally orientated and focusses on
both incoming materials and outgoing products and services. -> its
effective orientated and aims to create highest value for customer.
,In value chain management (VCM) customers hold the power -> they're
deciding what value is and how it's created and provided. With VCM
managers want to find that combination that offers customers,
solutions that meet their needs.
So the goal of VCM is to create a value chain strategy that meets and
exceeds customer needs and desires and allows for full and seamless
integration among all members of the chain -> the better the
cooperation between participants in the chain the better the
customers solution.
4 benefits of VCM:
• improved procurement
• improved logistics
• improved product development
• enhanced customer order
management
Requirements of a successful value chain strategy:
> Coordination and collaboration: between al participants of the chain
-> sharing information requires open communication
> Technology investment: information technology can be used to
better serve end users
> Organisational processes: when VCM is implemented it changes
organisational processes -> they all should be evaluated to see where
value is being added, non value activities should be eliminated.
3 conclusions can be made about organisational processes:
1. Better demand forecasting is necessary and possible due to
better relationships with customers and supplier
2. Selected functions may need to be done collaboratively with other
partners in the value chain
3. New measures are needed for evaluating peformance of activities
in the chain.
> Leadership: VCM isn't possible with strong and committed leadership
from the managers.
> Employees/ human resources: employees are important role in VCM.
3 main human resource requirements for VCM are:
• flexible approaches to job design -> no stander sized jobs anymore
but flexible jobs around the work processes.
, Effective hiring process -> employees must be flexible
•
Ongoing training -> managers must see to it that employees
•
have the knowledge to do their jobs efficiently and effectively
> Organisational culture and attitudes
6 Issues in managing operations:
> Technology's role in operations management: technology makes
collaboration possible
> Robotics: replace the humans in jobs or actually people will be able to
do their jobs better with the help of them
> Quality management: quality = the ability of a product or service to
reliably do what it's supposed to do and to satisfy customer
expectations -> how is it achieved? different for all of the management
functions:
• planning for quality: managers must have quality improvement goals
and plans to achieve those goals
• organizing and leading for quality: managers look at how quality
improvements can best be organised and lead them
• controlling for quality: quality improvements initiatives aren't
possible without evaluation of it -> controlling for quality is important
> Quality goals: to publicly show their quality commitment,
organisations have pursued challenging quality goals -> 2 best known are
ISO 9001 and Six Sigma
> Mass customisation: = providing customers with a product when,
where and how they want it -> to obtain competitive advantage. It
requires flexible manufacturing techniques and continual customer
dialogue.
> Creating a lean organisation: = an organisation that understand what
customers want, identifies customer value by analysing all activities
required to produce products, and then optimises the entire process
from the customers perspective. -> goal is to improve quality,
eliminate waste, reduce time and reduce total cost