Answer : A System is a group of interrelated items in which no item studied in isolation will act

in the same way as it would in the system. A system is divided into a series of parts or
subsystems, and any system is a part of a larger system. The systems boundary defines what is
inside the system and what is outside. A systems environment is everything outside the system
boundary that may have an impact on the behaviour of the system. A systems inputs are the
physical objects of information that enter it from the environment and its outputs are the same
which leave it for the environment.
Systems view of operations management states that activities in an operations system can be
classified as inputs, transformation process and output. Inputs are classified into three general
categories-external, market and primary resources.
Transformation resources are the elements that act on, or carry out, the transformation process on
other elements. These include such elements as labour, equipment/plant and energy. The nature
and mix of these resources will differ between operations. The transformed resources are the
elements which give the operations system its purpose and goal. The operations system is
concerned with converting the transformed resources from inputs into outputs in the form of
goods and services. There are three main types of transformed resource of materials which can
be transformed either physically(e.g. manufacturing),by location (e.g. transportation),by
ownership(e.g. retail) or by storage(e.g. Warehousing)
For our study of systems view of an organization we chose, Vedanta Resources Pvt.Ltd.We
concentrated on its Goa unit, which is called Vedanta Aluminium ManufacturingUnit.The unit
produces aluminium from aluminium oxide through electrolytic reduction. We consider the
factory as a systems compromising of various subsystems. As we defined earlier, a system
consists of these major components:

Input- Input into an operation systems can be classified into these categories.:

External- Legal inputs (the Companies Act etc), Economic, Social, Technological (Electrolytic
cells, power generation machinery etc )

Market Competition (HINDALCO, NALCO,BALCO etc), Customer Desires, Product info

Department of Management Studies, IIT Rookie Page 3

Primary resources Material (Alumina, raw aluminium ore ), personnel, capital, utilities Here
the input is Al2 O3 or Alumina. This is the aluminium ore which is extracted from earth

Conversion Subsystems

The ore is transformed into pure aluminium. The transformation process is carried out mainly
through electrolytic reduction.

Output - The output consists of pure aluminium.

Direct

Products : Pure Aluminium

Services : Aluminium Manufacturing

Indirect

Waste

Pollution

Technological Advances

Carbon Section This section basically deals with the preparation and maintenance of
Carbon anode. The electrolytic process used for reducing Alumina (Al 2 O3) to pure
aluminium. For carrying out this process the anode used is made up of carbon mainly
graphite. This section deals with the construction and maintenance of Carbon anodes.

Pot Room Cell This is the section where the process of electrolysis actually takes
place. Here the raw aluminium ore is reduced to aluminium by electrolysis with the help
of carbon anodes. This section deals with the complete process. The electrolytic cells are
called Pot and thus the department is called Pot Room Cell

Cast House This section deals with processing of pure aluminium. Once the
aluminium has been extracted from the ore, it needs to be converted into more suitable
forms which can be further sold in the markets. The extracted aluminium is casted into
ingots and plates which are more suitable for selling in the market.

Captive Power Plant This section of the plant deals with generation of electricity for
running the whole plant. The electricity generated here is used by all the other
departments.

Each section can be treated as a system in its own and can be divide into following general
parts :

Human Resource

Finance

Production and Operation

Logistics

Information Technology

These sub systems are present in all the 4 major sections. They are centrally controlled by the
Plant Management Office(PMO).

These sub systems are present in all the 4 major sections. They are centrally controlled by the
Plant Management Office(PMO).The PMO controls the central decision making and is
responsible for running all the departments in sync. The PMO ensures that the decisions made by
the departments do not contradict and a healthy harmony is maintained so that all of them work
together as a part of a system.

Conclusion
Thus we see how systems view in operations can be put to a practical use. The idea behind
systems model is that the operations function can concentrate solely on transforming input of raw
material into goods and services without considering the external environment. The systems view
gives a very simplified view of the company and thus helps us in understanding the basic
processes in a company. We can see what are the major areas of attention in accompany and
helps us in understanding the hierarchy and layout of an organization. However the
disadvantages of this model includes the slowness of response to change in environment as they
are transmitted through various connected functions and the inability of operations to develop in
response of the needs of the customers. Systems view gives us an oversimplified view. In real
life the processes are much more complex and cannot be differentiated so easily