Operation management is the process which transforms a particular range of inputs to the

required outputs (services) in a controlled manner as per the policies of the organization.
Operation management as seen in todays form is developed through many years. It started with
the traditional view of manufacturing management when Adam Smith found out the benefits of
specialization of labor. After that, in early twentieth century, Smiths theories were implemented
by F.W Taylor in his experiments to develop scientific management. From then, till 1930,
organizations followed traditional view of operation management. From 1930 to 1970, managers
tried to develop new techniques to improve economic efficiency in production by observing
people and human behavior in working environment and by using more sophisticated analytical
approaches. After 1970, two major changes happened. One was the uplift of service sector
which caused a shift in production to operations which concentrated more on service
organizations. The second, more suitable change was the beginning of an emphasis on synthesis,
rather than just analysis, in management practices.
Historical Development Timeline
1776 - Specialization of labour in manufacturing by Adam Smith
In his book The Wealth of Nations, he says that division of labor has the following benefits
Higher accuracy
Improved production methodology
Time saving
1883 Charles Babbage introduced Division of labour by skill, assignment of jobs by Skill and
basics of time study.
1900
Scientific management theory was developed by F W Taylor
1) Every element of the task under study should be analyzed.
2) Examination of the elements should take place and the one found not to be a part of the
work cycle should be dropped.
3) Timing of the elements should be accurate and should be done with the help of a stop
watch.
4) Classification of elements should be done carefully, leading to convenience for future
reference.
Taylor has also made a defining contribution in the development of principles of functional
organization and a financial incentive plan called Taylor Differential Piece Rate Method.
1917 Frank B Gilberth devised a famous method for the classification of motions into 17 basic
divisions referred to as therbligs by gilbreth

1927 - Human relations in management was focused mainly through the Hawthorne studies by
Elton Mayo
1931 - Statistical inference applied to product quality by W.A. Shewart
1935 - Statistical Sampling applied to quality control by H.F.Dodge & H.G.Roming
1940 - Operations research was applied in World War II by P.M.Blacker & others
1946 - Digital Computer was used for operation management by John Mauchlly and J.P.Eckert
1947 - Linear Programming was introduced by G.B.Dantzig, Williams & others
1950 - Mathematical programming, on-linear and stochastic processes were introduced by
A.Charnes, W.W.Cooper
1951 - Commercial digital computer enabled large-scale computations
1970 - Integrating operations into overall strategy and policy Computer applications to
manufacturing, scheduling, and control, Material Requirement Planning (MRP) came into being.
1980 CAD-CAM and robotics was used in operation management.
References
(Mahadevan, 2009)
(S Anil Kumar, 2008)
(Sprague, 2007)
(Craighead, 1980)