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Operations Management
Management > Operations Management
Table of Contents
Abstract
Keywords
Overview
Applications
Terms & Concepts
Bibliography
Suggested Reading
Abstract
Operations management comprises those areas of management
that are concerned with the productivity, quality, and cost in the
operations function as well as strategic planning for the organization. This discipline covers not only manufacturing processes,
but support processes that add value to the product or service as
well as the management of the entire supply chain. There are a
number of ways that organizations can streamline their operations to meet the demands of todays marketplace. However,
for these to have any significant or lasting effect, they must be
done within a coordinated strategy for both short and long-term
organizational effectiveness. There are a number of tools and
techniques that can be used by managers to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of business operations. These include lean
manufacturing, total quality management, and business process
reengineering strives to improve the effectiveness and efficiency
of the various processes within an organization.
Overview
Business organizations exist to provide something of value to
their stakeholders. For stockholders, this may mean profitability and return on investment. For employees, this may mean job
security and a wage that is at or above industry standards. For
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Operations Management
Keywords
Applications
Stakeholder
Lean Manufacturing
Strategic Planning
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Operations Management
be successful, business process reengineering requires organizations to reexamine the assumptions underlying their business
operations and to question why they do things the way that they
do. The purpose of this analysis is to get at the root of any business process problems that the organization is experiencing. This
will allow managers to reinvent the way that things are being
done as opposed to modifying current practices to be somewhat
more effective. This analysis often reveals obsolete, erroneous,
or inappropriate practices or procedures that do not add value to
the product or service being offered by the business.
While business process reengineering is not appropriate for
every organization, it is most appropriate where more traditional
methods fail or where there is a major discrepancy between
where the organization is and where the organization needs
to be. Businesses that are in serious trouble can often benefit
from business process reengineering. Symptoms of this serious
trouble can include having costs that are significantly higher the
competitions, customer service that is causing the organization
to lose a significant number of customers, or failure rates that are
significantly above those for the industry. Organizations that find
themselves in such situations have little choice than to perform
a major overhaul of their business processes if they want to be
viable. In addition, organizations that are not yet in such dire
straits but that are headed on a trajectory to that condition can
also often benefit from reengineering efforts. Symptoms of these
situations include increased competition or competitors that have
significantly improved their offerings or new customer needs
that cannot be adequately met by the current business processes.
Business process reengineering may often enable organizations
to avoid falling into the first category where reengineering is
mandatory if the organization is to survive. Not only failing or
inefficient organizations can benefit from reengineering efforts,
however: Top performing organizations with aggressive management that wants to take them further may also benefit from this
analysis and redesign. Business process reengineering in highly
successful organizations can help them further consolidate their
position in the marketplace and create further barriers to their
competitors.
The goal of business process reengineering efforts is to improve
the effectiveness of the organization. This is commonly demonstrated in a number of ways. For example, reengineering
frequently results in several jobs being consolidated into one.
Business process reengineering efforts also often change processes so that workers who better understand the situation can
make decisions rather than submitting these up the line for a
supervisor to consider. Similarly, business process reengineering often results in work being performed where it makes the
most sense. This situation results in less delays, lower overhead
costs, and higher job satisfaction for the employees. As a result,
reengineered processes can help improve customer satisfaction
by providing quick resolution to their problems.
One of the basic tenets of the business process reengineering
process is that steps in any business process must be performed
in a natural order and all the steps must add value to the product or service rather than activity for the sake of activity. So,
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Operations Management
Bibliography
Creech, B. (1994). The five pillars of TQM: How to make total
quality management work for you. New York: Truman
Talley Books/Dutton.
Hammer, M. & Champy, J. (1993). Reengineering the corporation: A manifesto for business revolution. New York:
Harper Business.
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Operations Management
Suggested Reading
Nerur, S. & Balijepally, V. (2007). Theoretical reflections on
agile development methodologies. Communications of
the ACM, 50(3), 79-83. Retrieved June 27, 2007, from
EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bt
h&AN=24209676&site=ehos
Senn, J. A. (2004). Information technology: Principles, practices, opportunities (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Parker, K. (2006). Emerging trends in plant operations management. Manufacturing Business Technology, 24(12), 2.
Retrieved June 27, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database
Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/
login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=23507918&site=eh
ost-live
Szwejczewski, M. & Cousens, A. (2007). Increasing flexibility: What are your options? Management Services, 51(1),
17-20. Retrieved June 27, 2007, from EBSCO Online
Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=25188167
&site=ehost-live
Ruth A. Wienclaw holds a Doctorate in industrial/organizational psychology with a specialization in organization development from
the University of Memphis. She is the owner of a small business that works with organizations in both the public and private sectors,
consulting on matters of strategic planning, training, and human/systems integration.
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