TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Assignment Questions 1.0 Production Management 3 2.

0 Objectives 4 Of Production Management 2

3.0 Production Managerss Roles 5 4.0 Similarities Between Production Management and Operations Management 7 5.0 Differences Between Production Management and Operations Management 7 6.0 Conclusion 7.0 Bibiography

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QUESTIONS
Critically discuss the objectives of Production Management (Production Department) and the production managers roles. In your discussion highlight the similarities and differences between Production Management and Operations Management.

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INTRODUCTION Before we look at production management lets define production. Production can be defined as a process by which goods or services are created or made or produced. It involves step by step conversion of one form of material into another through chemical or mechanical process with a view to enhance the utility of the product or service. Production management is also called operations management, planning and control of industrial process to ensure that they move smoothly at the required level. The systems or technicalities used are applied in both producing or manufacturing and services. Therefore, production management responsibilities include the traditional Five Ms which are Men and women, Machines, Methods, Materials and Money. Production management is therefore another important responsibility in an organisation just like any other organization departmental responsibilities such as Financial Management, Marketing Management and Human Resource Management.

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PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT 1.1.1 Definition: Production management in simple terms is the management of manufacturing products. According to Edwood Butta production management deals with the decision making related to production process of the resulting goods and services produced according to specifications in the amounts and at the scheduled demands and at minimum cost. It may also be defined as the performance of the management activities with regards to selecting, designing, operating, controlling and updating production system.

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OBJECTIVES OF PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT Every organisation structure or department has its business objectives. This also applies to production management department. The main objective at production management as can be seen from the above definitions is to make effective efficient decisions related to the production process at converting inputs into output. Others will say, the objective at production management is to produce the designed product by specified methods, so that the optimal utilization of available resources is met with. The other objective is to produce the designed product, which has marketability at the cheapest price by proper planning, the man power, material and process. Finally, it has to see to it that it delivers right goods of right quantity at right place and at a right price. Therefore, the objectives can be divided into three: 2.1. Cost Objective: It is generally there to minimize the total costs expended in producing and Delivering the companys products to its customers. For example, Zambia Sugar Company, the production management should ensure that it produces a packet of sugar and delivers to the people at the lowest cost. 2.2. Quality Objective: It is typically meeting an established tolerance for the performance of the Companys products and maintaining a low level of rejected products. Example, Zambia Sugar Company production will ensure that the right quality of sugar is produced with less inequality or rejects, otherwise the company will not survive.

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Service Objective: This will mainly centre on the delivering of the products to customers within the predetermined or stipulated timeframe from the order date and with some level of accuracy. This means Zambia Sugar Company has to deliver sugar to the people at the right time. This is more applicable to production method under job production method, because under this method the customer will make an order and will give timeframe from that date, e.g. Tailoring.

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PRODUCTION MANAGERS ROLES The production manager is responsible for overseeing production operations of the manufacturing in an Organisation. The following are some of the roles of the Production Manager. 3.1 Transportation: The production manager for Zambia Sugar Company has the role or is expected to manage the transportation of both role materials and finished products to the production sites or respective sites of use and consumption points. 3.2 Reporting: The production manager is responsible for reporting accurate daily reports or prepare, update and communicate the production schedule. 3.3 Goals: The production manager is responsible to ensure that daily production goals are met and are accurate.

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Planning and Budgeting: The production manager has the responsibility to budget and plan for both payroll and non payroll expenses.

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Monitoring: The production manager has the role to monitor quality, accuracy and Timeliness of all orders to ensure customer commitments are met through production of high quality materials as per expectation of the customer.

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Supervision: He/She is responsible for overseeing all staff scheduling, time off requests and overtime.

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Management: The other role is to manage the co-ordination and control of all job/work orders.

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Co-ordination: The production manager has a role to co-ordinate and maintain the orderly entry standards and procedures for the company.

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SIMILARITIES

BETWEEN

PRODUCTION

MANAGEMENT

AND

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT. Production management and operation management are so much similar and the principles applied are common. 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Both production and operation management are processers which combine and transforms various resources into value added products/services. They are both processers of planning, organizing, directing and controlling the activities of production. They both target customer service as a key objective of management. They both have the objective of effective utilization of resources aimed at satisfying customers. In short production management and operation management have the same principles in their management.

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DIFFERENCES MANAGEMENT.

BETWEEN

PRODUCTION

MANAGEMENT

AND

OPERATION Despite production management and operation management having the same principles or being very similar to each other, there are also some differences. The following are the differences: 5.1 By definition production management is the management of manufacturing a product where as operation management is the management of operation services. 5.2 Production management output is tangible that is it is physical where as operation management output is intangible, it is not physical.

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There is less labour jobs and mine equipment in production management while in operation management there is more labour job and less equipment.

5.4 5.5

There is no customer participation in production management while in operation management there is frequent customer participation. In production management, there is little customer contact in the conversion process while in operation management there is more customer contact.

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In production management there are sophisticated methods for measuring production activities while in operation management there are easy methods to measure the activities.

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CONCLUSION Production management Department is a very important part of an organisation because it plans, implements and controls the industrial production process to ensure smooth and efficient operation. Thereby providing quality product at the right time and right quantity to the customers which in turn improves the sales and increase or maximize profit. Profit making is the core objective for any organisation with a profit making goal. Therefore, Production managers are expected to maintain an efficient production process with a work force that can readily adapt to new equipment and schedules and should ensure that there is a production cycle, that is there in information exchange with other departments such as sales, marketing, finance, engineering etc, also monitor operations to ensure that planned output levels, cost levels and quality objectives are met. Production management is very important because it is at the centre of all activities of an organisation. That is to say all the activities of an organisation such as Finance, Human Resource, Marketing e.t.c exist in an organisation because of production activities.

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BIBIOGRAPHY
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S. Anil Kumar, 2008, Production and Operations Management, Second Edition, New Age International (P) Limited Publishers, Bangalore. R.B Khanna, 2007, Production and Operations Management, Eastern Economy Edition, Asoke K. Ghosh, New Delhi, Haryana.

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