Operations Management

Operations Objectives
Week 2-a
Service requirements
Stakeholders
Resource utilisation and efficiency
Operations Strategies
 Co-ordinates overall goals with core
competencies to ensure they focus on
the customer.
 Desirable outcomes for the customer fall
into four priorities
3. Cost
4. Quality
5. Time
6. Flexibility
The role of competition
 Porter and customer sophistication
 Customer perceptions and expectations
 PR influences
 Technological advances
Service Requirements
What the
(a) Customer expects (Customer Satisfaction) to
receive or will accept in terms of:
 Specification – the actual good or service
 Time
 Cost – availability and price
(b) Provider can afford (Resource Utilisation, p.31)
in terms of summarised categories of, eg:
 People
 Information technology
 Space
Case Study
Refer to “Highvale Borough Council Refuse
Collection Department” pp 26-28
Follow this case distinguishing between the
interests of direct customers and other
stakeholders.
Competitive Advantage
Through service quality – the personnel and the
tangible aspects of the business.
Activity: Identify personnel and tangible attributes
of service in the following:
3. Electronic retailers
4. Commercial and residential plumbers
5. A taxi ride
6. ….Your choice!!
Adding Value
Improves the customer’s perception of
service quality
Activity: From your list of service quality
attributes identify the cost involved and
explain why.
The Internal Customer Argument

 The customer is input into a service

operation (customer push)
 The customer draws from output in a
manufacturing operation (customer
pull)
Versus
Debate on the customer being the next step
in the process as in TQM.
Customers vs other Stakeholders

Stakeholder is anyone who has an interest

in what the organisation does (pecuniary
or general).
2. Activity: Read the Case Study pp 26-28
3. Explain in your own words why there is a
different priority of service attributes for
customers and other stakeholders
Resource Utilisation
Industry specific efficiency focus:
 capital intensive – on input conversion
 service industries - on the customer

Balancing the objectives involves conflict but

must be achieved for customer
satisfaction
Total Efficiency
 Elimination of waste
 No spare space/capacity
 No idle time
 Minimum time spent with clients
 Customer queues

Q. How else would you be able to improve

efficiency?
 Case Study
“Qormi Post Office” (pp. 36-41.)
Answer questions 1 and 2 from the
textbook.
2. Identify resources.
3. What is the focus of resource utilisation?
4. What service gaps are identifiable?
5. Is there evidence of balancing service
requirements?
6. Explain “hard” and “soft” measures of
service delivery.