Topic 1

Introduction to Operations
Management

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Learning Objectives
You should be able to:
LO 1.1 Define the terms operations management and supply chain
LO 1.2 Identify similarities and differences between production and service
operations
LO 1.3 Explain the importance of learning about operations management
LO 1.4 Identify the three major functional areas of organizations and explain
how they interrelate
LO 1.5 Summarize the two major aspects of process management
LO 1.6 Describe the operations function and the nature of the operations
manager’s job
LO 1.7 Explain the key aspects of operations management decision making
LO 1.8 Briefly describe the historical evolution of operations management
LO 1.9 Describe the current issues in business that impact operations
management
LO 1.10 Explain the need to manage the supply chain
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Operations Management
What is operations?
 The part of a business organization that is responsible
for producing goods or services
How can we define operations management?
 The management of systems or processes that create
goods and/or provide services

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LO 1.1
Good or Service?
Goods are physical items that include raw materials, parts, subassemblies,
and final products.
• Automobile
• Computer
• Oven
• Shampoo

Services are activities that provide some combination of time, location,

form or psychological value.
• Air travel
• Education
• Haircut
• Legal counsel

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LO 1.1
Supply Chain
Supply chain – a sequence of activities and
organizations involved in producing and delivering
a good or service

Suppliers’ Direct Final

Suppliers’ Direct Producer Distributor Final
suppliers suppliers Producer Distributor customers
suppliers suppliers customers

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LO 1.1
The Transformation Process
Value-Added

Inputs Transformation/ Outputs

Inputs
• Land Transformation/ Outputs
• Goods
Conversion
• •Land
Labor Conversion • •Goods
Services
• Labor Process • Services
• Capital Process
• •Capital
Information
• Information

Measurement
and Feedback
Measurement Measurement
and Feedback and Feedback
Control
Control

Feedback = Measurements taken at various points in the transformation process

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LO 1.1
Manufacturing vs. Service
1. Degree of customer contact
2. Uniformity of input
3. Labor content of jobs
4. Uniformity of output
5. Measurement of productivity
6. Production and delivery
7. Quality assurance
8. Amount of inventory
9. Evaluation of work
10. Ability to patent design
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LO 1.2
Why Study Operations Management?
 Every aspect of business affects or is affected by
operations
 Many service jobs are closely related to operations
 Financial services
 Marketing services
 Accounting services
 Information services
 Through learning about operations and supply chains
you will have a better understanding of:
 The world you live in
 The global dependencies of companies and nations
 Reasons that companies succeed or fail
 The importance of working with others

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LO 1.3
Basic Functions of the Business Organization
Function Overlap
 Finance & operations
 Budgeting
 Economic analysis of investment
proposals
 Provision of funds
 Marketing & operations
 Demand data
 Product and service design
 Competitor analysis
 Lead time data

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LO 1.4
OM and Supply Chain Career Opportunities
 Operations manager
 Supply chain manager
 Production analyst
 Schedule coordinator
 Production manager
 Industrial engineer
 Purchasing manager
 Inventory manager
 Quality manager

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Process Management

Process - one or more actions that transform inputs into outputs

Process - one or more actions that transform inputs into outputs

Three Categories of Business Processes:

Upper-management processes These govern the operation of the entire
organization.
Operational processes These are core processes that make up the
value stream.
Supporting processes These support the core processes.

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LO 1.5
Supply & Demand

Operations &
Operations & Sales & Marketing
Supply Chains Sales & Marketing
Supply Chains

Wasteful
Supply
> Demand Wasteful
Costly
Costly

Opportunity Loss

<
Supply Demand Opportunity
Customer Loss
Customer
Dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction

Supply
= Demand Ideal
Ideal

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LO 1.5
Process Variation
Four Sources of Variation:
Variety of goods or services The greater the variety of goods and services
being offered offered, the greater the variation in production
or service requirements.
Structural variation in demand These are generally predictable. They are
important for capacity planning.
Random variation Natural variation that is present in all
processes. Generally, it cannot be influenced by
managers.
Assignable variation Variation that has identifiable sources. This
type of variation can be reduced, or eliminated,
by analysis and corrective action.

Variations can be disruptive to operations and supply chain processes.

They may result in additional costs, delays and shortages, poor quality,
and inefficient work systems.

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LO 1.5
Scope of Operations Management
The scope of operations management ranges across
The scope of operations management ranges across
the organization.
the organization.
The operations function includes many interrelated
activities such as:
 Forecasting
 Capacity planning
 Facilities and layout
 Scheduling
 Managing inventories
 Assuring quality
 Motivating employees
 Deciding where to locate facilities
 And more . . .
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LO 1.6
Role of the Operations Manager
The Operations function consists of all activities
directly related to producing goods or providing
services.

A primary function of the operations manager is to

guide the system by decision making.
 System design decisions
 System operation decisions

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LO 1.6
System Design Decisions
• System design
– Capacity
– Facility location
– Facility layout
– Product and service planning
– Acquisition and placement of equipment
• These are typically strategic decisions that
• usually require long-term commitment of resources
• determine parameters of system operation

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LO 1.6
System Operation Decisions
• System operation
• These are generally tactical and operational decisions
– Management of personnel
– Inventory management and control
– Scheduling
– Project management
– Quality assurance
• Operations managers spend more time on system operation
decision than any other decision area
• They still have a vital stake in system design

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LO 1.6
OM Decision Making
 Most operations decisions involve many alternatives that can
have quite different impacts on costs or profits
 Typical operations decisions include:
 What: What resources are needed, and in what amounts?

 When: When will each resource be needed? When should the work be

scheduled? When should materials and other supplies be ordered?

 Where: Where will the work be done?

 How: How will he product or service be designed? How will the work be

done? How will resources be allocated?

 Who: Who will do the work?

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LO 1.7
General Approach to Decision Making
Modeling is a key tool used by all decision makers
 Model - an abstraction of reality; a simplification of something.
 Common features of models:
 They are simplifications of real-life phenomena
 They omit unimportant details of the real-life systems they
mimic so that attention can be focused on the most important
aspects of the real-life system

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LO 1.7
Understanding Models
Keys to successfully using a model in decision
making
 What is its purpose?
 How is it used to generate results?
 How are the results interpreted and used?
 What are the model’s assumptions and limitations?

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LO 1.7
Benefits of Models
1. Models are generally easier to use and less expensive than dealing
with the real system
2. Require users to organize and sometimes quantify information
3. Increase understanding of the problem
4. Enable managers to analyze “What if?” questions
5. Serve as a consistent tool for evaluation and provide a standardized
format for analyzing a problem
6. Enable users to bring the power of mathematics to bear on a
problem.

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LO 1.7
Environmental Concerns
Sustainability
 Using resources in ways that do not harm ecological
systems that support human existence
Sustainability measures often go beyond traditional
environmental and economic measures to include measures
that incorporate social criteria in decision making
All areas of business will be affected
 Product and service design
 Consumer education programs
 Disaster preparation and response
 Supply chain waste management
 Outsourcing decisions

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LO 1.9 the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education
Ethical Issues in Operations
Ethical issues that may arise in
many aspects of operations
management:
 Financial statements
 Worker safety
 Product safety
 Quality
 The environment
 The community
 Hiring and firing workers
 Closing facilities
 Workers’ rights

Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the 1-23
LO 1.9 prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education
 Supply Chain Issues
1. The need to improve operations
2. Increasing levels of outsourcing
3. Increasing transportation costs
4. Competitive pressures
5. Increasing globalization
6. Increasing importance of e-business
7. The complexity of supply chains
8. The need to manage inventories

Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the 1-24
LO 1.10 prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education
THE END

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