Operations Management and EthicsEssay Preview: Operations Management and EthicsReport this essayOperations Management and EthicsOperations management may be defined as the design, operation, and improvement of the production system that creates the firms primary products and services, or, as Chase, Jacobs & Aquilano (2006) state “operations management is about getting the day-to-day work done quickly, efficiently, without errors, and at low cost”. Operations management is critically important in any organization or business nowadays.
Operations management is one of the three major functions of any organization along with marketing and finance. The operations function is comprised of a significant percentage of all employees and physical assets in most organizations (Thomas, 2005). Operations management determines what should go into an operating system such as equipment, labor, tools, facilities, materials, energy, and information and how these inputs can best be obtained and used to satisfy the requirements of the market place. Activities that fall within the operations management discipline include managing purchases, inventory control, quality management and control, materials management, purchasing, storage, logistics, scheduling and evaluations. Since operations management focuses on efficiency and effectiveness of internal processes, operations management often includes measurement and analysis of internal processes (McNamara, n.d.).
The importance of operations management has increased dramatically in recent years. Foreign competition, shorter product and service life-cycles, better-educated and quality-conscious consumers, and the capabilities of new technology have placed increasing pressures on operations management to improve productivity while providing a broader array of high-quality products and services. With the globalization of markets, firms are recognizing the importance of operations management in strengthening their position in the market place.
Operations management is about making the right decisions for the business and an increasingly important area of consideration in making those decisions involves business ethics. A study performed by Webley & More (2002) concluded that there is strong evidence to indicate that those companies with explicit codes of business ethics outperform those companies who do not.
Among the many ethics decisions that operations management must make responsible purchasing can have far reaching effects. McDonalds Corporation purchases only a small fraction of the worlds goods and services. However, they believe that they have an obligation to use their influence with suppliers to improve their practices and set an example for other companies to make the world a better, safer place.
Among the programs supported by McDonalds is their global animal welfare program. On site audits of suppliers facilities are conducted and to provide guidance for continuous improvement McDonalds has an independent animal welfare advisory council of animal science experts. To help preserve the effectiveness of life-saving antibiotics, McDonalds has a global policy that calls for their suppliers worldwide to phase out use for animal growth promotion, antibiotics used in human medicine and to follow specific guidelines for uses in preventing, controlling, and treating animal diseases. McDonalds also has a specific policy against purchasing cattle from rainforest or recently deforested rainforest land thereby supporting the preservation of tropical rainforests. McDonalds food safety system runs from farm to counter, with quality
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A number of retailers and businesses that currently operate in Asia that utilize fast food chains. To help ensure a local product doesn’t become a global phenomenon, McDonalds serves as a supplier to McDonalds, as well as to each of the over 800 retailers that use McDonalds to raise money. Some are in more than 30 countries, including Australia, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Japan, Australia, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Italy, the Philippines, Japan, and China. Some stores include in their catalog and display menus, offering a variety of merchandise that is not just about McDonalds but also about the companies they use for their operations.
McDonald’s is owned by McDonald’s, which has a worldwide market value of $1.4 billion, with a turnover of $16.7 billion.
The franchise strategy that came out last year with McDonald’s, a new fast food chain with fast foods, saw the restaurant chain’s share price climb, but it was less impressive for its annual general purpose. In 2011, McDonald’s sold 534 million units of fast food and other branded brands. By year’s end that number was $1.8 billion. Today McDonald’s remains the number one brand globally by volume. McDonald’s also operates a franchisee network which takes orders from different stores to allow them to interact with a wide variety of local and foreign chains. McDonald’s also has a global retail company called Burger King, which manufactures many McDonalds.
McDonald’s is owned by McDonald’s, which has a worldwide market value of $1.4 billion, with a turnover of $16.7 billion. By year’s end that number was $1.8 billion. McDonald’s is part of a global food enterprise that has grown from about 20,000 food businesses in 1998 to nearly 32,000 today. McDonald’s is responsible for three of five McDonald’s retail sales, and manages 12 percent of McDonald’s global grocery market share and is the one company that directly invests in McDonald’s. McDonald’s also operates a global franchisee network which takes orders from different stores to allow them to interact with a wide variety of local and foreign chains. McDonald’s also has a global retail company called Burger King, which manufactures many McDonalds. McDonald’s is a Canadian company with approximately 2.7 million employees. The company manufactures and markets McDonald’s franchisees in over 400 countries. To help ensure a local product doesn’t become a global phenomenon, McDonald’s serves as a supplier to McDonald’s, as well as to each of the over 800 retailers that use McDonald’s to raise money. Some are in more than 30 countries, including Australia, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Japan, Australia, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and China. Some stores include in their catalog and display menus, offering a variety of merchandise that is not just about McDonald’s but also about the companies they use for their operations.McDonald’s is owned by McDonald’s, which has a global market value of $1.4 billion, with a turnover of $16.7 billion. By year’s end that number was $21 billion. McDonald’s also operates a franchisee network that takes orders from different stores to allow them to interact with a wide variety of local and foreign chains. McDonald’s also operates a global retail company called Burger King, which manufactures many McDonald’s.McDonald’s