Operations Management
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Operations management – function of managing resources to create products/services that fulfil market demands
The activities (processes, actions and decisions) that enable organizations to transform inputs into meaningful outputs in an efficient and effective manner
Three core functions of an organisation
Product/Service development – creating new services to generate future requests
Marketing – communicating products/services to generate requests
Operations – creation and delivery of products/services
Process hierarchy
Supply network (includes all the organizations the organization is connected to/exchanges with)
Operation level (core business transformation processes)
Individual level (all of the processes that feed into the operational level)
Process characteristics
Volume – amount of product/service created at a time
Variety – amount of choice in features of product/service
Variation – predictability and stability of demand
Visibility – how exposed are operations to customers
These 4 aspects determine how operations are to be managed
Triple bottom line – Organizations should be measured not only on economic performance, but for their impact on society (individuals & communities), and the environment
CSR – The act of being conscientious about and accountable for economic, environmental, and social performance; usually over and above the mandatory actions.
Takes into consideration the views of multiple stakeholders, not just shareholders
Product / service design – safety – socialital impact. Recylability, energy consumption, waste generation
Network design – employment implications of location/plant closure/vertical integration. Environmental impact of location, development of suppliers in environmental practice, reducing transport-related energy (effiecint trucks, using rail etc)
Job design – Staff safety, workplace stress. Repetitive/alienating work. Customer safety. Unsocial hours
Planning and control – restrictive org culture. Material utilisation/wastage, Transport pollution of frequent JIT (just in time) supply (make food last longer – less deliveries using larger lorries, more efficient) (find some lorry data), Environmental impact of project management
Supply chain – cost data – look for example of bad management – impact of public opinion on business – identify general areas where the risk of adverse human rights impacts is most significant, whether due to certain suppliers’ or clients’ operating context,
the particular operations, products or services involved, or other relevant considerations, and prioritize these for human rights due diligence. Child labour, consitions, wages, – honesty in supplier relationships (transparency – see where the food comes from, link to poor farmers in developing world, fairtrade – non-exploitation). Companies searching for low costs in an ever competitive world. minimising energy consumption in distribution, recyclability of transportation consumables
Process technology – Waste disposal, pollution, energy efficiency
Failure prevention/recovery – environmental impact of process failures, recovery to minimise impact.
Quality (fresh), speed, dependability (have the thing you want in stock), flexibility(wide array of products), cost(lowered).
Draw polar diagrams for each suggestion with shifts.
Operations managers are designers – The process by which some functional requirement of people is satisfied through the shaping or configuration of the resources and/or activities that comprise a product, or a service, or the transformation process that produces them
Decisions taken during the design of a product or service will have an impact on the decisions taken during the design of the process which produces those products or services and vice versa.
Environmentally sensitive design considerations
Sources of inputs. Will they damage landscapes/wildlife? DO they use up scare resources? DO they exploit cheap labour / child labour (clothes etc)
Quantity and sources of energy. Renewable? Types of materials used and their impact on the environment? Non recyclables
Waste material from manufacturing? Can it be recycled? Burnt/buried?
Shelf-life of the product. Better packaging – last longer – less lorries needed – lower costs and lower emissions. Able to store more product at the store so more dependable, more likely to have products the customers want. Longer life product consuming fewer resources.
End of life of product? Is it just thrown away (Link to my experience at waitrose – throwing food in the locked bin at the end of the day). Prehaps look to governments to relax regulations. Give the end of life food to the needy and homeless. When not possible, how to dispose in an environmentally