Operation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Operation management - Essay Example From this research it is clear that although OM is usually thought to be concerned with day-to-day operations of a limited number of resources and functionalities of a business, it is still an all encompassing field of study and more so in today’s fast paced business environment that demands that businesses brace up their operations strategies to face the highly competitive marketplace. While short-term goals of a business are important to be achieved in terms of efficiency and increased productivity, it is the business’s ability to achieve these results in the long-term that determines its success in the market, making it imperative that it tie its short-term efforts strategically for sustainability and profitability. Technological advancements and innovative approaches to business have constantly changed the face of the market for any business across the world, opening new avenues and options for implementing change in the way business is done. The sole focus being to increase productivity and reduce cost to attain a competitive advantage for survival in the long run. Different methodologies have been available through sets of frameworks for implementing the change strategically for operations of a firm and these will be explored and in the report. Research methodologies that are a best fit for implementing operations strategy will also be studied while exploring the concepts of soft systems methods like lean management, Six Sigma, etc. that help understand the relevance and success of operations strategy in OM.... that help understand the relevance and success of operations strategy in OM. Further, the process of OM itself will be understood with reference to the various development stages of a business in any market. 2. Defining Operations Management â€Å"OM is defined as the process of design, planning, controlling and executing operations in manufacturing and service industries† (Will et al., 2002). The management of a firm’s operations can be found to deal with a wide variety of activities including the design and management of products, services, processes and supply chains through acquisitions, development and utilization of resources at strategic, tactical and operational levels to deliver value to customer while increasing profitability for all the stakeholders of the business. OM encompasses tactical issues ranging from plant layout and structure, project management methods to equipment selection and replacement, operational issues like inventory management, process and production scheduling and controlling, quality control, and policies related to equipment handling and maintenance, etc. (MIT Sloan, 2011). 3. Strategy in Operations An operations strategy reflects what a firm does in the market and is one of the functional strategies of a firm that reflects its decisions which determine the direction of its operations. As the term operations refers to activities or functions of the firm that relate to the producing of products and services, operations strategy is well concerned with the long-term management of resources that are required to produce these products and services (Slack et al., 2010). 4. Importance of operations strategy a.