Operation Mgmt: Theories & Practices for Product Creation & Distribution - Essay Sample

Introduction

Operation management is focused on managing the processes of production and distribution of products and services. The significant activities here include product creation, product development, production, and product distribution (Bromiley et al. 2016).

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Theory and Practice of Operations Management

While there are so many different approaches to operation management, it considers four theories. Business process management is the methodology of continuous optimization, improvement, and automation processes. It is continuously done and in five steps of designing, modeling, analysis, monitoring, and development or automation (Kerzner 2017). Business Process Reengineering this is a theory in which technology is used by management to significantly improve the company manufacturing process by recreating it from scratch. Six Sigma and lean manufacturing focus on the manufacturing process by minimizing defect rates. Lastly, supply chain management oversees all the touch points of the company's production or service, creation, and sale (Serra et al. 2015).

Operation Strategies

These are methods used by companies to reach their objectives. Osram's plan to achieve its aim in Opto semiconductors is in three forms, drive competitiveness in the core business, accelerate growth in new application fields e.g., sensing and uLED and extending value chain towards component (Xu et al. 2017).

Project Management

Project management is the process of putting into practice the knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to the project activities so that the project requirements are met (Reid et al 2015). The process falls into five major groups: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing. Its goals, resources, and schedule shape Osram’s project management of each project, like the Opto semiconductor project.

Importance of Operations Management to Globally Competitive Firms

A global firm like Osram has similar control for projects irrespective of their nature or service. Therefore, they can reduce costs in all departments, reduce risks, and manage to get secure supply sources (Svejvig et al. 2015). Operations management enables global firms to improve customer services and, in turn, attract new markets. They are also able to learn how to improve operations and attract global talents.

Supply Chain Management, Capacity, and Quality

Supply chain management is an integral part of every organization (Oelze et al. 2018). It involves the activities of managing the movement of materials and products in and out of a company while maximizing the customer value to achieve and maintain a suitable competitive company advantage.

The Importance of Supply Chain Management to Organizational Operations and Competitiveness

Supply chain management helps boost customer service because they can get the correct product assortment and the right quantity delivered. Customers get products at the right location, and delivery is done at the right time (Heydari et al. 2018). Customers also get right after-sale support.

Operating cost is reduced. Effective Supply chain management decreases purchasing costs for retailers. Production costs are also reduced because manufactures get materials in time to avoid production shut down. Lastly, it lowers total supply chain cost; an efficient supply chain will enable firms to be more competitive in the market place (Prajogo et al. 2016).

Supply chain management Improve financial position. Controlled and reduced supply chain costs increase profit advantage. Firms fixed assets are also decreased, improving competition among firms because the use of substantial fixed assets like warehouses and transportation is reduced (Desaulniers et al. 2016). Also, cash flow is increased because product flow to customers is fast.

Problems of Capacity, Flow, and Inventory Management

Challenges associated with capacity, flow, and inventory management are both internal and external. For size, it is challenging to determine existing storage capacity and the usage trends across the organization. It is also challenging to determine whether the usage supports the organizational goals, also defining and implementing storage policies is challenging; adjusting the policies is challenging because organizational needs change and capacity needs to grow.

Inventory management is complex; that is why it is faced with many challenges. These challenges are, being unaware of inventory levels and warehouse space management, inefficient processes, with most companies still having manual processes and outdated inventory management systems (Saenz et al. 2015). Increasing competition from other multi-international firms is a problem for inventory management.

The Role of Technology in Supply Chain Management

Electronic data interchange and internet links all supply chain participants together. They are linked in terms of production, accounting, inventory, order processing, and transportation. Besides reducing paperwork, it benefits the organization by enabling them to share information on scheduling, invoices, and payments (Quarshie et al. 2016).

Radiofrequency identification and bar code technology are used to support the flow of information within the supply chain (Saberi et al. 2019). Its use reduces the time to collect real-time and warehousing activities data. It traces products accurately with minimal human intervention.

The Gig Economy and Ethical Operations and Capacity Management

Gig economy often involves a connection with clients through an online platform that is always based on freelance jobs that are flexible and temporary (Kaine et al. 2019). Although employees in gig have benefits like flexibility in employment hours, they are subjected to several unethical issues like no minimum wage or redundancy, holiday, and sick pay. They also have zero protection in case of dismissal or unfair treatment. The gig economy's overall idea in capacity management is to increase efficiency and quality.

Technology, People, and Ethics

The Future of Operations Management E.G., Advanced Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Data

Department within organizations is continuously evolving, including operations management. Automation is a key trend here; automation increases efficiency and saves companies large sums of money (Choi et al. 2016). Advanced planning helps synchronize supply with demand; create optimized programs to balance production efficiency.

People in Operation Management

Individuals in charge of the operation department are required to perform various strategic functions, including product design, focus, supply chain management, and delivery management. Managers in operation should be able to possess skills such as organizational abilities, coordination, people’s skills, and tech-savvy (Ichinose et al. 2018).

Operations and Human Resources

Operations and human resources work together on administration issues regarding matters such as payroll. Procedures highlight the effects of human resource activities like communication, staffing, training, and payment, while human resource explains the variations of traditional services (Noe et al. 2015).

Resource Management

Resource management is so important to the organization because apart from the project manager identifying problems before they happen, it provided an overview of everything and everyone involved in a particular project (Hitt et al. 2016). It also utilizes and makes planning and management more transparent.

Technology, Information Systems, and Software

The involvement of technology in the world of business is inevitable. Operation management also involves information sharing among firms and within the organization (Lvovich et al. 2016). Information technology, systems, and software strengthen effective operation by helping to transact faster and more efficiently and enable managers to make better decisions (Maitland et al. 2015).

Ethics

Ethical issues in operation management include decisions on customer and employee safety, how materials are recycled, waste disposal, repetitive tasks, pollution, fluctuation in working hours, and stress in the workplace. Company cultures, employment policies, and energy consumption are among the ethical issues in operation management.

References

Bromiley, P. and Rau, D., 2016. Operations management and the resource based view: Another view. Journal of Operations Management, 41, pp.95-106. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272696315000984

Serra, C.E.M. and Kunc, M., 2015. Benefits realisation management and its influence on project success and on the execution of business strategies. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), pp.53-66. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263786314000519

Kerzner, H., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl

Oelze, N. and Habisch, A., 2018. Responsible supply chain implementation-Are multinational companies gods and small and medium sized enterprises oxen?. Journal of Cleaner Production, 179, pp.738-752. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652617324411

Heydari, J. and Ghasemi, M., 2018. A revenue sharing contract for reverse supply chain coordination under stochastic quality of returned products and uncertain remanufacturing capacity. Journal of Cleaner Production, 197, pp.607-615. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652618318560

Prajogo, D., Oke, A. and Olhager, J., 2016. Supply chain processes. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJOPM-03-2014-0129/full/html

Desaulniers, G., Rakke, J.G. and Coelho, L.C., 2016. A branch-price-and-cut algorithm for the inventory-routing problem. Transportation Science, 50(3), pp.1060-1076. https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/trsc.2015.0635

Saberi, S., Kouhizadeh, M., Sarkis, J. and Shen, L., 2019. Blockchain technology and its relationships to sustainable supply chain management. International Journal of Production Research, 57(7), pp.2117-2135. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00207543.2018.1533261

Kaine, S. and Josserand, E., 2019. The organisation and experience of work in the gig economy. Journal of Industrial Relations, 61(4), pp.479-501. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022185619865480

Choi, T.M., Chan, H.K. and Yue, X., 2016. Recent development in big data analytics for business operations and risk management. IEEE transactions on cybernetics, 47(1), pp.81-92. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7378465/

Ichinose, R., Sato, T., Masuda, A., Yamamoto, K., Yukihiko, O.N.O. and Oshima, A., Hitachi Ltd, 2018. Use-assisting tool for autonomous mobile device, operation management center, operation system, and autonomous mobile device. U.S. Patent 10,055,694. https://patents.google.com/patent/US10055694B2/en

Hitt, M.A., Xu, K. and Carnes, C.M., 2016. Resource based theory in operations management research. Journal of Operations Management, 41, pp.77-94. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272696315000972

Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B. and Wright, P.M., 2015. Human resource management. Gaining a Competitive. https://mismain.bsa.kent.edu/ap/new-syllabi/Summer-2015-syllabi/34180%20SIII%20Stevens.pdf

Lvovich, I., Preobrazhensky, A. and Choporov, O., 2016. The development of cad of information systems and software for diffractive structures. Information Technology Applications, (1), p.107. https://www.paneurouni.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2016-01_articles_ita.pdf_0.pdf#page=107

Quarshie, A.M., Salmi, A. and Leuschner, R., 2016. Sustainability and corporate social responsibility in supply chains: The st...