What Is Operations Management?

Operations management is the administration of business practices to create the

highest level of efficiency possible within an organization. It is concerned with
converting materials and labor into goods and services as efficiently as possible
to maximize the profit of an organization. Operations management teams attempt
to balance costs with revenue to achieve the highest net operating
profit possible.
Volume 75%
 
1:13
Operations Management
KEY TAKEAWAYS
 Operations management is the administration of business practices to
create the highest level of efficiency possible within an organization.
 Operations management is concerned with converting materials and labor
into goods and services as efficiently as possible.
 Corporate operations management professionals try to balance costs with
revenue to maximize net operating profit.
Understanding Operations Management
Operations management involves utilizing resources from staff, materials,
equipment, and technology. Operations managers acquire, develop, and deliver
goods to clients based on client needs and the abilities of the company.
Operations management handles various strategic issues, including determining
the size of manufacturing plants and project management methods and
implementing the structure of information technology networks. Other operational
issues include the management of inventory levels, including work-in-process
levels and raw materials acquisition, quality control, materials handling, and
maintenance policies.
Operations management entails studying the use of raw materials and ensuring
minimal waste occurs. Operations managers utilize numerous formulas, such as
the economic order quantity formula to determine when and how large of an
inventory order to process and how much inventory to hold on hand.
 
The combination of understanding and coordinating the work of a company are
central to becoming a successful operations manager.
Special Considerations
A critical function of operations management relates to the management of
inventory through the supply chain. To be an effective operations management
professional, one must be able to understand the processes that are essential to
what a company does and get them to flow and work together seamlessly. The
coordination involved in setting up business processes in an efficient way
requires a solid understanding of logistics. 
An operations management professional understands local and global trends,
customer demand and the available resources for production. Operations
management approaches the acquisition of materials and the use of labor in a
timely, cost-effective manner to deliver customer expectations. Inventory levels
are monitored to ensure excessive quantities are on hand. Operations
management is responsible for finding vendors that supply the appropriate goods
at reasonable prices and have the ability to deliver the product when needed.
Another large facet of operations management involves the delivery of goods to
customers. This includes ensuring products are delivered within the agreed time
commitment. Operations management also typically follows up with customers to
ensure the products meet quality and functionality needs. Finally, operations
management takes the feedback received and distributes the relevant
information to each department to use in process improvement.
Operations managers are involved in coordinating and developing new
processes while reevaluating current structures. Organization
and productivity are two key drivers of being an operations manager, and the
work often requires versatility and innovation.
INTRODUCTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TOTAL QUALITY

MANAGEMENT (TQM)

By  Khurram Hashmi

 21 COMMENTS

Total Quality Management is a management approach that originated in the 1950s and
has steadily become more popular since the early 1980s. Total Quality is a description of
the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers
with products and services that satisfy their needs. The culture requires quality in all
aspects of the company’s operations, with processes being done right the first time and
defects and waste eradicated from operations.

Total Quality Management, TQM, is a method by which management and employees can
become involved in the continuous improvement of the production of goods and
services. It is a combination of quality and management tools aimed at increasing
business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices.
Some of the companies who have implemented TQM include Ford Motor Company,
Phillips Semiconductor, SGL Carbon, Motorola and Toyota Motor Company.1
TQM Defined
TQM is a management philosophy that seeks to integrate all organizational functions
(marketing, finance, design, engineering, and production, customer service, etc.) to focus
on meeting customer needs and organizational objectives.

Advertisement

TQM views an organization as a collection of processes. It maintains that organizations

must strive to continuously improve these processes by incorporating the knowledge
and experiences of workers. The simple objective of TQM is “Do the right things, right
the first time, every time.” TQM is infinitely variable and adaptable. Although originally
applied to manufacturing operations, and for a number of years only used in that area,
TQM is now becoming recognized as a generic management tool, just as applicable in
service and public sector organizations. There are a number of evolutionary strands, with
different sectors creating their own versions from the common ancestor. TQM is the
foundation for activities, which include: