Operations Management and its Principles



Operations Management and its Principles

Introduction

Operations Management is vast in its functions and principles, and its application varies from organization to organization. As the years go by, competition becomes fierce, as those who have first hand experience of the markets conditions a few years ago will testify. Success may only be achieved now through precise, time-based functions that are efficient as well as flexible in building a working relationship with customers. Global competition and advancements dictate that one must keep on their toes and innovate, to remain in the game. E-businesses are an example of the need of the times, a creative way to move businesses forward. Large scale organizations such as Wal-mart, FedEx or Starbucks all owe their success to their effective Operations Management functions (Wild, 2007).

Discussion

When it comes to efficiency and time management with respect to operations management, one of the first examples one can think of is the NASCAR races, and how efficiently the service pit crew uses their time. The first question of how a track race crew is able to manage a lot of tasks relating to the car in 17 seconds, where the same amount of working taking up to 3 days at Auto garages can be figured out in a few steps. First of all, race track cars are designed in a way that they are easy to take care of within the short amount of time that they stop by in the service pit. They are specifically designed in a way that allows the crew, which usually only consists of a few members, to maintain and check the car's fuel, tune its engine, check on the gas tank and so on. Not only this, the crew members are given extensive training so that they may complete these tasks in record time. At an Auto dealer, not only does the crew have more than one car at a time to maintain, they aren't working on extreme deadlines or under severe pressure, as opposed to the track car crews. The race car crews spend a lot of effort into maximizing the efficiency of the functions needed to perform each of their designated tasks, so when time comes, they don't waste a single second in their tasks, finishing in mere seconds. Hence, it can be concluded that time management as well as efficiency and practice in designated tasks provides the answer to this question(Slack, 2009).

In the second scenario, the process of loading of the luggage in large passenger jets as opposed to smaller planes is questioned. Whether the organization be large scale or small, the operations management team's task is to make sure their subordinates are well-versed in their designated tasks, so much so that they take minimum time in performing them That is why, in time consuming tasks, often teams are split up in ways that allow for each person to perform their tasks in the most efficient and least time consuming manner. With airlines, large passenger jets often have ...