Operations Management Basics

Notes

# Chapter 11 # Operations Management P Ramgovind ## Chapter overview Operations management focuses on the planning, organising and supervising of organisational processes in the production, manufacturing and rendering of services. When done efficiently, this pioneering multidisciplinary functional area becomes the cornerstone in establishing a sustainable competitive advantage for organisations. Operations management sees the transformation of an input into the desired finished good, which is specified to meet the needs and requirements of consumers. Operations management originated in the manufacturing industry. However, given the dynamic contemporary business environment and the shift towards a more serviced-based economy, it has also been integrated into the service sector. This chapter focuses on operations management in the southern African business context while discussing the difference between goods and services. The chapter also looks at the transformation model and strategic operations management decisions while highlighting the integrated and reliant nature it shares with the other functional areas. Productivity and efficiency are discussed as ways of achieving operation...