Functional Areas of Business Essay

Introduction: In this assignment I will be providing apprentices and readers with an understanding of the role and importance of operations management in the efficient and effective production of goods and services.

Operations management is the planning, organising and controlling all sectors of the operations process to potentially meet customer demands and expectations while also using resources efficiently. Globalisation is the removal of trade barriers between nations resulting into one single economic market. This is both detrimental and progressive to a business as it brings significant impact on operations strategies. This can be seen through the case studies of the largest Australian airline, Qantas and leading global manufacturer and seller of sportswear and accessories, Nike.

Operations management refers to all levels of an organisation and how best to efficiently convene, fund, maintain and maximise its services and/or operations, both internal and external. The core goal/objective of operations management it to maximise outputs while reducing and minimising the inputs required to achieve the desired results.

Chase, R. B., Jacobs, F. R., Aquilano, N.J. Operations management for competitive advantage (11th ed). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin.

Per Satterlee, chapter eight of Organization Management and Leadership, is about operations management, which is how products or services are provided in the most efficient and effective way. “Operations management is the implementation of all the functions of management,” (Satterlee, p. 224). This includes where infrastructure may be built, where supplies and materials are obtained, production is scheduled, inventory is managed, and equipment is maintained.

Chase, R.B., Jacobs, F. R., & Aquilano, N.J. (2006) Operations management for competitive advantage (11th ed). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin

Executive Summary:In this business report it will outline the main functions of the business. This will allow for a cohesive understanding of how and where the main operations of the business will take place.It will look at a two year time frame and how the business will survive in the establishment stage of the business.

• explain operations as an organizational functional area; i.e. to present a list of the areas covered by the operations management function, the problems and decisions faced in these areas and the methods and models for approaching these problems;

Operations Management in an organisation is repsonsible for managing and in making decisions concerning the activities that convert inputs into outputs , that is goods and services. This covers both short term actvities as well as longer term activities to meet strategic goals. Inputs can be the raw materaials need to manufacture goods such as furniture or the computers needed to create a service like online shopping site. Operation management’s role is to make decisions to improve how operation activities function, for example, to improve the final quality of the output or to change production methods to be more efficient in terms of cost and in time.

Operations Manager has overall responsibility for coordinating, managing and monitoring the operations of the company.

My knowledge of operations management's impact on organizational effectiveness has grown considerably in this course. I now have a better understanding of how the design and improvement of operational processes and systems can be structured so that the resources required for producing and delivering goods and services are optimized to their full potential. I have a newfound appreciation for the role of operations managers. They take on the challenge of improving productivity to grow and enhance the business an effort that spans all business units and divisions including purchasing, manufacturing, shipping, packaging, supply chain, human resources, marketing, finance, and information technology.

1) Operations management refers to the direction and control of inputs that transform processes into products and services.

Projects are temporary endeavors with a beginning and an end and are initiated to solve a particular need of the organization. Operations, on the other hand, are the activities associated with the ongoing business of the company for as long as the company is in existence. While both activities use the organization 's resources and require planning to achieve the objectives, operations activities are repetitive in nature versus project activities which are unique to the particular endeavor. The approach required to manage each differs due to the nature of the activities.

Operations management focuses on managing the processes of producing and distributing products and services. Operations activities often include product creation, development, production and distribution. It deals with all operations within the organization. Related activities include managing purchases, inventory control, quality control, storage, logistics and evaluations. The nature of how operations management is carried out in an organization depends very much on the nature of products or services in the organization, for example, retail, manufacturing, wholesale, etc.

Operations management is found everywhere. We encounter various goods and services produced by the transformation of inputs to outputs under the control of operations managers. Operations is a basic function along with finance and marketing. Through excellent operations wealth can be created, productivity improved and standard of living raised.