Analysis of operations management issues
Duties of the manager
‘Operations’ relates to the production of goods and services for a business. Operation Management is that aspect of a business enterprise which is involved in producing goods and services in the most efficient and effective way. The Operations Manager is the person in charge of running the operations of the business on a daily basis.
In a company, the manager is a key executor. Indeed, the four main duties of a manager are staffing (i.e. creating job descriptions or reviewing them, interviewing employees, running advertisements, overseeing and training the staff members, making sure the guidelines and policies of the firm are followed, taking care of compensation and so on) , training (making sure every employee is trained properly to be as efficient as possible, evaluating their progress and performance, determining whether more training is needed or not), communication (important part of the manager’s duties, he has to make sure every single employee know what are his missions and goals and what is expected from them, and he might have to handle conflicts, lack of motivation and so on) and finally - and above all - taking care of the business growth. In addition, the interview of M. Peter Coles showed that operations manager must also oversee new product development activities, including process development, scale up and transfer into a manufacturing facility.
The manager must take into account the scope of operations management while making decisions. For example, concerning the designing, he has to ask himself various questions such as “what do customers want?” or “how could I improve existing products or services?” The manager has several decision areas: design, forecast, capacity, process, layout, location, quality, inventory, aggregate planning, JIT systems, scheduling or supply chain. The decisions made are not the same whether the firm is offering a service or a product.
As well as duties, managers have responsibilities. An Operations Manager is the one in charge of developing an environment that helps improve the efficiency of the employees and work force. Stimulating positive vibes, teamwork and creativity among the employees can be means to achieve this goal. In addition, Operations Managers are the ones responsible for the operating Budget of a business or company. This refers to calculating how much money was already spent, as well as how much money can be spent for providing the services or products to costumers. The responsibilities of managers are not limited to the inside of the company; dealing with issues like client complaints, shipment delays and employee grievances are part the job. An Operations Manager is a highly responsible and completely indispensable part, as well as a very meritorious position in a company or organization.
A manager must have several skills such as leadership, project management, collaboration and critical thinking skills. He also needs communication skills in order to give speeches, deal with conflict or simply to communicate with the rest of the firm. "Another situation of conflict that we have faced is with consistency of our products, in ensuring that each batch is the same or very similar to one before, this is mainly a problem with consumer health care products like creams that have to consist of certain