Operations Management in Ophthalmology - Essay Example

Operations Management Name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Section 1 3 Understanding Four V’s Of Operation Management (The Henry Ford Of Ophthalmology) 3 Comparison Of The Fyodorov Approach Of Eye Surgery To The Conventional Eye Surgery Using The Four V’s Of Operation Management 4 Advantages And Disadvantages Of ‘Henry Ford Of Ophthalmology’ Approach Of Eye Surgery. 5 Section 2 8 Qualities Of Jaguar Cars 8 How Did The Changes Which Jaguar Made To Its Operations Practice Affect The Quality Of 11 Its Products 11 References 15 Section 1 Understanding Four V’s Of Operation Management (The Henry Ford Of Ophthalmology) Operations management is the management of the set of actions such as planning, organizing, leading and controlling of resources that result in the production of goods and services by transformation of inputs to outputs in order to create value (Reid & Sanders, 2012). An efficient operation management offers several returns such as reduced cost of products and services due to efficiency in production; better customer appreciation thus increase in revenue for the firm and reduced operation costs in terms of capital invested due to proficient use of raw materials. Another advantage is building a tangible knowledge resource base (Reid & Sanders, 2012). Processes leading to production of a good or service differ and need to be managed in different ways requiring diverse skills and technology. However there are 4 factors that remain constant in whatever field of production and are essential in operation in management. They are known as the ‘four V’s in operations management’ and include: Volume; amount of goods and services produced Variety; different types of products and services offered. Variation in demand over time for the goods and services Degree of visibility or exposure to the clients of the operation process Comparison Of The Fyodorov Approach Of Eye Surgery To The Conventional Eye Surgery Using The Four V’s Of Operation Management Conventional method Fyodorov’s method Volume Production procedures that result in large volumes of output include lots of repetition resulting in high degree of specialization among employees (Dhamasiri, 2011). Fyodorov eye surgery procedure involves repetition with high number of patients being attended to at the same time. This procedure makes the doctors to develop a high degree of specialization resulting in high efficiency on the job. Conventional eye surgery on the other hand involves low volumes because of the variety in procedures undertaken and has less repetition and low level of specialization. Large volume processes sustain low per unit cost and are easy to systemize. Variety Products with a wide variety involve a number of various activities that require a wide range of inputs, skills and technologies. Eye surgeon Svyatoslav Fyodorov is specialized in the treatment of myopia only meaning he offers only one product to the market while conventional eye surgery offers a wide variety of eye surgery procedures. Highly varied processes are more multifaceted and expensive than less varied ones (Dhamasiri, 2011). Variation Fyodorov’s style of surgery lacks variation as is applied on pre-planned procedures similar to conventional surgeries hence both procedures have low level of variety. Both eye surgery procedures cannot be done on emergency thus loose on the variation aspect. In terms of cost, high degrees of variation brought about by emergency cases increase on costs of production while pre-planned operations are budgeted for and have expected income with no room for fluctuations. Visibility Visibility is an indicator of the degree of the process a client experiences first-hand or is exposed to directly. Both surgical procedures are highly visible as the client has to be there to undergo the surgery process but the conventional procedure has a relatively higher visibility as the patients may be required to undergo other procedures in the treatment process unlike Fyodorov’s method which involves less procedures. Advantages And Disadvantages Of ‘Henry Ford Of Ophthalmology’ Approach Of Eye Surgery. Henry Ford of ophthalmology surgery method has a high quantity of productivity meaning it involves doing the same thing for an extended time. Such repetition makes the employees specialize on one specific task making the production process smooth and with fewer flaws. Employees become masters of their tasks thus performing their duties with minimal errors thus reducing on wastage of materials and on accidents that can arise from one who is involved in multiple tasks. This also makes it feasible to develop technological systems that will perform the task with improved precision. Mass production employed in Fyodorov’s method reduces the production cost per unit which means low costs are incurred by customers for the surgery. This in terms means more business and income for the company. Fyodorov’s approach has a low level of variety which means relatively a low range of inputs are required for the process. This means low costs of production are incurred by the company. It also means it is easy to satisfy a customer’s needs and offer suitable products and services. The method offers good visibility for the client as he/she is there in person to be operated on thus enabling the client to appreciate their services. This also means the staffs have to offer excellent professional service as they work one on one with the client. His method however faces several challenges. For instance, the high degree of specialization makes the process rigid and lacks variety in output. Conventional eye surgery centers offer a wide variety of products and thus serve a wider clientele range. Svyatoslav Fyodorov’s method loses on the low levels of variation as it lacks capacity to respond to emergency situations and cannot respond to demand changes in the market. If for instance there is an increase in number of patients with long-sightedness problem or eye injuries, his company will be locked out of business as it does not have the product to cater for such. Surgeons and staff working in his company must be enduring a boring day at work due to the monotonous nature of their operation system. The lack of exposure to a varied range of tasks limits their levels of creativity and innovation. Their competitiveness in the labor market is also flawed as they are specialized to operate on only one aspect of ophthalmology. The two operations which can be put on the opposite ends of the four Vs of operation management, and justification Comparison of High fashion tailor -made suits and off the hook suits Off the hook suits High Fashion tailor-made suits Volume High fashion tailor made suits are produced in low volumes compared to off-the hook conventional suits which are made in high volumes as they are made for an open market. Tailor made suits such as the Brioni are made for specific customers and are dependent on their need. They are also taking a long time to prepare hence low in volume. This explains why they are expensive. Variety Tailor made suit production involves production of specialized suits with little variety as they Convention suits are made in a number of varieties as they are made for a wide range market thus are on the higher side on the variety scale. Variation Tailor-made suits lack variation as they are made on order basis. Orders are made before hand and are budgeted for. Off the hook suits are high on variation as they can be made to satisfy the changing fashion trends since they are made for the open market. Fyodorov’s style of surgery lacks variation as is applied on pre-planned procedures similar to conventional surgeries hence both procedures have low level of variety. Both eye surgery procedures cannot be done on emergency thus loose on the variation aspect. In terms of cost, high degrees of variation brought about by emergency cases increase on costs of production while pre-planned operations are budgeted for and have expected income with no room for fluctuations. Section 2 Qualities Of Jaguar Cars Quality cars such as the Jaguar possess the following qualities that make them stand out and admired by many: Reliability When an individual is looking for a vehicle, he will look out for one that will serve him with less probability of likeliness to fail or develop malfunctions within a short period from date of purchase. Reliability is a major factor for car brands and is an aspect considered by many buyers. A reliable car reduces cost of maintenance and repairs of a vehicle. Clients will always go for car that is dependable in harsh circumstances. Durability Durability is another very important aspect to consider. It is the measure of a product’s life in this case it is how long the car will serve the client before it becomes uneconomical to use it or depreciates significantly. A client will look for a vehicle which will serve him for the longest time possible before it breaks down and replacement becomes a better option than repairing. Performance Performance of a car can be determined by its speed, power and cornering abilities. A fast speed car, powerful acceleration among other attributes ‘make’ the car. Jaguar cars possess this attributes that make its cars desired by many. A car’s brand performance determines it profitability. A car with high performance reputation appeals buyers and has a high status among other brands. Performance may sometimes be based on preference but the preferences are universal and influence the performance standard (Garvin, 1987). Aesthetics Aesthetics refer to how a product feels looks or tastes. The appearance of a car represents its quality though at times, appearance does not reflect the reality. Many vehicles, jaguar included have an appealing appearance; sporty, classy and luxurious but have poor performance and reliability levels. The beauty of car however is a matter of personal preference and judgment. As the saying, ‘beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.’ All the same, there exist certain universal aspects of a car’s beauty. A Jaguar car whatever the make is always appealing and is easily noticed whenever it passes thus making one of the most desired toys. Quality In cars, quality is observed in several components in the interior and exterior. On the outside, one looks at the painting finish to see if there are signs of fading; are the seats comfortable and made with quality material. On the test drive, observe its vibration and the kind of noise it makes and how it feels when on a bumpy road. Other things to look at are the windows, doors, tires, body panels. The controls position should be comfortable to reach and made of good quality. Most important of quality traits is the feel of solidity of the automobile. Jaguars are often made of high quality material with good finishing and a have solid feel. Quality determines a car’s durability and reliability. After sales service and Serviceability When a client requires more information or encounters a problem, he should be able to easily get the service or information. It is the company’s initiative to ensure service centers are accessible; call centers have responsive and helpful personnel and offer reliable services and most important, be competent and efficient. Other factors of a quality car would be conformance and environmental impact in terms of fuel consumption and emission and also the cost in relation to similar products in the market and warranty periods. How Did The Changes Which Jaguar Made To Its Operations Practice Affect The Quality Of Its Products Jaguar made several changes among its staff and operations that ensured its brand gained a good quality reputation in the market. They include:- Training Training entails equipping staff with skills necessary for them to perform their duties effectively and efficiently. Well trained staffs are confident as they are fully aware of their tasks and duties and make few mistakes which would otherwise increase the company costs. Jaguar took this vital measure and ensured that their staffs were well equipped in their areas of operation which resulted in fewer mistakes on their machines. The errors would cause dysfunctions in their cars which mean recalling the faulty vehicles and replacing them for their clients. The cars were not reliable despite the good appearance. But with training, their staffs were able to produce better vehicles. Multi-skilled work force A multi-skilled workforce is one that has all-rounded staff who can do a little bit of everything. For the employer it means less strain and you can be comfortable whenever an employee is absent as their duties will still done and operations run smoothly. Statistical Process control (SPC) This is a system of monitoring and controlling operations and improving the processes using statistical analysis. It is ideally used in manufacturing processes to reduce variations in the end product. Jaguar included SPC in their production process which enabled them detect problems early enough while still in the vehicles production process. This again helped reduce costs that would arise from errors in the cars after they have already been produced. Benchmarking This entails observing how you competitors and ideally those performing better in your field and compare them with your organization. This helps the management to gauge their performance and see if they are at par with the rest. Jaguar manufacturers did benchmarking and it worked for them as they were able to make better cars afterwards after learning what the market leaders, that is Ford, were doing. Total Productive Management/ This allows everyone in the company to take part in improving the company. It requires commitment from the management and employees be empowered to take initiative and develop a sense of ownership of the company. Training employees to change their attitudes towards their jobs together with benchmarking will be helpful (Robinson, Ginder, & Andrew, 1995). TPM needs to be continuous and on-going process as it will help avoid emergencies and unplanned maintenance processes. Productivity bonus encourages staff to do their best and learn more skills and make quality products. Flexible working routines helped staff at Jaguar work with a more relaxed attitude with generally improve their performance. Jaguar made all these changes in their operations and it made significant improvements. However without the intervention of Ford, it would have been tough to realize the success it now enjoys. Total Quality Management (TQM) Total Quality Management was done so as to improve efficiency in the productivity process by identifying and sorting out errors on time. It helps to identify redundant, unneeded and repeated steps. It also helps in prediction of the same. TQM can also be employed in improving customer satisfaction by making quality cars that meet a client’s expectations on service, the final product and the general experience. Such is achieved by reducing waiting time in arrangement of appointments and making the delivery. Quality, durable and reliable final product is also key in satisfying a customer. These changes helped in reducing costs and saving on time for Jaguar as well as regaining its lost glory in the market (Nayab, 2011). Indentify what aspects of quality are important for your business and why As a business person, there are several aspects of quality and practices that Jaguar employed that I would emulate and use in my company. They include the following: Bench marking This entails observing how you competitors and ideally those performing better in your field and compare them with your organization. This helps the management to gauge their performance and see if they are at par with the rest. Benchmarking is vital for my organization as it will ensure that the business makes products that are at par with others in the same field. It will as well help identify the strengths of the company and also the weaknesses in operations as well as labour force. When a company conducts a bench-marking and implements the recommendations it is able to remain relevant to the market and maintain focus. Multi-skilled work force A multi-skilled workforce is an asset to any business. This will ensure that whenever some staffs are absent, operations will still run smoothly. All-rounded employees can be achieved by conducting trainings. Training Training equips staffs with necessary skills to perform their duties well. Well trained staff are confident and sure of their selves which generally boosts their morale at work. Employees who are skilled minimize errors on the job which means the company does not incur losses that accrue from errors such as compensation of clients and accidents. High Quality Products Quality products market the brand. Quality will be achieved through making durable, reliable products. Advertising gives the consumer incomplete information about a product. But once the client buys the product and gets the real feel of the product and will communicate it to the other people interested in the product. It’s therefore imperative to give a client value for their money and ensure the product is up to standard. Serviceability and after sales service Should the client encounter difficulty or problems with the product, it is important for any business to make access to service centers easy. A client should be able to get attended to by professional, responsive and competent staff and in good time. Clients’ complaints should be addressed to the satisfaction of the customer so as to retain him and attract more. References Dhamasiri, A. (2011, 07 18). Pondering on Processes: A Case of Four V’s | DailyFT - Be Empowered. Retrieved 7 19, 2013, from DailyFT: http://www.ft.lk/2011/07/18/pondering-on-processes-a-case-of-four-vs/ Garvin, D. A. (1987). Competing on the Eight Dimensions of Quality. Harvard Business Review , 23-24. Nayab, N. (2011, 05). The Benefits of Total Quality Management: TQM in Process Improvement, Customer Satisfaction and Organizational Development:. (M. McDonough, Editor) Retrieved 07 22, 2013, from Bright Hub PM: http://www.brighthubpm.com/monitoring-projects/70318-looking-at-the-benefits-of- tqm/ Reid, D., & Sanders, N. R. (2012). Operations Management (5th Edition ed.). Wiley and Sons Inc. Robinson, Ginder, C. J., & Andrew, P. (1995). Implementing TPM. Portland Oregon: Productivity Press. Read More