Functions of Production and Operation Management - Essay Example

Historical Milestones in Production and Operations Management Responding to the increased level of competitiveness in the business environment in terms of quality, productivity and lead times, the function of Production and Operations Management has evolved significantly over the history to its current standing within organizations. While the process involved may vary from organization to organization depending on the nature of output be it tangible product or intangible service, the essential elements of production and operation management is concerned with the management of input-throughput-output process effectively and efficiently (Wikipedia 2008). Operation Management can therefore be defined as “the management of the conversion process, which converts land, labor, capital and management inputs in to desired outputs of goods and services” (Everett & Ebert 2002). The progression of terms used for this management function over the centuries as manufacturing management, production management and operations management, is a good indication of the evolution process it has undergone and the historical milestones it has achieved which will be the focus of evaluation in this essay. The major historical milestones of the operations management falls under the industrial revolution, the post-civil war period, scientific management findings, human relations approach, operations research, service revolution and the computer revolution, which will be discussed subsequently in detail. The origins of operations management can be traced to the Industrial Revolution era which began in the 1700s in England. The main features of the changes which took place during this era were the Centralized production, Powered machinery and concept of Factory production (Gaither & Frazier 2002). One of the landmark achievements of this era was the steam engine being invented by James Watt in 1764, which provided a new source of energy to power the factory concept. Another key milestone which revolutionized the discipline was the 1776 publication of Adam Smith’s seminal work known commonly as “The Wealth of Nations” which proposed the economic benefits associated with specialization of labor. His recommendation was that work should be broken down to sub tasks, and assigned to workers where they became specialized in performing this tasks with efficiency through repetitive performance (Everett & Ebert 2002). As the industrial revolution gained momentum and spread to other parts of the world, Eli Whitney from America developed the concept of “Interchangeable parts” in 1970, laying the foundation for volume productions and standardized parts and the inception of large scale factories in industries such as textile. By the mid 1800s, the traditional manufacturing systems associated with cottage and artisan productions was completely replaced by factory systems which also brought in new challenges such as managing the workforce and management of quality issues. The next major milestone in the time line of production and operations management is the changes it underwent to cope with the Post-Civil War Period’s increased capital and production capacities; the increased demand volumes from the new markets opening in Western America as well as the expanding urban workforce (Gaither & Frazier 2002). These developments prompted vast expansions in production capacities and developments in national transport systems enhanced the efficiency of transporting these mass produced goods to different and distant markets. With the increased scale of production operations and factory management, managers were increasingly interested in improving performance and productivity of workforce. These efforts prompted the next major milestone in history of production and operation management which was the development of Scientific Management approach by Frederick Taylor (Weiss 2002). His theory was that productivity of the work floor can be improved through observation, measurement and analysis. Workers skills and strengths were determined. Work studies and stop watch studies that timed and set standard output rates were used along with techniques such as material specifications, work methods, routing sequences to organize the work flow efficiently and effectively. Gantt charts and motion studies were some of the valuable contributions to the field developed during this time. Incentive pay systems were initiated to motivate higher productivity levels. Henry Ford’s Assembly line operations and mass production is one of the major operations in history that “embodied the key elements of scientific management including standardized product designs, mass production, low manufacturing costs, mechanized assembly lines, specialization of labor and interchangeable parts” (Gaither & Frazier 2002). While the old era thinking treated the workforce as mere extensions of the mechanical process, and utilized scientific management techniques such as specialization, disregarding the worker motivation levels and monotony of tasks, a new era of management thinking was prompted by the historic study known as the Hawthorne study. The study revealed the effects of human factors on the production and productivity and heralded in the next historic milestone which is the Human Relations & Behaviorism approach. With the realization that workers’ psychological and sociological factors affected production, these needs were taken in to consideration in planning the work floor and operations. Managers and supervisors altered their mannerisms and attitudes towards treating the workforce and the concept of modern Human Resource Management (HRM) originated from this era (Weiss 2002). The next historical milestone in operations management is the focus on Operations Research which resulted during the World War II. During the war, the vast volumes of resources including personnel, equipment and supplies has to be deployed and these activities required planning and decision making for allocations, forecasting and deployment. The Military Operation Research teams were the beginning of this new development which later found its way to commercial operations in a bid to improve efficiency, effectiveness and resource optimization. Some of the techniques and tools developed during this period include digital computer, linear programming, queuing theory, Simulation, Decision Support Systems. Aspects of quality control were also under focus of the operations research with outcomes such as Total Quality Management programs, Six Sigma and ISO9000 quality standardization procedures. Having considered the historical milestones of the operations management evolution, the more recent developments such as the service revolution and computer revolution also warrants mentioning. “Today, more than two-thirds of the US workforce is employed in services” and service industries account for more than 60% of the national output of many developed countries. Therefore, the prominence and importance of operations management geared towards managing service products has increased. Managing service quality and timing is challenging in the face of fast phase lifestyles of customers increasingly choosing innovative facilities such as drive- thru ordering, or mobile servicing options. Thus the competitiveness in service providing will continue to put pressure on operation management to develop further techniques and tools to enhance service quality. Lastly the computer revolution has contributed to the operations management through wide use of computer and communications technologies increasing scope for collaborations and reduced lead times. Easy access to information has increased collaboration and the availability of information has increased awareness and learning potential of the workforce. Email and other communication tools have cut short the communication times and customer orders, stock management, resource planning etc. are all interlinked through Enterprise Resource Planning systems and Supply Planning and Procurement systems. In conclusion, it is evident that the function of operations management has evolved vastly by adapting itself to the challenges and conditions of the changing business environment. The historic milestones which it has passed through indicate the changes in management paradigms and how different eras of time as Post Civil War and World War II with different business climates have contributed to the evolution process. The more recent developments in terms of dominance of service industries and the rapid and wide spread developments in Information Technology has brought in new challenges to the discipline. With pressures in future business environment bound to being different, the evolution process will continue but the essence of the operation management will remain with its focus on improving efficiency, productivity and effectiveness of business operations. Reference: Gaither N, Frazier, G. (2002) Operations Management. 9th ed. Ohio: South Western Collage Publishing. Everett, E. A. Jr. & Ebert, R.J. (2002) Production and Operations Management: Concepts, Models and Behavior. CA: Prentice-Hall Weiss, J.W. (2001) Organizational Behavior & Change, 2nd ed. Ohio: South-Western Collage Publishing. Operations management. (2008, August 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13:08, August 30, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operations_management&oldid=232057708 Read More