Operations Management and Organizations - Essay Example

Running head: operations management Operations Management and Organizational Structures I. Describe all the operational functions that you feel should be the responsibility of an operations management function. Operations refer to all the activities performed by an organization in order to produce products or services. Management of these activities directly related to the production of goods and services is termed as operations management. For example, activities related to banking, transportation, shipping, and manufacturing of goods or products such as automobiles, food items, textiles etc all constitute operations management (Jacobs, Chase & Aquilano, 2005). The operations management function is the practical aspect of the organization including vital activities to be carried out in order to produce the intended goods and services. Overall operations management is concerned with managing inputs in the form of resources through makeover processes to deliver outputs in the form of services or products. This conversion of inputs to outputs involves various complex and critical activities, with specific focus on quality and productivity aspects. Firstly, appropriate decision making at all times, including normal and uncertain times, is critical to operational functions. This function requires assessment of situation, identification of constraints and alternative courses of actions, forecasting environmental conditions, determining potential outcomes and ultimately application of the decisions made. Secondly, planning and forecasting of capacity requirements, production and inventory planning, manpower planning, sales and marketing and financial planning based on demand for the services or products. Thirdly, designing systems and processes according to the intended product or service should include facilities and infrastructure layout and design of work systems or processes. Finally, carrying out the operations through appropriate scheduling of production or delivery of services along with quality controls and mechanisms mark the completion of operations management. 2. Does your organization have a function called Operations Management or something similar? If so: a) What is it called? Operations Management in my organization, a hospital, includes a myriad of activities like patient care service, administrative service, finance and accounting activities, supply chain activities and safety and security functions. All these activities are referred to as hospital operations management. b) Describe where it exists in the organizational hierarchy? The hierarchical placement of operations management varies according to the strategy and functions being executed; like strategic decision-making rests with the board members, whereas decision making of day-to-day activities including forecasting and planning is the function of respective departmental heads or managers; and decisions or management of treatment of patients is a function of the attending doctor. c) Which of responsibilities listed in Item 1 above fall under that function? In a hospital setup, the transformation process involves hospital as the system and patients as the primary inputs. Resources required for the services include doctors, nurses, medical supplies and equipment. The transformation function executed is provision of health care and the desired output is the healthy individual. The hospital is well prepared to tackle certain and uncertain challenges such as increased admission of patients due to outburst of epidemic, accidents etc. This preparation requires forecasting of manpower and materials required to deliver services. d) Why do you think they are organized that way? The hospital is customized to accommodate patients according to the services provided. Infrastructure and facilities within the hospital building need to be appropriate to carry out different functions such as admission of patients, waiting rooms, operating suites and theaters, ambulances, administrative work, changing rooms, storage of equipment and supplies, and safety and security of personnel and premises. e) Would the organization benefit from adding others to the list of responsibilities. Why? Why not? A well-designed and systematic method of working including staffing of personnel in different areas, doctors, attendants, procedures and policies of hospitalization and discharge, treatment, surgical procedures and post-surgery care encompass effective operations management in healthcare setup. However, in order to sustain competitive advantage, the hospital is required to increase the types of treatments (services) provided by bringing in more sophisticated mechanisms and systems that can cater to more complex health issues, like cancer therapy. This necessitates an overall enhancement of operations management in the hospital because it involves introduction of a new service according to the demand existing in the market. II. Role of the Employee/Supplier/Customer in the operations structure of your employer, or one with which you are familiar. 1. Describe your individual occupation as an employee in that operations structure. As an employee in the operations, my role is to facilitate the process of providing intended service to the customers. In the capacity of back-end administrative operations manager, my role is to facilitate appropriate administration processes to the hospital personnel and external vendors and suppliers; ensure policies and procedures are being followed; and, safety and security measures are in place. All these are accomplished through a team of 10 associate administrators. a) Who are the customers of your individual occupation? My customers include external customers like the local vendors and suppliers, and internal customers like my team members, hospital personnel and patients. b) What kinds of demands do they place on you as an individual? These customers demand services based on their expectations, which usually are smooth transactions between hospital and supplier systems by the external customers; internal customers like the hospital personnel and patients expect hygienic and secure infrastructure, and team members expect appropriate leadership and motivation. c) What do you supply to them that satisfy their needs? To my external customers, I supply quality services in terms of smooth facilitation of administrative functions in addition to hygienic and secure premises. To my internal customers, I provide effective guidance, motivation, drive appropriate work culture and ensure healthy working relationships. d) Who are the suppliers of your individual occupation? The suppliers in my individual occupation include external and local vendors and suppliers of high-quality equipment and materials for the hospital, and suppliers of human resource personnel for the hospital including nurses, attendants and other administrative personnel. e) What do you require of them in order for you to perform in your occupation? From the suppliers, I require high-quality supplies of material, equipment and services that conform to the hospital’s requirements. 2. Consider the customers of your organization in its entirety. a) How does the organization go about determining the needs of its customers? The needs of external customers and internal customers keep changing with time and expectations. In the hospital setup, external customers such as patients expect high-quality services at reasonable price, amicable relationships with doctors and other hospital personnel; other external customers such as suppliers and vendors expect prompt transactions and better revenue or profit margins; internal customers like employees expect good working environment, healthy working relations, occupational safety an security, growth and succession planning, and good pay scales. b) Why is that information important to the operations structure? This information is important for operations in order to assess operational efficiency and quality, which in turn determine the success of operations management. These techniques are unique for every operational setup based on its specific objectives and demands of customers. For example, external customers’ demands such as prompt transactions and higher profit margins would require specific objectives to be set in terms of process design, budget allocation, scheduling etc. Processes for each of these objectives also would vary and hence performance metrics for each of them should be distinct in order to judge their performance accurately. c) Are the techniques for determining that information unique to your type of business; if so, how so? All these are determined based upon different measurements and metrics at various levels of organizations; for example, customer feedback forms, employee interactions and feedback mechanisms, quality and productivity measurements against standards etc. 3. Consider the suppliers to your organization in its entirety. a) What is the importance of these suppliers to the functioning of your organization? The suppliers to my organization include local suppliers of equipment, materials, and human resources. These suppliers have to maintain the organizational quality standards in order for hospital to deliver quality services to its end customers. The quality of supplies received from these suppliers directly or indirectly impact quality of service provided to the patients. b) What kind of business relationship does your organization share with its suppliers? Is it always at arms-length? Are suppliers considered necessary evils? Are they considered partners? What sort of ethical relationship is maintained between the organizations? Our hospital strives for a partnering relationship with its suppliers, and ensures to liaise with suppliers who are third-party certified; and also works closely with the suppliers to ensure hospital expectations in terms of products and services are adhered to. In order to minimize potential risks of low quality supplies, our hospital appoints only certified suppliers for equipment, materials, and human resources supply. Effective management of healthcare supplies through minimal inventory services is employed in order to minimize loss of revenue through less maintenance of inventory systems, minimal wastage of supplies due to long-duration storage and expiry etc. The hospital ensures all transactions carried out with the suppliers are accurately documented at all times, and an appropriate audit trail maintained. References Chase, R, Jacobs, F.R and Aquilano, N.J. (2005). Operations Management for Competitive Advantage. 11th Edition. U.S.A: McGraw Hill Publications Read More