Operations Management Journal - Example

Reflective Portfolio When the words “operations management” were heard prior to my undertaking of this course, I would get that dreadful feeling that business jargon is about to make its entry into the conversation. To me, that was just another one on the endless list of terms that I often heard but whose meaning I scarcely grasped. So when the course begun, where there once was darkness came light little by little and these words were no longer mysteries. Thus goes the story of my life in the time I have been learning the course on operations management. In a nut shell, I have learned to define and contextualize operations management in the larger filed of management. I have learned through the lecture sessions, tutorials, workshop activities, and of course the endless resources on the internet (God bless it) to deconstruct and demystify this management field and fit it into a simple sentence: operations management is a sub-field of management through which the control, design, production supervision, and redesigning of business operations is carried out in the process of production of goods and services. I have been taught that operations management ensures that the business runs as it should; that is, it ensures efficiency in terms of resource maximization, effectiveness in the sense that customer requirements are met as precisely as is possible, and that the organization represents what it claims to represent (Operations management, 1993). This business function is concerned with the management process in which inputs (resources such as energy, raw materials, and labor) are transformed into outputs (finished goods and services). Operations management in terms of level fits into the category of upper but not exactly senior management. In this sense, the relationship between the former and the latter is one in which the latter dictates or rather informs the actions of the former. Senior management therefore moulds the strategy and it is then they who would be responsible for its adjustment over time (Slack, Johnston & Chambers, 2007). The under-management in totality (including operations management) is tasked with the responsibility of executing this strategy. Even though the difference between management levels are not always clear cut, often overlapping with each other, the flow is generally as discussed—tactical information from above informs strategy, and the actual strategy effected by the management down below (Operations management, 1993). The operations manager is the title given to the individual who would head this department of an organization. Depending on the business, their exact title may range from ‘store manager’ within a retailing business or ‘fleet manager’ in a company concerned with distribution and transport. For contextualization purposes, operations management is one of the three main organizational functions, the others being finance and marketing. Marketing is responsible for ensuring that the organizations outputs are brought in contact with the customers searching, as well as retrieving information on the customer’s needs and wants. The management of financial resources is overseen by the finance function of the organization—this arm is responsible for providing strategic information required for forming economic decisions and budget development. All three functions work together to ensure that the business runs exactly as it should (Slack, Johnston & Chambers, 2007). I expected that I would be lost in the argot of the class half the time, but that has not been the case at all. I had often heard it said that management courses are the least meaningful of all courses. That if one said “I study business management and specialize in…” people’s immediate response would be “oh, so one of those simple courses then…” I heard this so much so that I had almost come to believe it myself. So going in to the course, I had to overcome these mentalities among so many others in order to even begin learning the content as they served as a barrier to my education process. This would serve as the first and most difficult of my learning requirements. To overcome this learning hurdle, I begun by reading about the course content on my own for fun. Since I was under no pressure to grasp or retain the material, I was able to build an unbiased base for the material that I would later receive in my education. I would do this by slowly browsing the internet to attempt to define the terms that I would come across which were associated with the term “operations management”. I begun by typing this term into the search engine, and what followed was a cascade of other terms that begun to slowly build my knowledge repertoire on the subject. I slowly moved away from my subjective standpoint to an objective academically sound standpoint which dropped the first chip and begun the process that paved the way for the information that was to come. Through my coursework, I was able to learn all about the ins and outs of the constitution of an organization which I have been able to articulate above. It was not as difficult as I thought it was going to be. The part of the actual course which I had a bit of a hard time negotiating was the group work. Having never been a fan of group work, I knew that I would struggle a bit. Fortunately for me, I had really cooperative group members and we were able to work well with each other. Some of them were able to bring me out of my shell, and I eventually found and made friends in the most unlikely people. We were able to share our struggles and better each other in areas where we were insufficient and helped each other where one of us was stronger and the other was not so much. This turned out to be one of the ways in which I was able to accomplish many of my learning objectives. I have always fancied myself an avid reader and reasonable writer, so when I begun to struggle with essay writing, I found this to be quite ironic. Upon writing essay I would get less-than-glowing comments on my work such as “needs more support” or “needs more thought organization” among other such remarks. I would often get frustrated and wonder exactly what the instructor requires from me as I always felt that I was doing a good job when writing the essay but the results never matched the work I thought I was handing in. I begun to feel very short-changed and knew that I had to do something about this issue in order to keep myself on the right track with regard to the course. To handle this problem I decided to take an audit of the essays I had written before and compare them to see if the comments match up and whether the issues they flagged were the same. This was how I discovered that I had been getting the same remarks over and over, and so I decided to write down a list containing my goals with regard to essay writing and tackle each one by one. I was determined to improve. I initially struggled with different citation styles—both in the reference list as well as the in-test citations. I also had a hard time with finding words to fill the word limit, and sometimes I would spill beyond the word limit. Articulating my ideas on paper was proving challenging for me and so I did what I knew had worked for me before- I learned from my colleagues. I then borrowed essays from many different people and compared their writing styles in an attempt to improve my way of writing. I also put what I learned into practice and noticed that my writing was improving. I would send my essays to my colleague who would then give me pointers on what needed improving before I handed them in. after his feedback, I would make the changes that were suggested and send them in. I saw a remarkable change in the way that my essays turned out from then on. I learned that my problem was not that I was lacking in idea formation, rather I was waiting in the area of translation. I have also improved in my referencing and can now write using many different types of referencing styles. Through practice, I have learned to express my thoughts within the word limits given, and am still improving as time goes by. The knowledge I have received in the time I have learned the course on operations management has taught me how to tackle issues in other areas of life as well. Resource management for example is a big lesson I have learned. Management of the resources which are most important to me (that is, my time and energy) now comes easier. I have learned to apply the principles I learn rather than just stop at memorization for exam purposes. The three main principles of operations management can be summarized as planning, organization and control (Kumar & Suresh, 2009). planning establishes a course of action and guides decision-making in future. Operations managers are responsible for defining objectives for the operations subsystem including the policies and procedures to help in achieving the set objectives. Planning includes clarification of roles and operation focus within the company’s overall strategy. It also includes facility designing and product planning. Organizational activities establish a structure of authority and tasks. Roles for the various structures are outlined under this category and also how information flows within the organization. Organization determines activities needed to assign responsibilities and also achieve set goals. Finally the control activities ensure that actual performance is achieved as per planned performance. The operations manager is responsible for measuring actual outputs and exercising control in order to achieve performance equal if not beyond planned performance. Controlling schedules, costs and quality are essential functions for this category. These principles have enabled me to become a better leader, even though leadership is not part of the course material. As described by Kotter (1999) the difference between leaders and managers is that the former “shows how to do” while the latter “tells what to do”. This is an area in which I am still growing and trying to find a way to be a manager who leads rather than just a manager who tells. I have been able to cultivate this idea in the ways I deal with people. Whenever I am given a position of leadership or when a group is in need of someone to take charge, I do not hesitate to lend myself for the position. By so doing, I have been able to learn how to form and best implement strategies- an important part of operations management. Group work has been an excellent avenue through which I have honed my skills by managing people and resources. In the time of the course, I have learned many skills, more than I would ever have expected to going in. I have encountered many different challenges over the course, but in typical management fashion, I have taken them in my stride. I have put the resources I have had within my grasp to good use. I have planned, strategized, and controlled the manner in which I have executed my intended undertakings. I have been a student, not only within but also outside the classroom, picking up anything that enables me to learn and/or cement the things I have learned. Though I still struggle in some areas, and am certainly far from perfect, I am making good strides in the right direction. I have no doubt that the future has good things in store where my learning in this course is concerned, and I am nothing short of excited for what is coming next. References Kotter, J. (1999). John P. Kotter on what leaders really do. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Kumar, A.S., and Suresh, N. (2009). Operations Management. New Delhi: New Age International Publishers Limited. Operations management. (1993). Computers & Operations Research, 20(5), p.554. Slack, N., Johnston, R. and Chambers, S. (2007). Operations management,. 5th ed. New York: Prentice Hall/Financial Times. Read More