Operations management - Essay Example

They all convert inputs in order to provide outputs which are required by the customer.” The resources that go into an operating system include materials (physical items that are consumed), machines (physical items that are used), and labor (people who provide or contribute to the operation of a system). The transformation process is one that adds value to the goods or services that are offered by a business. Wild (2002, pg. 6) says that operations management “is concerned with the design and the operation of systems for manufacture, transport, supply, or service.

” The activities you would expect to find in an operating system include manufacturing, which consists of process, match, batch, and jobbing (where something is physically created); transporting (where something is moved from where it was created to a different place); supply (where ownership is changed), and service (where someone or something is accommodated). An operating system is, “a reflection of the purpose it serves for its customer, i.e., the utility of its output to the customer (Wild, 2002, pg. 4). The external influences of the design of any system can necessarily vary.

Examples of these include money, utilities, the external marketplace, the economy, the weather, disastrous situations, the state of the company, stakeholder opinions and actions, the availability of materials, the availability of machines, the availability of labor, the labor market, the availability of proper facilities, the demand for the products or services that are being offered, and the availability of transportation for goods that have been manufactured. 2. A company with poor productivity & customer service record wishes to improve throughput, reduce operating expenses and inventories by installing better process technology.

What would you recommend and why? Improving throughput, reducing operating expenses and inventories will take quite a bit of organization on the part of the company. In