Question

Write a response to the following in a minimum of 500 words:

Explain what work in operations management looks like and what key operational decisions a firm needs to make to match supply with demand.

Determine how to improve process efficiency by off-loading a bottleneck or how to balance a process by relocating work from 1 step to another.

Answer 1

Explain what work in operations management looks like and what key operational decisions a firm needs to make to match supply with demand.

The person who works is in charge in the field of operation management is called as operations manager.The roles and responsibilities of an operations manager directly reflects upon the type work that needs to be done in the department of operations management.

Operations Manager Responsibilities:

• Provide inspired leadership for the organization.
• Make important policy, planning, and strategy decisions.
• Develop, implement and review operational policies and procedures.
• Assist HR with recruiting when necessary.
• Help promote a company culture that encourages top performance and high morale.
• Oversee budgeting, reporting, planning, and auditing.
• Work with senior stakeholders.
• Ensure all legal and regulatory documents are filed and monitor compliance with laws and regulations.
• Work with the board of directors to determine values and mission, and plan for short and long-term goals.
• Identify and address problems and opportunities for the company.
• Build alliances and partnerships with other organizations.
• Support worker communication with the management team.

Some key operational decisions that the firm needs to make to match are supply and demand are as follows:

• Choosing the extent to which the firm needs to rely on the forecasts that are earlier made.
• Providing a clear planning onto how the activities would be executed and being ready with the alternatives in case of emergency.
• In some cases the companies can't fulfill the entire demand on their own alone, hence they need to rely on external resources such as contractors. Assuring the quality received from these contractors also is an area of concern for the company because it is reputation of the company that is at stake.
• Important decisions about the supply of the goods to the next stage of supply chain needs to be made based on the estimates of receiving the raw material from the company's supplier. Sufficient possible slack needs to be included if possible.

Hence in this way companies can go about meeting their demand by supplying.

Determine how to improve process efficiency by off-loading a bottleneck or how to balance a process by relocating work from 1 step to another.

By offloading a bottleneck, you can decide whether to increase the process performance. Performance is the use of the least capital to accomplish an organizational objective. Bottlenecks constrain a process 's ability and thereby impact the process 's performance. When the bottleneck limits the capacity, it means that the process will not move smoothly. The result is that the amount of resources used in the production will be higher as compared to the output. But by offloading the bottlenecks, it helps in maintaining the relevant capacity to speed up processes. Moreover, balancing a process by relocating work from 1 step to another helps alleviate the pressure on the system and makes smooth flow of the production in the firm. When the production process is effective, it minimizes the resources used.

Efficiency is important in managing the productivity of a firm. High efficiency is a reflection of a process that is free from bottlenecks. A bottleneck limits the speed of a production process. For example, a bottleneck can block the flow of materials in the market.

To determine its efficiency, elimination of the bottlenecks will provide the basis for measuring the efficiency. To increase the efficiency, it is important that the issues of bottlenecks are eliminated in the course of production.

To determine the efficiency, you will need to balance the work and keep the work stations handling what they can produce. By balancing work in the process, it will help in creating a balanced view of the work and utilization of the processes.

Hence, to determine the efficiency of any process, then there should be balancing of work in all of the steps. By eliminating the bottlenecks, it will help in determining the efficiency of each of the workstation and that of the whole process.

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