Operations management is one of the basic concepts of management which is used by all organizations to run their company efficiently and effectively. Operations management refers to that management that is concerned with the various process of production right from the acquisition of raw materials to completion of those raw materials into finished goods on time so that company can deliver quality goods or services to its customers on time. In order to get a better understanding about this term, one should look at some of the important features of operations management –
Characteristics of Operations Management
Narrow Scope
The first and foremost feature of operations management is that it is narrow in scope in the sense that its primary task is to ensure that all raw materials, machines, and labor are working according to the long term goals and objectives set out by strategic management and hence the focus of operations management is more on day to day functioning of the company rather than looking at bigger picture and goals and that is the reason why its scope is limited and narrow as opposed to strategic management which has a wider scope.
Timing and Quality
In the case of operations management, the main emphasis of the operations manager is on timing and quality of products because if raw materials are converted into finished products on time then the company will be able to deliver the products to the end user that is consumer on time thus improving the efficiency of the company besides operation management has to ensure that quality of products is good and same as it will lead to enhancement of the brand image of the company as far as quality of products is concerned.
Closer to Employees and Customers
Operations management is very close to both employees of the company as well as customers of the company and we all know that employees and customers are the backbone of a successful company. In simple words operations, management is a link between employees and the top management and that is the reason why any issue of employees related to the workplace can be put forward to top management by the operations manager, similarly, customers requirements, as well as feedback regarding company’s product, goes through operations management which can be used by the top management of the company to alter its plans and policy so as to ensure that customer get what they want.
Routine Work
In the case of operations management, the work is more routine in nature and that is the reason why decisions taken by operations management are not irreversible which is the case with strategic decisions where decisions once taken are often irreversible and hence should be taken carefully. Besides operations management is more generalist in nature rather than specialist in nature due to the kind of work involved and thus operations managers are easy to replace as opposed to other key management positions which are not easy to replace.
Communication Skills
In the case of operations management, since it involves dealing with both employees as well as consumers, one requires good communication skills to handle tricky situations which keep arising from time to time due to constant interaction by the operation manager with employees and customers. In simple words unlike strategic management where the goals and plans are made on paper and communicated to lower levels in the case of operations management, there is no such margin of safety and hence as an operational manager, you should have good communication skills to handle the problems arising in the company.
Liaisoning with Others
Operations are a part of the whole company and that is the reason why operations management cannot work in isolation rather he or she has to main good liaison with all other departments like finance department, marketing department, planning department and so on so that operations related work does not suffer due to non cooperation within the company.
As one can see from the above that operations management has some unique characteristics which set it apart from other areas of management and that is the reason why no company can afford to be relaxed if its operations management is not functioning properly.