Operations management

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Operations management is an area of management concerned with designing and controlling the process of production and redesigning business operations in the production of goods or services. It involves the responsibility of ensuring that business operations are efficient in terms of using as few resources as needed and effective in meeting customer requirements. Operations management is primarily concerned with planning, organizing, and supervising in the contexts of production, manufacturing, or the provision of services.

Key Concepts in Operations Management

• Supply chain management: The management of the flow of goods and services and includes all processes that transform raw materials into final products.
• Logistics: The detailed coordination of a complex operation involving many people, facilities, or supplies.
• Quality control: A process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production.
• Inventory management: The supervision of non-capitalized assets (inventory) and stock items.
• Lean manufacturing: A systematic method for waste minimization within a manufacturing system without sacrificing productivity.
• Six Sigma: A set of techniques and tools for process improvement.
• Just-in-time manufacturing: An inventory management strategy that aligns raw-material orders from suppliers directly with production schedules.

Functions of Operations Management

Operations management involves various functions, including:

• Product design: The process of creating a new product to be sold by a business to its customers.
• Process design: The activity of determining the workflow, equipment needs, and implementation requirements for a particular process.
• Capacity planning: The process of determining the production capacity needed by an organization to meet changing demands for its products.
• Production planning: The planning of production and manufacturing modules in a company or industry.
• Scheduling: The process of arranging, controlling, and optimizing work and workloads in a production process or manufacturing process.

Historical Development

Operations management has its roots in the Industrial Revolution, where the focus was on the efficiency of production processes. The development of scientific management by Frederick Winslow Taylor and the introduction of the assembly line by Henry Ford were significant milestones. The field has evolved to include various methodologies and frameworks, such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).

Related Pages

• Project management
• Business process management
• Operations research
• Manufacturing engineering
• Service management

See Also

• Management
• Business operations
• Production management
• Industrial engineering