Examine the Application of Operations Management Principles in the Service Industry
Operations Management as the process whereby resources, flowing within a defined system, are combined and transformed by a controlled manner to add value in accordance with policies communicated by management. Operations management is the process through which goods and services are supplied. In order to understand the functions of operations management, a closer emphasis on the term operations is needed. Operations as a term cover both production operations and service operations. The common characteristic of those two kinds of operations is that both of them are simply transformation processes. In both of the processes, certain inputs are transformed into different kinds of outputs. So we can say that operations management has a crucial duty of planning, controlling that transformation process. While doing those operations managers should also think about the general strategies of the organization and the external environment. In the paragraph above we have explained the general functions of operations management. Operations management also consists of decision making while performing those functions. Operations management has four decision making domains which are process, quality, capacity and inventory. Operations managers should decide on the processes for the production of goods. Operations Management was a shift in the service and manufacturing sectors of the economy. As service sector became more prominent, the change from ‘production’ to ‘operations’ emphasized the broadening of our field to service organizations. The second, more suitable change was the beginning of an emphasis on synthesis, rather than just analysis, in management practices. Managing Operations can be enclosed in a frame of general management function. Operation managers are concerned with planning, organising, and controlling the activities, which affect human behaviour through models. Planning is the activity that establishes a course of action and guide future decision-making.