Supply Chain & OM Mid-Term Flashcards
Operations Management (OM)
Is activities that relate to the creation of goods & services through transformation of inputs to outputs
Production
Creation of goods
3 Main Functions
- Marketing - generates demand
- Production/operations - creates/produces product
- Finance/accounting - tracks how well organization is doing (pays bills, collects $)
Supply Chain
Global network of organizations & activities that supplies a firm with goods & services
Why Study OM? (2)
- Want to know how goods and services are produced
2. Because it is such a costly part of an organization
Management Process
Application of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling to the achievement of objectives
10 Critical Decisions of Operations Management
- Design of goods & services
- Managing quality
- Location strategy
- Process & capacity design
- Layout strategy
- Human resource job design
- Supply chain management
- Inventory, material requirements planning and JIT (just-in-time)
- Intermediate & short term scheduling
- Maintenance
Management Should (4)
- Matching employees to right jobs
- Provide proper training
- Provide proper work methods & tools
- Establish legitimate incentives for work to be accomplished
Information Technology
Systematic processing of data to yield information
Services
Economic activities that produce an intangible product (eg. education, entertainment, repair, law & trade)
Services (6)
- Produced & consumer simultaneously
- Unique
- High customer interaction
- Inconsistent product definition
- Knowledge based
- Dispersed
Service Sector
Segment of the economy that includes trade, financial, lodging, education, legal, & medical
Challenges in OM (7)
- Global focus
- Supply-chain partnering
- Sustainability
- Rapid product development
- Mass customization
- Just-in-time performance
- Empowered employees
Productivity
Ratio of outputs (goods & services) divided by one or more inputs (labour, capital, or management)
Efficiency
Improving productivity with minimum of resources & waste
Improvement (2)
- Reducing inputs while keeping outputs constant
2. Increasing output while keeping input constant
Productivity Formula
Units/Input Used
Single Factor Productivity
Indicates ratio of one resource (input) to the goods & services produced (outputs)
Multifactor Productivity
Indicates the ratio of many or all resources (inputs) to the goods & services produced (outputs)
Quality
May change while the quantity of inputs and outputs remains constant
External Elements
May increase or decrease in productivity for the system under study may not be directly responsible
Precise Units of Measure
May be lacking (eg. not all cars require same inputs)
3 Factors Critical to Productivity Improvement
- Labour (10% annual increase)
- Capital (38% annual increase)
- Management (52% of annual increase)
3 Variables for Improved Labour
- Basic education appropriate for an effective labour force
- Diet of labour force
- Social overhead that makes labour available, such as transportation & sanitation
Capital
Human beings are tool using animals
Capital investments provide the tools
Increase Cost of Capital
Inflation & taxes
Knowledge Society
Society which much of the labour force has migrated from manual work to work based on knowledge
Service Sector Work (5)
- Typically labour intensive (eg. counselling & teaching)
- Frequently focused on unique individual attributes or desires (eg. investments advice)
- Often an intellectual task preformed by professionals (eg. medical diagnosis)
- Often difficult to mechanize & automate (eg. haircut)
- Often difficult to evaluate for quality (eg. performance of a law company)
Ethical Challenges Facing OM (4)
- Efficiently developing & producing safe, quality products
- Maintaining a sustainable environment
- Providing a safe workplace
- Honouring stakeholder commitments
Managers Must Have
Moral awareness & focus on increasing productivity
Globalization
Domestic production & exporting may no longer be viable business model; local production & exporting no longer guarantee success or even survival
6 Reasons Why Domestic Business Operations Decide International Operation
- Reduce costs (labour, taxes, tariffs, etc)
- Improve supply chain
- Provide better goods & services
- Understand markets
- Learn to improve operations
- Attract & retain global talent
Maquiladoras
Mexican factories located along the United States-Mexico border receive preferential tariff treatment
World Trade Organization (WTO)
International organization that promotes world trade by lowering barriers to the free flow of goods across borders
North American Free Trade Agreement (NATFA)
A free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico, & the United States
European Union (EU)
European trade group that has 28 member states as of 2015
To Successfully Achieve Competitive Advantage Means Maximizing
All the possible opportunities, from tangible to intangible, that international operations can offer