Operations Management Overview: Roles and Responsibilities

Operations management is a process that involves efficiently managing the resources and methods devoted to a company’s production of goods and services for sale. This type of management focuses on how the company uses its inputs (like human resources, raw materials, and information systems) to produce its outputs (the product or service that the company sells). Operations may also involve overseeing strategies, tactics, and processes for managing the materials, technologies, people, and products that keep a company running.

An operations manager oversees the decision-making and business processes that help a company use its resources in the most low cost and time-efficient manner. An effective operations manager will use many different management tools (and their innate problem-solving skills) to ensure that a business’ operations contribute to its bottom line and deliver customer satisfaction.

Companies will often hire an operations manager for business process reengineering (BPR), which involves restructuring processes to improve performance and efficiency for the total quality of products.

The role of an operations manager crosses many boundaries, including responsibilities as diverse as product development and project management.

1. 1. Capacity planning: This type of planning involves determining the number of products or services that a company can distribute or sell in a specific period. The operations manager may evaluate the raw materials needed to produce the inventory, the human resources to make the product, the market demand for the product, and the production planning to meet these goals promptly.
2. 2. Inventory management: Inventory management, also known as supply chain management or inventory control, involves instituting an efficient manufacturing system to produce, process, store, and distribute a company’s products for sale. An operations manager will develop an operations strategy to make, track, and manage inventory that prevents bottlenecks and meets customer demands.
3. 3. Product design: Product design or service design involves creating a product or service that will give the company a competitive advantage in the marketplace. An operations manager is often involved in product design because they understand how the production systems make the end product. These managers need to consider the cost-efficiency of a product and whether it meets customers’ needs. They might oversee the design of new products to ensure that the finished goods will be compatible with the assembly line or other systems already in place.
4. 4. Project management: An operations manager will oversee any projects related to a company’s manufacturing processes and inventory management. They may devise schedules, source third-party service providers, and manage the employees responsible for executing particular projects.
5. 5. Quality control: Quality control, also called quality assurance or quality management, involves monitoring products and services with a company to ensure high-quality products and satisfied customers. Quality control may involve checking each step in the production process or service operations for errors or potential problems in finished products.
6. 6. Service design: Service design relates to how the company interacts with service providers and customers. An operations manager will need to consider how a company attracts customers, meets their needs, and retains business.

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