Samenvatting Operations Management 8th edition, Nigel Slack – Q&A (April 2023)

Overall model of the book - -• Design (Shaping processes, products and services) • Deliver (Planning and controlling ongoing operations) • Develop (Improving the operation's capabilities) • Direct (Steering operations and processes) -What is operations and process management? - -The activity of managing the resources and processes that produce products and services The economic sector of an operation is less important in determining how it should be managed than its intrinsic characteristics (volume of its output, variety of different products and services) -Differences between operations mgmt and process mgmt - -Scale and therefore complexity: processes are component parts of operations -Shift in scope of the subject - -From "production" to "operations" to "operations and process" Nowadays include service organizations and non-core operations processes and processes in other functions such as marketing, finance and HR -Ways of describing a business - -As: • Organizational structure • Organizational culture • Processes (collection of interrelated processes that adds something to our ability to understand the business) -Input-transformation-output system - -Inputs - Inputs that will be transformed within the operation or process: • Materials • Information • Customers - Inputs that do the transforming • People • Facilities (buildings, technology, etc.) Outputs - Products and services -Levels of operations and process mgmt - -• Flow between operations - Analysis at the level of the supply network (a supply network is an arrangement of operations) - Need to know: the role of each operation in the network and the relationship between them • Flow between processes - Analysis at the level of the operation (an operation is an arrangement of processes) - Need to know: the role of each process in the operation and the relationship between them • Flow between resources (people and facilities) - Analysis at the level of the process (a process is an arrangement of resources) - Need to know: the role of each unit of resource in the process and the relationship between them From strategic analysis to operational analysis -Supply network - -Collection of operations 1. Can be complex 2. Can have wide boundaries 3. Are changing -Operational is... - -• The opposite of strategic • Detailed • Localized • Short-term • Day-to-day -Influencers of how a process should be managed - -• Volume of products and services produced • Variety of products and services produced • Variation in demand • Degree of visibility that customers have -Effects of volume - -High • High repeatability • Specialization • Systemization • Capital intensive Ex. McDonald's Low • Low repetition • Each staff member performs more of job • Less systemization • High unit costs Ex. Fancy restaurant -Effects of variety - -High • Flexible • Complex • Match customer needs • High unit costs Ex. Taxi Low • Well defined • Routine • Standardized • Regular • Low unit costs Ex. SL buses -Effects of variation in demand - -High • Changing capacity • Anticipation • Flexibility • In touch with demand • High unit costs Ex. Vattenfall Low • Stable • Routine • Predictable • High utilization • Low unit costs Ex. Skogaholms -Effects of visibilty - -High • Short waiting tolerance • Satisfaction governed by customer perception • Customer contact skills needed • Received variety is high • High unit cost Ex. Fancy store