OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT - Assignment Example Summary and conclusions 18 References & Appendices Abstract The present report explores operations management at a production and service organisations with an aim to understand its main constituents and approaches; in addition, an understanding of the differences between strategic approaches of production and service operations management has been obtained. To achieve this, firstly, the report explores corporate and operations strategies as well as competitive priorities of Toyota and Accenture. Practical implications along with critical perspectives of core operational processes like capacity planning inventory management, quality, supply chain management and performance management at both organisations have been explored. Lastly, implications of these processes at operations and strategic levels have been illustrated based on competitiveness, sustainability and innovation perspectives. 1. Introduction Operations management is concerned with managing the process of creating product s and services through systematic and defined procedures. On a broader level, different functions involved in operations management of production and service industry are almost same; but the way these functions are carried are very different. In order to understand the difference, the current discourse evaluates operations management processes in two distinct organisations, i.e. the automotive manufacturer Toyota and the management and technology service provider, Accenture. Their immense success and global presence have been possible because of sustainable operations besides other activities. This report attempts to highlight the core operational activities carried out at both the organisations and how these activities have added value to their successes. In this process, competitive priorities and critical operational strategies such as capacity planning, inventory management, supply chain management, performance management, and quality approaches have been assessed. These aspect s will clarify how these organisations attained competitive position in their respective markets; and what factors have lead to their immense success despite the external and internal challenges. 1.1 Operations management: Brown (2000) describes that Operations Management involves the most critical activities of production, beginning from and including, planning and design, production processes of goods and services, and also effective integration of marketing, finance, human resources management and strategy in order to enable a business to enter and compete with both new and existing markets. In other words, a business’s success and sustainability largely depend on the operational capabilities, including efficiency and quality. These factors have been mastered by both the organisations to a large extent. Theoretically, operations management in manufacturing and service industries constitute a combination of three distinct functions, strategic functions, tactical functions a nd operational planning and control functions (Chase, 2006). Main operational processes include planning, production, purchasing or inventory management, supply chain management, distribution and marketing. Toyota and Accenture perform these processes distinctly as aligned with different competitive prior