Highstone Electronics Inc.

Importance of effective operations management in achieving organizational objectives Operations management forms the heart of the organization as it controls the system of operations. According to Lowson (2002) operations management is concerned with the design, operation and improvement of the internal and external systems, reso rces and technologies that create and deliver the firms primary prod ct and service com!inations. "he activities incl ded within operations management are p rchasing, distri! tion, prod ct and process design and other external activities s ch as management of s pply networ#. Operations management involves managing e$ ipment, information, people, technology and other s ch reso rces of an organization. "he main role of operations management is to orchestrate all the reso rces re$ ired to prod ce the final prod ct. "he responsi!ilities incl de designing the prod ct, managing reso rces and deciding what reso rces are re$ ired, arranging sched les, e$ ipment and facilities. %oreover, it incl des management of inventory, controlling $ ality and designing the tas#s re$ ired to prod ce the final prod ct. "o s m p, operations management is responsi!le for all aspects of the process of transforming inp ts into o tp ts (&illier, 200'). Operations management is critical to any organization as efficient operations management can lead a company to s ccess whereas inefficient management co ld lead one to fail re. (n order for operations management to !e s ccessf l, the process m st !e a!le to add val e d ring the transformation process of inp ts to o tp ts. "he term val e added is defined as the difference !etween the final val e of the prod ct and the val es of all the inp ts. "he higher the val e added for a prod ct the more prod ctive and s ccessf l a ! siness is said to !e. Activities that fail to add val e to organizations prod cts are considered to !e a waste. Operations management incl des recognizing these wastef l activities and c lling them in order to save costs. (n addition to, adding val e organizational processes m st also !e efficient. )fficiency means performing operations well and at the lowest possi!le cost. Operations management m st analyze all activities improving efficiency and eliminating ones that don*t add val e. )fficiency can !e improved !y restricting processes, tas#s and +o!s in order to achieve the o!+ectives with lower costs. "oday*s ! siness environment is more competitive than ever, and the role of operations management has !ecome the focal point ofefforts to increase competitiveness !y improving val e added and efficiency. &ighstone )lectronics (nc. (&)L) ma#es effective se of its operations management !y s ccessf lly managing its prod cts. ,rod ct management incl des a wide variety of management activities, for &)L this incl des effectively managing its prod ct line and inventory in order to process orders in the most efficient manner. "he organization initially sold prod cts thro gh catalog es and maintained an inventory, processing orders within '- ho rs. "he organization is now planning on moving its operations online as well and has widened its prod ct line. An increasing prod ct line for the organization means that the organization will !e catering to wider variety of

c stomers. %oreover, online operations wo ld mean that the organization wo ld !e serving c stomers world over. "he internet provides ! siness with via!le opport nities to expand allowing flexi!ility and a wide mar#et. &owever, delivering to that mar#et within the promised time re$ ires the organization to manage its operations effectively. )ns ring that orders are delivered to the cons mers within the promised time is the +o! of operations management and this tas# is m ch more complicated than + st catering to a local clientele. Evaluation of the success of existing operations management processes in meeting an organizations overall strategic management objectives. .trategic %anagement is concerned with answering $ estions relating to the long term direction of the organization, the mar#ets and scope, the environment, reso rces, sta#eholders and which strategy to adopt to o!tain competitive advantage. .trategic management incl des thin#ing and implementing strategies (/inlay, 2000). According to "homson and %artin (2000) strategic management incl des designing, implementing and exec ting an organizations strategy. "he process of strategic management incl des the following stages1

"he 2evelopment of a 3ision and %ission. "he .etting of 4oals and O!+ectives. "he 5rafting Of .trategies. "he (mplementation and )xec tion of ,lanned .trategies. "he )val ation of (mplemented .trategies.

Operations management assist in meeting the o!+ectives of strategic management !y assisting with exec ting the strategies set o t. Operations management, in transforming inp ts to o tp ts, carry o t strategies and ens re that thro gh effective management of reso rces the o!+ectives of the strategies set o t !y the strategic management nit of the organization are met (2aft, 2006) .trategic management sets the overall long term direction of the company and operational management foc ses on the short term goals, achievement of which will help achieve the long term goals of the organization. "he s rvival of an organization is directly lin#ed with its strategic management process as it involves managing critical s ccess factors of the organization. (t identifies the factors that are directly lin#ed to the s rvival of an organization. Operational management is concerned with managing these factors and optimizing them so that they are efficient, add val e and are cost effective. Operational management drives the strategies form lated !y the strategic management of the organization. (t literally p ts into action the organizational tools and reso rces in order to implement and achieve the long term strategies of the organization. (n doing so, operational management ens res that it is done in an effective, efficient and timely manner. Gold Coast Advertising

Explain the importance of effective ualit! management in achieving organizational objectives 7 ality management is defined as a process to provide prod cts and services that either meet or exceed the expectation of an organizations c stomer. An organization can achieve this thro gh systematically planning and improving the $ ality standards of its prod cts and introd cing $ ality improvements. ("ilo, 2002) 7 ality 5ontrol is the ongoing effort to maintain the integrity of a process to maintain the relia!ility of achieving an o tcome. (t is an important element of operations management within organization. (t is a cr cial aspect of effective operations management. (t involves contin o sly improving the processes and prod cts of an organization in order to match the taste and preferences of its cons mers. 8ecent advancements within $ ality management, s ch as o tso rcing, ! siness process re9 engineering and total $ ality management assist an organization improve its operations management which in t rn, assists an organization in achieving its o!+ectives. 7 ality management ens res that all processes of an organization wor# together in order to provide a prod ct or service of the tmost $ ality, this helps improve c stomer satisfaction and consistently increases the $ ality of wor# of all organizational employees. 7 ality management can assist an organization in achieving its o!+ectives !y increasing the prod ction of processes, decreasing the ris# of client commitments not !eing met and !y providing a fo ndation which allows an organization to improve pon its internal processes. (mplementation of a $ ality management system can assist an organization !y helping meas re the performance of the organization and assisting in ta#ing action where improvements are re$ ired. (t ens res that all the processes and the final prod ct which is delivered to the client meet a certain standard and th s achieves c stomer satisfaction. %oreover, effective $ ality management can help identify non9 conformances and provide corrective action to rectify those and also introd ce preventive meas res to ens re that non9conformances do not happen again. An important aspect of $ ality management systems is monitoring and meas ring. "his assists an organization is meas ring its performance against c stomer re$ irements and company o!+ectives. "he organization can then identify its wea#nesses and also eval ate options for improvements in order to steer the organization in the direction of its goals !y not only efficiently managing its reso rces ! t also !y ens ring that c stomer expectations are met. "lan a #trategic $ualit! change to improve organization performance (mplementation of $ ality management reshapes the entire ! siness practice. 7 ality management systems s ch as "otally 7 ality %anagement ("7%) help organizations achieve few of the common strategic goals s ch as contin o s improvement in $ ality of goods and services, responsiveness and flexi!ility of internal and s pplier processes, and waste and cost elimination. "7% helps lin# daily activities with the

strategic o!+ectives of an organization. (mplementation of $ ality management systems assist an organization in meeting its overall strategic o!+ectives !y a Administering a proper analysis of the ! siness strategy, incorporating strategic analysis in the : siness )xcellence %odel and employing means of $ ality management. "7% provides a shift in management philosophy for improving overall organizational effectiveness. "he foc s is laid pon all mem!ers of the organization in order to contin o sly improve the processes of the organization and increase val e to c stomers. (mplementation of s ch a $ ality management system provides the organization with an environment of s pport which has a synergic effect on the company as a whole and helps in improving the organizational performance. ;ithin a context of ever increasing competition among <rms, implementation of "7% will provide managers with the means of s staining a competitive advantage within their ind stry. %efine resources& tools and s!stems to support business processes in a strategic ualit! change : siness ,rocess 8eengineering involves the radical redesign of core ! siness processes to achieve dramatic improvements in prod ctivity, cycle times and $ ality. (n : siness ,rocess 8eengineering, companies start with a !lan# sheet of paper and rethin# existing processes to deliver more val e to the c stomer. "hey typically adopt a new val e system that places increased emphasis on c stomer needs. 5ompanies red ce organizational layers and eliminate nprod ctive activities in two #ey areas. /irst, they redesign f nctional organizations into cross9 f nctional teams. .econd, they se technology to improve data dissemination and decision ma#ing. : siness ,rocess 8eengineering is a dramatic change initiative that contains five ma+or steps. %anagers sho ld1

8efoc s company val es on c stomer needs= 8edesign core processes, often sing information technology to ena!le improvements= 8eorganize a ! siness into cross9f nctional teams with end9to9end responsi!ility for a process= 8ethin# !asic organizational and people iss es= (mprove ! siness processes across the organization. 5ompanies se : siness ,rocess 8eengineering to improve performance s !stantially on #ey processes that impact c stomers. : siness ,rocess 8eengineering can1 Reduce costs and cycle time. : siness ,rocess 8eengineering red ces costs and cycle times !y eliminating nprod ctive activities and the employees who perform them. 8eorganization !y teams decreases the need for management layers, accelerates information flows, and eliminates the errors and rewor# ca sed !y m ltiple handoffs= Improve quality. : siness ,rocess 8eengineering improves $ ality !y red cing the fragmentation of wor# and esta!lishing clear ownership of

processes. ;or#ers gain responsi!ility for their o tp t and can meas re their performance !ased on prompt feed!ac#.
Evaluate the 'ider implications of planned strategic ualit! change in an organization Any change has implications for an organization across the spectr m of the val e chain. "he ad+ stments that will res lt from a strategic plan need to !e considered systemically. "he possi!le impact thro gho t the organization re$ ires consideration. "he changes m st !e planned for, made, and monitored. "he idea is to minimize s rprises and increase the proactive handling of intended changes. A planned strategic $ ality change co ld affect the strategic goals of the organization. "he introd ction of strategic $ ality change co ld impact the entire vision of the organization and th s every aspect of the organizations process. 5hanges co ld also affect the personnel and managers within the organization. 5hange can create conf sion thro gho t the organization. 5hange alters the clarity and sta!ility of roles and relationships, often creating chaos. "his re$ ires realigning and renegotiating formal patterns of relationships and policies. :y definition, change creates loss and therefore generates interpersonal conflict. 5hange can create loss of meaning and p rpose. ,eople form attachments to sym!ols and in sym!olic activity. ;hen the attachments are severed, people experience diffic lty in letting go of old attachments. Avoiding or smoothing over these iss es drives conflict ndergro nd, where it can fester and !oil over. "he psychological wo nds that come with change re$ ire the creation of arenas where iss es can !e dealt with that may re$ ire sym!olic healing. Implement a #trategic $ualit! Change at GCA "he strategic $ ality change implemented at 45A will !e the introd ction of !enchmar#ing. :enchmar#ing is the process of identifying >!est practice> in relation to !oth prod cts and the processes !y which those prod cts are created and delivered. "he search for >!est practice> can ta#e place !oth inside a partic lar ind stry, and also in other ind stries. "he o!+ective of !enchmar#ing is to nderstand and eval ate the c rrent position of a ! siness or organisation in relation to >!est practice> and to identify areas and means of performance improvement. :enchmar#ing involves loo#ing o tward to examine how others achieve their performance levels and to nderstand the processes they se. (n this way !enchmar#ing helps explain the processes !ehind excellent performance. ;hen the lessons learnt from a !enchmar#ing exercise are applied appropriately, they facilitate improved performance in critical f nctions within an organisation or in #ey areas of the ! siness environment. Application of !enchmar#ing involves fo r #ey steps1 (0) ?nderstand in detail existing ! siness processes

(2) Analyse the ! siness processes of others (6) 5ompare own ! siness performance with that of others analysed (') (mplement the steps necessary to close the performance gap Embed a ualit! culture in an organization to ensure continuous monitoring and development 5ontin o s improvement c lt re helps organizations to develop committed employees, delighted c stomers and ! ild val e added prod cts and services. : ilding a contin o s improvement re$ ires a $ ality c lt re. 5 lt re is defined as @the way we do things aro nd here. "he way employees act ally !ehave, thin# and !elieve determines the c lt re. 5 lt re is the personality of the organization. 5 lt re is what employees do when no one is watching. (t is a @wal# the tal#*. 5onsistent tal#ing and actions matters m ch. 5 lt re is the !asic pattern of shared !eliefs, !ehaviors, attit des and ass mptions ac$ ired over time !y mem!ers of an organization. Attit de shows the o tloo# and tho ghts from which the wor# ha!its emerge. (t reflects attit des and practices related to $ ality systems application. /ormal policies, proced res, !ehaviors and ha!its operate as the gro nd r les and g idelines. 3ision, mission, val es, goals and strategy are the g iding principles of a corporation and c lt re c lminates from them. 5orporate c lt re is changing fast. )veryone is expected to move at m ch faster speed. Operational principles for the corporations are @.lim, .peed and .imple*. 5orporate c lt re is people in action. 7 ality c lt re refers to the degree of awareness, commitment, collective attit de, and !ehavior of the organization with respect to $ ality. (utcomes of #trategic $ualit! Change .trategic $ ality change aligns the goals of the organization with the need to improve $ ality and c stomer satisfaction. "he processes of the organization are re9defined to incl de efficiency and effectiveness at each step so as to ens re that $ ality is maintained thro gho t all the processes of the organization !efore the final prod ct is prod ced. .trategic $ ality change assists in increasing efficiency within an organization and eliminating wastef l tas#s. (t helps an organization !etter manage its reso rces !y implementing a system of $ ality control that ens res cost effectiveness and expects that each of its prod cts meet or exceed c stomer re$ irements. Overall, this helps ma#e an organization competitive and implementation of s ch a system will help s stain this competitive advantage as the organization satisfies the c stomer while efficiently managing its reso rces in order to eliminate tas#s which either don*t add val e or are not cost effective. )ecommend areas for improvement to a strategic ualit! change that align 'ith organizational objectives.

An organization can implement a !alanced scorecard in order to ens re that areas re$ iring improvement are dealt with. "he !alanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that aligns ! siness activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external comm nications, and monitor organization performance against strategic goals. "he !alances scorecard provides a framewor# that not only provides performance meas rements, ! t helps planners identify what sho ld !e done and meas red. (t ena!les exec tives to tr ly exec te their strategies. )eferences

Lowson &. 8, (2002). Strategic Operations Management: The New Competitive dvantage. 0st )dition. 8o tledge. &illier /., (200'). Introduction to Operations Research. -th )dition. %cgraw /inlay ,., (2000). Strategic Management: n Introduction to !usiness and Corporate Strategy.. 0st )dition. London1 /inancial "imes. "hompson and %artin, (2000). Strategic Management. Ath 8evised edition )dition. 5l )xcl 3ocatn 2aft, 8 L (2006) B%anagementC D .ixth )dition. Ohio, ?.A1 "homson Learning 9 .o th ;estern (p) 606. "ilo ,feifer, (2002). "uality Management. Strategies# Methods# Techniques.0st )dition. &anser /ach! chverlag