Production and Operations

Management Systems
Chapter 1: Introduction

Sushil K. Gupta
Martin K. Starr

2014

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After reading this chapter, you should
be able to:
 Define and explain operations management and contrast it
with production management.
 Explain categories of the systems approach and why they are
important to P/OM.
 Detail the systems approach that is used by P/OM.
 Understand how P/OM—using the systems approach—
increases the competitive effectiveness of the organization.
 Understand why this text is titled Production and Operations
Management Systems.
 Distinguish between the application of P/OM to manufacturing
and services.

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 After reading this chapter, you should
be able to (continued):
 Explain how special P/OM capabilities provide competitive
advantages.
 Relate information systems to the distinction between
production and operations.
 Explain how the input–output (I/O) model defines production
and operations.
 Describe the stages of development of companies with respect
to OM and P/OM.
 Discuss positions in P/OM that exist in the organization and
career success in P/OM as a function of process types.
 Explain the effects of globalization on P/OM careers.

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 What Are Operations?
o Operations are purposeful actions (or activities) methodically done as part of
a plan of work by a process that is designed to achieve practical ends and
concrete objectives.
o This definition is applicable to both manufacturing and service organizations.
o An operations manager is responsible for planning, organizing, coordinating
and controlling organizational resources to produce desired goods and
services; that is the subject matter of this book “Production and Operations
Management Systems.”

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 Manufacturing Operations
 Manufacturing operations transform materials into desired goods and
products.
 Operations can be described using different verbs and object phrases such
as pressing and turning metal (on a lathe), cutting paper, sewing clothes,
sawing and drilling wood, sandblasting glass, forming plastics, shaping
clay, heat-treating materials, soldering contacts, weaving fabric,
blending fuels, filling cans, and extruding wires.
 Similarly, there are a variety of assembly phrases, such as snapping
together parts, gluing sheets, fitting components, joining pieces together,
preparing (assembling) a burger.
 Products like automobiles, airplanes, televisions, furniture suites, computers,
refrigerators, and light bulbs (LEDs too) are made in factories.
 Fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Burger King view the assembly of
sandwiches from meat, buns, and condiments as a manufacturing application.

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 Manufacturing Operations (continued)
 Goods also include processed items like paint, milk, cheese, and chemicals
etc.
 While there is a notable distinction between fresh foods and factory foods,
much of agriculture is a production process.
 Goods and services co-exist when manufacturers need to provide
maintenance and repair services, e.g., autos, copy machines, refrigerators,
HDTVs, Wii U’s, X-Boxes, etc.
 Servicing goods (repair, replace, etc.) to satisfy customers’ warranty
expectations requires product and process design considerations to
optimize productivity.

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 Service Operations

 Service operations in the office environment: filing papers,

opening computer documents, typing input for the word
processor, and answering the phone.
 Other Examples include: jobs done in banks, hospitals, and
schools; grant a loan, take an X-ray, and teach a class.
 Operations management applies directly to entertainment, film
making, and sports.
 Administration of the law is a major service industry that
requires operations management.
 UPS, Federal Express, or the post office are various service
operations related to delivering mail and packages.

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 Service Operations (continued)
 IRS will have another set of job descriptions to define specific
operations that characterize (health care) tax collection
activities of the federal government.
 Retail operators and grocery supermarkets define processes
that are pertinent to merchandise selection and pricing,
outsourcing, distribution logistics, display, and store retailing.
 MasterCard, VISA, and American Express are totally
dependent upon smart operations management to provide
profit margin excellence.
 Disaster (crisis) management, another service area, is an
emerging field within the realm of Production and Operations
Management.

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 Distinction Between Goods and
Services
 Goods are tangibles that can be produced before their actual
use.
 Goods can be inventoried.
 Services are intangibles that cannot be inventoried.
 Services are provided at the time when customers need them.
 Services usually require sustained personal contact.
 Goods have minimal personal customer contact.
 Backorders for goods are frequent; sometimes for services.
 Fill or kill (the order) applies to many services.

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 Distinction Between Goods and Services
(continued)

o The methodology of P/OM was first developed by and for

manufacturing,
o It has now been extended to services with great success.
o Service industries involve an increasing percent of the workforce.
o Thus, more attention needs to be directed toward achieving coherent
and efficient operations for services.
o The service industries include: hospitals, banks, restaurants, airlines,
hotels, tourism, cruises, educational institutions, departmental stores,
government agencies, knowledge management, and so on.

In the current era, the distinction between managing goods and

services organizations is diminishing, and there is a common body of
knowledge that can be used to manage both types of organizations
effectively and efficiently.

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 Working Definition of P/OM

 The study of Production and Operations Management (P/OM)

is the study of operations and processes leading to the creation
of goods and services.

Operations management consists of tactics such as scheduling

work, assigning resources including people and equipment,
managing inventories, assuring quality standards, process-type
decisions that include capacity decisions, maintenance policies,
equipment selection, worker-training options, and the sequence
for making individual items in a product-mix set.

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 Contrasting Production Management and
Operations Management
o Production is an old and venerable term used by engineers,
economists, entrepreneurs, and managers to describe physical
work both in homes and in factories to produce a material
product.

o Operations management is a more recent term associated with

service industries.

o Manufacturers have come to view service to the customer as

part of the quality of the product line. This includes repairing
defective products as well as providing regularly scheduled
maintenance.

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 Design of P/OM Systems
There are only two approaches that P/OM can use:
 The functional field approach
 The systems approach
It is vital to contrast the systems approach with the functional
field approach as described in the following slides.

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 Functional Field Approach
• P/OM function is performed with minimum reference to other parts
of the business—such as marketing and finance.
• The functional field approach concentrates on the specific tasks that
must be done to make the product or deliver the service.
• Analyze only one function because it contains the core of the
problem. For example, consider only marketing situations; or only
finance issues; or only P/OM problems, etc.
• One functional field does not share information or power with
another functional field.
• This approach is tactical, not strategic.
• Many marginal firms use the functional field approach because of
human nature. Teamwork requires caring and takes effort.
• Traditional organization charts epitomize the drawing of boundaries
that are not supposed to be crossed.

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 The Systems Approach
 Systems approach considers P/OM’s relationships with all
business functions.
 Elements that qualify to be part of a system are those that have
a direct or indirect impact on the problem, or its solution—on
the plan or the decision.
 A P/OM system is everything that affects product line
formulation, process planning, capacity decisions, quality
standards, inventory levels, and production schedules.
 Systems approach requires participation of everyone who has
anything to do with planning and/or problem solving.

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 Systems Approach (continued)
 Using the systems approach to coordinate the business-unit
team is essential to balance supply and demand, meet
schedules, minimize costs, guarantee quality-standards
fulfillment, maximize productivity, and optimize the use of
critical resources.
 Operations management problems are composed of complex
subsystems, which require inter-functional communications to
uncover patterns that relate the subsystems to the whole
system.
 Systems approach includes everything that counts; excludes
anything that doesn’t matter.

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 Taxonomy (Hierarchical Classification) of
the Systems Approach

• The Eastern approach (Systemic) and the Western approach

(Systematic). East and West differ but both have a common goal
of including everything that counts.

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 Representation of a System

• Figure below is a symbolic picture of a system.

• The shape (or core) encloses all factors that have a strong effect on
the purposes and goals of the system.
• Weak forces outside of the core may also have to be considered.
• Sometimes they may only seem to be weak.

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 Traditional Organization Chart Shows
Self-Contained Functional Areas
Circled area represents the system’s mapping of people in positions that must
be linked together as a team to resolve the real problem

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 Designing the Product Line Using the
Systems Approach
 The product line (goods and/or services) is the starting point of
strategic thinking for the firm (see Chapter 11 on Innovation
and New Product Development)
 Market research starts with the concept and later, after
prototypes are made, tests them in the marketplace.
 If services are the products, the same considerations apply.
 Price points are conceived that should generate an expected
volume of demand for the chosen qualities of the products.

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 Designing the Product Line Using the
Systems Approach (continued)
 If the products test well, then P/OM designs processes for making and delivering
them.
 Most of the time, process improvements can be suggested based on changes in the
design of the products.
 The costs of making and delivering the products, and the qualities of the products,
are a function of materials and processes.
 The discussion between marketing and P/OM involves finance as well. The kind of
processes used will determine investments required by P/OM to be underwritten by
the financial managers. All business functions are involved in strategic planning,
and this means that the systems approach is essential.

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 POM – The Hub of the Business
Model
o The product line of goods and services determines the operations needed to
match supply and demand.
o The business model combines marketing forces (including competition),
financial investments, and operating costs.

P/OM is at the hub (core and center) of the business model because;.

o A product that cannot be made or delivered on time, with quality, and at an

acceptable cost must be referred back to marketing and general
management.
o If financial support is insufficient to develop a satisfactory process, that fact
must be referred back to finance and marketing.

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 POM – The Hub of the Business
Model (continued)
o If employee resources are inadequate to operate the processes,
that fact must be referred back to HRM, marketing, finance,
and general management.
o When results do not jibe with plans, it is essential that all
parties reexamine original assumptions and make adjustments
as soon as practicable.
o The planning details (of the model), once accepted, have to be
adhered to by all of the business functions.

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 Transformation Process
• The goal of the production/operations department is to transform the inputs
(using labor, machines and materials) into desired qualities of goods and
services at the minimum cost.
• Alteration of materials and components adds value and changes them into
goods and services that customers want to own.
• The raw materials and components before transformation could not be
used—and therefore had no utility—for the customer.
• The raw materials for glass, steel, food, and paper have no utility without
technological transformations.
• New processes are constantly being invented for improving the
transformations and the products that can be obtained from them.

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 Generalized Input-Output
Transformation Model
o Figure below represents a generalized input–output transformation model.
o Generalized means that it is a standard form that could be applied to any
system where conversions are taking place. Inputs are fed into the
transformation box—representing the process.
o The ‘‘process’’ often includes many sub-processes.

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 Transformation Process - Services
Service conversions have customer utility even if no transfer of goods takes place.

The conversion may be a change of location or related to the customer’s state of

well-being. Transformations are being accomplished when:

• People are served chili at Wendy’s.

• When they give blood to the Red Cross.
• They have their teeth cleaned by the dentist.
• They visit Disney World to be entertained.
• They are being rescued from a disaster area during a hurricane.
• Depositing a check in bank results in the electronic transfer of funds (ETF)
from the paying account to the paid account, which is clearly an input–output
transformation
• People are being moved from one place to another by an airline.

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 POM Models
 Models are a way for P/OM to represent and study the real production
environment.
 The P/OM input-output model can be written in simple math form,
y  f ( x)
where, y is the output; x is the input; f(x) is the transformation of x into y.
 P/OM models also take the form of algorithms.
 Algorithms are logical step-by-step procedures for solving problems.
 Companies often create models which show how to lower costs, improve
quality, speed up delivery, enhance productivity, and improve competitive
capabilities

Figures on the next two slides explain more about the inputs and outputs.
 Expanded Input-Output P/OM Model

o Figure below illustrates an expanded version of the input–output

transformation model.
o There are many boxes now within the transformation grid.
o Each box represents operations that generate the product line, which can be
goods or services.
o Productive P/OM systems have well-designed transformations.

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Costs and Revenues Associated with Input-
Output (I/O) Models
Cost management is a key function associated with all aspects of P/OM. A
major portion of the cost of goods or services originates with operations.
Figure below is meant to illustrate how costs are related to input-output
models. Controlling costs is of prime concern to all managers.

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 P/OM Input-Output Profit Model
• The inputs are materials, labor, and other direct costs associated with each
unit of work made or services delivered.
• The basic equations are:
• Profit (P) = Revenue (R) minus Total Costs (TC)
• P = R - TC
• TC = Fixed Costs plus Total Variable Costs

The next slide spells out all of the details

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I/O Profit Model with Sales Volume (V)
assume period t (e.g., one year)

Output Variables Input Variables Transformation

Revenue: R Total Cost: TC Volume: V Units
sold at price/unit, p

R = pV TC = FC + vc(V) Net Profit: R - TC

p = price per unit vc = variable costs per Margin = p - vc

unit

What volume V can be FC = fixed costs for Productivity is the

sold in period t at price time period, t Output/Input =
p? (R)/(vc)V
Labor and materials
productivity
 Productivity – a Major Issue

Productivity is a critical business variable that directly impacts the ‘‘bottom

line’’.
Productivity is defined as the ratio measure of output (O) divided by input (I).
Improved productivity raises net profits.
Productivity measures the performance of the organization’s processes for
doing work.
This is such a critical factor in a company’s overall success that excellence in
productivity achievement is a major P/OM issue.
P/OM is responsible for the productivity of the process.

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 Productivity – a Major Issue (continued)
Productivity is relatively easy to measure for physical goods.

It is more difficult to find appropriate measures for some services outputs such
as units of education or health care.

Creative knowledge workers provide other instances of intangible outputs that

are highly valued, but elusive to calculate.

The effort has to be made to appraise the value of these outputs in a

standardized way to provide a benchmark (or standard) for measurement.

The detailed discussion of the concept of productivity and its measurement are
discussed in Chapter 2, Strategy, Productivity and History.

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 The Stages of P/OM Development
o The stage reflects the degree to which a company’s activities have been
coordinated and carried out.
o The stage determines company effectiveness and efficiency.
o As a company improves its stage of operations, it is expected that its
profitability will increase.
o However, it is necessary to relate the company’s stage of development to
that of its competitors.
o Each company’s input–output profit model indirectly and directly reflects
the impact of the competitors’ input–output models.

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 The Stages of P/OM Development
(continued)

o There are four stages of P/OM Development.*

o Figure below provides a mapping of the four stages on a two-dimensional
matrix.
o This is applicable to manufacturing and service product lines.

*Source: Chase, Richard B., and Robert H. Hayes, Beefing-Up Operations in Service Firms, Sloan Management Review, Fall 1991, pp 17–28. (C&H)
*Source: Wheelwright, Steven C., and Robert H. Hayes, Competing Through Manufacturing, Harvard Business Review, January–February 1985, pp 99–109. (W&H)

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 The Stages of P/OM Development
(continued)

• Stage I companies operate on the premise that there is no competitive

advantage to be gained by changing the production process.
• Stage IV companies practice continuous improvement (CI), which means
that they persistently remove waste. They aggressively seek to innovate in
their unswerving pursuit of quality for competitive dominance.
• Stage IV companies have a high level of basic advantages that are unique
to them, whereas Stage I companies have virtually none of these
advantages.
• Stage II and III companies fall in-between on various scales of performance
and degrees of advantage.
• The next slide shows various characteristics of these four stages.

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 The Stages of P/OM Development
Guideline examples might
be:
• Stage I – government
tax and license offices
• Stage II – franchise
gas stations
• Stage III – phone and
cable company offices
• Stage IV – FedEx,
UPS, Disney, Toyota,
Apple
Internally – Inside Externally - In the
Firm’s Organization Firm’s Marketplace
Top Stage I – worst case; Stage II – next to
Management indifferent to P/OM’s worst case;
Is Neutral to ability to lower costs, indifferent to the
P/OM raise quality, etc. voice of customers re
quality; has interest
in cost reduction by
P/OM
Top Stage III – next to Stage IV – best case;
Management best case; support for total support for
Is Supportive P/OM process P/OM with product
of P/OM advantages but not design and process
product design abilities
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 Stage 1 Companies
 A Stage I company is centered on meeting shipment quotas and providing
service when requested.
 C&H* call it ‘‘available for service’’.
 A Stage I company has no planning horizon and is predisposed to be
indifferent to P/OM goals.
 It is reactive to orders and has no quality agenda.
 Worker control is stressed.
 The company is not conscious of special capabilities for itself or for its
competitors.
 These firms are internally neutral, which connotes that top management
does not consider P/OM as being able to promote competitive advantage
and, therefore, P/OM is kept in neutral gear.

• *Source: Chase, Richard B., and Robert H. Hayes, Beefing-Up Operations in Service Firms, Sloan Management Review, Fall 1991, pp 17–28.
(C&H)
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 Stage 2 Companies
 A Stage II company manages traditional P/OM processes and has a
relatively short-term planning horizon.
 It makes efforts to secure orders and to meet customers’ service desires.
 The primary goal of Stage II companies is to control costs.
 Quality tends to be defined as products or services that are not worse than
some standard.
 These companies consider the most important advantages to be derived
from economies of scale, which means that as output volume increases,
costs go down.
 W&H* describe such firms as being externally neutral; they strive to have
parity in P/OM matters with the competition.
• *Source: Wheelwright, Steven C., and Robert H. Hayes, Competing Through Manufacturing, Harvard Business Review,
January–February 1985, pp 99–109. (W&H)

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 Stage 3 Companies
 A Stage III company installs and manages manufacturing and service
processes that are equivalent to those used by the leading companies.
 C&H* describe this as ‘‘distinctive service competence.’’
 A Stage III company makes efforts to emulate the special capabilities of the
best companies.
 Quality and productivity improvement programs are utilized in an effort to
be as good as the best.
 Stage III firms have a relatively long-term planning horizon supported by a
detailed P/OM strategy.
 W&H* describe such firms as being internally supportive, meaning that
P/OM activities support the Stage III company’s competitive position.

• *Source: Chase, Richard B., and Robert H. Hayes, Beefing-Up Operations in Service Firms, Sloan Management Review, Fall 1991, pp 17–28.
(C&H)
• *Source: Wheelwright, Steven C., and Robert H. Hayes, Competing Through Manufacturing, Harvard Business Review, January–February
1985, pp 99–109. (W&H)

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 Stage 4 Companies
 A Stage IV company is a P/OM innovator--more in Chapter 11.
 It has short-and long-term planning horizons that are integrated.
 Both require that P/OM be a part of the top management strategy team.
 W&H* describe such firms as externally supportive, which means that
competitive strategy ‘‘rests to a significant degree on the firm’s
manufacturing capability.’’
 C&H* conclude that Stage IV firms offer services that ‘‘raise customer
expectations.’’ Stage IV firms use the systems approach to integrate service
and manufacturing activities.

• *Source: Chase, Richard B., and Robert H. Hayes, Beefing-Up Operations in Service Firms, Sloan Management Review, Fall 1991, pp 17–28.
(C&H)
• *Source: Wheelwright, Steven C., and Robert H. Hayes, Competing Through Manufacturing, Harvard Business Review, January–February
1985, pp 99–109. (W&H)

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 Organizational Positions and Career
Opportunities in P/OM
• Twelve manufacturing and 12 service positions are listed in
Section 1.9. A few of these (e.g., inventory manager, director
of quality, and project manager) are drawn out in more detail.
• Students of all other functional fields gain by knowing how to
deal with people in various P/OM positions.
• Coordination of the functional fields is essential for effective
teamwork. Understanding each other’s jobs (standing in the
other’s shoes) is a basic requirement for a winning team.

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Career Success by Types of Processes

• Look for jobs that suit one’s personality.

• Jobs differ by type of process.
– Serial flow – love of clockwork control of a complex system
– Batches – enjoyment of coping with non-stop variety
– Projects – pleasure in handling the challenges of new crises
• Jobs differ by area of specialization, e.g.,
– Director of Quality for Disney theme parks
– Inventory Manager for Tiffany & Co. (diamond department)
– Performance Improvement for NASCAR
– Project Manager for putting a NASA lab on the moon
– Line Supervisor for Mercedes Maybach 57s*
*Leases for $5777 per month for 60 months
Thank you

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