From the course: Operations Management Foundations

What is operations?

From the course: Operations Management Foundations

Start my 1-month free trial Buy for my team

What is operations?

“

- You are a business. I'm not talking about your job. I'm not talking about your company. I'm talking about you. Every day you run the business, that is your life. Think about it. How you dress and how you speak, that's marketing. Developing goals and creating a plan, that's strategy. Managing relationships with family and friends, that's management and communications. Managing your electronic devices, that's IT. Making money and managing money, that's finance and accounting. But how about everything else you do in the day? Making meals, getting ready for work, getting to your office, even working out, and going out with your friends for the evening. What are all those things? These would fall into the category of operations, but what exactly is operations? Operations is the management, of the systems that produce products and services. In other words, it's the management, of how we get things done. You see, even as individual human beings, sometimes we make products, tangible outputs, like a meal or perhaps a report at work. Other times we produce services. Intangible outputs. How we got to work is a result of operations. How we got ready for work is the result of operations. Even the fun evening out, with friends was the result of operations. Wouldn't you love to find a way, to get to work faster in the morning? Wouldn't you love to make a great dinner every night, that tasted great, but was easy to make? Of course you would. Saving time, money, and getting consistent positive results, means that we have more time to get other things done. We have more money for other endeavors, and it means that everything we make, is valuable to others and ourselves. By understanding operations, you'll better understand how to manage all the moving parts, in an organization, inventory, manufacturing processes, waiting lines. You'll better understand how to effectively manage projects, how to control and improve quality, and in the process, how to satisfy customers and improve employee productivity. So whether you want to make your company's customers happier, using fewer resources, or if you just want to create a better more productive life for yourself, learning about the fundamentals of operations, may be the key to your future success and happiness.

Contents