What is operations management?

The following article defines what operations management is as one of the most important stages within business management. Keep reading to learn how you can get involved and learn a little about its history.

Within the field of business administration, there are different types of areas with operations management as one of the most important stages of the business management process. Operations management is a critical piece of any business since this stage is responsible for defining the direction and planning of all of the other aspects of a business. 

Some experts on the subject consider that without operations management, it would be very difficult to carry out the rest of the tasks that are part of decision making. For this reason, the vast majority of organizations, if not all, have entire departments that are dedicated exclusively to this function. 

What is operations management and what function does it serve? 

It refers to the most important area in terms of planning that any company has. It is responsible, among other things, for researching and applying the necessary methods to add added value to products or services. In addition, it is responsible for planning production processes and carrying out the strategic decisions that a company must follow. 

As operations management is one of the most prominent activities within the management leadership of any organization, it has a different treatment from the rest of the fields. It fulfills the function of generating greater added value for the company in processes such as planning, product quality, productivity and customer satisfaction. 

The vision used in operations management must coincide, to a large extent, with the vision adopted by top management. In this way, it will be possible to guarantee a commercial direction that coincides with the ideas and projections put forward by those in charge of carrying out the destiny of the organization, which is a considerable aspect when talking about the importance of operations management. 

Historical facts of operations management 

As stated by Jay H. Heizer and Barry Render in their book Principles of Operations Management (2004), this is a relatively new field, however, the innovations and contributions of various disciplines, such as industrial engineering, scientific management, statistics and economics have allowed their application to improve productivity in various industries. Below are some events mentioned by the authors: 

• 1800: Eli Whitney contributes to the initial popularization of the use of interchangeable parts, through standardization and quality control. 
• 1881: Frederick W. Taylor made contributions to personnel selection, planning and programming, movement study and ergonomics. He determined that there must be more resources and more will to improve work methods. 
• 1913: Henry Ford and Charles Sorensen combined their knowledge to introduce the concept of an assembly line, where workers occupy one place while materials move in front of them. 
• 1924: Walter Shewhart introduces the precepts of quality control, which provide the bases for statistical sampling applied to quality control. 
• 1950: W. Edwards Deming focused on applying management, establishing strategies to optimize the work environment and processes, with the aim of improving quality. 

Finally, information sciences have made really important contributions to operations management. The systematic processing of data to obtain information, together with the Internet and electronic commerce, considerably influence the improvement of productivity, while providing society with a wide variety of goods and services. 

To generate the ideal conditions that serve to make decisions in the administration of productive operations, individuals who deeply understand management science and information are required to efficiently fulfill their functions. That is why university programs in operations management are crucial to business success. 

Find out where you can learn more about operations management 

Southern New Hampshire University constantly invests in innovation, research and education programs, with which it improves its level of teaching and academic excellence. This is possible, thanks to its flexible learning model for studying online. 

If you want to learn more about this administrative discipline, the best option is to join our Bachelor of Science in Operations Management at SNHU. This program addresses the concept of operations and prepares you to be a leader in the field. 

Being part of SNHU can be a great advantage for the development of your professional profile. Through this university, you will be able to study 100% online from India while earning a degree from an accredited U.S. university. This is a unique advantage to studying with SNHU that will help you stand out from the crowd. 

To learn more about the virtual programs offered by SNHU, we invite you to contact us, either by writing a message to students@in.snhu.edu or by completing the admission application. 

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