Operations Management | Operations Management and Importance

Define operations management and briefly discuss the importance of this management process.

Answer

The term operations management refers to the design, operation, and control of the transformation process that converts such resources as labor and raw materials into goods and services that are sold to customers. The system takes in inputs—people, technology, capital, equipment, materials, and information—and transforms them through various processes, procedures, and work activities into finished goods and services. Marketing, finance, research and development, human resources, and accounting convert inputs into outputs such as sales, increased market share, high rates of return on capital, new and innovative products, motivated and committed employees, and accounting reports. Operations management is important because it encompasses both services and manufacturing, it’s important in effectively and efficiently managing productivity, and it plays a strategic role in an organization’s competitive success.

Source: Management, 11e (Robbins/Coulter)

Organizational Design | List and discuss the five common forms of departmentalization

List and discuss the five common forms of departmentalization.

Answer

a.     Functional departmentalization—jobs are grouped by the functions (i.e., marketing, finance, human resources) performed. This approach can be used in all types of organizations, although the functions change to reflect the organization’s objectives and work activities.

b.     Product departmentalization—jobs are grouped by product line. In this approach, each major product area is placed under the authority of a manager who’s a specialist in, and is responsible for, everything having to do with that product line.

c.      Geographical departmentalization—jobs are grouped on the basis of a territory or geography such as southern, midwestern, or northwestern regions for an organization operating only in the United States; or for a global company, maybe U.S., European, Canadian, and Asian-Pacific regions.

d.     Process departmentalization—this method groups jobs on the basis of product or customer flow. In this approach, work activities follow a natural processing flow of product or even customers.

e.     Customer departmentalization—jobs are grouped on the basis of common customers who have common needs or problems that can best be met by having specialists for each.

Source: Management, 11e (Robbins/Coulter)

Managing in a Global Environment | Parochialism

Define parochialism. Next, discuss why parochialism is a problem for U.S. managers and discuss reasons why it is important to overcome parochialism in today's business environment.

Answer:  Parochialism is the process of viewing the world solely through one's own eyes and perspectives. People with a parochial attitude do not recognize that others have different ways of living and working. Parochialism is a significant obstacle for managers working in a global business world. If managers fall into the trap of ignoring others' values and customs and rigidly applying an attitude of "ours is better than theirs" to foreign cultures, they'll find it difficult to compete with other organizations around the world that are seeking to understand foreign customs and market differences.

Management, 10e (Robbins/Coulter)