Operational Management and Decision Making

This assignment requires students to critically evaluate the applications of operational management and identify factors that affect business environments. It involves analyzing political, technical, social, and other external factors impacting decision-making processes in organizations, such as Uber. Students are expected to make effective decisions for companies based on these analyses.

Management and
Operations

Table of Contents
Table of Contents...........................................................................................2
Business environment factors that impact in operational management and
decision making by leaders and managers...................................................2
Factor, which affect the business environment and wider community.......3
Critically evaluate the applications of operational management and the
factors which affect the business environment............................................3
REFERENCS................................................................................................4
Business environment factors that impact in operational management and decision
making by leaders and managers.
Operational management focuses on careful management of all activities and
processes to increase the output and distribute product and services. Managers in any
organization monitor and control all management function such as planning, organizing, staffing
and controlling that helps to make effective and corrective decision. For example: In Uber,
recruitment specialist hire qualified and experience manager who manage all the operations
activity and focuses on business growth (Bromiley and Rau, 2016). It includes some factors
which impact on Uber's operational management and decision making process such as Political,
economic, technological, legal and environmental factor.
Political: Political factor includes government stability, tax rate, bureaucracy, level of
corruption etc. which impact on operation management and decision making process such as,
When Uber started its operations in 2009 there was no other competing company, which
provides same services through a taxi app with the approval of government. For instance, if the
prices of fuel rises then Uber will also increase its cost prices that impacts negatively such as
customer will choose other option that will reduces its profits and number of customers. Uber
wants to bring new tools and technique, purposes is to provide more services to its customer and
crack the competition with the approval of government. If government has been changed then it
would be difficult for Uber to get approval. As a result, it will affect operation management in
order to provide lack of transportation services because government is not stable (Hoyos,
Morales and Akhavan-Tabatabaei, 2015). If price of the fuel will be increase, then it will
directly affect the operations where cost will be increase and then price of the rides increased
which reduce the demand.

Economical: The range of economical factor includes macroeconomic, inflation rate, interest
rate, currency exchange rate and unemployment rate which impact on operational management
and business decision. Such as if there is any increase in inflation rate, then petrol will be costly
and it will negatively impact the operations because Uber has to bear extra cost and profit
margin of the company will be reducing.
These are some cities in UK which are most profitable for Uber in term of gaining desired
growth and success with the help of respective sales of their services.
Social: Social factor includes culture, religion, customer satisfaction, personality, attitudes and
lifestyle. In Uber, customers enjoy its services as it provides easy to access platform that helps
to give satisfaction to customer and save their valuable time by selecting an appointment and
pick up services through the taxi app. It requires no further communication rather than press a
button. As a result, consumer enjoyed its rides, they put their views and experience on social
media sites. Change in the buying behavior also affect the operations of the Uber because if they
does not work according to the customers demand then it will affect the organization that
automatically reduce the productivity or profitability.
Technological: Technological factor includes engine efficiency, 3D technology, internet
connectivity, automation, new innovation and security in cryptography. It impacts positively on
Uber's operational management and its decision such as people can explain their ride experience
through online communication sources. Customers are searching cheaper transportation
services and Uber focuses to fulfill this need (Starr and Van Wassenhove, 2014). After adopting
new technology by Uber, it gives an option to its customer that they can pay ride amount
through an app also that helps to increase customer satisfaction. This helps to determine the
customer perspective and helps to improve the decision-making. Uber have to shift their
operational activities according to the technology because if organization not work with the
current trends of technology then customers will shift to the other once. Customers also choose
those organizations, which is more in technology. Therefore, if Uber not adapting changes then
it will affect their operations.
Environmental: Environmental factor includes bio-tic and abiotic which affect the living
thing such as ambient temperature, ph of water soil, pollution, amount of sunlight, property of
certain markets, profit margin etc which affect the organization and its operational management.
Such as, in present time people are using own vehicle, Uber or other transportation services
which creates lots of pollution and harms the environment. In this situation, manager of Uber
company should manufacture pollution free vehicle that helps to maintain green effect
environment. Organization have to follow rules and regulation regarding society or
environments otherwise, it will directly affect the company’s operations because large number
of group from society shift from another organization.
Legal factors: Legal factor includes minimum wages act, labor law, unemployment rate,
political instability, safety law, compensation law, economic condition etc. It impacts on
operations and decision which is taken by leader or manager of Uber company such as Uber
faces more criticism due to which it has fall down the image of business. Firm needs to follow
all the laws and regulations made by government as it assists in running its business operations
effectively and successfully. Uber have to follow all the legal regulations otherwise government
will interfere which affect the organizational as well as their operational functions.
Factor, which affect the business environment and wider community
External factors affect the business as well as the profitability of the company. Uber's
business such as without social factors a business not possible to grow effectively because its
helps to attract the customer such as if the petrol prices will increase Uber will also increase it
cost that may impact on customers. It has been analyses that customer will choose other
alternative in order to get transportation services that decrease number of customer and also
impact on profits. (Hazen and et.al., 2018). Technological and legal factor helps to sustain in
market and to attract the employees by applying new technology and minimum wages act. To
run the business effectively, a company should follow all the rules and laws that helps to attain
organizational goals. Political factor affects the organization because organization have to
follow government rules & tax policies.
Critically evaluate the applications of operational management and the factors which
affect the business environment
Operational management help the organization to improve the process of production
and it will depend upon the managers to make effective decision for the company (Jones,
George and Langton, 2013). Some of factors that affect the decision making process manager
includes political, technical, social etc. Political factor includes political stability that is require
to expand business and generate more profit and other external factors also affect the business
environment or decision making process (Kauppi, 2013)... Manager of Uber company analyses
the operational issues and identify the factors that impact the business. After this, they make
proper strategies regarding the issues and take effective decision which help the organization to
achieve business objectives & goals (Kern and et.al., 2012).

REFERENCS
Books & Journals
Bromiley, P. and Rau, D., 2016. Operations management and the resource based view: Another
view. Journal of Operations Management. 41. pp.95-106.
Hoyos, M. C., Morales, R. S. and Akhavan-Tabatabaei, R., 2015. OR models with stochastic
components in disaster operations management: A literature survey. Computers &
Industrial Engineering. 82. pp.183-197.
Starr, M. K. and Van Wassenhove, L. N., 2014. Introduction to the special issue on
humanitarian operations and crisis management. Production and Operations
Management. 23(6). pp.925-937.
Kauppi, K., 2013. Extending the use of institutional theory in operations and supply chain
management research: Review and research suggestions. International Journal of Operations &
Production Management. 33(10). pp.1318-1345.