Examining the Role of Operations Manager

This article examines the role of operations manager in operations management and discusses the challenges they face. It also explores the importance of social media data in operations management and provides strategies to address operational hiring issues. The article is relevant for students studying operations management or business management.

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1EXAMINING THE ROLE OF OPERATIONS MANAGER
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
Role of Social Media Data in Operations Management..............................................................3
Challenges faced by Social Media Operations Manager.............................................................4
Decision Making Challenges Faced by Operations Manager......................................................6
Challenges While Entering into the Market................................................................................8
Operational Hiring Issues experienced by managers...................................................................9
Strategies to address Operational Hiring Issues experienced by managers...............................10
Application of Lean Model in successful mitigation of hiring challenges................................11
Evaluation of the Lean Six Sigma Mindset in Recruitment Process.........................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................16

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Introduction
Social media data comprises diverse rich information in posts or comments written by
customers. Successful extraction and evaluation of such data can facilitate modern companies to
fully utilize this rich source of information. Organizations can then proficiently convert the social
media data to constructive information or knowledge further enabling companies to formulate
their business strategy. According to Sigala and Chalkiti (2015), these factors not only aid
marketing investigation in the view of customer behaviour but further improve other
management areas of disciplines. Operations Management (OM) with the fundamental aim of
making decisions on product and process designs can be considered as a example of social
media’s importance in operations management. Operations management constitutes a prolonged
history ranging from the construction of ancient buildings to military operations in the past few
decades (Houston et al. 2015). As OM has its origin in the field of scientific management
approach such as Taylorism, its history since then has been appearing to be longer than a
century. Ngai, Tao and Moon (2015) have stated that growing recognition of Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and other social media platforms have resulted to the extensive availability of massive
amount of important information. As a result, these social media platforms have produced an
excellent foundation of data which are available explicitly to the public and most importantly to
wide range of researchers. Furthermore, social media operations managers could efficiently
sustain the strategy as well as social media marketing tactics for modern organizations as an
individual or could manage a team of social media marketing coordinators and writers.
Furthermore, in the view of Ransbotham, Kiron and Prentice (2015), social media operation
managers aim to deal with daily plan, operations, and strategy for an organization’s social media
and online existence. As social media is identified as essentially an effectual method in providing

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greater amount of resourceful consumer service with open response to questions and further
engaging with your audience to clientele and stakeholders to trust and determine concerns
quickly. A greater perceptive of service excellence along with its impact on customer satisfaction
has facilitated in the increase of successful operations in services (Dutta 2014). The following
seeks to identify possible operational challenges of the operational manager of the advert of
Social Media Operations Manager on Glassdoor Job Website by assessing the operational
challenges that candidates of operational managers would experience. In addition to this, the
paper will assess and identify ways to address the areas of challenges with theoretical
explanations.
Discussion
Role of Social Media Data in Operations Management
Social media review not only capture instant emotional experiences to guide the
consumers, but also inform store managers. These social media reviews help managers to
identify potential future issues and to identify optimal solutions to attract new consumers, as well
as retaining existing customers. Hence with the support of social media reviews, operations and
marketing departments of a firm can work together to improve the customer experience and
shopping satisfaction. Ransbotham, Kiron and Prentice (2015) have stated that social media data
which are explicitly accessible to the public are free of charge, thus identified as a resourceful
source of information for both industrial practitioners as well as investigators. Furthermore,
social media have influenced the promotion mix in marketing communication domain only
because consumer-to-consumer communication is easier with the help of social media websites.
In the view of Rizvi (2016), consumers exhibit greater level of expediency to utilise social media
websites in order to search for travelling information online that further decreases the reliance on

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official websites and hence the influence of the associated marketing performances. Furthermore,
like other data, social media implementation in modern organizations undergoes several
criticisms. Recardo and Toterhi (2014) have characterized social media as fundamentally
scalable communication technologies which developed Internet based communications into
useful interactive dialogue platform. However, while integrating social media data in business
they develop as highly complex IT-artefacts. According to Ransbotham, Kiron and Prentice
(2015), social business indicates to the successful exploitation of online social channels in order
to efficiently execute business operations. Social business constitutes of a range of business
performance and procedures, various information technologies along with strategic aims and
tactical operations which emerge together in practices.
Challenges faced by Social Media Operations Manager
Challenges vis-à-vis Partnering and Alliances
With the growing prominence of advanced technology, modern business has generated
rapid expansion which would consider being inconceivable few years ago. Ngai, Tao and Moon
(2015) have stated that in the past there were observed several justifications to be diminutive on
the customer contentment such as difficulties to envisage the customer preferences as well as
demands properly and timely accomplish them from a competitive price. Furthermore, with the
progress of social media, organizations have learnt to deal more with e-business ideas. With
social media prominence consumers can successfully pursue the whole order receiving,
generating, handling, delivery and further support procedures digitally through social media
platform (Houston et al. 2015). Additionally Colombo and Rabbiosi (2014) have stated that lack
of accurate and timely data has been considered as one of the primary complaints on decision
making processes. Social media not only offers data not only to customers but further informs

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competitors and even clientele all over the world.
Modern companies primarily focus on maintaining their current consumer base
increasing market share along with efficiently developing high margin products and services and
declining operational expenses. However in the view of Montgomery and Oladapo (2014)
achieving these goals are essentially based on proficient operation and organisational discipline.
Successfully positioned operations management candidate might have the propensity to make
positive impact on the operational performance of the organization. Meanwhile, Epstein (2018)
has observed several operational challenges which can be encountered by successfully recruited
operations managers. These operations of the company typically fall into 'customer-facing ‘as
well as 'back office’ functions whereby an operational management candidate must be committed
to fundamental development to successfully deal with these challenges.
Basic Operational Challenges
Source: (Rizvi 2016)
Companies operating with social media marketing must constitute utmost commitment of

6EXAMINING THE ROLE OF OPERATIONS MANAGER
top ranked managers which proficiently follow, regulate and maintain corporate strategy and
objectives. Candidates aiming to be positioned as operations manager must be provided with
proper mechanism and tools in order to be successful and further get rewarded with the
accomplishment of such challenges (Colombo and Rabbiosi 2014). Correspondingly recruited
candidates must be provided with properly structured remuneration in order to discourage them
from establishing realms that would shift away the focus from the common strategy. However
according to Baeck et al. (2014) successful candidates will be continuously challenged to be a
market maker further categorising the most efficient of breed in the market. However once the
fundamental competency is characterised the candidate required to perform due diligence and
further choose the most efficient associates in alliance to fill the gaps distinguished in the service
offering as well as delivery. Dubey et al. (2016) have identifying strategic partners and alliances
as influential for operation management candidates in order to sustain competitiveness in modern
competitive market. However as partnering tends to vary, it may be instigated in order to share
things like resources, financial aids, information with other companies. In majority of
organisational cultures documented agreements play a valuable role and further force associates
to perceive through partnership details. However at this juncture, Weerakoon (2016) has stated
that partner negotiation is prevalent and those candidates should show their best quality in order
to focus an associate as much as possible for the mapping them in opposition to the overall
product or operational strategy. As partnership and organizational alliances serve diseases role in
any business it is important for operation management candidates to take these factors in to
serious consideration. These factors however may infuse all aspects of the candidate and cannot
be overlooked (Colombo and Rabbiosi 2014).
Decision Making Challenges Faced by Operations Manager

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In general while entering into the market operation management candidates typically
encounter challenges in focusing on core processes and for the form certain decision boundaries
versus rules in order to empower the managers without constraining their influence and
creativity. These boundaries according to Rizvi (2016) primarily constitute guidelines based on
corporate objectives, goals, mission and vision along with business essentials financial profit and
loss timing and exit. Modern organisations importance towards top and down communication
has perception challenges towards the newly recruited candidates without focusing on the
incorporation of bilateral methods (Colombo and Rabbiosi 2014). Furthermore Dubey et al.
(2016) have claimed that because of severe lack of information at all levels of organisation
employees tend to show competence in realising factors important for the stakeholders and
further considering market dynamics organisational strategies primary areas of company’s
issues. However Piercy and Rich (2015) have identified certain venues for every operation
management employee in order to add resource resourceful input or criticism without developing
any sense of feeling of their position being jeopardized.
The Provisioning, Assurance, and Usage Model

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Source: (Ransbotham, Kiron and Prentice 2015)
Challenges While Entering into the Market
Reports of Baeck et al. (2014) have stated that prior to market entry, operational
management candidates encounter various challenges in successfully realizing customer needs
and demands and attain a distinct outline towards sales growth and revenue. Furthermore,
according to the author labelling the company, its service contribution, stakeholders or
affiliations are considered as essential determinants for brand awareness and recognition in the
market. At this juncture, operations managers must attain utmost awareness that market
distinctiveness with the brand may have adverse affects (Soon 2017). Furthermore, determining
customer needs and demands are also viewed as a critical challenge for operations manager
candidate. Recardo and Toterhi (2014) have identified certain issues encountering successful
candidate in characterizing an explanation for a customer segment that is “needs-oblivious.”
Colombo and Rabbiosi (2014) have distinguished four vital elements to understand if potential
customer segments recognize a perceived need whereby they can efficiently express their issue
and can recommend confirmation, economic stating about an existence of a specific problem
along with proper articulation of the impact, financial or an explanation would have if the
problem has found any resolution and where these candidates can record the functions where an
impending resolution seek resolution.
Sigala and Chalkiti (2015) have further noted that following to the evaluation of customer
necessities and supplies, operation management candidates needs to consider strategically about
wide ranging services to put forward along with types of performances to execute. These bundles
of functionality further will revolutionize as a purpose of the services lifecycle, product and
services mix, market rivalry as well as shifting target customer markets. However, (Ransbotham,

9EXAMINING THE ROLE OF OPERATIONS MANAGER
Kiron and Prentice (2015) have claimed that specific services have the propensity to be collected
as a technique in order to penetrate into the target market and further be priced to acquire the
marketplace as a loss leader for a definite and assured amount of time. Significantly,
comprehensive studies of Houston et al. (2015) have identified sales and marketing as a
challenging area for a successful operation management candidate in particular within a highly
intensified market. These factors however have been consequential for operations managers to
apply various sales forces which are positioned under the extensive course of direct as well as
indirect. Further to this, customarily in the view of authors, sales forces have been arranged by
industry matrix solution set. Such a development according to authors signifies a distinct growth
in realizing customer requirements, desires and a development in the direction of review
advertising (Sigala and Chalkiti 2015). Operations managers engaged in a modern organization
at this juncture encounters greater number of challenges in comparison to customary product
sales due to its direct impact on several divisions across the organization further implying to a
more extensive transaction amount along with new decision makers drawn in each vending.
Epstein (2018) has stated that deals further indicate that business decisions will be primarily
taken at the executive level in the future organization.
Operational Hiring Issues experienced by managers
The success of business operations entirely depends on talent acquisition as well as
distinct skill-sets which employee bring in. As organizational recruitment relies greatly on
strategies established around cost control along with productivity objective against the operation
managers’ service roadmap, successful talent acquisition can be highly critical. According to
Weerakoon (2016), purpose of making an ideal employee with adequate proficiency and
personality attributes the potential operations manager will call for understanding all facets of the

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hiring procedure and further serve as a major resource vis-à-vis all Talent Acquisition Operations
topics. At this juncture, Deresky (2017) has observed several operations management candidates
to be incompetent in considering the role to successfully maintain end-to-end recruitment process
and supply efficient approach and support for talent acquisition ventures as well as initiatives.
Talent Acquisition Management Network
Source: (Piercy and Rich 2015)
Strategies to address Operational Hiring Issues experienced by managers
Talent acquisition in competitive market is identified as an activity fraught with
operational threats and challenges concerning hiring the right person, the appropriate skills with
desired fit resulting to have maximum impact on the company’s bottom line. Reports of Piercy
and Rich (2015) have revealed that with the emergence of rapid, multifaceted along with
invasive developments in the domain of competitive business setting, it has exhibited a tendency
to pose impact on the long-established idea of employment, company, as well as employee
relationships. Furthermore, consequentially Mediastorm has been drawing relevance towards
social media and innovation regarding hiring the right talent they are strategizing their staffing
processes in a tactical manner by efficiently involving external and internal recruitment actions

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or performances with succession scheduling as well as performance management (Media Storm
2018). Thus in the view of Tyagi et al. (2015), ‘Lean Sigma’ & ‘Just-in Time’ principles can be
implemented by company to efficiently generate exceptional recruiting purpose and further
display the fundamental link between the ‘value-added’ recruiting performance and constructive
business outcomes.
Talent Acquisition Strategy
Source: (Netland, Schloetzer and Ferdows 2015)
Application of Lean Model in successful mitigation of hiring challenges
Epstein (2018) has revealed that critical to efficiently influence Lean theoretical factors
are the identification of which valuable steps in a development tend to add or refute the desired
value to Mediastorm’s clientele. Moreover, following to the categorization of process
performance into these two categories, the major focus of Mediastorm depends on implementing
steps to advance the former and remove the latter. Additionally, successful implementation of
Lean process by operation management candidate similarly evaluate the Talent Acquisition
Process is considered to be feasible to consider the determinants while facing challenges during

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hiring process (Piercy and Rich 2015).
Talent Acquisition Process Map
Source: (Ransbotham, Kiron and Prentice 2015)
Talent Acquisition Process
Source: (Tyagi et al. 2015)
According to Büyüközkan, Kayakutlu and Karakadılar (2015), in the highly competitive
market, businesses aim for an extensive process of talent flow further providing the company

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with utmost lack of restrictions to incline towards optimal options and further support cost-
effective expenses. However, Montgomery and Oladapo (2014) have stated that in the dynamic
rapid progressive knowledge of economy, primary imperative of the smooth accessibility of
proper talent and skill cannot be pretentious. At this stage, it is essential to note, that critical lean
concept known as Just-In-Time (JIT) is primarily being established on the standards of constant
decline of all supply by further aiming to attain the satisfying altering market demand with
shorter lead period along with resilient production (Colombo and Rabbiosi 2014). According to
Piercy and Rich (2015), as in an unpredictable and aggressive market, inventory is significantly
considered as risk and waste factors, the primary purpose of JIT is to essentially distribute the
correct amount of supply in order to accomplish consumer needs and demand. Furthermore,
Büyüközkan, Kayakutlu and Karakadılar (2015) have stated that in the conceptualization of
supply chain management, the areas of challenges in relation to undersupply and oversupply are
mutually regarded as mismatch expenses; the primary objective is to align with the demand and
requirement with the appropriate amount of supply. Thus Mediastorm by implementing the JIT
concept to hiring and recruitment process can offer hiring operations managers or customers with
the correct applicants at corrent right time and with appropriate skills at the correct place (Media
Storm 2018). The JIT strategy primarily has been outlined in order to decrease the misuse of
overproduction along with waiting time as well as deficiency and inventory (González et al
2015). Thus as a substitute of effectively building, successfully maintaining a work-in-progress
candidate as well as creating a Talent Inventory without the importance of concrete recruitment
needs, JIT theory model tends to accentuate on targeting raw material candidate supply such as
social media networks, employee candidature along with other job sourcing networks by
qualifying as well as delivering an appropriate talent pool that successfully aligns to the talent

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requirement of the company (Netland, Schloetzer and Ferdows 2015).
Evaluation of the Lean Six Sigma Mindset in Recruitment Process
According to Weerakoon (2016), foundation of Six Sigma method primarily engages
efficient size and assessment as a method to enumerate hiring process outcomes with proper
focus in areas of defects and further create modifications to augment the process. Additionally
research of Netland, Schloetzer and Ferdows (2015) has revealed that proper evaluation of
employee recruitment as a major business development tend to demand a particular mindset
which guarantees advanced quality recruits with smaller amount of errors demanding for an
appraisal function concerning the impact of results can be comprehended and mishandling of
resources such as incorrect employing decisions can be curtailed. Furthermore, in the view of
Büyüközkan, Kayakutlu and Karakadılar (2015), as Recruitment Operation Managers, candidates
along with recruits are identified as major determinants engaged in the hiring experience. Such a
‘Voice of the Customer’ is recognized as the principal variable in accepting the existing state of
the recruitment procedure and further outlining the essential skill and attribute mix in
guaranteeing an optimum Quality of Hire (QOH). Additionally, potential operations managers
can execute successful talent acquisition process by focusing on size of the customer base along
with the intricacy of the proposal which can further be acquired from Mediastorm’s stakeholders,
resources, input, procedures, production, customer (SIPOC) diagram or tools based on candidate
surveys and interviews (González et al 2015).
Conclusion
On a concluding note, as an operational management executive, candidates will not only
proficiently aim to be accountable for solving recruitment challenges but also purpose for
process driven solutions. Furthermore, the measure of an achievable operations management

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candidate primarily depends on the company’s productivity as well as efficiency level. For
instance, it can be stated that if Mediastorm consistently accomplishes delivery deadlines and
missions for the products it offers it if there remains fewer collapse in service offerings and units
are banding together to amplify their purchasing power for distributors, then Mediastorm will
successfully attain desired goals and objectives.

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Appendix
Social Media Operations Manager
Source: (Glassdoor.com2018)

20EXAMINING THE ROLE OF OPERATIONS MANAGER
Social Media Operations Manager
Source: (Glassdoor.com2018)