Key Approaches to Operations Management and the Role of Leaders and Managers

Management and
Operations

TABLE OF CONTENT
 INTRODUCTION
 Key approaches to operations management and the role of leaders and managers
 Leaders and manager can improve efficiencies of operational management to
successfully meet business objectives
 Importance and value of operational management in achieving organisational goals
 Factors of business environment that impact upon operational management
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION
 Operation management is defined as the administration of practices which ensure optimum efficiency
in business. According to Bernheim and Bodoh-Creed, (2019), operation management is also defined
as the management aspect which is associated with process, business functions and government
systems which businesses must use to meet their objectives and to enhance their productivity,
effectiveness and efficiency.
 Management and operations can be understood as administration of business practises in a company
to create the highest level of operational efficiency possible with the proper utilization of resources.
 It is an important element for organization which refers to functions of converting materials and
labour into finished goods, services to maximize the profit of organization and the overall
productivity levels. Sainsbury is the second largest chain of supermarket in United Kingdom with
large variety of products and services catering to demands of consumers.

Key operations of organisation
The primary operations of an organisation are classified as follows:
Finance: These operations manages accounts and financial aspects related to business.
Operations: In order to meet the organizational objectives organisation is also required to
manage operations such as production, inventory and human resources and corporate social
responsibility.
Marketing: For sustaining long term growth organisation performs marketing functions so
that services can be improved and satisfactory services can be provided to customers.

Development of operational management
To gain competitive advantage Sainsbury aims at maintaining good quality of operational services.
For this purpose organisation can use variety of approaches:
 Craft manufacturing: In this approach skilled work force is utilized to produce low volume
goods with high degree of quality. It is mainly suitable for small scale operations and industries.
 Mass production: Organizations such as Sainsbury produces huge volume of goods with
minimum variety or personalization. Instead goods are produced and supplied as per the
organizational market research and plan.
 Continuous improvement: It includes approaches such as JIT, Kaizen or TQM to bring
continuous improvement in the existing services or product. The purpose of this operational
approach is to maintain high quality standards related to operations.

Key approaches to operations management and the
role of leaders and managers
Leaders and managers play an important role in operational management. They assure that operational
activities are performed in alignment with the budget, existing resources and long term organizational
goals. Leaders also manages human resources so that operational goals can be accomplished. Another
important role played by leaders or managers in operational management is conflict management so
that team or individual conflicts does not affect the efficiency of operational management approaches.
The key operational approaches which can be used by Sainsbury are as follows:
Just in time
 This approach focuses on identifying and correcting the obstacles in production process. It shows
the hidden problems of inventory in time prevents a company from using excessive inventory and
smooth the production.