How the Operations Function Contributes to the Strategic Objectives of a Company

How the operations function contributes to the strategic objectives of a company

Operations and Supply Chain Management

Word count -1492

An organisations operation function is concerned with ensuring a specific result whether that is producing a good and or service and can determine the direction and long-term viability of an organisation (Slack et al, 2007). Operational functions primarily affect the day-to-day implementation of strategic decisions and have immediate implications, while organisational strategy is concerned with the longer term implications. The connection between an organisations strategic objectives and operational functions is essential to ensure the success of an organisation and this will be unachievable if the short-term goals fail to align with long-term objectives (Barnes, 2008).

Operations are by no means the only functional department within an organisation with marketing, human resources and financial services among others and in their totality each functional strategies contributes towards organisational success (Barnes, 2008). This however, raises potential issues with each department having a very different set of aims and is potentially a huge source of conflict for an organisation. In order for an organisation to avoid such conflict, it must ensure that each functional department understands the limitations of operations and should facilitate cross-functional collaboration in all decision making. Additionally, an organisation should establish clear imperatives for each function that defines how a specific function contributes to the overall mission in order to achieve organisational success (Brown, 2005).

The extent to which operations is implemented will determine the extent to which the business strategy is implemented. Not only can operations act as an implementer of business strategy and be a supporting mechanism, it can also drive business forward and be a source of competitive advantage (Slack et al, 2004)....