What Operations Management Is

What operations management is and why it is important

In any act of human enterprise several things happen. There is always a need to look forward and plan what needs doing to accomplish the designed aims successfully. This plan has to be effectively communicated to all those directly involved. Finally there is actual delivery of what you have planned in a way that meets an expected standard.

The operations manager sits firmly in the last areas at what is a unique point in the enterprise – the translation of blueprint to reality. Even more, this manager has to both meet and reflect changing customer needs while proactively charting a course that actually delivers the strategic vision of the organization through its products or services.

Translating that vision into practical action is pivotal in many types of public and private sector activity, ranging from the military, the police, local and central government, through to industrial companies, small businesses and entrepreneurs. It is in the quality of the outcome achieved – a battle won, crime levels down, roads becoming safer to use, well designed products that get a job done, or expertize that is there at the time and place of need – that people judge the success of any enterprise.

So, the operations manager sits at the crossroads between the end-user and senior management team, not just initiating the planned strategy but just as importantly influencing its development through feedback and real-time experience. This dynamic is unlike any other part of the enterprise, as it is the operations manager who has to be both proactive and reactive, quickly improving and adjusting output to meet any change in circumstances.

Not surprisingly, this is an extremely demanding role, requiring a particular combination of skills and aptitudes. Consequently, operations managers must be exemplary leaders, creators, problem solvers, organizers and communicators if they are to be effective. Getting materials, equipment and...