Operation management of McDonalds Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Operation management of McDonalds - Assignment Example This essay discusses that while the meanings of â€Å"operation† and â€Å"management† taken separately are commonly understood, when the two are combined an entirely different idea is formed. This field of business that seeks to define and standardise things could not itself be fully summed up in one comprehensive idea. Lawson perceptively pointed out that operations management is conceived of according to varying levels of scope and significance. Operations management has been variably defined as: (1) â€Å"The design, operation and improvement of the systems that create and deliver the firm’s primary product and service combinations†; (2) â€Å"The design, operation and improvement of the internal and external systems, resources, and technologies that create and deliver the firm’s primary product and service combinations†; and â€Å"The design, operation and improvement of the internal and external systems, resources, and technologies tha t create product and service combinations in any type of organization†. Mosby, Crumbaker & Urban observed that operations management is focused mainly on making sure that the firm’s business operations function efficiently and effectively, towards greater reliability and availability of the firm’s systems and services. Among the many duties and responsibilities which the operations manager is expected to fulfil, which generally fall within a five broad roles and responsibilities. ... These are identified and categorized by Operations Manager.com (2011) as: (1) Logistics management; (2) Budget management; (3) Operational strategizing; (4) Management of support services; and (5) Management of third party relations. According to Pycraft, Singh and Phihlela (2000), the exact responsibilities and role of operations management will depend primarily upon the nature of the organization’s business. In general, the classes of activities that operations managers directly discharge, which apply to all types of operations, include: (1) Understanding the operation’s strategic objectives; (2) Developing an operations strategy for the organization; (3) Designing the operation’s products, services and processes; (4) Planning and controlling the operation; and (5) Improving the performance of the operation (p. 31) In a survey conducted by Professor Arnoud de Meyer and reported in Pycraft, et al (2000, p. 33), a factory manager’s work was analysed and th e following breakdown was arrived at: Table 1: Breakdown of factory manager’s work Activity % of time Degree of change (1 = spending less time 7 = spending more time) Direct supervision and support Consulting with plant staff Consulting with upper management Consulting with sales and marketing Communicating with customers Communicating with suppliers Consulting with Research and Development Dealing with the community Training (as trainer) Training (as trainee) 22 16 12 10 7 7 5 5 4 4 3.5 3.9 4.0 4.8 4.8 4.4 4.7 4.5 4.6 4.6 Source: Pycraft, Singh & Phihlela, 2000, p.33 The foregoing table highlights the many varied concerns of the operations manager today. No longer is the manager confined to the manufacturing shopfloor and limited to ensuring that the right number of units are produced. The