What Do Operations Managers Do and How Do They Enhance Organizational Performance?

Operations management (OM) is the administration of business practices to create the highest possible level of efficiency within an organization. It is focused on transforming resources into quality products and services, supervising the organization's production processes to maximize efficiency, and increasing profits while reducing costs and guaranteeing maximum productivity. Additionally, operations management deals with strategic issues such as determining the size of manufacturing plants and project management methods, implementing the structure of information technology networks, and following up with customers to ensure that products meet quality and functionality needs. Moreover, operations management involves staff management and training, performance evaluations or audits, supply chain management, implementation of technology to help personnel in the process, development and maintenance of professional relationships with suppliers and relevant external collaborators, procurement of materials and use of labor in a timely and cost-effective manner to meet customer expectations, coordination and development of new processes, reevaluation of current structures, understanding local and global trends, customer demand, and resources available for production. To be an effective operations management professional, you need to be able to comprehend the processes that are essential to what a company does and make sure that they flow and work together seamlessly. Operations management teams try to balance costs with revenues to achieve the highest possible net operating profit.

Other operational issues include managing inventory levels, including levels of work in process and the acquisition of raw materials, quality control, material handling, maintenance policies, and finally distributing relevant information to each department for use in improving processes. In conclusion, operations managers are responsible for finding suppliers who provide the right products at reasonable prices and who have the capacity to deliver the product when needed. They also need to invest in tools that streamline their workflow in order to be successful. Ultimately, operations managers contribute to improved organizational performance by ensuring maximum efficiency within an organization.