Functional Departments in an Organization - Assignment Example

?    Operation management By Insert Presented to Location Due Operations management This is the process in which management in an organization design products, services, processes and supply in a management chains through the consideration of development, acquisition and proper utilization of available resources which a firm needs to deliver the services to the clients promptly in an organization. Operations management purveys are tactical, strategic and operational levels (Mahadevan 2010). Operations management in an organization involves the following. Goods and service design Goods and service design involves development of goods and services that satisfy the preference and taste of the consumers. This is one of the important aspects in the operations of any organization; this is basically implemented in the product lifecycle. This operation in an organization aims to development of new products, product opportunities with competitive advantage. Quality This is an important aspect in an organization which ensures that in an organization there is effectiveness in its organizational structure, procedures, guidelines as well as the resources needed in the production of goods and services to meet customer satisfaction. Process and capacity design This is the process of ensuring that an organization determines the required capacity in order to meet the dynamics and the required organizational change. The design capacity is the maximum work or output that organizations produce or accomplish within an established time framework. A suitable capacity design in an organization should ensure that an organization achieves its effective capacity. Location selection This is where an organization is located basically the physical location. Appropriate selection of the organizational selection is important because it contributes to effectiveness and efficiency in the context of accessibility. Layout design This is the organizational structure and the arrangement on how and where operations are done. Layout design is important aspect in ensuring effectiveness and efficiency on how operations are done; the layout design should be executed in accordance with the ways and the manner in which operations are done in an organization. Human resource and job design This is an organizational process which involves the management of the employees. This involves job selection where relevant vacancies are identified and thereafter recruitment and selection of qualified employee follows. This aspect is important because it ensures that the design job in an organization is matched with the appropriate skills and qualification for effective execution. Supply chain management This is a process in an organization which ensures that there effective and smooth execution of the organizational processes and activities. The importance of this aspect in an organization is that it ensures that the production process is effective and that the goods and services are made available in time and convenience taken into account in reaching customers and clients. Inventory This is an important aspect of an organization which ensures that there is appropriate and suitable management of demand and supply in an organization. Appropriate levels of inventory should be kept in an organization to ensure that the organizational operations are not subjected to any shortages or delays. Scheduling This is the organization and programming of operations notably is the production processes and accomplishment of activities. This aspect is important in determining whether the targets and goals of the organization have achieved. Maintenance This is important process in an organization whereby operations are maintained to ensure that they are working properly and operational. The aim of this process is to ensure that there is effective and smooth execution of operations and also a way of taking precautions on the eventuality of breakdown and failures. The notable key important areas in an organization are the human resource and job design and the second aspect is the supply chain management. In a company the human resource department is responsible for human resource and the job design. This department is responsible for setting and coming up with guidelines and procedures which are suppose to be followed the designation of jobs and the selection and recruitment of new employees. The supply and chain management in a company is important in ensuring that goods and services reach the consumers. An effective supply chain involves an effective distribution process where the company ensures that the activities of the distributors wholesalers and retailers are well coordinated effectively. Functional departments in an organization The above annotated diagram shows the various functional departments in an organization. These departments are crucial for the success and the overall improved performance of the organization. The operations management function of an organization is important in ensuring that the production process is effectively and efficiently managed so that the organization meets the production target volumes (Mahadevan 2010). Marketing department is important in regard to company operations where companies conduct marketing in the target market applying various marketing techniques and strategies in marketing their goods and services. The finance and the accounting department in a company are responsible for the management and funding of new investments and ensuring that all the costs and revenues are managed appropriately. Finally is the human resource department that is responsible for the welfare of the employees and the workforce to ensure employee’s productivity is achieved. 3[a] FACTORS AFFECTING STRAGETIC DECISION IN OPERATION MANAGEMENT Strategy decision making is an important aspect in an organization which contribute to the success of an organization. Strategy decisions in an organization are made taking into account several factors underlying the decision to be made and the implications of it. The organization chosen is a soft drink manufacturing company and the organizational decision is the consideration of the company opening up international operations. These factors affecting this organizational strategy decision include the following. Cost This is one of the significant factors influencing the selection of a strategy in any organization. This is attributed by the key aim of an organization being to maximize profits while minimizing costs for increased and sustained revenues and profitability. The influence of cost in an organizational strategic decision is that the costs associated to a certain decision made should not be more than the expected returns attributed to the decision made. Strategies which involve higher costs with less significant effect on the success and the overall performance of the organization are eliminated while those with greater significance to the increase in organizational profitability and revenues are implemented. Quality Quality is one of the key organizational objectives in their aim of improving its services and customer or client satisfaction. As a factor that influence key organizational strategic decisions, organizations emphasize on the adoption of those strategies that ensure that the organizational quality is enhanced. Companies and organizations adopt strategies which ensure that its quality is improved in all aspects. Responsiveness This is the time period or the magnitude in which a strategy impacts and influence is realized in an organization. The companies objectives are considered before adopting a strategy if short term consideration is required then strategies with a higher degree of responsiveness are adopted. The factor which had a significant effect on the considered strategy by the selected organization is cost. Expansion into international operations involves various costs as many costly procedures are involved, therefore this company had to determine the cost involved and the return on the investments associated with this strategy. 3b. the strategies above affect organization the following ways Assets In the implementation of the above strategy of expanding international operations the assets of the company shall be significantly affected. Since the process involve expanding the business, the assets of the company shall increase significantly as new capital are established, machinery and other relevant assets that facilitate the underlying international operations. Human Resource The human resource department shall be affected by the above strategy as there shall be new recruitments on the various international target markets for the expansion. This aspect shall need to make modifications on its human resource guidelines and procedures to ensure that they are in conformity with the labor regulations of the target market. In addition the organization shall ensure that factors such as cross cultural competence and corporate governance are well addressed. Finance The finance department in this organization is responsible for providing funds and the budgetary requirements for the implementation of the strategy. The finance of the organization shall be subjected to constraints attributed to this implementation. The organization shall ensure that there is enough finance for this strategy and may be necessary to acquire finance from all the available sources. Production strategy This is the pattern in which an organization decides to adopt in the production of goods and services implying the direction in which an organization decides to follow. This involves the manner in which resources are selected, deployed and finally they way they are managed. In a car manufacturing and assembling company notably Toyota company, the company applies the batch production strategy aim being to increase the volume of the manufactured and assembled vehicles. All the processes and operations involved in this company are well defined and all of them are implemented systematically in stages until the whole process is complete. Each of the stages involving various processes such as assembling and the final processes in the organization are properly managed to ensure that there is proper coordination because one stage affects the whole operations involved. Engineers from various disciplines are placed on the various operational stages with relevant skills and experience thus there is high division of labor integrated with specialization and high equipment utilization (Mahadevan 2010). The main advantages of this production strategy an organization will be able to achieve the specialization and division of labor and secondly is that the organizational capital expenditure can be kept at lower levels. The disadvantages associated with this production strategy is that there is a greater tendency of the work flow being poor notably if there is no uniformity in regard to the productivity of the operation. Finally is that this production strategy leads to the build up of work in progress which is significant. System capacity Capacity of a system is the optimum levels of output that a production process in an organization has the capability of achieving in a given period of time. For an organization to determine its capacity system, the aspect of the customers demand and the production capability of a firm have to be determined. Design capacity This is the capacity that is a business organization can achieve under perfect or ideal conditions, it is notable that perfect conditions are not achievable and that most businesses operate at design capacity at any period of time. Example of this is where a company is operating at its production limits. Efficiency capacity This is the capacity rate in which a company can produce theoretically within a certain period of time, at this same period of time the actual capacity shall be produced. A soft drink company may have an effective capacity of 1000 bottles per hour while its actual capacity is 800 per hour. Efficiency capacity This is the capacity related to efficiency capacity which gives a comparison between the two capacities in an organization. This relates the effective capacity with the actual capacity. Utilization capacity This refers to the level in which an organizational productive capacity or resources are used in the production of goods and services. This capacity is usually expressed in percentage form; it is the ratio between the total company capacity and the utilized proportion. The importance of these measures in the decision making process in an organization is that managers are able to determine the organizational productive capability and the critical major organizational investments. In addition the management basing on these factors shall be able make rational decisions in regard to labor utilization and supervision of land and physical resources (Mahadevan 2010). The effective utilization measurement ensures that an organization effective capacity is determined. International strategy International strategy is an important aspect of an organization that has opened up international operations. Coca Cola Company having multinational operations have a well established brand which have international recognition notably is the coca cola brand having a well established brand which is recognized in all parts of the world. This company has a successful international strategy. This is attributed by their approach of taking into account the company organizational environment both internal and external in all their international operations. The major global strategy of this company includes; the first is the unique and easily recognizable brand. The company has a logo which is an icon in which it is recognizable by over 94% of the word population, in addition to the brand the coca cola company products has a representation of three percent of the world beverage products. Secondly is the expansionary global strategy in which it acknowledges the essence of direct global investment in the international markets. Notably are the international markets which are emerging and potential for future expansion, they have invested in production plants as well as increasing its market share for a sustainable growth. This has been achieved by expanding on new markets where the sales of coke products is still expanding. The final global strategy is marketing where the company has successfully launched innovative and creative marketing programmes globally. This has been attributed by the ongoing innovations on its products and services whereby there is a continuous development of new products which has a positive effect on the consumers. This results into creation and development of a desired brand equity notably Diet coke (1982) and Coca-Cola Vanilla in 2002. Other marketing strategies have proven to enhance the growth of sales in the company in the various markets of the world. Question 7 1.13 To calculate the number of additional workers required to enable the bakery meet the increase in demand of bread. 1500 loafs per month Labor productivity 2.344 per labor-hours 160 hrs per worker in a month No of loafs produced by a worker in a month = 160 ? 2.344 = 375.04 No of workers therefore is equal to 1500 ? 375.04 = 4 workers Increase in demand by 25% =  ? 1500 = 1875 No of workers =  = 5workers Additional no. of workers = 1 1.14 Calculate the productivity change on various situations depending on the change of the various variables of productivity. (a) Productivity change due to increase in labor cost in loaves per dollar Where labor cost is $ 8 per hour 640 ? 8 = $ 5120 for 1500 loaves Loaves per dollar = = 0.3 loaves per dollar 800 ? 8 = $ 6400 for 1875 loaves Loaves per dollar =  = 0.3 loaves per dollar There is no significant change due to increase in labor cost. (b) Productivity change due to increase $100 investment in loaves per dollar Therefore it will be $ 5120 + $ 100 = $ 5220 for 1875 loaves Loaves per dollar  = 0.35 loaves per dollar (c) Percentage productivity change for labor and investment There is no percentage productivity change for labor % productivity for investment = There increase productivity by 0.05 loaves per dollar  ? 100 = 16.67% 1.15 Calculate the productivity change of the bakery whether increase or decrease if the owner forego the decision of buying the blender taking into account utility costs, labor costs and the ingredients costs. Cost of ingredients = 0.35 ? 1875 = $ 656.25 Labor cost 8 ? 800 = $6400 Utility cost = $ 500 Total of $7556.25 for 1875 loaves = 0.25 loaves per dollar productivity of the bakery This is equivalent to percentage decrease by 16.6%. Reference Mahadevan, B., 2010. Operations Management: Theory and Practice. Delhi: Pearson Education India. Read More