Operations Management
Operations Strategy II
Semester Paper
July 2004
Preface
Krajewski
and Ritzman (2002) define “Operations Strategy” as the means by which
operations implements the firm’s corporate strategy.
Operations strategy
typically examines how manufacturing and operations can be used as sources of
competitive advantage. The old view of operations management as the task
of maintaining a comparatively static production or service facility has given
way to one characterized by a need for renewed flexibility, relentless
improvement, and the development of new capabilities at the operating unit
level. As the global curtain draws back to expose more and more operations
to the mounting pressures of worldwide competition, there are fewer places for
laggard operations to hide. The context in which the operations manager
now works - a global context facilitated by a high degree of electronic
interconnectedness - has changed to one that emphasizes innovative system
design and dramatic operations improvement over simple administration.
As a result of this
changing environment, the skills required of operations managers have changed
as well. The tools of control are now overshadowed by the tools of systems
design and operations improvement. Few operations exist today in which
information technology (IT) does not play a central role.
In the domain of
supply chains, the winds of change are also relentless. In fact, if one
views supply chain design as the competency of assessing all other capabilities
in the value chain -- making choices about which capabilities should be
invested in, which should be outsourced, etc. - then one might argue that
supply chain design is the most important competency in the entire
organization.
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