Operations Management Theory
Operations Management in Health Care
Operations management is the organizing and controlling of the fundamental business activity of providing goods and services to customers (Encarta, 2005). In the healthcare industry, operations management generally focuses on providing a service of healthcare to patients. An organization has three basic functional areas, and theses are: finance, marketing, and operations (Operations Management, 2004, p.4). Since operations is one of the three basic functions of an organization it holds a strong significance in the healthcare industry. The contents of this paper will explain what operations management means to the writer, and why is operations management important to a healthcare organization.
What is Operations Management? The specific breakdown of operations management came from reading chapter 1 of the online textbook titled Operations Management. Further explained in the book, operations services are products of the transformations of inputs to outputs. Manufacturing products differs from providing services in seven factors: degree of customer contact, uniformity of input, labor content of jobs, uniformity of output, measurement of productivity, production and delivery, quality assurance, and amount of inventory (Operations Management, 2004, p.6). Operations management includes many processes, all of them should be considered thoroughly by the manager. These processes include: forecasting, capacity planning, scheduling, managing inventory, assuring quality, and motivating and training employees (Operations Management, 2004, p.8). Operations management also includes different models, quantitative approach, the analysis of trade-offs, establishing priorities, ethics, the study of the Industrial Revolution, Scientific Management, and the Human Relations Movement, decision models and Management Science, the influence of Japanese manufacturers, and trends.
Importance in the Healthcare Industry In the healthcare
Operations management is the organizing and controlling of the fundamental business activity of providing goods and services to customers (Encarta, 2005). In the healthcare industry, operations management generally focuses on providing a service of healthcare to patients. An organization has three basic functional areas, and theses are: finance, marketing, and operations (Operations Management, 2004, p.4). Since operations is one of the three basic functions of an organization it holds a strong significance in the healthcare industry. The contents of this paper will explain what operations management means to the writer, and why is operations management important to a healthcare organization.
What is Operations Management? The specific breakdown of operations management came from reading chapter 1 of the online textbook titled Operations Management. Further explained in the book, operations services are products of the transformations of inputs to outputs. Manufacturing products differs from providing services in seven factors: degree of customer contact, uniformity of input, labor content of jobs, uniformity of output, measurement of productivity, production and delivery, quality assurance, and amount of inventory (Operations Management, 2004, p.6). Operations management includes many processes, all of them should be considered thoroughly by the manager. These processes include: forecasting, capacity planning, scheduling, managing inventory, assuring quality, and motivating and training employees (Operations Management, 2004, p.8). Operations management also includes different models, quantitative approach, the analysis of trade-offs, establishing priorities, ethics, the study of the Industrial Revolution, Scientific Management, and the Human Relations Movement, decision models and Management Science, the influence of Japanese manufacturers, and trends.
Importance in the Healthcare Industry In the healthcare
References: Encarta (2005) Definitions: Operations Management. Retrieved September 15, 2005, from http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=561533832 . Operations Management (2004). Introduction to Operations Management. The McGraw Hill Companies.