Operations-related considerations are becoming more important in formulating

business strategy because operations decisions include strategic decisions which must
be aligned with the company's business strategy, meet current and future challenges,
and also concerned with the long term development of its operations resources and
processes so that they can provide the basis for a sustainable advantage. Operations
management is the business function responsible for managing the process of the
creation of goods and services. It involves planning, organizing, coordinating, and
controlling all the resources needed to produce a company’s goods and services.
Operations management is also the central core function of every company and the
transformation role of OM makes this function the “engine room” of the organization. As
a result, it is directly responsible for many decisions and activities that give rise to
product design and delivery problems. The design and management of operations
strongly influence how much material resources are consumed to manufacture goods or
deliver a service, making sure that there is enough inventory to produce the quantities
that need to be delivered to the customer, and ensuring that what is made is in fact what
the customer wants. Operation decisions on what to improve and such then they will
think of a strategy to implement to resolve it like for manufacturing the improvement of
the quality of products, as for the service industry the improvement of process or delivery
of service which now the competitive advantage would be the positive response from the
customer. Both Manufacturing and Service industries take account of Operational-
related considerations for example, in the manufacturing industry, they must continually
strive to improve operational efficiency. They must fine-tune their production processes
to focus on quality, to hold down the costs of materials and labor, and to eliminate all
costs that add no value to the finished product. Like manufacturers, service providers
must continuously look for ways to improve operational efficiency. Operational efficiency
is just as important in service industries as it is in manufacturing. Service organizations
succeed by providing services that satisfy customers’ needs. Overseeing a service
organization puts special demands on managers, especially those running firms, such as
hotels, retail stores, and restaurants, that have a high degree of contact with customers.

ESSAY

TITLE/QUESTION Why should all functions within a company, including

operations, participate in business-level strategic planning?

NAME OF STUDENT PACIS, ANGELIKA T.

CLASS NUMBER 35

The business-level strategy is the second tier in the strategy hierarchy, sitting
under the corporate strategy, the business strategy is a means to achieve the goals of a
specific business unit in the organization. It concerns how an organization should
compete, it takes a corporate-level strategic goal such as 'increasing market share in a
given region or demographic', and turns it into a more fine-grained, practical strategic
goal based on business-level knowledge and experience. The participation of the
different functions/departments in a company is important because in business-level
strategic planning it represents plans or methods companies use to conduct various
functions in their business operations. The business-level strategies are decided upon
by the heads of strategic business units and their teams in light of the specific nature of
the industry in which they operate. With this, it helps in determining the scope of a
division’s activities that will satisfy a broad consumer need. Since in this level,
strategies are about how to meet the competition in a particular product market and
strategies have to be related to a unit within an organization, Operations management is
also equally important in informing strategic as well as tactical decisions, it consists of all
the activities involved in transforming a product idea into a finished product, as well as
those involved in planning and controlling the systems that produce goods and services.
They are the ones who evaluate whether there is a need for improvement on the service
and product or the quality itself. With these they will know what kind of strategy should
be implemented and to evaluate if there is a competitive advantage in doing so. After
this, they can define the competitive position within the industry. However, operations
cannot work in isolation from other business functions, each business function manages
unique aspects of the business, and they all must work together. For example,
operations must work with marketing to understand the exact wants of a particular group
of customers, It can then design the exact products customers want and create the
production processes to efficiently produce these products. Marketing, on the other
hand, must understand operations’ capabilities, including the types of products it can
produce and the limitations of the production process. Without communication between
marketing and operations, the company may find itself in a situation where it is
producing products the customers don’t want. Operations must also work closely with
purchasing to understand the availability of materials, cost and quality issues, availability
of sources of supply, and lead times. Operations links marketing with its ties to
customers to sourcing with links to sources of supply. That is why all functions within a
company should participate in business-level strategic planning each of them are linked
together.

ESSAY

TITLE/QUESTION Why are operations-related considerations becoming more

important in formulating business strategy? Describe one
example from both the manufacturing and the service sector
that illustrate how they have gained competitive advantage
from operations.

NAME OF STUDENT PACIS, ANGELIKA T.

CLASS NUMBER 35

Operations-related considerations in formulating a business strategy give light to

the manufacturing and the service sector to gain a competitive advantage from
operations. An example is the business strategy of FedEx, the world’s largest provider of
expedited delivery services is to compete on time and dependability of deliveries. An
example is The Burger King (BK), their competitors, including McDonald’s, rely on a
make-to-stock approach in which several sandwiches are made at the same time with
the same condiments. If a customer wants customized orders the procedure could take
up to five minutes, whereas BK can process a special order in thirty seconds. BK has
introduced some innovations that have helped make the company more efficient, an
example was the first drive-through service, they also came up with the idea of moving
the drink station from behind the counter so that customers could take over the time-
consuming task of filling cups with ice and beverages. Material costs also went down
because customers usually fill cups with more ice, which is cheaper than a beverage. On
top of everything else, most customers liked the system, and as a result, customer
satisfaction went up, as well. Apple makes high quality, user-friendly products with high
aesthetic value. It targets customers who are willing to pay a premium for innovative
devices and are looking for user experience. The 10 decisions of operations
management are carefully implemented through coordinated efforts in product design
and development, sales and marketing, and the firm’s supply chain, along with the
company’s other business areas. Operational effectiveness and strategies involving
technological innovation help the business thrive, despite competition involving Dell,
Lenovo, Microsoft, Sony, Google, Amazon, Samsung, Walmart, and other companies.
The company has an excellent performance in maximizing efficiency in operations
management, this operational efficiency translates to competitive advantages and
capabilities. Apple’s processes in the design of its products are handled through several
organizational components and officials, the operations management monitors and
evaluates productivity through various criteria. The company’s global size and diverse
activities translate to different standards, benchmarks, and criteria for productivity in
different business areas. Apple’s human resource management strategies include
support to maximize workforce capacity for product development and design. This
success highlights the importance of Apple’s strategic approaches to achieve high
productivity goals and objectives in operations management areas.

ESSAY

TITLE/QUESTION Many companies fail to appreciate the fact that the most
critical orders are the ones to which a company says ‘no’.
Explain.

TOPIC

NAME OF STUDENT PACIS, ANGELIKA T.

CLASS NUMBER 35

Customer feedback is the battery that powers customer-driven companies. It has

a positive side and a negative side, the problem that many companies are facing right
now is that they don’t know how to deal with customer feedback or just simply ignore it.
Customer feedback should be part of a continuous loop, you hear feedback about your
product, you make improvements based on that feedback, then you hear more feedback
about your product, and you make more improvements based on that feedback, it is a
never-ending cycle between companies and customers. Some businesses solely go
along with their internal stakeholder's opinions, well it is also good to have them but
relying on this won't do any good. They also need to take account of what their
customers need, wants, and feedback. Tone-deafness to customers’ needs results in a
costly and negative impact. In some companies, they have 2 types of customers which
are the paying customer and free users in which both of them have different feedbacks,
paying customers tend to give feedback that falls into the user experience category.
They already know what you can do, but now they want you to make things faster, or
easier. As for free users, companies most likely ignore their feedback and say 'no' to
their request. Rather than saying no, companies should keep asking questions, this
could be considered as an opportunity to learn and improve one's product or service.
Whoever does the best job of listening to customers, and understanding customers, and
reflecting that understanding in the product is going to win market share. By regularly
engaging with and listening to customers, you can help improve customer satisfaction
and help reduce churn. Customer experience is indeed a battlefield. The one who
understands his customers survives. The one who acknowledges and starts working on
the wrong things is on a path to victory.