OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Activity #1

1. Division of Labor
- Refers to “segmentation of tasks, with each person focusing on a specific part of the
production process” (Boyce, 2021). It is a process in which the tasks are split down
into different sectors where an employee could be assigned to a specific task.
Division of Labor aids the world in 21 st century by allowing the workers to be more
focused in mastering a specific task or skill, which helps them to learn it faster. Also,
it provides productivity because Division of Labor allow them to work into single task
so the process would be done quickly and efficiently. Another thing is it could help in
the 21st century to make products that are very innovative and have good quality due
to people who have different skills that they have mastered already.
For example:
(1) For the product of Apple which is iPhone, they require different companies to do
each part of their product such as the case, battery, screen, and logic board. The
companies included are: Japan for camera; Germany for accelerometer; US for
audio chip; and China for the battery and to assemble the whole product. By the
Division of Labor, it helped the Apple company to produce a very outstanding
product for the people in the whole world as we all know that iPhone is known for its
good quality.
(2) Learning a language would be challenging if you were also attempting to learn the
piano, engineering, CSS, and economics. Therefore, the division of labor enables the
employee to concentrate on and become an expert in a particular step of the
process, which speeds up their learning.

2. Principles of Scientific Management

- “Scientific management is a procedure aimed at production of nonhuman technology
exerting control over employees or workers in an organization” (Ritzer, 2010). Back
when Principles of Scientific Management hasn’t been invented yet, rule-of-thumb
was the one that is being used in every organization. But a study says that rule-of-
thumb was inefficient because it can’t give the goal and expectations of an industry.
However, in the 21st century, Principles of Scientific Management helps by increasing
the productivity of the workers. Also, one of the most important advancements that
scientific management has brought forth in the twenty-first century is the growth of
offshore markets. Scientific management helped to measure the most effective and
cost-efficient way to produce goods and services (Burley, 2019). This method or
theory is being used by a lot of companies in every country.
For example:
(1) Due to the high cost of labor in America, businesses transferred production of items
and the provision of some services to nations like India, China, Korea, and others
with lower labor costs and taxes (Burley, 2019).
(2) McDonald's provides proof that Scientific Management ideas are being used. In
order to motivate the workforce to perform effectively and reach the objectives,
 bonus schemes are used. Additionally, they train the employees scientifically rather
than just letting them learn on their own.
SOURCE: TWIKI.ORG

3. Gantt Chart
- In particular for planning and scheduling projects, Gantt charts are a fundamental
tool in project management. These are visual tools that support agile teams in
tracking activities and projects against deadlines. Gantt chart helps the modern
world, especially an organization, to promote detailed and in a visual way of planning
and scheduling of tasks. It also brings clarity to project managers, stockholders, and
teams on viewing the tasks and activity throughout the projects. There a lot more
benefits that a Gantt chart could give but to make it short, it could help the team to
plan, collaborate, organize, and track in a very clear and easiest way. (Kashyap,
2018).

For example:
(1)

It breaks down who’s responsible for what project activity.

 For example, Task 1/Activity 1 is color coded red.

 Sonya J. is responsible for it from September 3 to 14 (two weeks).
 Amir K. is responsible for it from September 17 to 21 (one week).
Julia F. is in charge of Task 1/Activity 1 from September 17 to October 2. Her red bar shows
that the due date is Wednesday.
 (2)

This corporate weekly project Gantt chart example is more traditional than the previous
example. The focus is on the activities and their types, not the individual people.
The types of activities, such as engineering or marketing, are color coded.

 For example, Task 3/Activity 1 is a marketing activity that will take place from the middle of
week 3 to the middle of week 5. Julia K. is responsible for this activity.

SOURCE: VENNGAGE.COM

4. Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)

- Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) is a company’s most favorable order quantity to
minimize the inventory costs such as costs for ordering, receiving, and holding
inventory. It helps in changing the world in 21 st century by aiding the company in
managing the amount of cash held in the inventory balance. The inventory of a
company is its biggest asset rather than its human resources thus these
organizations need to keep enough of it on hand to meet client demand. If EOQ can
reduce the amount of inventory, the money saved can be invested or used for other
business needs (Fernando, 2022).
For example:
 5. Value Engineering
- “Value engineering is a systematic, organized approach to providing necessary
functions in a project at the lowest cost” (Barone, 2022) . It helps in changing the
world in the 21st century by promoting of the use of less expensive substitutes for
materials and techniques without compromising functionality. Value Engineering
reviews the new or existing products to reduce costs and increase the value of the
product.
SOURCE: INVESTOPEDIA
For example:
(1) Russian liquid-fuel rocket motors are intentionally designed to permit ugly
(though leak-free) welding. This reduces costs by eliminating grinding and
finishing operations that do not help the motor function better (Shahin, 2011).
(2) Many vehicle manufacturers have active programs to reduce the numbers and
types of fasteners in their product, to reduce inventory, tooling and assembly
costs (Shahin, 2011).

SOURCE: https://nikhatshahin.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/mb0044-q3-what-is-
value-engineering-give-a-real-life-example-of-application-of-ve/