Production is the transforming of a set range of inputs, demanding on the product into

those outputs that are required by the market (demand). It is the process of creating utility or

improving the value of things that is why inputs (resources) are also called factors of

production; the activity of transforming raw materials or components into finished products.

Production and operation functions are concerned with providing goods and services or

systems. The concern of production and operation management is the effective management

of organizational resources used to provide these goods, services or systems. Production and

operation management are currently used interchangeably but before production management

was used in the manufacturing industry and operation management in the service industry.

In production there are four major P’s of production. I. Product, this is anything

offered in the market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption and can satisfy human

want or needs. The product manager must design and develop a product that fits his firm’s

production process. Production, planning and control determine limits of all levels production

processes in some future time. This is intended to give customers a product or service

according to the organizational schedule. For proper production planning, there should be a

sales order to reflect the level of demand for the product. Quality control- this is to ensure the

customers that they receive products of adequate and satisfactory quality. Quality control is

concerned with those features and characteristics of a product that maintains its ability to

satisfy a given need.

It is a continuous process directed towards future production rather than past

production, quality control deals with properties that can be measure. II. Plant, this is an

establishment of an organization to produce goods and services. The following have to be

considered in establishing plants; there is location, capacity of the plant, manufacturing

method, flow of materials handling methods. Location management should evaluate several

factors in order to choose the most attractive site should be qualitative or both. The capacity
is the amount of equipment needed by the organization, internal and external balance,

demands/order designing physical capacity to ensure labour and equipment utilization is at

highest peak. III. Production process is the transformation method used in an organization to

convert its inputs into required goods and services.

It is very important for businesses to identify the processes that add value, so that they

can enhance these processes to the on-going benefit of the business. There are five types of

production processes, project processing which deals with large sales, complex products and

services; job/Unit processing, which involves work small in size and production is done in

house/units; and then there is batch process, where it requires large and standardized output

with adjustments made to take another group of items; the line process is the repetitive and

each product must pass through the same sequence operations. Continuous process, the

production runs uninterrupted for the period the facility is operating. Not suitable for

providing services. IV. The people are the sources or failure of an organization depends on

the quality of its manpower. The production manager must be actively involved in planning

and control of employees engaged in production department, this requires active participation

in recruitment and selection of production personnel.

 There are also the tangible and intangible products: manufacture has physical

appearance, style, can be reused, longer life, quality, and energy efficient, and problem-hard

to modify once manufactured. The services which are intangible products personalise,

customer service, faster, quality, and benefit- easier to change and customise. The

specialisation is where the business is separated into different functions, each of which is

highly skilled at its specific task or role. Interdependence is where the different parts of a

business must rely on each other to perform their task or role, as a result of specialisation,

there will be interdependence between the key business function and a constant flow of

information between operations, marketing, finance and human resources. Finance is the

fundamental to determining budgets and costs, including capital investment and cost and

revenue controls (inputs and outputs).

Kenya has a diverse climate varying from warm and humid in the coastal area to cool

temperatures in the highlands. Dairy products provide 30 percent of livestock GDP and more

than 22 percent of livestock gross marketed products. Dairy’s main role in Kenya’s economy

is its contribution to the occupations of the many people operating around the value chain and

to the nutritional well-being of many rural communities. Dairy has the capability to supply
more to national development goals. In Kenya, milk production mainly originates from cattle,

camel and goats. Grade cattle are about 50 percent pure breeds and crosses.

Dairy cattle contribute 70 percent of total milk production and essentially all marketed

production, but the dairy herd grew by a small amount of 9 percent over the nine years from

1998 to 2007. The average national dairy cattle herd is made up of 50 percent cows, 10

percent heifers of over one year, 11 percent heifers of less than one year, 17 percent bulls and

bull calves, and 12 percent steers. Camels are specifically important in North Eastern Kenya

and neighbouring areas that’s populated by a large community of Somali and related ethnicity

are more familiar with camel milk. The milk production systems in Kenya can be separated

into two common categories: small-scale and large-scale. The small-scale is the leading dairy

production system. The differences between the two dairy systems are in their sizes of

operation, level of management and use of inputs. Dairy cattle in small-scale primarily feed

from forage and very small capacities of concentrate, but some smallholder dairy farmers are

highly commercial and well versed in dairy production, with high-quality management. Milk

consumption levels in Kenya are among the highest in the developing world according to an

SDP report (SDP, 2004), with an average of 100 kg/year per capita. However, this calculation

is based on availability. There are conflicting projections of the likely future of milk supply

and demand in Kenya. Some predict a possible surplus that allows exportation, while others

predict a deficit.

In rural and suburban areas of Kenya, consumers buy mostly unprocessed milk

directly from producers, kiosks, neighbourhood shops and hotels. In urban centres,

unprocessed and processed milk compete, using more or less the same retail outlets, although

some, such as supermarkets, do not sell raw milk. Shops and kiosks near residential areas

retail both processed (packaged) and unprocessed milk. The retail price of processed fresh

milk depends on the packaging, while for most other dairy products it depends on the type of
outlet (market segmentation). Fresh milk in plastic pouches is sold across all market segments

and currently retails at about K Sh 55 to 60 a litre (US$0.69 to $0.75). Fresh milk in te-

trapaks reaches more than K Sh 70 (US$0.87) per litre, depending on the outlet, and is sold

almost exclusively in supermarkets. More than 60 percent of processed milk is sold as fresh

whole/homogenized milk with different levels of butterfat. Some whole/homogenized milk is

processed for long life (ultra-high temperature – UHT).

 Reference

www.google/images.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process

http://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-management/management/leadership-and-

management/understanding-operations-management/content-section-3.4

Christopher Mairura; Business 1010 week 8 Presentation; Production and Operation

Management

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Christopher Mairura; Business 1010

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