Introduction to Operations Management Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards generated from the Chapter 1 Operations Management lecture notes covering foundational concepts, key terms, processes, models, and history.

Operations

The part of a business organization that is responsible for producing goods or services.

Operations Management

Management of systems or processes that create goods and/or provide services.

Goods

Physical items that include raw materials, parts, subassemblies, and final products.

Services

Activities that provide some combination of time, location, form or psychological value.

Supply Chain

Sequence of activities and organization involved in producing and delivering a good or service.

Supply Chain Sequence Diagram

A linear sequence of business entities starting from Suppliers' Suppliers, moving to Direct Suppliers, Producer, Distributor, and ending with Final Customers.

The Transformation Process Model

A process model where Inputs (Land, Labor, Capital, Information) pass through a Transformation/Conversion Process to produce Outputs (Goods, Services), monitored via Measurement and Feedback for Control.

Feedback

Measurement taken at various points in the transformation process.

Control

The comparison of feedback against previously established standards to determine if corrective action is needed.

Goods-Service Continuum

The concept stating that products are typically neither purely service nor purely goods-based.

Basic Functions of the Business Organization

The three overlapping primary organizational functions: Finance, Operations, and Marketing.

Process

One or more actions that transform input into outputs.

Upper-management processes

Business processes that govern the operation of the entire organization.

Operational processes

Core business processes that make up the value stream.

Supporting processes

Business processes that support the core processes.

Structural variation in demand

Variations in demand that are generally predictable and important for capacity planning.

Random variation

Natural variation that is present in all processes and generally cannot be influenced by managers.

Assignable variation

Variation that has identifiable sources and can be reduced or eliminated by analysis and corrective action.

System Design Decisions

Strategic decisions (e.g., capacity, facility location, facility layout) that usually require long-term commitment of resources and determine parameters of system operation.

System Operation Decisions

Tactical and operational decisions (e.g., management of personnel, inventory control, scheduling) that operations managers spend most of their time on.

Model

An abstraction of reality; a simplification of something that omits unimportant details so attention can be focused on key aspects.

Quantitative Approaches

A decision-making approach supported by computer calculations that frequently seeks to obtain a mathematically optimal solution.

Trade-off

Giving up one thing in return for something else, such as carrying more inventory to achieve a greater level of customer service.

System

A set of interrelated parts that must work together.

Systems Approach

An operational approach emphasizing interrelationships among subsystems based on the theme that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Pareto Phenomenon

The concept that a few factors account for a high percentage of occurrence of some event(s), meaning the critical few factors should receive highest priority.

Craft production

A pre-Industrial Revolution system in which highly skilled workers use simple, flexible tools to produce small quantities of customized goods.

Scientific Management

A movement led by Frederick Winslow Taylor based on observation, measurement, analysis, and improvement of work methods, emphasizing output maximization.

Sustainability

Using resources in ways that do not harm ecological systems that support human existence.