Operations Management Overview

Chapter 1
Niccole Hyatt, PhD
objectives
Define operations management.
Describe difference between manufacturing and service
organizations.
Describe decisions that operations managers make.
Identify major historical developments in operations
management.
Identify current trends in operations management.
Describe the flow of information between operations
management and other business functions.
What is operations management?
Operations management manages the resources and the
transformation processes needed to produce the company’s
products and services.
It involves managing people, machines, and information.
Operational excellence is the optimization of these mechanisms.
What decisions do operations managers make?
Operations managers must plan the production schedule. This
entails deciding how much to produce and in what order. This
information would be used to make purchasing and staffing

decisions.
Operations managers must manage inventory. They must
arrange the inventory in the warehouse. They also facilitate the
movement of inventory from the warehouse to the retail
facilities or customers.
Operations managers must also manage quality levels. This may
include inspection of materials and the use of quality tools,
such as control charts.
What is the transformation process?
The transformation process involves taking the various inputs
and transforming them into outputs.
An advertising agency would transform the time of its staff into
an advertising campaign.
A bank may use the time of a teller, an input computer, and a
bank branch to accept a deposit.
A TV station could use the time of its production crew, the
video equipment, and the studio to produce a news story.
What are the three major business functions?
The three major business functions are finance, marketing, and
operations.
Finance manages the assets—the building used for production,
investments, and cash flows related to production, such as
providing the required machines.
Marketing generates sales of the product or service, such as
finding customers for the proposed airplanes.
Operations entail the production of a product or service and
must manage the inputs to production such as workers' time,
materials, and machine time to create airplane parts.

Difference between strategic and tactical?
Strategic decisions are decisions that set the direction for the
entire company; they are broad in scope and long-term in
nature.
Tactical decisions are decisions that are specific and short-term
in nature and are bound by strategic decisions.
Difference between service and manufacturing?
Service organizations involve the customers in their operations
to some degree, while manufacturing organizations do not.
Service organizations cannot create an inventory of the service
since it is intangible.
Manufacturing organizations produce a physical product that
can be stored in inventory.
For example, Ford Motors is a manufacturer. It makes
automobiles, customers have minimal contact with the
operation, and they can create an inventory of vehicles.
McDonalds is an example of a service organization. Customers
go directly to the restaurant where they are served readily by
the staff.
What are some om historical milestones?
Historical milestones that have influenced management are the
Industrial Revolution, total quality management (TQM), and
global competition.
The Industrial Revolution changed production processes from a

labor process to a machine process.
TQM caused managers to be more focused on quality and
preventing defects.
Finally, global competition caused managers to further increase
their focus on quality in order to compete in the global market.
What are TQM, JIT, and Reengineering?
Total quality management (TQM) is a philosophy that focuses
on meeting the needs of the customer. TQM is not the
inspection, but the prevention of defects. It involves everyone
in the organization.
Just-in-time is a philosophy that focuses on reducing inventory
and other wastes, and is focused on producing the right number
of items at the right time.
Reengineering focuses on improving business processes in order
to improve efficiency.
Each of these techniques strives to allow more responsive and
efficient production leading to higher quality and higher
customer satisfaction.
Questions?
Niccole Hyatt, PhD

Identify and leverage
your most powerful
influencing skills
Name
Organization Name
Date
Copyright © 2009 Fast Track Tools LLC. All Rights Reserved.
www.FastTrackTools.com 1
Introduction
The ability to influence and persuade others is key to success.
People who lack influencing
skills tend to be powerless and undervalued in the workplace.
The Influencing Skills Finder is useful for those of all ability
levels who are interested in
enhancing or accelerating their personal development at work or
in their everyday lives. This

assessment will highlight your influencing styles and enhance
your ability to leverage them to
your best advantage. In addition, you will learn to recognize a
variety of influencing methods,
some of which you may wish to employ in your business affairs.
Those in positions of power or influence who have benefited
from using this assessment
include:
• Managers – both line and staff
• Professionals
• Consultants and advisors
• Change agents and developers
• Social and community workers
• Teachers, lecturers and instructors
• Political and community activists
By employing the easy-to-use self-assessment materials
(questionnaire, scoring and categories
of influencing skills), you will be able to create:
• A framework to analyze your influencing skills.
• An influencing skills profile that specifically indicates how
you influence others.
• A plan to help you develop your ability to influence and
persuade others.
The Influencing Skills Finder – A Quick Overview
• The Influencing Skills Finder assessment is user-friendly. It
does not require a
sophisticated understanding of applied behavioral sciences
principles.

• The assessment is self-scoring and offers a subjective
assessment of your skills.
• The scoring system does not assess the strength of influence –
only the styles used.
• You can expect practical, highly useful outcomes from the
assessment.
• This is not a measurement of your intelligence or aptitude.
There are no “norm” tables –
just the six style categories, one of which will best apply to
your skill set.
• Once you establish your influencing style, we encourage you
to create a personal action
plan. Your plan should:
Set personal development objectives
Identify areas where improvement is possible
Establish precise behavioral goals
Break down complete tasks into subtasks
Step 1: Review Styles
Below are the six possible styles of influence and their key
attributes. Read and consider the
attributes of each style before moving on to the questionnaire.
1. The Asserter

“I stand up for what I want.”
2. The Expert
“I know my subject.”
3. The Politician
“I am influential in the circles where decisions are
made.”
4. The Preparer
“I research topics before forming an opinion.”
5. The Presenter
“I convey my ideas persuasively.”
6. The Client-Centric
“I meet my audience’s needs.”
Step 2: Complete Questionnaire

The art of persuasion is key to success and a communication
skill worth studying and
enhancing. This questionnaire will help you determine your
persuasive influencing style.
Knowing and focusing on your style will give you a leg up on
the competition and a clear
business advantage.
Consider each pair of statements below. Think about the
situations when you are with other
people and seek to influence them. (Choose either a work
situation or a social situation – you
must decide on one or the other – not both.) Allocate points to
the boxes on the right to indicate
which of the statements is most true for you. You should
allocate exactly three points to each
pair of statements – 3 being the most true for you and 0 being
the least true for you. Points may
be distributed in one the following ways:
3 2 1 0
0 1 2 3
The “paired statements” may or may not seem to relate to you.
Regardless, make the best
possible choice. Take as much time as you need to complete the
questionnaire.
1. I never take “no” for an answer. A
I never try to understand others’ viewpoints in depth. F

2. I insist on making my point. A
I prepare carefully for meetings. D
3. I present my views logically. E
I am a pushy person. A
4. I make friends with people who can help me. C
I refuse to be sidetracked. A
5. I know exactly what I want. A
I only talk about what I really understand. B
6. I take care to always speak from in-depth knowledge B
I find out precisely what concerns others have. F
7. I rehearse what I am going to say. D
I carefully research topics I discuss. B

8. I do not pretend to be an expert when I am not. B
I use well-prepared visual aids in presentations. E
9. I lobby people to persuade them to my point of view . C
I only make statements that I can defend B
10. I adapt my arguments to the person I am talking to. F
I seek to influence the person who has the power to make
decisions. C
11. I gain positions of power and influence. C
I make sure that my presentations are well prepared. D
12. I put a lot of energy into presenting my views. E
I secure the authority to make decisions C
13. I persuade others to accept my ideas. E
I carefully listen to others’ views. F
14. I express myself clearly. E
I think through potential pitfalls in advance. D

15. I make sure that I can produce strong evidence to support
my proposals. D
I strive to understand what others want to achieve. F
Step 3: Review the scoring process
Before you score your questionnaire, review the example below,
in which the participant’s
strongest influencing style is as a “Presenter.” After reviewing
the example, score your
assessment.
Example of a Completed Scoring Sheet
Transfer Scores Totals Influencing Style
A 1 1 1 1 1 6 The Asserter
B 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 The Expert
C 1 1 1 1 4 The Politician
D 1 1 1 1 1 6 The Preparer
E 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 14 The Presenter
F 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 The Client-Centric
Final Total 45 Note: If your scores do not total 45, you have
miscalculated and should double-check your figures.

Step 4: Score your own assessment
Add the five scores for A items, the five scores for B items, and
so on. Transfer your scores
from the assessment questionnaire to the table below and then
complete the exercise.
Transfer Scores Totals Influencing Style
A The Asserter (See Page 8)
B The Expert (See Page 9)
C The Politician (See Page 10)
D The Preparer (See Page 11)
E The Presenter (See Page 12)
F The Client-Centric (See Page 13)
Overall Total Note: If your scores do not total 45, you have
miscalculated and should double-check your figures.
Step 5: Create your Influencing Skills Profile
It often helps to show the pattern of your scores as a profile. Do

this by circling the appropriate
numbers and then joining the circles.
Example:
4
3
2
1
0
4
3
2
1
0
4
3
2
1
0
4
3
2
1
0
4
3
2
1
0
4

3
2
1
0
The
Asserter
The
Expert
The
Politician
The
Preparer
The
Presenter
The
Client-Centric
Use this chart to plot your scores:
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6

5
4
3
2
1
0
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4

3
2
1
0
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
15
14
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12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2

1
0
15
14
13
12
11
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9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
The
Asserter
The
Expert
The
Politician
The
Preparer
The
Presenter
The

Client-Centric
The Asserter
You influence others by knowing what you want and voicing
your requirements persuasively and
persistently. You don’t take “no” for an answer until you have
thoroughly tested the other
person’s determination. You don’t need to win every time, but
you expect your views to be fully
considered.
The assertive person typically has the following set of personal
qualities:
• Boldness. Assertive personalities enjoy taking the initiative to
introduce new elements
into social or political situations. They demand time to assert
their key points. The
assertive person looks at situations where he/she is either
disregarded or unwanted as
challenges and opportunities.
• Clarity of Purpose. Clarity of speech or writing is an
asserter’s great asset.

• Energy. This is a significant attribute for two reasons. First,
an energetic presentation is
persuasive – others are attracted to a person with bounce and
verve. Second, energy is
needed to overcome inter-personal difficulties and go on to win,
despite opposition.
• Persistence. This is one quality every assertive person needs.
The assertive person is
willing to “try, try and try again.”
• Forcefulness. This is an element of personal style with both
strengths and
weaknesses. On occasion, the forceful person will provide
resistance that decreases his
or her effectiveness. More frequently, forcefulness will
overcome objections and, in fact,
is persuasive in itself. The assertive person must be able to be
forceful when the
situation demands it.
• Resourcefulness. This strength helps the assertive person
because he/she frequently
adapts to others’ expectations and requirements. The
resourceful worker finds clever
and innovative ways to overcome setbacks and resistance.
Sometimes, the asserter
finds a new strategy when it is clear that the old method has
failed.

The Expert
You use your subject matter knowledge to influence others.
Other people believe that your
advice is reliable, but not necessarily because you use strong
social or inter-personal skills.
The person who exercises influence through expertise has the
following qualities:
• Technical Competence. This is the foundation of this style.
The “Expert” demonstrates
broad expertise and makes a ““state-of-the- art” assessment of
the subject.
• Balance. The “Expert” takes a dispassionate and objective
view of the technical issue.
The “Expert” must be seen as an unbiased source of technical or
professional opinion,
as those who are partisan tend to lose their potency as
influencers.
• Communication Skills. These skills allow the “Expert” to
debate technical or complex
issues with precision. For an expert to be influential, she needs

the ability to translate
complex information to those who are unqualified in that
particular discipline.
• Perception of Need. This attribute enables the expert to relate
his/her contribution to
the needs of the situation, rather than pursuing an individual
interest.
The Politician
You influence by lobbying, building networks and taking on
important roles. You target the
center of organizations where decisions are made. You hope to
play a significant role in
decision-making processes and pursue influence within a
framework of powerful individuals and
teams. Your political skills can be summarized under five
headings:
• Detecting power networks. This is an important first step.
Knowing who has power and
being willing to build necessary contacts and friendships
requires acute sensitivity to the
way human affairs are conducted.

• Building coalitions with others. This takes time and requires a
combination of desire
and honesty. Coalitions are, at least partly, based on authentic
relationships and trust.
• Developing arguments. This skill helps you present a
persuasive case to a group of
people, each of whom may have different concerns or
viewpoints. Challenges from
others add sharpness and precision to your argument.
• Winning arguments. Winning is key, but you ensure that the
loser does not feel
disadvantaged or demeaned by the experience of being defeated.
Winning an argument
does not mean simply displaying superior logic. It is important
to persuade others that a
particular argument is correct and should be supported.
• Obtaining significant support. This is an important political
skill because winning an
argument is meaningless unless objectors withdraw their
concerns and offer concrete
support. Support is a kind of psychological contract in which
the supporter agrees to
invest energy in the persuader’s cause.

The Preparer
You try to be well-briefed and analyze situations in advance.
You attempt to master your topic.
The “Preparer” is influential because his or her command of the
situation earns respect.
Someone who is a “Preparer” tends to approach influence in the
following ways:
• Taking time to prepare. The pressure of everyday work often
leaves little time for
preparation, but “Preparers” make the time. They set priorities
and clarify objectives for
success.
• Considering potential opportunities. You gain an advantage,
even in the most
unpromising situations. The effective “Preparer” recognizes
possibilities where other
people do not.
• Minimizing unexpected events. Contingency planning is a way
of life for the effective
“Preparer,” who always thinks about what might go wrong and
how to address the
situation if the unexpected happens.

The Presenter
You influence others by conveying your views in a structured
and persuasive manner. You
attract others to your point of view by your choice of words and
the techniques that you use for
communication. You project a viewpoint that appeals to others.
Effective presenters excel in
these four areas:
• Clear presentation. Obviously, no one can successfully
influence others unless he or
she presents a clear, coherent and lucid case. Everyone must
understand the
arguments and conclusions the same way as the presenter. All
presentation techniques
(including use of audio/visual aids) are relevant.
• Arguing a logical case. This skill is important to the
influencing process because
people intuitively respond to logic, which translates as
“rightness.” Sometimes, the
presentation focuses more on values than intellect but requires a
logical structure that is
both coherent and defensible.

• Dealing with audience reaction. Members of the audience must
adapt the message as
their own. All objections or questions should be answered to the
audience’s satisfaction.
• Personal strength. The concept is hard to define; the word
“charisma” is often used to
describe those who possess this extraordinary quality. The
ability to gain respect by
winning the hearts and minds of the audience is quite valuable;
those who influence
successfully give the audience a sense that they “earn” personal
significance by lending
their support.
The Client-Centric
You influence others by understanding and caring about their
needs and desires. You acquaint
yourself with the people whom you seek to influence and adapt
your approach to their specific
needs. You relate effectively to your audience. “Client-centric”
is a term created by
psychologists to describe a dedication to identifying and
fulfilling the needs and wants of the
“audience.” The Client-Centric’s most important influencing
skills include:

• Listening. Listening builds bridges. When we know what
others think and believe, we
can establish trusting relationships, which are crucial in the
process of influencing. The
active listener empathizes with others and relates his or her case
to their specific needs.
• Understanding others’ perspectives. The influencer must
probe, question and collect
information about the thoughts and mental frameworks others
use to interpret the world.
Psychologists call these mental maps “constructs” – they guide
our actions. Once the
influencer understands how others think, he or she can design
interventions for greater
impact.
• Direct relationships. Politicians – masters of the art of
influencing – know that meeting
face-to face helps them persuade and influence constituents of
their view points.
Hewlett-Packard pioneered an approach to business management
based on this
concept: MBWA (management by wandering around). People
must feel that they can
communicate openly and directly -- this builds a bridge of
influence.

Step 6: Leverage your Influencing Skills
1. What are your key influencing styles? (highest score first)
a)
b)
c)
2. When do you use these styles most frequently? Be precise.
Think of actual situations in
your work and social life.
Styles: When used:
(Give several examples under each heading)
a)
b)

c)
3. What are the influencing styles that you use least often?
(lowest score first)
a)
b)
c)
4. How would things improve for you if you practiced the
influencing styles mentioned in
question 3 “more often or better”? Be precise. Try to think of as
many benefits as
possible related to both your work and social life.

Style Possible Benefits
a)
b)
c)
5. How might you build your influencing strengths and lessen
any influencing weaknesses
in the next six months? Again, be detailed and exhaustive. Try
to think of at least three
points under each heading.
Style: Possible Development Actions:
The Asserter
The Expert

The Politician
The Preparer
The Presenter
The Client-Centric
6. What would a more influential “You” look like? Project six
months ahead: Assume that
you have implemented all of the good ideas you listed in your
answer to question 5.
In six months, I will:
Be engaged in these

new things:
Have stopped (or
reduced) these
things:
Be focusing on
these things more:
Be doing these
things better:
Chapter 2
Niccole Hyatt, PhD
objectives
Explain the role of operations strategy in the organization.
Explain how a business strategy is developed.
Describe how an operations strategy is developed.
Explain the strategic role of technology.
Define productivity and identify productivity measures.
This chapter explains the role and development of a business
strategy. It also explains the role and development of operations
strategy, and how the operations and business strategies are
interrelated. The chapter also describes the competitive
priorities of the operations function, the strategic role of
technology, and finally, productivity measures.

Why is a business strategy important?
It is important for a company to have a clear plan of action
since we are in a highly competitive, global environment.
A clear strategy allows the company to work toward common
goals.
How is a business strategy developed?
A business strategy is developed after the company’s mission,
an understanding of the market (environmental scanning), and
the core competencies of the company have been identified.
The mission involves the determination of what business to be
in, who the customers will be, and how the company’s beliefs
will define the business.
Environmental scanning includes an examination of the current
trends in the market, economy, political environment, and
society, resulting in an identification of opportunities and
threats.
Finally, core competencies are the strengths of the company.
The company should match its strengths to its business strategy.
How is an operations strategy developed?
The operations strategy is formulated by first determining the
competitive priorities of the firm.
Then, these priorities are translated into production
requirements related to the structure and infrastructure of the
firm.

The structure involves the decisions related to the design of the
production process, while the infrastructure involves decisions
related to the planning and control of the operation.
What are competitive priorities?
Competitive priorities are capabilities that the operations
function can develop in order to give a company a competitive
advantage in its market.
The categories of competitive priorities are cost, quality, time,
and flexibility.
Cost involves a focus on keeping costs low.
Quality focuses on the ability of the product or service to meet
the specifications or requirements of the customer.
Time focuses on speed of delivery and on-time delivery
performance.
Flexibility relates to the ability to offer a wide variety of goods
or services.
What are the primary technology types?
The three primary types of technologies are: product
technology, process technology, and information technology.
Product technology is any new technology developed by a firm,
which allows the firm to offer improved products. New
generations of cellular telephones are a current example.
Process technology allows a firm to create goods and services
more effectively. Cash register scanners are an example where
supermarkets can process customers through the checkout line
faster and keep better records of items sold.
Information technology impacts communication, processing,
and storage of information. An example of improved operations

through this technology would be cross docking.
Does Productivity = profitability?
Productivity is a measure of output vs. input, not price vs. cost.
Dollar values are used so that we can weigh the impact of
changes in the amount used of several inputs. So long as prices
are stable, this works. If prices and quantities change at the
same time, we will run into trouble.
If productivity is up then so is profitability, right? No. The
airline industry is a good example. Once airlines were
deregulated, the switch to a “hub-and-spoke” operation allowed
many airlines to increase outputs (revenue passenger miles)
while maintaining inputs (crew, aircraft, fuel) at or near the
previous levels.
However, around the same time the airlines entered a price war.
The result was that, while they were more productive, they were
charging much less per revenue passenger and, therefore, were
also much less profitable.
What are the primary productivity types?
The three types of productivity measures are total productivity,
partial productivity, and multifactor productivity.
Total productivity utilizes all inputs and outputs in the
calculation. Therefore, we are calculating the entire
organization’s productivity.
Partial productivity involves calculating the productivity for
only one type of input, such as machines, labor, or materials.
Finally, multifactor productivity is the ratio of outputs to
several, but not all inputs.

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