introduction to operations management

definition: activities that relate to creation of goods & services through transformation of inputs to outputs

goods vs services, services are

production vs productivity

single-factor productivity

multifactor productivity

productivity improvement. factors critical to improved productivity

intangible

produced & consumed simultaneously

unique (unlike anyone else's)

high customer interaction, demands uniqueness

inconsistent product definition

knowledge-based (educational, medical)

dispersed, brought to customer

production: creation of goods and services through transformation

productivity: ratio of outputs divided by one/more inputs

efficiency (doing the job well with min resources) vs effective (doing the right things). to reach efficiency, you need to be effective

outputs divided by one input

productivity = units produced/labor hours = 1.000/250 = 4 units per labor hour

outputs to many inputs

labor. education, diet, social overhead (transport, sanitation)

capital. humans are tool users, capital provides these tools

management ensures labor and capital are effectively used to increase productivity

productivity = output/(labor + material + energy + capital + misc)