OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Dr Julie Thomson Room W212 Julie.Thomson@gcu.ac.uk Department of Business Management Glasgow School for Business and Society Slack p13- OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Lecture 1.3 – The Transformation Model

Some operations described in terms of their processes (Source: adapted from Slack et al, 2013:19) Operation Some of the operation’s inputs Some of the operation’s processes Some of the operation’s outputs Airline Aircraft Pilots and air crew Ground crew Passengers and freight Check passengers in Board passengers Fly passengers and freight around the world Care for passengers Transported passengers and freight Department store Products for sale Sales staff Information systems Customers Source and store products Display products Give sales advice Sell products Customers and products ‘assembled’ together Police Police officers Computer systems Public (law-abiding and criminals) Crime prevention Crime detection Information gathering Detaining suspects Lawful society, public with a feeling of security Frozen food manufacturer Fresh food Operators Processing technology Cold storage facilities Source raw materials Prepare food Freeze food Pack and freeze food Frozen food

Operations input resources and outputs Figure 1.5 All operations are input-transformation-output processes The Transformation Process is the ‘Black Box’ of operations management

Example Pret A Manger ‘High-end’ sandwich and snack retailer Use only ‘wholesome’ ingredients Source: Getty Images: Bloomberg / Chris Ratcliffe All shops have own kitchens which makes fresh sandwiches every day Fresh ingredients delivered early every morning Same staff who serve you at lunch made the sandwiches that morning ‘We don’t work nights, we wear jeans, we party… ’

Operations Management at Pret a Manger Customer feedback is regarded as being particularly important at Pret. Examining customers comments for improvement ideas is a key part of weekly management meetings and of the daily team briefs in the shop. All types of enterprise have an operations function, even if it isn’t called ‘operations’. Most operations produce both products and services. All operations create services and products by changing inputs into outputs using ‘input-transformation-output process’. Operations are processes that take in a set of input resources which are used to transform something or are transformed themselves into outputs of service and products (transformed resources) e.g. customers, materials, information. While other inputs are resources which act upon the transformed resources, there are two types which form the building blocks of operations e.g. facilities (buildings, equipment) and Staff (transforming resources) Organisations process customers; – they might change their physical properties in a similar way to materials processors e.g. hairdresser or cosmetic surgeon - They might store (accommodate) customers e.g. hotels They might transform the location of their customers e.g. airlines, bus - they might transform their physiological stage e.g. hospitals they might transform their psychological state e.g. entertainment services e.g. Music, theater, television, radio, theme parks Environment (e.g., location, competitors) TRANSFORMED RESOURCES Food ingredients Packaging Customers Perceived Add Value? No of products sold. No of customers served INPUT OUTPUT Kitchen equipment Shop fittings Staff TRANSFORMING RESOURCES Employee Satisfaction Transformation process CUSTOMERS are PROCESSED Feedback/Outcome? (e.g., % of customers happy with speed + friendliness of service; Profits)

PROCESS HIERARCHES “A process perspective can be used at three levels: the level of the operation itself, the level of the supply network, and the level of individual processes.” (Slack et al., 2013:19) Expressed another way, Operational Processes have: Internal and external suppliers Internal and external customers The job of the operations manager is to ensure that these processes are both effective and efficient! Operations and Service Mangement, 2009-10