What is “Operations Management”? (and why should you care?) Dr. Ron Lembke, Ph.D. University of Nevada, Reno

Reaching me Phone:(775) WWW: Don’t call my house, and I won’t call yours. When ing, please include “352” in the subject line.

Who Are You? (This is Homework) In an , please tell me the following: Your name address Where From Major Interests / Hobbies Musical interests when you anticipate graduating any experience you have had that might be relevant to this course

The Goal What is the goal of a company?

Efficent & Effective Efficiency: Doing things with the least use of resources Effectiveness: Doing the right thing at the right time. Value = Quality / $

What is Operations Management? Managing the systems or processes that create goods and/or provide services (p.4)

Goods vs. Services Car? iPad? Coffee at Starbucks Oil Change iPhone?

Growth of Service Economy

Why OM is the most important area Marketing gets people to buy our product Finance makes sure we have the money to operate Accounting keeps track of what we spend Management keeps people on task I/S makes sure systems work to support everyone else Operations actually makes the thing we sell. Without operations, you can’t have a company.

Why Do You Care? Satisfying Customers depends on Operations You must understand and work in or with Operations: Finance: Depr, Cash Flow, Make vs. Buy Acctg: Cost estimates, Overhead, Inv valuation Mktg: What can be done? HR: job descr, standards, incentives MIS: production, shipping, billing, receiving

Operations as Service Everybody’s in service Core services: done correctly, customized to their needs, delivered on time, priced competitively Value-added services: make life easier, help do jobs easier: Information on product – data, specs Problem solving – help internal, external customer Sales support – demo product trying to sell Field support – replace parts quickly

Current OM Issues Flexible supply chains for mass customization of products and services Global supplier, production, and distribution networks Commoditization of suppliers – “plug compatibility” Enhancing value-added services Maximizing use of internet to share information, coordinate production

Continuous Improvement It used to be you had to be “good enough” Now, you must be looking for ways to make your customer happy, and meet their future needs If you aren’t someone else is, and is going to take your business IGNORE YOUR TEETH, AND THEY’LL GO AWAY

Sustainability Minimizing the company’s environmental impact Minimize the impact of operations It’s the carbon, stupid Pollution is bad, too 97% of climate scientists As for the 3 percent of scientists who remain unconvinced, their average expertise is far below that of their colleagues, as measured by publication and citation rates