Operations Management: Competitive Priorities and Strategies
Competitive Priorities in Operations
Operations and supply chain strategy is built around a set of competitive dimensions that determine how a firm creates value for customers. These include:
- Price: Producing and delivering at low cost.
- Quality: Providing superior products that exceed expectations.
- Delivery Speed: Responding quickly to demand.
- Delivery Reliability: Consistently meeting promised times.
- Flexibility: Adapting to demand changes or customization.
Firms cannot excel in all dimensions simultaneously;
Read MoreJob reassignment of employees as motivational action
INDIVIDUAL
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR à The study of how individuals and groups interact within organizations to describe, understand, predict, and change behavior
Lewin’s Equation (B=f(P,E))à
Behavior is a function of Personality (Internal) and Environment (External). Ezxmple:
Chile Miners:
The extreme environment forced them to suppress selfish traits and cooperate.
Internal vs. External Factors à Internal (P):
Personality, emotions, motivation, hard/soft skills.
External (E):
Work culture, leadership,
Read MoreCorporate Diversification and Strategic Alliance Frameworks
Corporate Diversification Strategies
Diversification is defined as the entry into new industries outside a firm’s current value chain. It occurs when a firm operates in two or more distinct industries.
Strategic Purpose and Financials
- Goal: Create shareholder value.
- Condition: Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) from new ventures must exceed shareholder returns from dividends.
- Free Cash Flow: Management must choose between distributing cash as dividends or reinvesting in diversification. Diversification
Strategic Human Resource Management: Core Principles
Job Design
Job design is the process of defining roles, responsibilities, and procedures. The goal is to coordinate work to create value and improve productivity.
Influences: Sustainability, employee well-being, skill development, motivation, and fulfillment.
Origins of Job Simplification
- Adam Smith – Division of Labour: Break complex work into specialized tasks. Benefits: higher productivity and skill development.
- Frederick Taylor – Scientific Management: Standardize tasks for efficiency. Low skill
Strategic Evaluation: Methods for Performance Assessment
Strategic evaluation is the final stage of the strategic management process. It involves examining the results of implemented strategies to ensure they align with organizational goals and taking corrective actions where necessary. These techniques are generally categorized into Quantitative and Qualitative methods.
1. Quantitative Techniques
These methods use measurable data and financial metrics to assess performance. They provide an objective scorecard of how well the strategy is performing financially.
Read MoreStrategic Management: Frameworks, Implementation, and Control
Business-Level Strategies
While corporate strategy focuses on “Which industries should we enter?”, business-level strategy addresses the question: “How should we compete within a specific industry?”
Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies
Michael Porter’s framework suggests that a firm’s competitive advantage depends on the type of advantage (low cost vs. uniqueness) and the scope of the market it targets (broad vs. narrow).
1. Cost Leadership
The objective is to become the lowest-cost producer
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