Roles of Operations Manager
Operations manager in any manufacturing company is a key player in the production department. Firstly, he or she is responsible for managing resources within the department especially human and inventory. The manager takes the initiative of guiding and supervising employees within his or her docket to assist them in meeting the plans. Besides, he or she take the initiative of managing the inventory implying that he is in charge of purchasing and supplies.
Secondly, the manager assumes the role of a financial manager in his or her department. In the department, the manager conducts the overall budgeting and cost control. He or she further is responsible for overseeing the supply chain management of the organization thus helping the reducing the costs of production.
Furthermore, Farnen (n.d) reveals that operations manager sets goals to guide his or her staff in promoting the success of the organization. The main aim of the department is to produce products which meet the expectations of the customers. As a result, the manager sets strategies and plans that assist the employees within the department to enhance efficiency. Additionally, he or she communicates the goals to his or her staff. Also, he or she communicates the department plans to the other managers of the organization. At the same time, the operations manager collaborates with the others in ensuring that there is a flow of information vital to promotion the overall success of the organization.
Challenges faced by Operations Manager
In the modern world, the operations manager faces several challenges that may hinder the attainment of his or her goals. Social responsibility is one challenge that the operations manager face when executing his or her role. Any manufacturing organization needs to promote social responsibility by providing quality products and conserving the environment. The operations manager is the head of the production department and ought to ensure that the organization produces products that meet the required standards in regard to customer preference and health consciousness. Besides, he faces a lot of challenge when making decisions that assist in producing products that do not pollute the environment (Batten and Fetherston, 2003)
Additionally, the operations manager faces the challenge of controlling the cost of production. He or she has the mandate of ensuring that the production department is efficient in its operations. This is one of the major challenges that the manager very much as he or she has to develop strategies that would help the organization in reducing wastes and pollution thus minimizing the cost associated with production with the department. Schermerhorn (2005) acknowledge that poor strategies may lead to increased costs thus leading to the poor performance of the organization.
Environmental changes are another key challenge that faces operation managers. For instance, change in technology is forcing companies to change their way of operating. Operational managers find it hard to adopt cope with new production technologies that assist them in fostering efficiency. Inadequate knowledge and skills hinder this operations manager from adopting changes as they occur.
Qualities of operations manager
A good motivator
An operations manager heads one of the most important departments of a manufacturing organization. As a result, he or she should have good motivation strategies for motivating the staff in the department. Therefore, the manager needs to have a clear understanding of the role played by a strong team. Motivating his or her staff well assists in uniting the members of department thus enhancing success.
Effective communicator
A good operations manager needs to have the knowledge and skills to communicate with different levels of people. He should possess good interpersonal skills to assist him in sharing information with his or her supervisors and employees without any problem. The manager should be able to communicate the goals of the department clearly to avoid inefficiency.
Good decision maker
Efficiency is very vital for any organization that focuses on enhancing success. Thus, the operations manager needs to make correct production decisions to assist the organization in reducing wastages thus leading to inefficiency. Therefore, the productions manager needs to make decisions that are tailored towards organizational and community needs (Burrow and Kleindl, 2012).
Operations Manager Focus to Improve Performance
Operations efficiency is the main important area where the operations manager needs to focus on so as to improve performance. Efficiency is geared towards reducing wastages related to production thus minimizing the costs of production. Low cost of products assists the company in increasing its profitability thus promoting good performance (Moore, 1973).
Besides, he or she should consider the needs of the community. The operations manager should focus much on what the community needs from the company. He or she should go a mile further to ensure that his or her department serves the needs of all members of the community. This implies that the operations manager should see to it that the community receives quality products and services. Also, he or she needs to make sure that the community lives in a conducive environment free from pollutions that come from the manufacturing company (Greasley, 2008).
Qualifications
An operations manager needs to have a minimum of bachelor’s degree in business administration or commerce or financial management. Besides, he should have good computer skills and experience in bookkeeping. Above all, he or she should have knowledge and skills on operation management.
Reference List
Batten, J.,and Fetherston, T. A., 2003. Social responsibility: Corporate governance issues. Amsterdam: JAI.
Burrow, J. L., and Kleindl, 2012. Business Management. Mason, US: Cengage Learning.
Farnen, k., n.d. The Role of an Operations Manager. Chron. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/role-operations-manager-14234.html
Greasley, A., 2008. Operations management. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Moore, F. G., 1973. Production management. Homewood, IL: R.D. Irwin.
Schermerhorn, J. R., 2005. Management. New York: J. Wiley.
