Subject category:
Production and Operations Management
Published by:
Harvard Business Publishing
Version: 23 March 2023
Revision date: 13-Apr-2023
Length: 21 pages
Data source: Generalised experience
Abstract
This note provides an introduction for a course or module covering the basic elements of production or service operations and how processes are managed. Begins by discussing the activities that take place in a 'process'. Analysis tools such as the process flow diagram are provided. The types of management choices involved in designing, operating, and improving processes are described. Measures of process performance and basic process analysis are introduced. The different cost structures, capabilities, and performance characteristics of alternative types of processes are touched upon. Finally, the note focuses briefly on the complexity stemming from uncertainty and variability in processes and their external environments. A rewritten version of an earlier note.
About
Abstract
This note provides an introduction for a course or module covering the basic elements of production or service operations and how processes are managed. Begins by discussing the activities that take place in a 'process'. Analysis tools such as the process flow diagram are provided. The types of management choices involved in designing, operating, and improving processes are described. Measures of process performance and basic process analysis are introduced. The different cost structures, capabilities, and performance characteristics of alternative types of processes are touched upon. Finally, the note focuses briefly on the complexity stemming from uncertainty and variability in processes and their external environments. A rewritten version of an earlier note.