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operations management mancosa assignment answers
- Institution
- Management College Of Southern Africa (MANCOSA)
This documents provides detailed answers for the operations management assignment year 2024
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Question 1In operations management, the goal is to always have your processes run smoothly,
with no interruptions. That means streamlining your entire operational management
process and reducing errors by organizing everything you need in one place. This
essay seeks to explore the challenges that operations managers have been exposed to
whilst providing possible solutions to the identified challenges.
Supply chain disruptions have occurred in the past 3 years exposing operations
managers to challenges.Due to sudden border closures and trade restrictions brought
on by the COVID-19 outbreak, supply chains experienced significant disruptions.
Global trade was negatively impacted by these acts which resulted in shortages of
necessary commodities and extended lead times. Additionally, according to
McKinsey & Company (2020) logistics and transportation systems had to deal with
hitherto unseen challenges including decreased capacity for air and marine
freight which made it more difficult to deliver goods on time.
Operations managers encounter challenges related to operational agility and
adaptability in various companies. Companies found it difficult to quickly react to
disruptions since many operations were set up for stability rather than rapid change.
According to Harvard Business Review, these issues were made worse by traditional
procedures and technology that lacked the adaptability needed for last minute
adjustments (2022). The inability to swiftly adapt to new conditions impaired
organizations' operational efficiency during the pandemic.
To add, operations managers have faced demand volatility as a challenge.Demand
forecasting became more challenging due to the significant uncertainty in consumer
behavior brought forth by the epidemic. Product demand fluctuated as a result of
shifts in customer tastes, with certain commodities seeing increases in demand and
others seeing decreases. According to the World Economic Forum (2021), this
demand unpredictability made it difficult for businesses to plan their production and
inventories and to match their operations to the demands of the real market.
Operational resilience is another challenge to which operations managers have been
exposed. Numerous companies discovered that they could not withstand shocks in
, their operations, which led to serious interruptions and monetary losses. The size and
complexity of the most recent disruptions were too much for the risk management
techniques now in use. This proved that more thorough and substantial resilience
planning was required, as the Harvard Business Review (2022) suggested.
More so, technology integration is also another challenge that operations managers
have been exposed to. The rapid shift to digital operations revealed gaps in
technology infrastructure and digital capabilities. The World Economic Forum (2021)
observed that several firms had difficulties in implementing new technology that may
enhance their operations and yield more insightful data. Their inability to adapt
successfully to the changing environment was further hampered by the lack of a
cohesive digital transformation plan.
You may improve organizational performance in the future by putting the following
advice into practice. Businesses should concentrate on many key areas in order to
address these issues. Adopting digitalization is crucial; spending money on digital
tools and platforms may increase operational efficiency, better decision making and
improve real time data availability. Blockchain technology has the potential to
improve supply chain openness and visibility as noted by McKinsey & Company
(2020).
It's also critical to increase operations' agility and adaptability. Companies may
respond swiftly to shifts in market circumstances, supply chain interruptions, and
demand by using agile processes. Harvard Business Review (2022). Using modular
supply chains and adaptable production techniques might make it easier to make
quick changes in response to changing conditions.
Building a solid risk management framework with scenario planning and backup
plans is essential to improving supply chain resilience. According to McKinsey &
Company (2020), strengthening ties with a variety of partners and suppliers may help
increase supply chain resilience and make sure businesses are better equipped to
withstand future shocks.
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