Concepts for Operations Management

An operating system may be defined as dquo;a configuration of resources combined for the provision of goods or servicesdquo; and operations management may be defined as ’the design and planning, operation and control of operating systems’ 1, p. 4. The scope of operations management includes inter alia layout of facilities/resources, determination of capacity, design of jobs, activity scheduling, quality control, control and planning of inventories. The existing body of knowledge in operations management, as reflected in the teaching of the subject, largely consists of a number of techniques and practices for problem-solving, decision-making and analysis in these areas. These are fairly well developed yet there is, relatively, a lack of theory and a conceptual framework to allow the student or practitioner to determine the appropriateness or feasibility of such techniques and practices, to recognise the implications of action in one area for the entire operating system and corporate objectives, and to appreciate the constraints on the operations manager which limit his courses of action. The need to develop theories and concepts and to contribute to the development