Operations Management and Ethics Assignment
Operational activities are central to the provision of services and/or goods. Every organization provides a product and service combination. Operations management has its origins in the study of ‘production’ or ‘manufacturing management.’ These terms still very much apply to manufacturing organizations that will have distinct operational activities that convert say, beans and rich tomato sauce into cans of baked beans to be sold by a retailer. Thus, operations management can be viewed as being part of a distinct function producing a product and service combination.
Operations management can be defined in many ways. It is the design, operation and improvement of the systems that create and deliver the firm’s primary product and service combinations. It is also the design, operation and improvement of the internal and external systems, resources and technologies that create and deliver the firm’s primary product and service combinations (Lowson, 2002). Operations management is made up made up of members of the management team whose major task is the immediate supervision of the workers themselves.
Most of the time situations call for ethical decisions from operations managers. These situations are concerning products, working practices, resources, impact upon local population and investment issues.
Take for example a situation in an oil company. Accidents at oil companies largely result from poor training. While oil companies worldwide spend millions on training, more is being spent on making employees feel cared for than on being ethically responsible. For example, oil companies usually spend money on construction of a personal training facility; while at the same time conduct an annual employee survey to measure their satisfaction. There are usually no actions on improvements of training for employees or conducting ethical measures in avoiding or minimizing oils spill accidents.
Changes should be made from investments in operational improvements. It is better that oil companies invest money to advance plant operations, which would result in a reduction in recordable injury rates for oil companies. Long-term and ethical operations management strategies can play a significant and major role in a company’s future financial performance and the environmental affects worldwide.
As for specific programs and practices, a corporate code of conduct is viewed as being most important in any company. Such a code must reflect and reinforce the values and principles of an organization. Rounding out the top five programs are ethics training for all members of the organization, CSR programs, ombudsman services and help lines.
In summary, employees need to have a code to set the ethics foundation, training to help people truly understand it, and programs that permit them to inquire about and report ethical violations. But before employees can have a code to follow, operations management has the role of providing it to them and seeing to it that it be followed.
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