Operations Management Essay

I. Introduction Operations management is a management system dedicated in dealing with the allocation of resources, dealing with constraints, marketing and the strategic management theories that would be used in the day to day processes necessary for a company, with the endpoint of producing profits and revenues.(â€Å"Operations Research†, 2006) It is basically the management function that deals in the production and distribution of goods and services.(Stevenson, 2005) Companies practice this type of management to ensure that the daily processes to produce the necessary good or service that would be available for distribution. Basically, an organization or company has three functional fields that it functions on. First of which, is finance.   Basically, Finance is the management field dealing with the sourcing and allocation of funds in the organization; it functions as a distributor of funds to the whole organization and is also responsible for the investment decisions that would generate future cash flows for the company. Marketing is the managerial field responsible for the identification of consumer’s preferences and tastes. It seeks to employ these as market factors that would be used to promote and sell the organizations products or outputs. Lastly, Operations is the managerial function that deals mainly in the production of goods and services that the company considers as output. The driving force of the organization or company is operations. II. Industry in Scope The Service Industry of the United States is one of the industries that runs under the classification of being one of the main industries in the United States. It is the industry devoted to the utilization of non-good products that would be utilized by the market, mainly in finance and operations. A. The Information Industry The Information Sector of the Service Industry is the sector concerned with data processing, distribution of products that perform data processing activities, and more importantly, the distribution of information through mediums like the Internet. Main components of the industry include the data processing companies, broadcasting companies, movie and audiovisual companies and other industries that function as distributors of information or provide products that would be capable of receiving, transmitting or processing of Information. The information service industries that include data portals and search engines are also included in the list.(â€Å"NAICS Industry Sector Description: Information Industry†, 2006) This shows that the Information Sector is one of the key industries in the development of information and data exchange. The development in softwares and the evolution of the means of data processing is achieved through the development of this industry. Characteristics of the Information Industry There are several unique characteristics associated to the Information Sector segment. They are the distinguishing characteristics that separate this sector from the different sector segments.   First is that the products associated with this industry does not take any particular form(â€Å"NAICS Industry Sector Description: Information Industry†, 2006); the associated outputs are intangible in nature. For example, news delivered by a television broadcasting company does not have a true form, although it can be grasped by the comprehension of people. The second characteristic is that the transaction can be consummated without direct contact from the parties involved.(â€Å"NAICS Industry Sector Description: Information Industry†, 2006) Since the transaction can be done in the Internet, such as that in E-Business, the buyer and the seller can transact using that medium. The third characteristic is that the since the products involved does not really have a tangible form, the content of the product is what gives the product its value.(â€Å"NAICS Industry Sector Description: Information Industry†, 2006) Structure is not important. And since this is the case, intellectual property laws protect the products. For example, the reel of film is not what gives a motion picture its true value,; hence the motion picture itself is the one protected by the law and not that of the film in which it is recorded in. The fourth characteristic is that the processes involved in the production of the products in this sector is different from the processes involved in the production of the goods in any other industry.(â€Å"NAICS Industry Sector Description: Information Industry†, 2006) This reserves the company the sole rights in the nature of its processes and its sequential structure. The fifth characteristic is that companies in this industry that does not derive its profit mainly from the revenue from the sales of its products(â€Å"NAICS Industry Sector Description: Information Industry†, 2006); instead, the main part of revenue is accumulated form the additional values that are attached to the product such as advertisements. II.   The Health Care Industry The Service Industry also has Health Care under its roster. This industry is the one responsible for the administration of proper care in health of the people that needs them. These varieties of receivers of health care range from the poor to the rich, from the terminally ill to those of infections. The combination of human affection and that of modern technology helps provide the necessary service that the industry promises to deliver.(â€Å"Health Care†, 2005) Workers ranging from physicians of every kind to the paramedics, this industry is responsible for the research and study of the illnesses that afflict mankind and finds ways to counteract the diseases before they become outbreaks. This industry is also essential in providing the public information on their health care and of the recent diseases and how to prevent them. The Nine Segments The Health Care Industry can be classified into nine segments overall. The first segment would be that of the Hospitals. This is the segment includes the care of patients that would need to be cared for overnight.(â€Å"Health Care†, 2005) The hospital facilities offer a whole variety of health care services that they offer to the general public. The second segment is the Nurses and Residential Care Facilities. (â€Å"Health Care†, 2005)This segment takes care of people who cannot fully take care of them selves but not in definite need of hospital care. This segment mainly deals with children, the elderly and the incapacitated. This is also the facility that gives care round the clock nurturing, like those of children. The Office of the Physicians is also a segment of the Health Care industry.(â€Å"Health Care†, 2005) This is a segment wherein a group of physicians practice together in order for them to reduce costs. Doctors also find it convenient to practice with peers, which lead to the formation of such. This segment also comprises about 37% of the industry of Health Care. The Office of the Dentist is the next segment, comprising about 20% of the health care facilities established.(â€Å"Health Care†, 2005) This office provide specialized dental care, and in times, dental surgery. The Home Health Care Service is a fast growing segment in the Health Care Industry. This segment specializes in the care of the elderly in the comfort of their homes. This special care is always under the supervision of a doctor or physician, in order to establish any concerns in the field of medicine. The segment of the Office of Health Practitioners is the segment that includes the services of alternative medicine such as the practice of acupuncture. It also includes the services of other practitioners such as the chiropractors, who are paid either in cash or by insurance coverage. The segment of Ambulatory Services is the segment involved in this industry as the support of the medical field of hospitals and other institutions. This segment includes transport (helicopters), surgical components (blood banks), and other support services like that of anti-smoking programs. Outpatient care centers are also part of this industry as another segment. This segment includes the outpatient services of dialysis, mental health care and that of drug abuse rehabilitation centers. The last segment is that of the medical and diagnostic services. This segment deals with the laboratory work that patients need from time to time. Services include x-rays, sonograms and x-rays. These laboratory works are commonly used in hospitals to supplement the knowledge of the doctors practicing their profession there. III. Analysis of Companies Intel Corporation Intel is a processing chip producer that specializes in the production of microprocessors utilized by the computer producing companies. The corporation can be classified as belonging to the Information Sector of the Information Industry as it manufactures the microprocessors used in data exchange and data interpretation. The companies recent developments are also put into focus. A. Marketing The marketing aspect of Intel Corporation is on a roll recently. They made strategic tie-ups with Dell and Google, giving them an advantage against their competitors. The tie-up consists of the production of microprocessors that would be used in the assembly line of Dell Computers and would also provide Google the hardware that they need. In addition to that, the management changed their company’s logo, stating the fact that they need to be at the same page with the developments that the industry is undergoing. Furthermore, the marketing implications of changing a logo that was easily related to the company was a good move, especially with the extinct principles that accompany the old design. In addition to that, the company is promoting their processors with the renaming of their products. The Pentium Series would be phased out, being replaced by their new products, the Viiv and the Centrino. This put consumers on a new page with the development of new names of their products. And Lastly, Intel produced power-saving chips for the search engine Google, which lets Intel make advertisements through the search engine. Google also expressed their liking of Intel’s wireless technology, the WiMax. B. Operations Intel’s operation is on the rise as it is the product of the company make-over issued by the newly appointed CEO, Paul Otellini. The production of their microchips has risen and they have also expressed their plans to penetrate the markets governed by the leadership of Texas Instruments by producing the same chips that Texas does. Moreover, the company decided it should produce more of the specialized type of chips that the digital players require. Inking a deal with a Hollywood producers and music services. Intel is now producing digital players the same way that their partners Sony and Philips do. The operations of the company took a major turn in the changing of leaderships. This result may be due to the different principles employed by the new management, which other companies say is a good strategy on Intel’s part. A continuance on the part of Intel in its operations like in the production of their specialized microchips may give further development on their part. Praise is also due to the Digital Home team of Intel as it was one of the key factors that affected the company’s success in the present. C. Product Quality Products by Intel seem to be growing in quality, as it the marketing strategies employed was a success. The ride in the demand of the company’s new products, especially of the new processors, may also be attributed to the quality control measures employed by the company. No company’s growth would be constantly on the rise unless the company’s product has good quality. The digital players that Intel produced were a good plan, according to their business partners. They followed through by producing real good products that are now competing with the dominant producers of digital music in the industry. Furthermore, their strategic partnership with well-known brands ensured the public of the good quality of products that are produced by Intel. The power saving chips that are manufactured by Intel to be used by Google are of good quality, otherwise Google would not use it. A quality company would want nothing less than their standards of quality. And finally, the wireless application WiMax, which was developed by Intel, was of comparing status with the existing WiFi, giving the go signal that Google is also interested in further development of the application. D. Product differentiation The company’s marketing strategy employs quite a good differentiation of their market at present in such a way that the public would know what type of product they would want o own. The digital player developed by the Digital home team of Intel was made to those music fans who wanted no less than the best products for their listening pleasure. The powers saving chips were made at the idea of Google, which now has a tie-up with Intel Corporation. The basic computer processors were made with different names: the Viiv and the Centrino. This allows consumers to choose their processor without confusing it with the other. The product differentiation in this part of Intel’s product line worked well as the two products mentioned have different characteristics, giving good judgment to the fact that they should be named differently. The company also stressed a point that Intel is not all about microprocessors inside the computers. They also have a wide variety of goods that do not overlap in the market. The placing of the products is both effective and efficient. D. Consumer Satisfaction Issues At present, not much consumer satisfaction issues have made any negative impact on the products of Intel. The microprocessor that they produce would only be delivered to the assembly line of the computer producers. They would be the one to incorporate the chip into the system of the computer. So far, no problem in the speed and the accuracy of data processing has been large enough for the company to re-think their strategies. The consumer satisfaction index that can be nearly based on would be the satisfaction of the consumers on their continued development of their product lines that somehow reaches out to almost all generations. E. Overall Assessment The management of Intel made the best move when they have changed not only the look, but also the outlook of the company. Marketing strategies have been hitting two birds with one stone: achieving promotional means and the earnings they generate through the ale of product to tie-up companies. This excellent strategy made Intel one company to watch in the future. However, the drawback with Intel’s new strategy the company’s new logo was a lot different from the previous generation’s idea of the Intel logo. This may pose to be a problem to the older generation of the market that would want to catch up with the progress of technology. Consumer preferences actually change with this move by Intel; but the implication of the changing of the logo was also the changing of the practices, values and principles that governed the company for years. Furthermore, Intel must live to the expectations of its consumers, accompanied with the change in principles. Intel must prove that they have indeed developed into a powerhouse strategist.