What are Operations?

As far as organisations are concerned, operations are those transformation processes which convert inputs to outputs-see Figure 3.1.

Figure 3.1: The organisation as a transformation process: operations

The following definitions apply to the model:

• Inputs-labour, materials, capital, data (resources)

• Transformation processes-business operations and production processes

• Outputs-goods, services, profits and wages, information (products).

High-quality operations do not waste time having to re-do things.

All organisations have operations of some sort or other. That is the purpose of the organisation-to use operations to produce goods and services. They don't have to be goods or manufacturing operations; they can be information or service operations-see Table 3.1.

Figure 3.1 is a simple model. Of course, at any one time, an organisation may have hundreds or thousands of operations going on-large or small-from answering...