Roles Processes Influences Strategies

Role

• strategic role of the function within the business
• The strategic role of operations involves a long term approach to managing the operations process.
• Involves managing efficiency, quality and supply of a good or service in a manner that improves business outcomes.
• The strategic role can often be achieved through a focus on cost leadership or differentiation of goods and services. See Cost Leadership & Differentiation.

Processes

• what the team in the key business function actually do
• To achieve the strategic role, each function has a number of processes that the people in the function ensure occurs Obtain inputs -> Transform inputs into outputs -> Distribute outputs to customers

Influences

• internal or external influences which impact the processes of the key business function
• e.g. internal and external issues, trends, and laws: globalisation technology quality expectations cost-based competition government policies legal regulation environmental sustainability corporate social responsibility

Strategies

possible responses by the manager of the key business function to change the processes in order to respond to the influences impacting the key business function