Developing Business Skills Essay

How do OMM activities create value and a competitive advantage at the input, operations, and output stages? The input stage of the operations and materials management process would include the materials needed to create the finished goods that the consumer desires. This is where the company determines the amount of value they create for the customer by purchasing products that have the greatest value for the money. The operations stage of the process is where the skills, knowledge, machines, and experts come together to produce the goods and services to sell to the consumer at the lowest cost possible to remain competitive in their market. The output stage of this process is when the products that were produced reach the customers that they were intended for. If these products cost more to make than the competitors, then the consumers will likely not buy their product because the cost will be higher to cover the expenses involved in making them. What is TQM, and why is it important for a company to improve the quality of its products? In terms of a company’s input, operations, and output stages, how can TQM be used to create a competitive advantage? The term TQM refers to total quality management and refers to techniques used to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness. This operational technique is aimed toward continuous improvement within the company from input to output. This technique helps companies to reduce the production time it takes to make a product as well as the waste involved in the process too. When a company focuses on streamlining their production process it allows them to reduce their initial cost involved in producing their products which, in turn, reduces their overall cost and allows them to pass the savings on to their consumers. What is Six Sigma, and it what ways can it be used to reduce the costs of a company’s OMM process? In terms of a company’s input, operations, and output stages, how can Six Sigma be used to create a competitive advantage? Six Sigma refers to the process that can measure how far a task deviates from perfection. It can also figure where the problems derive from and figure out ways to eliminate them. This process can produce no more than 3.4 defects per million chances for nonconformance. It revolves around six key concepts to acquire perfection within the process. These would include: critical to quality, defect, process capability, variation, stable operations, and design for Six Sigma. These six key concepts focus on how the consumers discern their product and the value that it provides to them. I have worked for a company that has this process in place and the key component that I found helpful was the fact that everything had a specific place that it should be. This made finding things very easy which eliminated running around hunting for things that you needed for the production process. This cut down on time wasted and made the production of the product much less time consuming. How does a just-in-time inventory system operate? In terms of a company’s input, operations, and output stages, how can JIT be used to create a competitive advantage? A just-in-time (JIT) inventory system requires that inputs and components are delivered at the exact moment they are needed to reduce the inventory levels. These systems cut costs by not requiring products stored in inventory for days or even weeks ahead of time. This allows a company to keep their overhead down and only purchase the exact amount of product they need to produce the product they are making. One way for a company to create a competitive advantage with a JIT is to work with their suppliers to incorporate a JIT process as well to reduce costs and increase quality. This process allows a company to change the design of their product without producing an abundance of their previous products because they must use up their inventory.