The paper "Operations Management, Make to Order Strategy " is a perfect example of a management assignment. Operations strategy is the total complex pattern which involves making long term decisions to ensure the organization remains competitive. It comprises all the necessary tasks in an organization such as purchasing of raw materials until they are delivered to an organization (Robert et al 2001). Operations strategy helps to improve the delivery of services and products to customers hence it ensures that the customers are satisfied with what they get from the company.
Operations strategy, therefore, helps an organization to achieve its goals and objectives while satisfying the customers Operations strategy can take two dimensions. The first dimension is top down and the other dimension is the bottom up strategy. The top down operations strategy is whereby the strategic decisions are made at the top level and affect the general operations of the organization. It gives the direction of an organization (Cochran & Alberto 2005). Bottom up operations strategy is the strategy where the organization makes strategies which are based on the market conditions. There are various factors which influence the strategic decisions made by an organization.
The first factor is globalization. The world is becoming one small village where people can interact with no difficulty. This has led to high competition in various industries and if an organization cannot be able to set its strategies well it might not be able to compete in the market. In this effort, many organizations are considering how they can achieve a competitive advantage. One strategy is through strategic planning of the operations of the organization (Cochran & Alberto 2005).
This will help an organization to satisfy the customers’ needs which can lead to competitive advantage. Another factor which has affected operations strategy is the technology level. Technology has been changing over time and this has affected the operations of the organizations. The speed at which customers are served is high and also technology has helped to improve connectivity with the customers (Cochran & Alberto 2005). Due to technological advancements, operations strategy has been improved and the products and services are meant to satisfy the needs of the customers. In addition, organizational structure can also influence the operations strategy.
The management of an organization can have different priorities with other management, for instance, the previous executive team. Changes in organizational policies can affect the decisions made concerning the operations strategy (Cochran & Alberto 2005). This is because they will have different priorities, for instance, increasing market share strategy and cost leadership strategy. Competitive priorities are the priorities which are applied by an organization with the aim of gaining competitive advantage. Competitive priorities help to improve the performance of an organization by attracting many customers.
This is because, through effective implementation of operations strategy, the operations of an organization will be smooth which will help to satisfy the needs of the customers better. This will help to attract and retain customers hence increasing the competitiveness of the organization (Cochran & Alberto 2005). They also help to improve the reputation of an organization (Dunn & Jeste 2007). Operations strategy may enable an organization to be involved in corporate social responsibility. This will help to preserve the environment as well as improving the living standards of the people thus promoting the reputation of the organization.
This will help to attract more customers and also the organization’ s products will be readily accepted by the customers.
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