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Question: Why Operations Management has Increased in Recent Times? Answer: Introduction As defined by many researchers operations are the activities that are needed to create as well as deliver services and products starting from the procurement areas to distribution of these services and goods. Therefore operations management is the activities which create value in the form of goods and services through transforming these goods and services which are inputs to outputs i.e. results (Jensen and Szulanski, 2007). Its focus is thus on the careful management of processes to ensure products and services are produced and distributed in a manner that adds value to the inputs of the organization which is then converted to outputs that are profitable. Its therefore both an art and science of managing processes, people and systems meant for product and service delivery to clients. Its in this perspective that operations management has been taken to be a very fundamental part of any business (Arfelt, 2010). Most of the organizations CEOs come from backgrounds related to operations but if someone does not have operations background they are advised to undertake trainings before assuming positions of CEOs. 1. The operation management field has gained a lot of recognition in recent times as a result of the public awareness regarding the success that comes with this sector especially in manufacturing industries. From this awareness so many industries are coming to the realization that the functions of operations are as important as finance and marketing to their business. There has also been a realization that for them to compete effectively in the global business market they must embrace a strategy that focuses on operations so that their mission can be supported as well as the overall corporate strategy (Cruz, 2010). The efficiency and effectiveness of many organizations often revolve around the operations management. To make the process work right then operations have to be managed well. Great degree of integrating the resources of any organization to get products in their correct place and in the best way possible requires operation process to be handled well. All these should be done in consideration of cost and time. Innovations in an organization do exist but none of them promises a competitive advantage that is everlasting to the business. Hence for any success to be felt by the company a competitive advantage that is robust has to be created and it needs to have its basis or roots in the involved process (Casolaro and Gobbi, 2007). Such process includes but not limited to the process of utilizing new technologies, using available resources to generate new ones and creation of value. The achievement of these processes is only possible when the operations are well managed in a manner that brings out some difference and the concept of differentiation is also created at the floor of the organization. Some businesses such as Toyota Motor Corporation are doing so well because of this strategy in which it continuously focuses on quality improvement. All the activities of an organization are mostly supplemented by operations management. For instance the activities of research and development are focused on the development of products which are customers needs and therefore its market potential is sufficient (Jarrow et al., 2010). The department of finance is in itself concerned with the considerations regarding cost and therefore better placed to make any projections regarding productions in relation to fixed, variable and overhead costs The HR department is mandated with task of hiring people that have the right skills, abilities and knowledge in meeting the objectives of the organization. All the said functions are then integrated by the operations department. The operations people are tasked with the role of ensuring products are made in accordance to the specifications that are proposed according to the given budget (Cruz and Pinedo, 2008). This department thus utilizes land, machinery and labor to the best of their capacity to ensure a product produced can ease the pressure for the marketing people for the best target of the desired market segment. Interconnection between departments in an organization and operations management All other departments in an organization tend to operate poorly if the operations department is not managed and facilitated well. The HR department is in a good position to make decisions that are good regarding staff recruitment, job descriptions and staff training but if the operations are not well managed the human resources consequences are definitely going to be bad (Ariyachandra and Frolick, 2008). If an operation that is well run makes plans ahead of time an accounting department will have easy time to make payments for materials and bills related to supply. This makes it easy for one to handle payrolls since the costs will have been predicted on time. With poor running of operations such predictable costs are not easy to ascertain. The ability of the legal department to fully support operations in an organization is determined by operations that are well managed. There may not be any liability claims if a product is well made (Bandara, et al., 2007). The contract disputes with suppliers are less likely to occur if the supplies are well planned for. Production of products on time also ensures that disputes do not occur between contractors and purchaser. For instance when one wants to fill a customers order some control points do exist like the purchase order becoming an invoice, inventory becomes item that needs shipping and when the item to be shipped becomes a part of the goods to be delivered (Jarrow, 2008).There can be some potential form of confusion and even inefficiency if the operations department does not plan well for this. Therefore with all these the operations sector may be taken as a sieve which is likely to leak resources that are valuable if not managed efficiently. Operations management in organizations Whether the organization is small or large the operations management are very important. Regardless of size companies need to ensure products and services are produced and delivered in an efficient and effective manner (Brown et al., 2009a). However there are problems associated with the operations management in small and medium sized organizations. This is because the large and well developed companies in most cases have the resources which ensure individuals that are hired are given specific tasks in which they are specialized in and this is quite difficult to small companies. Due to insufficient resources in small companies employees get themselves into doing jobs that are different from their specialization provided the need arises. Due to the overlap of roles for individuals decision making process tend to be confusing (Roth, 2007). Its possible for the small companies to have similar operation issues as those of big companies but the problem comes in when its time to separate operation issues from the huge mass of other organizational issues. Salient features indicating the importance of operations management Operations forms one of the major three functions of an organization i.e. marketing, finance and operations. The companys ability to compete is affected by operations (de Lascurain et al., 2011). This is because a major opportunity is offered to an organization to ensure productivity and profitability is improved. Operations management is one of the costly segments of any organization. From statistics close to half of the people in the employment bracket globally are in the operations sector. A major portion of all assets of an organization is the responsibility of the operations management (Fisher, 2007). Other functions of an organization are mostly managed by the tools, techniques and concepts of operations management. From the above facts its thus evidence that the profits of any organization increases to a maximum level when the company in question focuses on the reduction in the costs for operations instead of increasing the sales or even reducing the costs related to finances. Conclusion From the discussion its evident that efficiency and effectiveness of an organization is determined by the operations management. Therefore making the process work right ultimately defines what operations management does. To run such processes in the organization integration of the resources in an organization has to be done at a higher degree and this has to be in line with the workforce capabilities and issues to do with supply chain management. All these ensure products and services are in the right place at the right time ensuring the costs and time is all considered. In view of all these operation management is a process that is very crucial when it comes to planning, organizing, leading as well as controlling all the services beginning from manufacturing to the issues of supply chain management. Being the heart of any organization, if operations are well managed all the other functions of the departments within the organization are made easier and if not well managed then the ot her departments find it difficult to operate well. References Arfelt, K. (2010). Lean six sigma in asset management: A way to cut costs? Pinedo, M. ed.Operational Control in Asset Management Processes and Costs. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 6087. Ariyachandra, T. R., Frolick, M. N. (2008). Critical success factors in business performance Bandara, W., Indulska, M., Chong, S., Sadiq, S. (2007). Major issues in business process management: An expert perspective. BPTrends, (October), 18. Brown, S. J., W. N. Goetzmann, B. Liang and Schwartz, C.(2009a). Estimating operational risk for hedge funds: The o score. Financ. Anal. J. 65(1): 4353. Casolaro, L., Gobbi, G. (2007). Information technology and productivity changes in Cruz, M. (2010). Strategic and tactical cost management in the asset management industry.Pinedo, M. ed. Operational Control in Asset ManagementProcesses and Costs. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 108131. Cruz, M. and M. Pinedo. (2008). Total quality management and operational risk in the service industries. Chen, Z.-L., S. Raghavan, eds. Chapter 7 in Tutorials in Operations Research 2008. Informs, Hanover, MD, 154169. de Lascurain, M., L. de los Santos, F. J. Herrer?a, D. F. Mun oz, A. Palacios-Brun, O. Romero- Hernandez, F. Sol?s. (2011). Indeval develops a new operating and settlement system using operations research. Working paper. Instituto para el Deposito de Valores, Mexico City, Mexico, to appear in Interfaces. January/ February 2011. Fisher, M.L. (2007). Strengthening the empirical base of operations management. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management 9 (4) 368-382. Jarrow, R. A. (2008). Operational risk. J. Bank. Finance 32(5): 870879. Jarrow, R. A., J. Oxman, Y. Yildirim. (2010). The cost of operational risk loss insurance. Review of Derivatives Research. 13(3): 273295. Jensen, R.J. and Szulanski, G. (2007). Template use and the effectiveness of knowledge transfer Management Science 53 (11) 1716-1730. managementStriving for success. Information Systems Management, 25(2), 113120. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management 9 (4) 353-367 Roth, A.V.(2007). Applications of empirical science in manufacturing and service operations, the banking industry. Econo