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The operations team creates the infrastructure
of a company. Operation employees help determine where an organization
should be based, its employment policies, accounting practices,
distribution channels, and much more. While individual departments
determine how corporate procedures are implemented, operations makes
sure they are designed optimally in the first place.
The chief operations officer (COO) works with
the CEO and company president to determine the company’s vision.
Their ideas are filtered down through the rest of the company.
Senior operation managers determine an organization’s location,
facilities, which vendors to use, and how the hiring policy will
be implemented. Once the key decisions are made, lower-level operations
personnel carry them out. Operations personnel work to find solutions
and then set about fixing the problems.
Although operations is a key component of a successful
company, it is back-end work. Most support functions fall under
operations’ control. Such functions include customer service, logistics,
production, maintenance, and administration. The goal of the operations
department is to find solutions to problems before they affect the
bottom line.
Most VP’s and COO’s have an MBA in addition to
industry expertise and many have a PhD. To be promoted, an individual
must prove he or she can be a good supervisor, get a job done right
the first time, manage all aspects of a project and keep it within
budget parameters. A detail-oriented personality, strong analytical
skills, and the ability to thrive in a team environment are necessities.
The operations department is responsible for ensuring
a company operates as efficiently and economically as possible and
which functions it controls depends on the size and structure of
the organization.
Controller-
The controller manages the books, creates profits
and loss statements, keeps projects within budgets, and prepares
financial reports.
Facilities Coordinator-
Facilities coordinators design the physical environment
of an organization. They are interested in how a building’s design,
layout, furniture, and other equipment affect the efficiency and
profitability of the business that uses them. Aside from having
a business management background, the facilities coordinator needs
to have a keen understanding of how working environments affect
employee productivity.
Logistics Engineer-
The logistics engineer is the person primarily
responsible for planning how work orders will be distributed throughout
its organization. He or she is responsible for improving the efficiency
and accuracy of order fulfillment, and will map out the process
from beginning to end.
Project Manager-
The essential role of the project manager is to
establish group goals. He or she will supervise the work of lower-level
staff, ensure deadlines are met, put in requests for additional
supplies and staff, and keep a particular project on time and under
budget.
Operations Analyst/Manager/Director-
The operations analyst assesses how the current
operations infrastructure is working and attempt to find areas where
the system breaks down and then find ways to improve it. Strategies
may include chancing the work environment, changing employment policies,
using different vendors, or chancing the process. There is a great
deal of administrative work involved in the analyst role. The operations
manager or director watches over his or her department and determines
the budget and how the processes in their department should be implemented
and what duties need to be performed.
Chief Operations Officer-
The COO is responsible for making sure the entire
back end of an organization operates as efficiently as possible.
While a CEO’s role is to be the visionary for a company, the COO
is a company’s administrator. The COO is a seasoned professional
with many years’ experience and reports to the CEO and board of
directors.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the
number of operations jobs will grow at the same rate as the average
for all occupations between now and 2010. Recent downsizings have
made the job market competitive, with many more qualified applicants
than positions currently available. There is also a move to save
costs by consolidating operations roles, so being flexible and willing
to take on extra responsibilities will give you a leg up on the
competition.
Source: WetFeet Press
www.brint.com
McKinsey Quarterly: Operations
www.mckinseyquarterly.com/category_editor.asp?L2=1
McKinsey Quarterly: Organizations
www.mckinseyquarterly.com/category_editor.asp?L2=18
Supply Chain Council - http://www.supply-chain.org/
Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals
- http://cscmp.org/
The American Society of Transportation and
Logistics, Inc. - http://www.astl.org
Association for Manufacturing Excellence
- http://www.ame.org
A nonprofit organization founded in January
1985 to cultivate the understanding, analysis, and exchange of world-class
productivity methods and their successful application in the pursuit of excellence.
CIO Supply Chain Research Center - http://www.cio.com/forums/erp/links_scm.html
Valuable source for information about resources
in the supply chain industry.
Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and
Replenishment - http://www.cpfr.org
Industry group with goals to develop a set
of business processes that entities in supply chain can use for collaboration
on a number of retailer/manufacturer functions
Institute for Operations Research and the
Management of Sciences - http://www.informs.org/
International Society of Logistics (SOLE)
- http://www.sole.org
International Warehouse Logistics Association
- http://www.warehouselogistics.org
Manufacturing Systems - http://www.manufacturingsystems.com/
Semiconductor Supply Chain Association (SSCA)
- http://www.sscassoc.org
Association chartered to educate companies
and benchmark practices in the semiconductor supply network
Wholesale Distribution Center - http://www.wholesaledistribution.services.ibm.com
Web site created specifically to acknowledge
and address the issues, technology trends, and concerns of the wholesale distribution
community
World Food Logistics Organization - http://www.wflo.org
Strives to provide more cost-effective and
efficient ways to preserve and distribute food
The Parallax View - http://www.chainlinkresearch.com/parallaxview/v2_04/home.htm
A monthly online magazine by ChainLink Research
Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment
- http://www.cpfr.org
Logistics and Supply Chain Directory - http://www.logistics.about.com/
Site containing links to supply chain and
B2B E-Commerce sites, a discussion forum, chat rooms, and a free newsletter
Logistics World - http://www.logisticsworld.com
Operations Management Center - http://www.mhhe.com/business/opsci/pom/
Site providing links to a variety of operations-related
sites, including quality, JIT, project management, etc.
Procurement and Supply Chain Benchmarking
Association - http://www.pasba.com
PASBA conducts benchmarking studies of procurement
and supply chain processes
Supply Chain Seminars - http://www.supplychainseminars.com
Supply Chain Seminars has been a leading
provider of top-quality executive education in supply chain management for
more than seven years
Twigg's Operations Management Index - http://www.wbs.warwick.ac.uk/omindex
Links to many academic-related operations
management sites
The WWW Project Management Forum - http://www.pmforum.org/
An extensive set of resources on project
management
Supply Chain Management Links - http://sominfo.syr.edu/facstaff/xwang05
Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies
- http://supplychainbrain.com
Website for Global Logistics & Supply
Chain Strategies provides article archive, newsletter, and powerful search
engine
Logistics Management and Distribution Report
- http://www.logisticsmgmt.com
Warehousing Management - http://www.warehousemag.com
Supply Chain Management Review - http://www.scmr.com
Purchasing Magazine - http://www.purchasing.com
Industrial Distrubtion - http://www.inddist.com
Food Logistics Magazine - http://www.FoodLogistics.com
LogisticsBoard.com - http://www.logisticsboard.com
Career opportunities in operations, sales,
customer service, finance, human resources, and executive fields
CareerLog.com - http://www.careerlog.com/
An industry-specific job bank that specializes
in the logistics, distribution, warehousing, transportation, and supply chain
industries
JobsInLogistics.com - http://www.jobsinlogistics.com
A career and recruiting board for the logistics
and supply chain profession
LogJobs.com - http://www.logjobs.com
An online exchange of resumes and jobs exclusively
for the logistics industry
Logistics Online - http://www.logisticsonline.com
An information resource for the logistics
industry
Operation Career Preparation Timeline
| |
Internships |
Full-Time |
|
Pre-academic
year summer |
Research firms of interest
and note deadlines for on and off campus recruiting deadlines
Draft resume and cover
letters |
Craft resume and cover
letters
Inform CDO of interest
in operations |
|
September |
Attend Operations Club
meeting
Inform CDO of interest
in operations
Revise cover letters and
resume
Identify and network with
alums and second years involved with operations |
Attend Operations Club
meeting
Revise cover letters and
resume
Attend campus presentations
Develop contacts at firms
that do not recruit on campus
Drop resumes |
|
October
& November |
Revise cover letters and
resume
Attend campus presentations
Develop contacts at firms
that do not recruit on campus |
Update CDO on progress
and meet with people to refine strategy based on interview feedback |
|
December
through March |
Meet with CDO to refine
personal story and interview skills |
Meet with CDO to refine
personal story and interview skills |
|
April |
Review outstanding offers
with CDO and negotiate terms
Identify staffing manager
at firm where offer is accepted and start developing a relationship
– this will help you land a great summer project! |
Review outstanding offers
with CDO and negotiate terms
Identify a mentor at firm
where offer is accepted and start developing a relationship |
|
May |
Network with key contacts
and alums. |
|
|
Post-academic
year summer |
Network with key contacts
and alums
Evaluate whether experience
meets expectations. Is operations for you? Do you want to return
to the firm? The CDO is available to help you with these considerations |
|
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mba.yale.edu
