Essay on Role of operations management

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Outline the strategic role of operations and explain how the role of the operations manager can help a business achieve a competitive advantage (20 marks)
Strategic Role
The strategic role of operation is aimed to benefit the business in the long-term. Strategic operational decisions will need to fit the overall strategic goals (efficiency, productivity and quality of outputs) and vision in the business plan and fit the changing business environment. Long-term decisions will cover three broad areas: planning production and delivery, controls to manage quality, and improving operations. Therefore, the strategic role is to focus on lower costs to an industry benchmark through efficiency and producing a good or service that is different to and competitive against rivals in the market.
Competitive Advantage
To gain a competitive advantage over competitors, the business utilises 2 strategies: cost leadership & product differentiation.
1. Cost Leadership
Cost leadership strategy is where the operations manager aims for the business to have the lowest operational cost in its industry. This may be achieved through lower quality products, having fewer features, purchasing cheaper raw materials, outsourcing, etc.
If the business is able to achieve cost leadership and sustain it over the long term, as well as being able to sell it products at prices near or at the industry’s benchmarked average, then it would be an above-average performer with healthy sales and profits.
The cost leadership strategy is vital for a business to gain a competitive advantage. Walmart is an example of a successful cost leader. Walmart utilised the cheap suppliers by getting goods from the manufacturers at the lowest prices, and cut the operating expenses in his stores. As a result, Walmart’s products were usually 20% cheaper than competitors. This strategy gave the business a competitive advantage against competitors, such as Kmart and Sears Roebuck and Company.
2. Product Differentiation
To achieve a sustainable
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