Operation management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 3

Operation management - Assignment Example Operation management is important for two main reasons – firstly it can improve the productivity and secondly it helps to meet the competitive priorities of the customers. Productivity can be defined as the ratio of the output to input. It is rather a measure through which the efficiency of the employees or managers is utilized to convert the scarce resources of the organization into products or services. The more is the numerical value of this ratio the higher is the level of efficiency. The importance of operation management is increased in the recent years due to stiff competition, quality conscious customers, new technologies, and service life cycles which imposes pressure on the organization’s operations so as to improve productivity and provide a better quality of the goods and services. This assignment will put focus on Starbucks Corporation which is the largest coffee company across the world and is based in Washington. The brand is a part of the booming restaurant industry and operates through 20,891 stores in almost 64 countries. The company was founded in the year 1971 as a Seattle retailer of coffee beans and from then it has expanded very rapidly. The company is well known for selling coffees but also has extended its product range to pastries, sandwiches, hot and cold beverages, snacks, etc. The inputs of its operations are mainly coffee beans and milk that comes from across nineteen countries, once the beans are collected it is then send to its manufacturing, roasting, and packaging plant. The output is the finished product that is then delivered across its stores and supplies adequate amount of coffees to each of the stores. The input/output transformation model describes the process through which the inputs such as capital, labour, equipment, land building, information, and materials are converted into outputs such as products or

The Largest Health Insurance Firms in the US Essay

The Largest Health Insurance Firms in the US - Essay Example If ObamaCare succeeds in creating oligopolies, the insurance sector may experience some problems for example high operating costs and premiums, low-quality service and less innovation that would otherwise improve service provision. The merging of the firms would significantly reduce competition. In a non-oligopolistic market, insurance firms strive to gain competitive advantage over other fellow service providers. Providing quality service at affordable prices is an essential competitive advantage. Therefore, competition is necessary as it guarantees the proper performance of insurance as opposed to an oligopolistic market scenario.Conversely, the creation of oligopolies would also benefit clients and shareholders. If insurance firms come together to form a single commercial entity, the standardization of benefits that accrue to clients would be possible and premiums may be adequately controlled. As a result, mergers would attract more customers compared to independent insurance firm s. The interest of shareholders is to reduce overhead costs in administration and other expenses. Consolidation of the insurance industry would initiate a centralized administrative system that would control the firms under the oligopoly and reduce the subsequent administrative costs.In addition, ObamaCare advocates for extensive consolidation of hospitals and health care services. Large health care facilities are in a better position to provide quality services and maintain best practices by use of the vast resources that are available.