B. Understanding details. Mark these statements T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text.

1. Goods and services are produced under the supervision of operations management

2. Inventory control managers are not responsible for producing products.

3. Vice president is an operations manager as well.

4. Hotels and restaurants employ operations managers.

5. Service operations have very little in common with manufacturing operations.

Vocabulary tasks

A. Word families.

Complete the chart:

B. Linking words

Fill in who, that, where, which, when:

1. All other managers __________work in the factory are operations managers.

2. Operations managers are responsible for managing the departments ________ produce goods and services.

3. Antitrust officials were deeply involved in deciding _________ mergers were acceptable and which were not.

4. A vertical merger occurs __________ the combining companies are at different stages of production in the same general line of business.

5. Concern is justified ________large corporations have rivaled or surpassed the power of some governments.

Speaking

Work in groups of three and discuss the responsibilities of operations managers

Unit 6

Resurgence of Interest

In Operations Management

Before you read

Discuss the question:

Do you agree that there is resurgence of interest in operations management?

Now read the text.

What does it say about the question above?

While the history of operations management is rich, there has recently been a resurgence of interest in operations management. This is happening not only in business, but in universities as well.

The current interest in operations is being fueled by the lackluster performance of U.S. industry. Foreign competition is invading many of the basic industries, including automobiles, steel, TV, and electronics. The competition is coming not only from Japan but also from Germany, Korea, and others. In addition, productivity growth in U.S. manufacturing and service industries has been lagging behind that of other countries. The low level of productivity growth is one of the reasons that US economy is in trouble. Many see the key to solving these problems as falling directly within the responsibility of operations managers.

Much has been written about how to solve economic ills. Many economists advocate more investment; technologists argue for more R&D[1]; human resource people say we should alter our approach to managing people. In the end, all these solutions impinge on operations. Operations managers will have to take the best of these ideas and put them into action.

Оne thing is certain, the day of the single-task assembly worker is gone. Today’s production professionals must be capable of building a quality product, identifying and resolving process problems, maintaining statistical data, improving the product design, maintaining the machines and tools, reducing setup times, and adapting quickly to changing market needs.

With this new role comes a changing role for management. Management will focus on creating a positive work environment, and setting the long-term strategic direction for the organization, leaving the creation of results and day-to-day operations to the skilled production teams.

Reading tasks

A. Understanding main points. Answer these questions:

1. Which factors caused the current interest in operations?

2. How can economic ills be solved?

3. What tasks must production professionals solve?

4. How is the role of management changing?

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 1250