Introduction
The objectivity with which a person manages the operations of an organization will depend on the objectivity of his thoughts, and if this thought is critical, it will allow the administrator to manage in parallel his cognitive structures applied to operational strategies.
Approach
The issue of administration represents for the students of the same an extremely wide field of action, and broader still, the topic of Operations Administration, whose concept goes beyond the production of goods or services.
To transform the inputs, different supply chains are used, consisting of: raw material, manufacturing, quality, production, inventories, facilities, capital, equipment and the most important part, human resources, who is the that contributes directly to achieving the previously established objectives; consequently, in this essay I will only address "the strategic role of operations" from the perspective of "critical thinking".
What is Operations Management?
It is the Production of goods and services, making the operations function the main source of creation of the company's profits, through the creation or manufacture of products and / or services, putting an interest in quality, production, control of inventories, facilities, equipment and personnel.
Viewing this as "a process of transformation of goods and / or services and how these are aligned to supply chains within organizations". We are talking about manufacturing, raw materials, energy, labor, and capital that are transformed into goods and / or services; as part of managing transformation processes.
So we can understand that operations management is a way of transforming inputs, personnel, capital, inventories, facilities, production and equipment into goods and services, as the main generators of value for partners, clients and / or citizens.
What is critical thinking?
"Critical thinking is that way of thinking about any subject, content or problem, in which the thinker improves the quality of his thinking by seizing the inherent structures of the act of thinking and subjecting them to intellectual standards."
“It is a cognitive process that aims to analyze or evaluate the structure and consistency of the way in which the cognitive sequences that intend to interpret and represent the world are articulated, in particular the opinions or statements that in daily life are usually accepted as true. It is also defined, from a practical point of view, as a process by which knowledge and intelligence are used to arrive, effectively, at the most reasonable and justified position on a subject. ”
From my point of view, it is the way to process cognitive information closest to reality, improving it in each phase of thought.
That is, the cognitive process, when used by the operations manager, will allow you to adapt it to the specific case, instead of trying to imitate past solutions, since each operation is different in itself.
Operations Strategy
According to authors Roger G. Schoeder, Susan Meyer Goldstein, M. Johonny Rungtudsanatham. The elaboration of an adequate operations strategy must position the organization within an increasingly changing market, serving more demanding and knowledgeable clients, these elements will allow it to have the necessary tools to compete within the market, that is why it is It is important for an organization to identify which is the most adequate supply chain.
For this, it is necessary to start from the analysis of two fundamental strategies for the supply chain. "The Imitation" and "The Innovation", where:
On the one hand, imitators have products similar to those of their competitors and are oriented towards the efficiency of the product or service at a very low cost, as part of their competitive advantage.
In the case of Innovators, they differentiate their products as a form of competition, so when introducing new products and / or services, they can charge them at higher prices.
An element of the strategy is the objectives, where these are very different from each other, both concentrating on cost, quality, delivery and flexibility; where the objectives must derive from the mission, consequently all operations will allow to establish a competitive advantage, in the case of human resources and capital are unique and difficult to imitate.
The challenge faced by the Operations Administrator is to imitate or innovate a product or service, when quoting M.Lipman tells us that “critical thinking is capable and responsible thinking as it leads to judgment because it is based on the criteria around you.
On the other hand, Ann M. Sharp argues that if by critical thinking we refer to the ability to think correctly, to think creatively and autonomously within, and close to, the disciplines, then it is certainly an extremely important educational objective.
Where the determination will be based on the good handling of mathematical forecasts as well as market trends and the needs and expectations of customers and citizens, this will allow you to visualize the future in a different way; since critical thinking discards assumptions or beliefs about the behavior of markets and of customers and citizens. This approach based on critical thinking will take into account each and every variation.
The Strategic Role of Operations
To identify what the strategic role of operations is, it is necessary to analyze whether the organization provides goods or services, identifying what they are? What type are they? Who provides them? How do they provide them? where are they provided and in what time ?. In the case of a restaurant company, you should start by analyzing the menu, how many dishes it handles, to determine if it is very extensive or limited, how much food can be standardized, how pleasant the place is, the staff is happy with the functions it performs, the price, the environment, the facilities and the equipment used.
The design of the operations strategy will be evaluated starting, if the good or service is "imitated" or "innovative", which allows defining the cost thereof, this is for similar products a low cost and for different products a high cost, and with this, generate a competitive strategy.
The definition of the mission must include, what is to be supplied, the delivery time, to whom it is to be delivered, the cost and the environment.
The objectives, it is recommended that they be aligned with costs, quality and service, where the definition of strategies will be based on the identification of, "The Process, Quality, Capacity, Inventory":
Process: Design and identify the key processes and support processes selected the one that is mainly customer-oriented, taking into account the steps, the time, the people involved and the cost, which allows verifying the efficiency in terms of product delivery or service.
Quality: Define the quality policy and identify the existing protocols that allow verification, hygiene, preparation, packaging, cleaning, security, price, time among others, of the entire supply chain and whether they comply with the standards required by international standards. and national, supported by surveys that allow identifying the quality perceived by the client.
Capacity: It will be determined by the size of the facilities, the location of the suppliers, the people, the equipment, the capital that allows satisfying customer demand, reducing for example the waiting times to receive the product or service.
Inventories: It will ensure that the supplies are available in time and quantity and if not, ensure that these are supplied constantly and quickly, meeting the requirements of customers and citizens.
The strategy must focus on always achieving a competitive advantage based on the supply chain and at the same time difficult to copy and that is aligned with the vision, mission, goals, objectives.
If the way of thinking of the operations manager is structured under the principles of critical thinking, he will be able to potentiate his strategies, structuring his ideas with the necessary clarity that allows him to specify and identify priorities based on the information available in the organization, thus such as that provided by collaborators and clients, separating the abstract from the relevant, to define a good strategy.
Alternate thoughts will allow evaluating the possible implications for a variation in the market and in the tastes or preferences of customers, without losing focus on the vision, mission, goals or objectives, focusing on solutions and not causes, this will allow generating two or more solutions, supported within the theoretical framework.
One of the advantages of critical thinking, will allow the administrator when designing a strategy, to take into account the ideas of all those involved without trying to impose their own, identifying that the benefits or results have a satisfactory meaning for the clients who are the who perceive and receive a good and / or a service, taking into account the evaluation and constructive criticism and assuming the absolute responsibility that allows the continuous improvement of the entire organization at all times.
Conclusions
I do not mean that an operations manager does not use critical thinking for each of the decisions, what I mean is that if he uses structured critical thinking for each of the actions to be carried out, the results will be attached to the planned goals.
The use of mental schemes based on observation, analysis, criticism and results, will help the operations manager to have clearer ideas, elements and real evidence, allowing him to be more analytical, evaluating not only one option but two or three options. at the same time.
The logic of thought is only a first option although we know that it has already reached its stage of maturity, so it will have to opt for lateral or divergent thinking that allows it to differ from what is real and imaginable, from what can be true. for some it may also be false for others, this will allow more creative thinking when planning operational strategies.
So the seven-step method is suggested:
- Clarity: How the proposal is expressed. Accuracy: Degree to which the structure used is consistent with the material to be addressed. Accuracy: Construction or proposal must be adequate in the management of knowledge. Belonging or relevance: Context in the The question is dealt with. Depth: When the level of analysis, investigation and explanation is sufficiently cared for. Amplitude: Extension for the statement of the problem. Logic: Argumentation with the rules of a well articulated thought.
Critical thinking is not a guarantee that the ideas of the operations manager will be based on reason, they must be applied, confronted, evaluated and if they are applied consistently, their decisions will have an advantage of knowledge and reasoned ideas, compared to those who do not use this type of critical thinking.
