Operations refer to a set of activities that are interrelated and engaged in converting inputs into finished goods or services and selling them to customers for a profit.
Operations management means monitoring, controlling, and measuring the performance of each activity involved in the entire process of converting raw materials into finished products.
Thus, the operations manager is responsible for efficiently handling the material, labour, costs, and technology.
Operations management forms the core of any organization. Hence an operations manager needs to have the following skills to be an efficient and effective manager –
- Multi-tasking – The most important skill for any operations manager to possess is multi-tasking or juggling many responsibilities at once. The entire process of converting raw materials into finished goods and ensuring they reach the customer is covered under the whole supply chain. Managing the supply chain is the key responsibility of an operations manager.
- People Management– The supply chain consists of people of different backgrounds, gender, ethnicity, culture, temperament, or financial status. Coordinating with them and bringing them in sync with the organizational goals requires effective people management skills. The workforce is the backbone of any organization, hence creating a productive, positive and growth-conducive environment is essential. Thus the task of managing and maintaining an effective workforce falls on the operations manager.
- Risk management – Managing the entire supply chain brings with it a set of challenges. The manager is expected to be agile and adaptable in embracing last-minute changes, face unforeseen circumstances and plan for potential risks beforehand. Hence risk management is an important skill for an operations manager to imbibe.
- Budget planning – Cost of production, distribution and sale form the majority cost centres for an organisation. The goal of any manager is to reduce the costs incurred to maximize profits. Hence budget formulation and planning are required to be done by an operations manager.
- Analytical skills – The entire supply chain creates numerous data points that need to be evaluated to derive meaningful insights for the planning, scheduling, forecasting, and monitoring of the process. Analytical skills are of prime importance in such cases.
- Leadership & Organizational skills – An operations manager needs to possess leadership skills, communication skills, and organizational skills. It is imperative to learn the techniques of strategy formulation, people management, analytical skills, budget management and interpersonal skills to make an individual a holistic manager.
Due to the dynamic nature of the domain and the specialized skill sets required for the job, the average salary of an operations manager in India is Rs. 10 LPA and can go up to Rs. 18 LP. The operations manager’s salary depends on the location, years of experience, and industry. To earn a 6-figure salary, the individual must have the perfect blend of technical and managerial skills.
Hence, pursuing a Post Graduate Diploma in Management seems like a wise choice.
MIT School of Distance Education (MITSDE), brings to you a holistic approach to imparting necessary skills through a 15-month operations management course that focuses on the basics of operations management, gives hands-on training in analytical tools, provides expert guidance on risk management, people management, and financial analytics skills and throws light on the global best practices.
The potential career after PGDM Operations is-
- Purchasing Manager
- Plant Manager
- Service Operations Director
- Supply Chain Manager
- Quality Control Officer
- Warehouse Manager
