Current and future challenges around Information technology and its role in Operations Management
In the contemporary world, operation management plays a critical role in every aspect of an organization. It is utilized when a business desires to expand its operations, improve revenue, and generally satisfy its customers. Operations management mostly entails planning and supervising in the bid to facilitate production and manufacturing. Effective operations management is hugely beneficial to the business y assisting it to be more productive by utilizing resources to meet customer needs. Thus, the main focus of operation management is providing the link between process and value. The focus of operations management is the connection between process and value. The importance of operations management for the performance and profitability of businesses has grown as a result of increased client expectations and limiting resource availability (Xu, Xu & Li 2018, 2953). Good operations management encourages accountability by supporting the effective delivery of products and services. Even though operations management has substantially aided manufacturing, managers continue to face hurdles daily. The subject of operations management continues to evolve and requires an in-depth understanding of corporate processes for operations managers to provide customers with value.
Globalization
Globalization is a formidable obstacle for operation management. It is powered by the advancement of technology and the reduction of trade barriers as managers face competition in the country and globally. Accounting professor from Australia’s Curtin University, Tishta Bachoo, argues that for foreign rivals to remain competitive, they will need to improve quality at the same time make sure that the prices remain reasonable for the clients. Operations managers are tasked with ensuring that they coordinate aspects of planning, organizing, and control in the bid to maintain the product’s competitiveness in the market (Olsen & Tomlin 2020, 127). Batchoo adds that the operations manager must be innovative since innovation and a grasp of worldwide business and the varied business cultures of the world are essential success factors.
Ethical Considerations
In addition to being a crucial obstacle for operation management, ethical behavior is also a crucial factor to consider. Particularly, companies should evaluate the consequences of economic changes, poor services, evolving technology, and animal experimentation on the public and the environment. Many Wall Street businesses, including Enron, Tyco, and many others, have failed due in large part to unethical conduct (Din et al., 2018, 7648). Therefore, the operations manager should be up to the task of maintaining ethical considerations, especially in key areas such as production, accounting, and marketing. Regardless of its source, unethical behavior taints the organization as a whole. The newly reported breach of ethics at Wells Fargo is only one striking example.
Effective Communications
Employees at any level within a firm may find it difficult to communicate effectively and regularly. The operations manager’s biggest challenge is effectively communicating with all internal and external stakeholders. They must be able to effectively communicate and comprehend their message, whether they are interacting with someone on the manufacturing floor or in the boardroom. For the proper execution of daily tasks, mastering oral, written, and nonverbal communication is necessary. To boost employee morale and gain management’s trust, good communication is also essential. Managers of operations who take the time to reflect on themselves, be authentic, and improve their communication skills are bound to be both productive and successful. Upper-level management often demands these skills from new and mid-level managers, and they are required for success in any firm.
System Design
The essential premise when considering the link between operations management and system design is the firm ought to develop systems that can deliver good quality goods and services.
Even the savviest operations managers encounter various bottlenecks in system design planning and administration. This is mainly attributed to the fact that as managers work in various settings, they should also have the capacity to handle issues that may arise from system design, sustainability, globalization, ethical conduct, and communication. Managers ought to have a good time in the business. This implies that they have to succeed in all areas of the business at the same time while supporting the company’s goals and vision.
How and Why the Chosen Trend in Australia Might or Might Not Be Different from Other Countries
Australia is, together with New Zealand, one of the two most distant industrialized economies from global economic activity in terms of average distance. This indicates that the selected trend may not be comparable to that of other nations. In recent decades, the tremendous economic rise of Asian nations has had little impact on Australia’s degree of isolation. This isolation has a direct impact on Australia’s economic performance. Overcoming the geographic barrier to commerce generated by Australia’s position may need more effort than those of the majority of other nations to encourage trade and the economic benefits of international participation. Australia may also have to enhance capital and multifactor productivity to narrow the growth gap, as increasing employment growth and labor productivity alone will not be sufficient (Nasir, Canh, and Le, 2021, 145). Multifactor productivity represents advances that allow for more efficient use of labor or capital, such as enhanced knowledge or management techniques, a larger network, or spillover effects.
The expansion of communications technology and Australia’s growing openness to commerce have led to predictions that the ‘tyranny of distance’ era for Australia’s economy is passed. In addition, a bigger proportion of global economic activity currently takes place in Australia’s region as a result of the fast economic development of some Asian nations. However, Australia’s geographic location is likely to remain a significant predictor of economic success, even if these characteristics prove beneficial. Increasing exports of services would help Australia to overcome the consequences of its geographic isolation, according to a prevalent viewpoint. Due to advancements in information and communication technology, Australia can provide the same number of services to foreign businesses and customers as the United States (Nasir, Canh, and Le, 2021, 387). However, while these technologies and services may become substantial in the future, Australia’s exports of distance-independent services still make for a modest fraction of its foreign commerce at present.
Australia’s economic remoteness must be quantified to comprehend its nature, effects, and changes. The primary challenge in developing such a metric is that remoteness depends not only on Australia’s distance from other nations but also on the amount of economic activity in each other nations. A basic method for determining remoteness is to determine what proportion of the world’s gross domestic product is within a certain number of thousand kilometers of Australia or any other nation of interest.
High transit costs limit commerce with certain or all markets, hence enhancing the natural protection offered to businesses inside an economy. This suggests that Australia’s anticipated level of commerce and production may be affected by its distance (by keeping market size smaller than otherwise).
Implications of The Trend/Challenge for Australia
Australians are engaged in a worldwide innovation competition worth $1.6 trillion1, where the stakes include a bigger share of global wealth and better jobs as well as the largest availability of innovation commodities, such as groundbreaking medical cures. Australia is well-positioned to compete due to its strong economy and well-established research strengths, but they lag behind its rivals in terms of investment in innovation and ambition. Unless they quickly catch up to the innovators ahead of them, they will continue to fall more behind.
By 2030, more opportunities for economic and social advancement for Australians must be opened up through innovation. As Australia’s population ages, they must find new sources of growth and increase productivity to maintain their standard of life. The most profitable, competitive, and productive businesses are those that focus on developing and exporting knowledge-intensive products and services (Au 2020, 11). Increasingly, these firms will have to deal with global issues on a massive scale. If they succeed, they will have a huge impact on Australia’s job creation. For this, firms in their supply chain or the service economy are going to have to create both direct and indirect jobs.
Australia should be proficient, but not stoic, in its ability to dominate the global innovation race and capitalize on the resulting opportunities. They have a solid economy and have proven their capacity to establish internationally successful enterprises in new, high-growth industries. Cochlear Ltd and ResMed are medical equipment. The service industry has employed more than 70% of the country’s population and has a history of creating a huge number of high-quality jobs. And Australia has repeatedly demonstrated its capacity to generate game-changing innovations, such as the world’s first cancer vaccine, Gardasil. To achieve future potential in Australia, however, they must make the country one of the world’s top destinations for innovation, technology, and research and optimize the distribution of benefits to all Australians.
The country will also need to improve capital productivity to curb the rising unemployment rate as well as the labor productivity rate. This implies a significant change in the output per unit of labor and capital. Multifactor productivity refers to developments that enable more effective use of labor or capital, such as improved knowledge or management practices, a broader network, or spillover effects. Thus, employing modern digital technology will be key. This would improve the effectiveness of the current operations by offering global markets that would in the long run improve economic growth. Greater usage of digital technology might increase the country’s annual GDP to more than 1% (Benedikter 2021, 76). Instead of anticipating that digitalization and automation will hurt employment and opportunities, we should recognize that these developments will be advantageous for the economy and are necessary to fill the labor gap caused by the demographic transition, boost productivity, and contribute to GDP growth.
The skills necessary to do various jobs are changing with the changing job sector. STEM and digital abilities are becoming increasingly important. Simple digital literacy abilities like using digital platforms to involve clients and find information, as well as general software and algorithms (Benedikter 2021, 80). Digital literacy, along with basic literacy and numeracy, will be required for 92 percent of future jobs, making it a vital fundamental asset for the workforce. Furthermore, Australia’s workforce is changing, with a higher demand for and preference for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) vocations and skills. Jobs in STEM are rising faster than the whole employment marketplace.
By 2030, all occupations will demand workers to spend more time utilizing their contemporary skills. Among these are interpersonal, creative, problem-solving, and entrepreneurial abilities as illustrated in figure 5. Because these duties can be mechanized, employees will spend less time on repetitive physical labor, such as scanning groceries at the supermarket checkout, and administrative chores, such as processing costs. Although future workplaces will continue to require humans to interact with machines, the nature of their engagement with these devices is likely to be quite different (Au 2020, 23). Achieving success will need the capacity to communicate and empathize with coworkers and consumers, as well as the ability to use the technologically advanced tools that will become accessible. These changes need that education cultivates and promote both STEM and humanities, arts, and social sciences (HASS) capabilities, which foster interpersonal abilities such as empathy and creativity.
Reference List
Au, C.H., 2020. Competing in the Networked Economy: The Development, Sustenance and Strategic Implications of Digital Platforms (Doctoral dissertation, University of Sydney).
Benedikter, R. (2021). What is Re-Globalization?. New Global Studies, 15(1), 73-84.
Din, I.U., Guizani, M., Hassan, S., Kim, B.S., Khan, M.K., Atiquzzaman, M. and Ahmed, S.H., 2018. The Internet of Things: A review of enabled technologies and future challenges. Ieee Access, 7, pp.7606-7640.
Nasir, M.A., Canh, N.P. and Le, T.N.L., 2021. Environmental Degradation & Role of Financialisation, Economic Development, Industrialisation and Trade Liberalisation. Journal of Environmental Management, 277, p.111471.
Olsen, T.L. and Tomlin, B., 2020. Industry 4.0: Opportunities and challenges for operations management. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 22(1), pp.113-122.
Xu, L.D., Xu, E.L. and Li, L., 2018. Industry 4.0: State of the Art and Future Trends. International Journal of Production Research, 56(8), pp.2941-2962.