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Inventory management in supply chain papers
Theory of inventory management
Theory of inventory management
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Management Science
A discipline(a branch of knowledge)that attempts to aid managerial decision making by applying a scientific approach to managerial problems that involve quantitative factors ,management science is also called operations research (OR).
A rational, structured approach to problem solving and often takes a quantitative view of decision making.
History of MS/OR
Origins in World War II, when the United States and Great Britain employed mathematicians and physicists to analyze military operations to make most Effective Utilization of limited military Resources through the use of Quantitative Techniques.
Who uses Management Science?
A lot of manufacturing companies use Management Science quantitative techniques in mostly all strategic and operational areas such as choosing a new plant location, controlling production, or implementing statistical quality control.
Also service organizations such as banks, hospitals and investment firms rely on Management Science to ensure their operations meet customer's need and achieve customer satisfaction with a high degree of efficiency.
And of course the military branches of the government depend on computer-based quantitative models for logistical planning and mobilization.
Why is Management Science Important?
It is important for a company's profitability, efficiency, and high quality decision making process.
Famous practitioners for Management science:
The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is an international society for practitioners in the fields of operational research and management science
It was established in 1995 with the merger of the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA) and The Institute of Management Sciences (TIMS).
Applications of Management Science
-Finance & Investment: How much capital do we need, what portfolio should we select?
-Manpower planning & assignment: How many employees do we need, who will do what?
-Location, Allocation, Distribution & Transportation: where is the best location for operation, how big should the facilities be?
-Reliability & Replacement Policy: How well, reliable is the equipment, when should it be replaced?
-Loading, Sequencing & Scheduling: What job is more important, in what order should we do jobs?
-Inventory Control and Stock-out: How much inventory should we hold, when do we order more?
-Project Planning and Control: How long will a project take, how should resources be used?
-Queuing and Congestion: How many servers are needed, what service level are we giving?
The Research Process and Two Key Questions
Some research questions arise in the real world from managerial challenges and issues. Others arise internally within management science from the desire to build a stronger body of knowledge. Both sources lead to a great variety of questions of general interest.
Management tools such as 3-point estimation, critical path analysis, work breakdown structure and earned value analysis are used.
Known as the 4th largest standing natural gas distributor, Southern Union Gas serves nearly 1.5 million customers Nationally, and Internationally, for over 50 years. They have four divisions in the United States, which are:
Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Co., Inc. Kim, B. &. (2011).
What major technology change has had the greatest impact on the quality of your life?
Robbins, S. P., & Coulter. M. (2014). Management (12th ed.). Retrieved from: Colorado Technical University eBook Collection database.
To say that scientific management theory doesn't exist at all in modern organisational life would be incorrect, as the problem with this idea is simply that it does not cater for all of today's business needs.
Today’s era of business world adapts to everything new but these modern concepts are an indirect tribute to the theories produced by Taylor, Fayol, Mayo and Weber. Taylor’s Scientific management theory is one such example which has become such an important aspects of modern management that it feels unbelievable that his concepts were a part of the history. It is falsely assumed that as the society progresses, the older theories tend to lose their importance. The thing to be noted here is that these theories are based on basic human needs which do not change with time; the thing that changes is the method to fulfil those needs. Investigating earlier management theories is important because these theories are less complex and provide immediate solution to the problems. These theories basically help us to go to the root of the problem and understand its complexity. The better understanding we have about the problem, the easier it is to accomplish the objectives of the company. The following essay states the importance of the Taylor’s Scientific management theory and how it is implemented even today in the business world.
According to Management Consultancy Association, “management consultancy is the creation of value for organisations through the application of knowledge technique and assets to improve business performance. This can be achieved through the rendering of objective advice and or the implementation of the business solutions” (O’Mahoney 2010).
The concept of scientific management is based on the idea that work could be studied to increase efficiency, and specialization. Economist Adam Smith changed the way the world looked at the economy and organization. In his essay, “Of the Division of Labour,” Smith emphasizes the importance of specialization, and how division of labor leads to specialization. He states that this would allow a worker to be more productive and efficient (Shafritz, Ott, & Jang, 2011, p. 41-45). Frederick Taylor introduced the principles of scientific management, which stated that management is a science, workers should be scientifically selected and trained scientifically, and both management and workers should work together.
Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzed and synthesized workflows. Its main objective was improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineering of processes and to management. Its development began with Frederick Winslow Taylor in the 1880s and 1890s within the manufacturing industries. Its peak of influence came in the 1910s; by the 1920s, it was still influential but had begun an era of competition and syncretism with opposing or complementary ideas. Although scientific management as a distinct theory or school of thought was obsolete by the 1930s, most of its themes are still important parts of industrial engineering and management today.
Scientific management is governed by laws, rules and principles which are clearly defined hence they can be used in all social activities. It can be used to manage non-profit institutions, homes, churches, businesses, farms, universities and government agencies. It is therefore important in organizations for increasing efficiency and ensuring that there is no waste which is a major problem in organizations. This paper will discuss the main features of scientific management and how it relates with modern management models. It will also focus on the relevance of scientific management in modern business organizations (Hollway, 2002).
When planning a new project, how the project will be managed is one of the most important factors. The importance of a managers will determine the success of the project. The success of the project will be determined by how well it is managed. Project management is referred to as the discipline that entails the processes of carefully planning, organizing, controlling, and motivating the organization resources so as to foster and facilitate the achievement of specific established and desired goals and meet the specific criteria of success required in the organization (Larson, 2014). Over the course of this paper I will be discussing and analyzing the importance of project management.
According to McGutgan and Moyer: “Managerial economics is the application of economic theory and methodology to decision-making problems faced by both public and private institutions”. McNair and Meriam: “Managerial economics consists of the use of economic modes of thought to analyze business situations”. Spencer and Siegelman: Managerial economics is “the integration of economic theory with business practice for the purpose of facilitating decision-making and forward planning by management”. Haynes, Mote and Paul: “Managerial economics refers to those aspects of economics and its tools of analysis most relevant to the firm’s decision-making process”.
The strengths in creating a divide between management functions and work functions have been employed widely at all levels and in all industries. Scientific management makes organisations efficient by replacing the rule of the thumb
The first and most crucial step is to create a solid plan. Plan should include the techniques, tools and data that are going to used in the project. The responsibilities of all the members should be distributed at this step. The utilization of resources and budgeting of the project should be done here. Management tools such as probability and Impact Matrix, FMEA are useful at this point.