Historical development of operations management, Operation Management

Assignment Help:

Historical Development of Operations Management

Evidence of formal management of operations can be traced back as far as the Babylonian kingdom of Hammurabi, around 2100 BC but few attempts to set down principles were made until the onset of the industrial revolution in Britain, in the middle of the 18th century.

The division of labour

In 1776 the Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith wrote one of the most influential books on economic activities, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Using the manufacture of pins as illustration, he demonstrated that, whereas a single operator carrying out all of the necessary processing operations could produce around twenty pins per day, a small group of operators, each member specialising in a particular operation, could produce 48,000 pins per day. This division of labour was shown to have three distinctive features which contributed to the spectacular increase in productivity demonstrated:

1. By repetition of a restricted range of actions each operator developed a high level of dexterity

2. No time was lost in changing procedures and equipment, which would otherwise be required in moving from one operation to another

3. Operations of limited scope, repeated very many times, created the circumstances which allowed mechanisation to become economically viable, leading to even greater levels of productivity.


Related Discussions:- Historical development of operations management

Explain challenges has the european union consortium faced, Describe what c...

Describe what challenges has the European Union Consortium faced in the last 2-3 years

Measures to prevent accidents, Measures  to prevent Accidents 1. Prope...

Measures  to prevent Accidents 1. Proper Selection  of Workers: A scientific selection  of workers  is more  important from safety  point  of view.  The attitude  and  aptitu

Successful writing at work, Ask qu Write an appropriate proposal—internal, ...

Ask qu Write an appropriate proposal—internal, solicited sales, or unsolicited sales—based on the information contained in one of the following two articles. Assume that your or yo

What is the average number of customer waiting, Andrew the barber owns a fo...

Andrew the barber owns a four chai shop. Andrew estimated that each barber would take an average of 30 min to give a haircut in an exponentially distribution fashion. Customers arr

Describe what is a learning organization, What is a learning organization a...

What is a learning organization and how do you develop one

Explain what is the annual holding cost, Your company manufactures turbine ...

Your company manufactures turbine blades for engines in production batches for each type. For one type of blade, the A39T, you have an annual demand of 10,000 units. It costs you $

Describe why the creation and maintenance of an ethical, Explain why the cr...

Explain why the creation and maintenance of an ethical workplace is a challenge for business and HR specifically? CITED/REFERENCE IF ANY.

Explain various types of media that attracted your attention, List five adv...

List five advertisements from various types of media that attracted your attention. Discuss the characteristics that determined your selection

Explain how is samsung currently performing, 1. In what ways has Samsung's ...

1. In what ways has Samsung's multibusiness model changed overtime? Why did its top managers make these changes? 2. How is Samsung currently performing/ What kinds of changes is

Explain ethical and managerial elements, Submit a 1,000-1,250-word paper th...

Submit a 1,000-1,250-word paper that identifies and examines various legal, ethical, and managerial elements as they apply to employee monitoring. Cite at least 2 references tha

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd