Objectives of Production and Operation Management

Production is an organized activity in a manufacturing organization. Each organized activity should spell out its objectives so that its existence can be justified on the basis of the degree of the attainment of these objectives. Furthermore such identification of the objectives increases the consciousness of the personnel working in the respective organizations in checking their efforts by verifying whether they are in conformity with the stated objective of the organization. The objective of the production function is classified as under:

Ultimate Objective: The primary responsibility of the manufacturing activity is to produce a product at:

• Pre-established cost.
• According to the particular quality and
• Within the stipulated time schedule.

Therefore the last objectives can be sub-classified as beneath.

• Manufacturing costs.
• Product quality and
• Manufacturing time schedule.

Intermediate Objectives: Production is the  result of various  types of inputs  like men  materials,  machines and manufacturing services. The intermediate objectives  strive to attain the optimum utilization of these various types of inputs. It should be noted that the output resulting out of  the  inputs is measured in terms of the cost, quality and time which relate to the prescription of  aforesaid ultimate objectives. The intermediate goals can be spelled out as under:

1. Machinery and equipment,
2. Materials,
3. Manpower, and
4. Manufacturing services,