The primary duties are, but not limited to, planning and coordinating the way the company handles its operations. The manager in operations must be prepared to give direction. Management jobs hold the managers responsible for the completion of the job. These managers are in the first line of fire when it comes to answering to senior managers. It does not matter whether they are holding sales manager jobs, or engineering manager jobs, their responsibilities are always the same.
The managers in operations must be able to formulate policies and then see that they are implemented. They have to ensure that each employee, in the operations sections of their companies, fulfills his/her duties successfully. They also need to deal with human resources regarding employee’s issues.
In contrast to an administration manager or a purchasing manager, the operations manager has to perform duties pertaining to several aspects of the company.
There are various positions available in this field for which candidates may apply. They can be directors of operations, plant managers, or plant superintendents. Then, in other business sectors, perhaps they can look at engineering manager jobs, where they will be called chief operating officers; in retail sector they will be store managers. If you are adept in a particular industry, then it will be to your advantage if you pursue the position that best suits your training. Read the postings carefully when they refer to general manager jobs. You really need to be sure they pertain to an area of your expertise.
Managers in operations are responsible for managing the areas relating to manufacturing of the products or initiating of the services. They have to give directions and ensure co ordination among all the departments. This includes the production and pricing of the items as well. In addition, they must oversee the sales and distribution.
They must have the ability to handle the financial aspects of production as well. Operations managers are not only responsible for seeing that the productions are efficient and successful by way of sales, but they also have to make sure that in the whole process the operating budget is not disturbed. In order to accomplish this they need to keep themselves continuously updated with the status of the finances, by reading the financial statements as well as the sales and activity reports. In essence, they are performing director jobs and must be astute at what they do.
Performance standards and goals have to be outlined by the operations managers so that the team can work accordingly to reach the required quotas. This is also one of the requirements of these positions.
The managers in operations have to possess people skills, as they will be responsible for managing their staff; they will be implementing work schedules and giving out job assignments. They have to be fully aware of the policies of all the departments, and not just of their own. The reason for this is that often departments overlap, and there may be issues that exist in more than one department.
The operations manager has to feel comfortable while making verbal presentations to board members, and meeting with organizations that may be large customers of the company. Then there is the task of figuring out what staff is required to get the job effectively done. It is important that there remain a balance of staff within the employee budget. This means the manager must be prepared to interview and hire as needed and provide whatever type of training is required. The manager must also be prepared to terminate an employee for valid cause. Indeed various skills are required to enter this field.
Sales promotion is something that you must be aware of so that you may plan your production schedule effectively. It also helps to determine if you are being cost effective in comparison to the sale prices of the goods.
What the managers in operations will require by way of tools to help them to make their positions successful will vary greatly; depending on the type of industries they are involved in. In today’s age, almost all the industries require the managers in operations to be able to utilize various aspects of the computer. Almost every aspect of business is now somewhat computerized.
The types of skills required are going to vary according to the need of the specific industry. If the industry is involved in any type of administration management, then a thorough knowledge of business principles is going to be a requirement. Of course strategic planning must also be included. When it comes to customer and personnel services, the candidate filling the manager in operations position must possess excellent people skills. He/she no doubt will be dealing with people in all facets of the job.
If one has become an accounting manager, naturally, the duties will be very different. You need to be well versed in economic and accounting principals. Skills in math and financial statement analysis will be a priority. Finance jobs offer positions that are potentially very well paying.
In almost all of the manager positions, good grammatical skills are going to be necessary as there is always a fair amount of report writing entailed with these jobs. The successful managers in operations must be able to think quickly and take timely actions based upon their judgments. They cannot be hesitant in making decisions but should not act hastily either. There has to be an even balance in every duty that they carry out.
