Management – Operations Management

What is an “Operation”? According to the Cambridge Dictionary:

What is a “Management”? According to the Cambridge Dictionary:

So, what is “Operations Management”?

To my own understanding:
The art of managing, handling, planning preset targets, activities to achieve desired goals or activities


It’s actually the art of harmonizing multiple variable factors such as:
1. Financial status
2. Preset management goals
3. Available resources
4. Legal requirements
To achieve a certain set of returns/benefits out from the activities carried out.


For example, in running a successful operations management, the following key activities may be carried out.

1. Planning
2. Requirement understanding
3. Observations/Monitoring – take note of all the critical dates milestone – recruitment, licence applications, safety permits, recruitment etc
4. Management support – we must have this, if not whose going to praise us for the good work done ? He he....
5. Marriage of multiple skill sets
6. Execute and control

In detail, the following may actually be carried out in having a successful operations management in a given set of activity:

1. Evaluating and commenting on systems deployed:

• In many circumstances, this is one of the most important part that need to be observed in any operations. With a good understanding and grasp of this process you will have the following benefits:
• knowing your strength
• knowing your weaknesses
• knowing whether the system can deliver the needed "support"
• will help you to plan better in how best to merge the skills of the machine with the skills of the human
• In many circumstances, in the hurry of starting an operation, top management tend to overlook the criticality of spending time and may be more resources in understanding this requirement

2. Recruitment of personnel, with the consideration/assistance of:

• Budget setting
• Networking
• Planning
• Talent ID

3. Planning and setting of operational requirements:

• reporting structures
• creation of procedures
• Effective control of operations operational cost
• Creation of a clear budgetary function

4. Monitoring of key costs, which may be achieved via "Operations Optimisation", through:

• Manpower requirement analysis
• Resources requirement analysis
• System analysis

5. Establishment of an effective data and operational analysis for management’s consideration and consumption:for the benefit of:

• Providing clear understanding to top management on actual operational achievement and issue
• Gathering the necessary mandate on operational needs etc
• Creation and formulation of strategic planning

In summary, the key point in having a successful operations management are as follows:

1. Clear understanding of the needs and requirement
2. Clear understanding of relevant risk factors
3. Clear understanding of the difference in between “Being Effective” and “Being Efficient”

So, that’s it…. doesn't look too complicated isn't it ?



In the real world, many books had been written covering many of the areas/topics mentioned above.



Where are the books ? Here’s the link to few online bookstores:

• MPH Online
• Kinokuniya Online
• Amazon

Happy thinking and happy reading.




Cheers.....

EXCEL -Using “Names” in a Range(Cells)

Salam,

Kita sebenarnya boleh memberikan nama kepada “cells” atau satu kumpulan cells(range of cells) didalam Excel.

Dengan memberikan nama kepada cells atau range of cells, ianya nanti boleh digunakan bila kita merujuk kepadanya dibahagian yang lain.

Sebagai contoh:
1. Masukkan nilai 2000 pada Cell A1
2. Kita boleh namakan Cell A1 sebagai “TapakMula”
3. Pilih Cell B10
4. Masukkan formula “=TapakMula” pada Cell B10
5. Excel akan memberikan nilai 2000 pada Cell B10

Bagaimana nak menamakan sesuatu Cell?
1. Pilih Cell yang dikehendaki
2. Taipkan nama pilihan di”Name Box” dan tekan enter
3. Lokasi “Name Box” adalah seperti dibawah

Kelebihan terbesar menggunakan “Name Range” ini ialah bila kita hendak merujuk kepada data-data didalam formula bila kita mempunyai satu sheet yang besar dengan jumlah data yang banyak.

Formula yang ditaip sebagai sebagai “KadarBank*PinjamanRHB” adalah lebih bermakna berbanding dengan formula yang ditaip sebagai “D3*W25”

Demo video adalah seperti berikut:

That’s it……………

Excel

Salam,

EXCEL ... This is an interesting piece of software.

Dibuat oleh Uncle Microsoft, hasil perahan idea Abang Bill Gates etc.

Why did I say its interesting ?

Its interesting bcoz:

It can show you a quick page of lines across a screen..... ha ha ... not so terror la this one.

To the beginners:

• you can quickly have sheets with many self calculated totals i.e. autosum function

• its has many built-in functions that will speed-up your work
• you can set-up a quick What-Ifs scenarios of your various calculations and projections
• its useful for almost everybody - students, accountants lawyers

To the advance users:

• it can be programmed to create self styled tools to impress ........ your boss is a great candidate
• eliminate key-in error in that huge data compiling task that you're doing
• save time ..... you save time when you let the codes do it for you
• And down here is just a sample how I manipulate those codes to do the dirty work for me and saving my shoulder from that ache...
  

In the sample above, what I've coded is:

• Excel to open my data file from designated folders
• Extract data from the opened file
• put it into my pre-prepared template
• process the data
• and give me results

This is actually part of my month end routine, to process about 300 over files, and this can be completed in just about 3 to 5 minutes.

So, if you think this is something useful and great that you want to know more.... search for Excel VBA in your search engine.

The result page should be able to give you more insights to what it is all about.

For a start you may read these article .....
http://www.math.vu.nl/obp/edu/project-obp/VBA-intro.pdf

If you want to buy a book.... consider books from Mr Walkenbach...
http://spreadsheetpage.com/

There you have it. Pick that heavy butt from that lazy chair and learn something new today....


OK then.....

Study Skills

Dry topic ha? Yes I bet it is to most people….

We live too much on a diet of take it easy and to be entertained all the time.

And this is a selfish act, if we think about it “deep” enough.

In fact, anything that is done excessively may be considered selfish.

Why selfish? To my mind, if you overly doing something, you must have neglected something in the process…. Thus that is not a thoughtful thing to do right?

Back to the topic…. I cannot comment what others are doing or professing, but I personally sum it into these:
“You must know your own self” and match it against the needs"

Why must one know his own self in coming up with a good studying strategy? It is bcoz of these:

1. only you knows whether you’re a morning person, midnight oil man, afternoon man or whathever
2. only you should know what is the easiest way for you to absorb information
3. How steady is your mood swing
4. Do you need it to be ultra quiet … or doing it while blazing away the Ipod is the way?
5. Are you the solo man type? or are you the one who likes to do it in pairs/groups?
   

Build the strategy around these “needs/strengths” and weigh it against the needs.

What are the needs then … emmm… :
1. how far away is the exam
2. which subject is the worse and the best
3. how helpful is the lecturer
4. and some other things … think a bit la….

Those written above are potent strategies that can be adopted to marshal the way to your success, and all kinds of success actually.

If you don’t believe me, grab a book on “Sun Tzu The Art of War” and reflect it against your studying strategy.

1. Who is your enemy? – the books, material, the course
2. What is the strength/advantages?-reference material, teachers and friends
3. Time to attack – you know yourself la
4. What is the limitation? Time, resources…
5. The rest you may continue yourself…

That’s it. Simple isn’t it?

Well, I’m not clever. I’m just so happen to must have been "exposed" to the book earlier and got a good reflection by it and acted on it…well I have at least partially acted on it. If not I won’t be writing this blog, I write a book instead, and you have to pay to read it!!

So is the rest of the knowledge in this world… ha ha ha … but that’s another story.

OK, then ….