Page 258 - Operations Strategy

Chapter
7 Improvement strategy

Introduction
All of operations strategy is concerned with improving operations. The whole purpose
of taking a strategic view of operations resources and processes is to enhance their
contribution to achieving a long-term advantage. Nevertheless, the study of improve-
ment as a specific activity, and how it is managed strategically, has attracted significant
attention from both academics and practitioners. Some of this attention focuses on
specific techniques and prescriptions while some looks at the underlying philosophy
of improvement. Our treatment of the other ‘content’ decision areas in operations
strategy, such as capacity, supply networks and technology, is all based on the implicit
assumption that we take decisions in these areas in order to improve the operation.
However, most organisations review their overall operations strategy relatively infre-
quently, and the final three chapters will look at the operations strategy formulation
process, which presumably is done to improve overall performance. Between these
times they do not expect the operation to ‘freeze itself’ between each major strategic
review. Rather, organisations aspire to develop and improve their operations on a more
routine basis. This chapter deals with the more ongoing improvement activity. We are
concerned not with strategy formulation on the grand scale, but with the more general
issues of how companies can shape the routines that encourage the ongoing develop-
ment of their operations (see Figure 7.1).

Key QuestIons
● What are the differences between managing large ‘breakthrough’
improvements and managing continuous improvement?
● How do the needs of the market direct the ongoing development
of operations processes?
● How can the ongoing management and control of operations be
harnessed to develop their capabilities?
● What can operations do to deploy their capabilities into the market?

operations improvement

In this chapter we examine the development of operations resources and processes –
that is, the way in which operations build their capabilities and by doing so improve

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