Operations Management: An Integrated Approach, 5th Edition

WORK SYSTEM DESIGN ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION

Work system design affects functional areas throughout a company. Let's look at why individual functional areas are concerned with work system design.

Accounting calculates the cost of products manufactured or services provided. Labor can be a significant portion of the cost of goods sold, especially in the service industries. Accounting measures variances between planned product cost and actual product cost. Accounting also typically measures operational efficiency, which is based on work standards. Work system design is an important resource for accounting activities.

Marketing is concerned with work system design because it is the basis for determining lead time. Accurate work projections enable marketing to make viable promise dates to customers.

Information systems uses estimates of job duration and resources in the software for scheduling and tracking operations.

Purchasing handles requests for materials based on a schedule projected from the work system design. Accurate scheduling enables cost-effective materials and labor purchasing ...