Problem: Many people take the way goods and services are provided to them for granted. They do not think about the nature of the operating system that produces the goods and services they receive.
1) Choose three companies and observe how employees do their tasks. These can be three different fast-food restaurants or three entirely different types of companies, such as a fast-food restaurant, a department store, or the emergency room of a hospital.
2) Think about the differences in the operations involved in the input, operations, and output stages of these companies. Try to identify the nature of their operating system. Are employees organized in different ways? If so, why?
3) What are the main kinds of Operations and Material Management (OMM) costs companies have? How does this affect their OMM operations?
4) How do companies design their operating systems to give them a competitive advantage?