Question 2 – What contribution does he seem to expect from his operations?

Chapter 1 of the text identifies four contributions of operations management.

1. It should attempt to control (or minimize) the cost base of the business.

2. It should attempt to increase the revenue of the business through its ability to serve customers.

3. It should do these two things without needing to invest an excessive amount of capital in the business, and 4. It should be able to develop the capabilities that will bring it more business in the future.

Although these points are not addressed explicitly (they rarely are in any organization) there is enough evidence from Marco’s statements to make some judgement. See the table below.

Contribution of Operations Any Evidence? Operations' contribution to reducing costs Increased revenue through serving customers Yes, there is some evidence. For example, ..... by working together more we could increase our ability to take on more work without increasing our cost base'. Again, yes. ....... we have succeeded in differentiating our- selves through offering a complete design, build and install service that is creative, dependable, and sufficiently flexible to incorporate last minute changes'.