Operations managers take different positions in organizations and have to deal with a number of tasks and responsibilities (Schroeder, Goldstein, & Rungtusanatham, 2013). One of their duties is to identify the importance of change and support employees in taking such an important step (Block, 2016; Voehl & Harrington, 2016). In this paper, the peculiarities of a movement from a batch process to a line process in a firm will be discussed to understand how this change can help to meet market needs in different departments, including marketing, finance, human resources, accounting, and information systems.
Process Change
A batch process is the production of products in batches or lots in regard to specific categories and tasks (Schroeder et al., 2013). On the one hand, this process helps to save money, divide people into groups, and reduce waste. On the other hand, this process may result in delays so that the downtime between batches de-motivates employees. Line processing is characterized by large quantities, fast speed, and efficient work, leading to significant production increases. The necessity to move from a batch process to a line process may cause concerns among the representatives of different departments.
Concerns of Different Departments
Marketing
The essence of marketing is to make sure that appropriate exchange relationships with different people and organizations may be supported by a company (Baker, 2014). Regarding such transformation, the representatives of this department may question the possibility of having the same volumes of production, meet customers’ needs, and offer the required quantity of products on a regular basis.
Finance
A financial department’s concern may touch upon the necessity of additional investments. A financial function is to promote efficient use of funds (Brigham, 2014). Therefore, the development of new funding programs should be offered to support this change and make sure that no quality damage occurs because of poor financing.
Human Resource
Human resource management aims at employing people and developing their skills and knowledge in the field (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). One of the possible concerns of this department may be the number of employees required for a new type of working process and staff’s obligations to change repetitive activities within line tasks.
Accounting
In the field of accounting, where activities, decisions, and ideas have to be represented in the form of money, people should be challenged by the necessity to understand the price of new equipment and if new experts may demand a higher salary. Financial transactions should not be increased as soon as one process is replaced by another process.
Information Systems
Finally, the sphere of information systems may be interested in the possibility to introduce new facts and details in regard to the chosen organizational change. A batch process promotes flexibility in work, and information systems should not be challenged by such flexibility but use a chance to obtain new, different sources.
Conclusion
In general, the concerns of all departments in a firm that is going to replace a batch process with a line process are based on the necessity to understand if new steps and changes lead to certain benefits or just create a new challenge. All departments have to be ready to use different options and support this movement to meet organizational needs.
References
Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page Publishers.
Baker, M.J. (2014). Marketing strategy and management. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Block, P. (2016). The empowered manager: Positive political skills at work. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Brigham, E.F. (2014). Financial management theory and practice. New Delhi, India: Atlantic Publishers.
Schroeder, R.G., Goldstein, S.M., & Rungtusanatham, M.J. (2013). Operations management in the supply chain: Decisions and Cases (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Voehl, F., & Harrington, H.J. (2016). Change management: Manage the change, or it will manage you. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.