What is Operations Management?
In simpler terms, if you are the group Captain and you are assigned with a task, which would be to ensure all of your group members rose up every day at 5 am, ran the arduous 5 mile jog, and then swam the 2 mile stretch, followed by a mile and half trek on the thistle and viper ridden mountain ridge, doing all of these within the allotted 3 hours and then reporting at the camp in one piece, safe and sound.
The Group task is not easy, but if you are a capable Captain, then you would execute this Operation Meticulously, thus earning yourself a feather and probably a merit to your grade.
In simpler terms, the success of your Group depends on your ability to Organize and Manage this operation with erudite planning and know how. For any slip in Management would eventually lead to the Group’s failure and subsequently yours as well.
From the Group’s awakening time, to the routes that they ought to follow, should be meticulously discussed with the team and all measures should be put in place to ensure that no one deviates either to the left or the right from what was previously assigned to them. This is the simplest explanation as to what Operations Management is in layman’s term.
Why Operations Management came into being as a Subject?
The very subject Operations Management came into existence after the tragic debacle loss suffered by Robert Falcon Scott of the then British Empire, who took up challenge to reach the South Pole ahead of the competing Norwegian, Ronald Amundsen.
It all started in the year 1910, the Newspapers called it as “Race to the South Pole”. Scott and Amundsen, were known for their Adventurous spirits, but reaching the South Pole, became more a prestige issue for the British Empire.
Scott wanted this operation to succeed badly, foremost, the reputation of the whole empire was at stake, secondly his own future, with retirement nearing and a purse with considerable and liberal grants would ensure a livelihood of great living and exotic indulgence.
With all this and a head load of pride, Scott gave his last interview to the Newspapers. His words were, “we would reach the South pole, at least a month in advance, even before Amundsen would set his foot at base of the summit”
The confidence of Scott was illustrated by the then Daily English Newspapers with mile long adoration and Editorials, all complementing and wishing great cheers of good luck to Scott.
Illustration of Operations Mis-Management
Scott planned his operation in the following way. The first leg of his journey would be covered by Diesel driven Tractors, while the second leg would be covered by Manchurian ponies. This decision would cost Scott very dearly. One reason would be to the fact that Scott had underestimated the prevailing Climatic conditions of the South Pole, secondly, he never gave a thought to an eventuality that every individual driving a motorized vehicle would foresee, that is, “Fuel”
Amundsen, on the other hand kept a very low profile. No one even knew that he was Scott’s challenger until the last minute. According to Amundsen, he planned his journey to entirely rely on skis and sled dogs.
This decision of Amundsen to bank his Expedition entirely on sled dogs were initially mocked and ridiculed by the then British Experts. British Dailies ran humor columns with Amundsen caricatures depicting the heights of his insanity and inexperience.
None of these swayed Amundsen from neither his goal nor his passion to achieve the unthinkable. For the so called experts failed to take one thing into consideration, before writing off Amundsen, and that would be, his keen sense to Manage any given Operation. This attribute became the final deciding factor in this Expedition.
Management is the Heart of any Operation, when the Heart goes missing,the body simply stops
Now about a week into the journey, Scott finds out that the bitter cold weather of the South Pole has corroded his combustion engines. Thus causing his Diesel driven tractors to consume twice the normal Diesel that were accounted for. Under the given circumstances, this can break Scott and his team in half and bury them right at their current location.
Scott never anticipated such a precarious situation at the first place. In fact, before buying into this decision of using Diesel driven tractors, he had consulted with some of the top British Technologists of then times, and all of them favored the use of Diesel driven tractors, with assurance that the Expedition could be completed at least a month in advance of the planned date.
As it is said, “Man proposes, but God, disposes”. Scott never took the Climate of the South Pole into parametric considerations. Scott’s visualization was always one sided and skewed. In all of his interviews, his sole objective had been to nullify and humiliate Amundsen.
Scott assumed that his Diesel tractors would simply blaze past the South Pole weather, quickening the time of travel, but the contrary happened.
With merely 20% of the distance covered, Scott runs out of fuel. With supplied mounted on the tractors, Scott then makes a foolish Management flaw, to camp in the blizzard and send part of his team back to the nearest Supply depot to procure fuel.
Scott’s brave men, against all odds return back with fuel. But three of his men are now badly bruised with foot ulcers because of severe cold exposure. The severity is so much that one of his men ought to spend 1 hour merely to fit his boots on.
Scott and his men, continue their journey, midway, the Manchurian ponies that were carrying some of essential supplies give up due to the ravaging blizzard. Now having no options, and the Diesel tractors overloaded, Scott decides to man haul the supplies, thus taxing his already devastated and fragile men.
This burden was so heavy that one man, unable to speak out his distaste to Scott’s leadership flaws, simply walks off into the blizzard, leaving behind a note saying, “I can’t take this anymore”
Leaders always do the right thing
When Scott and his team were hardly managing 5 miles a day, Amundsen, on the other hand was pushing 22 miles a day. All because of his able Operations management skill sets that saw him making a vital decision of preferring the sled dogs over that of motorized tractors.
On December 14th, 1911, Amundsen and his team reach the South pole and plant the Norwegian flag. Amundsen wrote in his memoirs, “the feeling of accomplishment was same like that of celebrating Christmas”.
One month later, on January 17th, 1912, Scott and his half lost team reach the South Pole. Thinking that they had won, Scott starts to lite his Cigar, when one of his team members draws Scott’s attention to the flying Norwegian flag.
For want of a Nail, the Shoe was lost, for want of a Shoe, the Horse was lost, for want of a Horse, the Rider was lost, for want of a Rider, the Battle was lost
It is said, it is the smallest crack that drowns the entire ship. Management is something like that. When salient points are ignored, the end result becomes an inevitable chaos.
Scott, failed to consider some of the vital parameters that would aid him in the completion of his Operation. It is ironic to learn as to how, when one doesn’t start on a Right foot, nothing goes in his favor. This was so true with Scott. He missed to put the first button right, and woes simply seemed to hold on to him.
After reaching the summit and then on while beginning the descent, Scott and his men walked right into a ragging blizzard, the blizzard was so strong that Scott knew the end was near.
The last words of Scott were, “We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far,”
However emotional can it be, yet still, Scott cannot be forgiven for his many intentional mistakes and flaws that he abounded himself with.
Though to save face, Britain, crowned Scott, as a War Hero and Conqueror,and ensured that textbooks sang his glory and events and research centers named in his honor, yet, the truth of the matter ought to be told. That is, Operations that is not Managed with meticulous precision will terminate with a dreadful end resulting in loss of lives and capital.
On the contrary, Amundsen’s ability to manage the operation effectively and meticulously not only ensured that he and his team reached the South pole safely, but returned to base to enjoy the fruits of their success.
The take home point is this, the deciding factor for any organization or operation’s success is the ability of those in responsible capacities to put in place the necessary management algorithms required for the smooth sustainability and functionality of the Organization /Operation, that it might continue to be Fruitful and Multiply with sustained growth and progress
