The Application of Production Skills in the Management of Business Organization to Gain Competitive Advantage
The Application of Production Skills in the Management of Business Organization to Gain Competitive Advantage
Abstract of The Application of Production Skills in the Management of Business Organization to Gain Competitive Advantage
Production skills is a basic element in maintaining the production capacity of an organization is an important function in any production organization. The reprocess of any organization is made up of both it’s human and material assets, which are the source of generating revenue and growth. A great deal of production skills, is required to harness both the human, machine, materials, money, and assets of a production firm, and stay on top of the business, been a competitive market. Where there are various competitors in the market, the production manager should posses production skills to enable him outsmart other competitors in the market where materials, plants, and machineries are ignored, neglected, they are bound to loose values, and in some cases it lead to high staff turnover and eventually lost of product quality. Lost of sales, lack of workers safety, and at times can even lead to the winding up of such firms, without production skills. Emphasis will be on how these skills can sustain and develop more features to remain on top, or gain competitive advantage. It is also be noted that lack of skills, can make an industry run into a great downfall to an extent of winding up. This research work will be important to coach and train workers for them to become skilled and enable them to be the best in other to be at advantage over their competitors.
Chapter One of The Application of Production Skills in the Management of Business Organization to Gain Competitive Advantage
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Production skills (defined)
Industries and business organization be it private or public, have one thing in common, the human workforce, this could confidently be said, that organization, will not exist without its human resources, since a business organization cannot even start without a workforce, and effective and efficient skills, will gear the ability of the organization to stand out among its competitors.
Production control is defined by Burbidge (1992). In his book the principles of production control, “Is the function of management which plans, directs and controls the material supply and processing activities of an enterprise, so that the specified products are produced. By specific methods to meet an approved sales programme. These activities being carried out in such a manner that the labour, plant and capital available are used to the best advantage.
Poter (2006). In his book, effective entrepreneurship, he is of the view that companies can choose between three general strategy to build competitive advantage a differentiation strategy, a low-cost strategy and third approach, frequency used by entrepreneurs in focus, or ninche strategy. A firm that uses a differentiation strategy competes on the basis of its ability to do things differently than its major competitors do.
Beal, Reginald (2000). In his journal competing environmental scanning competitive strategy and organizational performance in small manufacturing firms is of the view that pursuit of an effective entrepreneurial strategy is mainly through advantages, has been mapped through the collection and analysis of information from existing and potential customers.
Boxalla (1996) Boxall 1996 defines strategy as a firm’s frame work of critical ends and means. This definition helps to make the point clear, that means do not flow unproblematically from ends. Rather the historically developed means to shape what ends are conceivable and possible.
Mitchell Porter (1984), Competitive advantage is a very basic word, a position a firm occupies against its competitors. The three methods of creating a sustainable competitive advantage are through: cost leadership, differentiation and focus.
Iornum (2005). In his book introduction to material management defines material management as practical in business today, as “ A confederacy of traditional materials, activities bound by a common idea; the idea of an integrated management approach to planning, conversion flow and distribution of production materials from the raw materials state to the finished product state. Managers or individual should understand that core competencies include the particular set of skills and resources firm posses as well as the way those resources are used to produce outcome.
Usage of these resources depends on the skills and ability of the human work force in the organization. Therefore the need for effective and skilled labour is required to stage ahead in competing with other competitors. The creation of knowledge is a dynamic and continues process.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In the past years, various issues to the effective management of industries and business organizations to gain competitive advantage over others have been noticed and highlighted as follows:
Unskilled Labour:
Unskilled labour has been the major problem facing industries and business organization, this is as a result of personnel managers, not recruiting and selecting employees, base on merit, skill, and expertise, but rather on selection based on man know man, a connection of whom you know to get to were you want. Hence, the effect is having the wrong people at the right place and thereby affecting the quality of service or product to be delivered to the market.
In Nigeria today, you will be surprise, seeing somebody who read a different course entirely been employed in a different field. i.e. a mechanical engineer working in a banking sector, such the expected performance will be upturned and unsatisfactorily.
Technology
Inability of industries and business organization. To use the modern ways to get things done, effectively and efficiently. Is another major problem, A supplier may be expected to produce technical, particularly during the early stages of design and manufacturing.
Late Delivery speed
Inability to make the product or deliver the service quickly “in some markets a firm’s ability to deliver more quickly than its competitors may be critical. A company can offer an on-site repair service in only/or 2 hours, has a significant advantage over a competing firm that guarantee service only within 24 hours.
In-ability to cope with changes in demand
Changes its volume, in many market, a company’s ability to respond to increase and decrease in demand is important to its ability to compete. Its is well known that a company with increasing demand can do little wrong.
Poor product quality and reliability
Customers wants product without defects, thus the goal of process quality is to produce defect-free products and services, product and service specification, give in dimensional tolerance and/or service error rate. Define how the product or services is to be made.
Adherence to the specification is critical to ensure the reliability of the product or service as defined by its intended use.
Cost or price
Is another problem when the price of any product is too high it affects its competitive strength in the market.
Scarcity of fuel/petroleum products
I find out that sometimes when the refineries are working in full capacity, the dealers and distributors of the petroleum products hoard these products and truck drivers are said to be diverting these product elsewhere.
The pipeline and products marketing company, should be also monitoring the activities of the tanker drivers, to ensure effective and efficient distribution of the petroleum products. However, all efforts have been to no avail, because usually during festival periods or towards the end of the year, fuel scarcity is experienced in most towns and cities in the country.
Most of these times there are no official explanation for the scarcity. There are unpleasant long queues of people waiting to buy petrol hours wasted by house wives looking for kerosene to cook for the family, since cooking gas is out of reach to an ordinary Nigerian.
With the suffering of the people in general and increase of transportation fare’s it does not speak well of an oil producing country like Nigeria for this reason, the situation needs to be properly addressed which is what prompted the researcher to undertake this research and also to give a situation analysis and meaningful recommendation.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objective of the study is to analyse the impact of production skills in the management of industries/business organization to portray how far the application of production skills in the management has helped the discipline level.
In this case therefore, it is important to note that management is a very complex situation, because human beings as individuals interact with one another in groups and in large organization. It is also very important to note that every human behaviour has a cause, there is a reason for a person behaving as he does.
It aims to explain that a favourable working environment couple with employees loyalty and commitment and skill to work increase productivity.
Finally, management could also gain from this study in that, it will help management to provide necessary refresher courses all categories of personnel to sharpen their already acquired skills.
It also helps the management in facilitating their objectives and aims which are as follows:
– To profitably export petroleum products to existing and potential market at a minimum cost
– To provide an un-interrupted supply of crude oil to the refineries
– To stimulate the sale of special products and promote import subscription of petroleum products and special products, i.e. (9waxes, base oil, bitumen, etc).
STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS
In order to be able to achieve the objective of our research, the following hypothesis have been developed and presented for testing:
HO: That application of production skills in the management of industries and business organization has no significance impact profitability of an organization
HI: HO: That application of production skills in the management of industries and business organization has a significance impact profitability of an organization
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The research project will be of immense benefit to all management staff and captains of industries on the important of skills. Production skills in organization and industries will help in achieving the desired objectives of providing good quality services profit making, alertness and discipline in every aspect.
The project will highlight the importance of skills in the management of industries/business organization and its importance cannot be over-emphasized, to also state that production skills in organization will contribute a lot to the survival of the organization/industry and it hedge out other competitors.