ABSTRACT
Appreciate the mission of an operations strategy Explain the strategic positioning an operations strategy can support Understand how certain key tactical factors can be used as management levers to
shape an operations strategy
Appreciate how contingency issues in an external competitive environment will shape such a strategy
INTRODUCTION
This chapter continues to examine the context of an operations strategy by reviewing the wider perspectives that will shape both its development and performance. All organizations are embedded in an individual context. Although, for example, there will be certain common factors across an industry, and firms may even share common operations strategy building blocks, the particular blend of these elements will be unique to both the commercial enterprise and its sector. Chapter 6 demonstrated how operations strategies could be customized to reflect various demand and supply situations. There will also be other, more general, tactical factors and contingency influences upon the unique composition and deployment of such a strategy – it is these that are the subject of this chapter.
