ABSTRACT
Operations is sometimes described as the heart of the business. We define operations here as the facilities that produce goods and services, complete with ancillary functions such as purchasing and quality control and related functional support operational units. These include functions such as IT, procurement, operational risk management and so on. For the management framework, the operations driver can and should include all the key company operational issues, i.e. it should connect all the operational ‘dots’. If for example the company has started an initiative to outsource production to locations in India or China, then this initiative should be listed under the operations driver. Listed too should be all relevant details on how outsourcing will be carried out, when, and who will take responsibility for the process. Depending on the company, what it makes/sells and who its customers are, issues that can be listed under this driver include production, IT, quality control, procurement/purchasing, customer support and operational risk management. Box 7.1 OPERATIONAL DRIVERS
Operations
Information technology
Operational risk management
Procurement
