The operations manager usually holds a mid-level management position, although this may vary depending on the size and structure of the company. Positions at this level typically include chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, president and vice president. The operations manager usually holds a mid-level management position. While this depends on the size and structure of the company, these functions are usually for people who already have experience managing a team.
Young companies usually have a simple management hierarchy comprised of a single level, usually occupied by the owner. As a company grows, it adds additional employees and management personnel, and a true hierarchy emerges. This management hierarchy can have up to three levels.
Operational
management is at the lowest level.Above these supervisors are middle managers, while top management controls the entire company. Although they occupy different hierarchical levels, all managers perform the same basic functions: organizing, planning, directing, controlling and caring for staff. What differentiates the levels is the scope and the main areas of managerial interest. In a corporation, the key functions of top management are appointed by a board of directors to which top management must answer.
Successful plans promote the company's overall strategy and direction established by top management. An office manager will normally play a very similar role, overseeing the overall functioning of business operations, including finances, personnel, policies, marketing, and goal setting. Middle managers often serve as a liaison with other departments and use their interpersonal skills to coordinate and cooperate across departments. Similarly, once their work is done, finished products must be properly inventoried and then shipped down the supply chain to retailers or direct customers.
Technical capacity (the understanding of actual work processes) is also a key operational management concern. For production equipment to operate effectively, they need a constant supply of materials. On the contrary, the functional organizational structure has many levels of middle managers that make it “high”. By knowing the needs of each department, they can adjust the workflow and reassign tasks to improve the efficiency of the operation.
With the position of vice president or lower, these managers create plans and objectives that they want to achieve in a year or less.
Operational managers
are also referred to as first-line managers, supervisors, team leaders, or team facilitators. Depending on the size of the company, an operations manager oversees several departments of the company and acts as the go-to person to direct and coordinate daily operations. If there is a need for alliances with external organizations, it is the top management that creates the partnerships.It is up to operational managers to translate these objectives into short-term objectives and plans that ultimately meet the expectations of middle managers. Depending on their positions, middle managers can supervise first-line managers, other middle managers, departments or entire divisions of a company. They must also be able to manage people effectively using good listening, motivation and communication skills.