International business operation
International business operation is the business activities carried out in a business whose main focus is on the international market. For an explicit explanation of the topic the below article will be used. The title of the article has been identified as; Armistead and Simon Machin. Implications of business process management for operations management by Colin, the Business School at Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK.
Business operation management is mainly involved with the management of the labor, the business processes, business new trends, advancement in technology and other resources which are aimed at producing goods and services. There is an importance in carrying out business operations within the international level which are aimed at managing operations. The operations carried out are may also lead into enhancing business processes. This will in turn lead to re-engineering of the process model aimed at harmonizing the concepts and the business techniques which have been designed to manage and improve the operating processes. International business operations are more than the business management which is applied in the business operations. This will mostly dwell with the operations that the business carries out at the international level.
However, despite the operations being fundamental to the business operations their entails some implications which are of wider consideration of the business processes for the management operations to take place. The article is essential as it gives an overview of the implications which businesses operating at international level mostly encounters and how the operations can be enhanced without distracting business operations. For better explanation of the business operations the article has identified research question,
(RQ): Can the concepts and techniques from the management operations be applicable to the business operations at international level? The research question will therefore help in developing ways and method s in enhancing international business operations. The study shall succinctly introduce business processes perceptions and the processes involved in management of the business operations at the international level.
Methods
Qualitative method
In determining how the international business operations manage their business processes the article has undertaken several approaches. The first method applied is the qualitative method. During the pilot study interviews were conducted in a maximum of four organizations. The organizations used were identified as: TSB; Rank Xerox; Kodak; and the Birds Eye Walls. In carrying out the research, the knowledge of the method used in combination with the organizations, would lead to answering the research question. In more emphasis on the method and the business operations on an international level, another interview was carried out and this involved a different phase of Rank Xerox organization. On an international level of the organizations, Rank Xerox had been recorded to have been the one carrying out the best operations in 1992. In1996, Nortel recorded the best, Texas recorded high performance in 1995. The results that were depicted from the three organizations portrayed an excellent reflection for those organizations which is at the verge of introducing their business operations at the international level.
Interview
Personal interview was also conducted to the director in the United Kingdom (UK). In one aspect the interview was related to the processing manager within the business, while in the other perspective the interview was directed to the operations manager. Based on this interview, it was anticipated that the responses would be based on the international business operations. Semi – structured interviews were also conducted. The open ended interviews in this case were based on the pilot study carried out from the four organizations. The responses obtained from the qualitative methods and the interviews were endorsed by the design used in the study.
Design of the study
In better analysis and the evaluation of the research problem the results was documented in maps, business frameworks and the organizational structures. For the case of the interviews conducted the responses were put into transcripts. The data obtained from the four organizations was put into cognitive maps for better analysis on the concepts on the business operations. The concepts were then huddled and compared with the transcripts from the pilot study and the documented materials so as to come up with independent and reliable findings. The research was conducted from the organization and the subject of study was the four organizations.
Results / findings
According to the article diverse findings were arrived depending on method applied. The findings were therefore clustered from the different approaches and they were identified as; organization coordination, organization restructuring,
Organization coordination
From the article, it was found that business coordination will harmonize the business processes and this took different forms. For instance, business process management was positioned as an overall approach in determining the methods to be adopted in enhancing successful international business operations. Business coordination also revealed that the processes involved in the operations undertaken within the business may lead to business integrating related processes within it is operations and this may increase its viability in participating in the international business operations.
Organization Restructuring
It was found out that organizational restructuring may also apply to the low performance of the business operations at the international level. When an organization closes down one of it is branches, due to either relocation or poor performance, this will in a way affect the overall performance the entire organization. This will be extended to the international level. The restructuring concept applies to the international business operation in a sense that, the organization will not be in a position to undertake its normal operations in the market. From the findings it can therefore be concluded that the concepts and techniques from the management operations will be applicable to the business operations at the international level.
Strengths and the usefulness of the article
The article has explicitly explained the implications that the business process implicates on the management operations in the business. The discussion has been endorsed by relevant materials and examples which are in the real world and on operation. The references to the article are also abundant and supportive to the study. It is also useful as it has portrayed all the implications that the business anticipates in the international business operations.
Weaknesses and limitations of the article
The article only provides the implications that the business processes may have on the business operations, but it does not provide on the recommendations or the alternatives that the organization may take. The article should provide statistics that the four organizations scooped during the years they excellently performed at the international levels.
Conclusion
Management of business operation and the processes is an imperative and vital aspect in the overall strategies involved in the operations that are performed at the International level. As it has been depicted from the article and from the above study some business concepts will determine how the operations will be carried out at the international business operations. The concepts will also determine the position of the business in international level. The article has precisely outsourced the implications of that sprouts from the processes and techniques that the business undertakes and this makes the article be fundamental to the today’s business operations. From the article, I have learnt that it is essential to enhance and develop reliable and dependable business concepts for this will dictate the position and performance of the business.
