Business Operations: this short article explains Business Operations in a practical way. Next to what it is (definition), this article also highlights the Day-to-day procedure, Business development and tips & tricks. Enjoy reading!
Business Operations: this short article explains Business Operations in a practical way. Next to what it is (definition), this article also highlights the Day-to-day procedure, Business development and tips & tricks. Enjoy reading!
Business operations is a term that has many different meanings. One of them is ‘everything a company does daily to keep running and keep generating revenue.’
The activities within business operations can therefore vary enormously from company to company. Another definition of business management is ‘the control of business process management within an organization to achieve objectives’. This applies to all types of processes.
Typical activities in the business operations of a webshop are, for example:
Activities of a digital marketing agency look different again. Examples are:
The specific characteristics of business operations are therefore tailored to the type of company. Yet there are also some shared activities that can be found in almost every kind of company. We roughly distinguish between 3 primary categories.
One category is human resource management. Manpower is almost always required to be able to carry out the vital processes within a company.
HR is responsible for managing the right staff. This means, among other things, ensuring that staff members have everything they need to properly perform their core tasks. In many cases, this means setting up a full-time HR department.
Personnel carry out so-called business processes. These are the most important aspect of a company’s operations. Business processes are essential for the survival and success of a company. It is therefore crucial that these are properly managed. This is usually done by a company’s management.
The productivity of an organization is measured on the basis of the performance of the business processes. That is a reflection of the work done by the workforce. High productivity is often associated with high profitability, but that is not always the case.
In addition to a team of hard-working people, organizations also need resources such as equipment and tools. This is essential to keep operations as efficient as possible. This also differs from company to company. A manufacturing company will probably house a lot of machines and installations, where a call center mainly needs hardware and software.
Making and keeping business operations efficient is very important. It can be the difference between success and failure. This is especially true in highly competitive industries, where margins are small. There are some things organizations can do to achieve this.
The first step to running an efficient business is having a good understanding of the status quo and how the company is doing well in terms of performance. Only then can a route to improvement be mapped out. The first priority is therefore effective performance management.
Performance also looks different in every organization. For example, a company that sells software pays attention to the following KPIs:
A website that sells clothing keeps track of other statistics, such as the bounce rate and similar statistics.
The second thing organizations can do to improve business operations is to make adjustments that improve the identified performance. This is only possible if the business processes are properly mapped out.
Various tools are used for this, such as Business Process Mapping (BPM). Methods such as Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) can then be used to streamline and optimize the processes.
It may also be desirable to focus on the external world to improve business operations. In addition to monitoring performance and actively improving business processes, answers can often be found in the industry or niche in which an organization is active.
What are the general trends in this industry? What are my competitors looking for? There is a lot of information and knowledge available. This just needs to be unlocked.
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