Chapter 14: Management of Operations

Each element of the value chain provides added value to the product. A new enterprise manages its value chain to provide the ultimate product or service to the customer. The firm also moves, stores, and tracks parts and materials through its supply chain, striving to ensure timely, efficient production of the product or service. Information flow along the value chain enables the coordination of the distributed tasks. An effective enterprise manages for operational excellence by developing and communicating measurements of efficiency and timeliness.

Using common communications technologies, new enterprises can build a powerful virtual organization, communicating with a set of partners in a quick and effective manner. This set of partners can work from a common schedule, manage how jointly assigned tasks are allocated, and see how interdependencies affect a common schedule. Interrelated tasks can be better managed across firms, which results in better forecasting and stronger chances of achieving on-time production.

1. “Overcoming Some of the Early Mistakes of Dell” with Michael Dell, Dell

2. “Develop Operating Range” with Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, JOYUS

3. “High Efficiency and Happy Accidents” with Kevin Hartz, Eventbrite

Continue to Chapter 15

Tom Byers, Stanford University

Tom Byers is a Professor in the Department of Management Science & Engineering at Stanford University and a faculty director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP).

Andrew Nelson, University of Oregon

Andrew Nelson is Associate Vice President for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Oregon.

Richard Dorf, University of California, Davis

Richard C. Dorf is a Professor Emeritus of Management and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Davis.