Operations
2.3 Organisation LayersA company can seize extra-ordinary opportunities only if it excels at the ordinary operations
What is operations?
Definition
The practical day-to-day activities producing tangible outcome value for stakeholders
Purpose
To execute responsibilities and activities that produce actual value for the organisations stakeholders and propels the organisation towards its direction
Leadership is built up by all leaders in the organisation
The individual assigned by the owners to act as accountable for the operations can seldom perform all operations alone. Unless one is self-employed, the operations of an organisation is dependent on a lot of people such as employees, partners, suppliers, etc. To ensure that the organisation operates and progresses in the defined direction, there must be leadership that shows the way, supports and ultimately ensures that the organisation has the ability to operate in line with the direction.
The leadership layer consists of the senior management team and all roles in the organisation with the responsibility to lead others within their area of responsibility. The leaders in the organisation acts as the extended arms of the senior management team, the accountable head of the operation and ultimately the owners.
Operation ranges from the operative management work to make day-to-day decisions, produce material and perform management activities to printing visitor badges in the reception.
A strategy, a policy, a plan or a process in itself has no outcome value. Its purpose is to provide direction, ability and clarity to the organisation to be able to execute value producing activities. These types of assets also define which activities are valuable and which aren’t.
There is a difference in doing things right and doing the right things. The top three layers describes what the right things are and how to do them. The operations layer does them, through the day-to-day activities.
No value is created unless a stakeholder perceives it. And this can only be achieved through real world actions and results.
Next Step
Next, read more about the Information layer…