Terms such as competitive advantage

Terms such as competitive advantage, markets and business, which are used in this book,
are usually associated with companies in the for-profit sector. Yet operations management
is also relevant to organizations whose purpose is not primarily to earn profits. Managing
the operations in an animal welfare charity, hospital, research organization or government
department is essentially the same as in commercial organizations. Operations have to take
the same decisions – how to produce products and services, invest in technology, contract
out some of their activities, devise performance measures, and improve their operations
performance and so on. However, the strategic objectives of not-for-profit organizations
may be more complex and involve a mixture of political, economic, social and environmental
objectives. Because of this there may be a greater chance of operations decisions
being made under conditions of conflicting objectives. So, for example, it is the operations
staff in a children’s welfare department who have to face the conflict between the cost of
providing extra social workers and the risk of a child not receiving adequate protection.
Nevertheless the vast majority of the topics covered in this book have relevance to all types
of organization, including non-profit, even if the context is different and some terms may
have to be adapted.