Need to Study Production Management

Production Management is defined as the design, operation and

maintenance of the transformation process, which converts various inputs
into outputs of desired products.
Production management comprises of various types of activities, decisions
and actions on part of managers. The portfolio of activities handled by a
production manager is pretty vast. Let us briefly look at some of the
questions that production managers are often faced with. This would provide
us a good understanding of the need to study production management:
What should be the features in a product that would make it successful
in the market?
What is the demand projection for the proposed product to be
produced?
What kind of production strategies should be followed to beat the
competition?
Which process should be followed to produce a product?
What should be the capacity of the facility to produce the product?
Where should the facility be located?
What should be the layout of the facility?
Which methods should be utilized to manage the various projects
(including the construction of the facility)?
Which sources of raw materials and supplies should be used?
What should be the inventory policy to be followed?
How would the materials requirement planning be done?
How would the production plans be prepared?
How would the material be scheduled, routed and moved inside the
facility?
Which quality systems/ standards would be followed?
How would the jobs be designed and work measurement performed?
How would the organization demonstrate sustainability and corporate
social responsibility in its production?
The list of questions above is only indicative and not comprehensive.
Nevertheless, it gives a good idea about the need to study production
management.