The success of any organization depends on how its operations are run on a day-to-day manner as well as strategically. Most assume operations to mean the auxiliary functions such as human resources, finance and accounting and marketing etc.
The core operation however, be it manufacturing or services, also comes under operations and is one of the important parts of an organization. Contrary to the popular belief it is not the only important function of the organization. This is because even if manufacturing is done properly if the books are not managed in the right manner by the accounts department you will definitely end up with a loss rather than a profit.
Impact on Productivity
It is a well-known fact that a company is, in total a single machine. Take our body for example. Human body is compared to a machine most of the time. If you don't have a healthy, working heart, or if your kidneys don't do the necessary selection of what needs to stay in the body and what needs to go out, or if your limbs don't work for some reason you won't function in the normal manner.
Similar to this, even if a single part of your company is not working properly you would not have a productive organization. Even though under theories such as triple bottom line, in addition to monetary, societal and environmental bottom lines are also considered important, the profit precedes them most of the time. Therefore, to ensure that you have a profit to go on it is important to consider high productivity levels.
Using Systems for Productivity
One thing you need to remember is that using a software system would not guarantee high productivity. For it to function properly, employees need to use it in the right manner as well as understand how it works and how it can help them to help the organization achieve the best it can. You might have to run a few training programs to make the employees understand how momentous the system is to them.
Because when a software system is introduced to the employees, such as an advertising agency management system, they tend to look at negatively at the beginning. They need to understand that using the system will improve their work efficiency and will result in the organization earning more profits, which in turn will turn to bonuses and increased compensation.
Choosing the Right System
There are so many software systems out there. It could be a CRM (Customer Relations Management) system, a project management system etc. The best thing is to have a strategic management decision made to adapt a central MIS (Management Information System) which can help all the business functions.
For example, don't go for an accounting system just because manual accounting is tedious. Evaluate at least several systems and pick the right one for your industry. Also consider the maintenance; if you have to call the support staff all the time, then this might not be the right system for you.
Keep employees happy and tasks simplified. Operations will run most effectively with no extra effort.