So what do people who pursue careers in operations and supply management do? Quite simply, they specialize in managing the production of goods and services. Jobs abound for people who can do this well since every organization is dependent on effective performance of this fundamental activity for its long-term success.

It is interesting to contrast entry-level jobs in operations and supply management to marketing and finance jobs. Many marketing entry-level jobs focus on actually selling products or managing the sales of products. These individuals are out on the front line trying to push product to potential customers. Often a significant part of your income will depend on commissions from these sales. Entry-level finance (and accounting) jobs are often in large public accounting firms. These jobs often involve working at a desk auditing transactions to ensure the accuracy of financial statements. Other assignments often involve the analysis of transactions to better understand the costs associated with the business.

Contrast the marketing and finance jobs to operations and supply management jobs. The operations and supply manager is out working with people to figure out the best way to deliver the goods and services of the firm. Sure, they work with the marketing folks, but rather than being on the selling side, they are on the buying side: trying to select the best materials and hiring the greatest talent. They will use the data generated by the finance people and analyze processes to figure out the best way to do things. Operations and supply management jobs are hands-on, working with people and figuring out the best way to do things.

The following are some typical management and staff jobs in operations and supply management:

• Plant manager—Oversees the workforce and physical resources (inventory, equipment, and information technology) required to produce the organization's product.

• Hospital administrator—Oversees human resource management, staffing, and finances at a health care facility.

• Branch manager (bank)—Oversees all aspects of financial transactions at a branch.

• Department store manager—Oversees all aspects of staffing and customer service at a store.

• Call center manager—Oversees staffing and customer service activities at a call center.

• Supply chain manager—Negotiates contracts with vendors and coordinates the flow of material inputs to the production process and the shipping of finished products to customers.

• Purchasing manager—Manages the day-to-day aspects of purchasing such as invoicing and follow-up.

• Business process improvement analyst—Applies the tools of lean production to reduce cycle time and eliminate waste in a process.

• Quality control manager—Applies techniques of statistical quality control such as acceptance sampling and control charts to the firm's products.

• Lean improvement manager—Trains organizational members in lean production and continuous improvement methods.

• Project manager—Plans and coordinates staff activities such as new-product development, new-technology deployment, and new-facility location.

• Production control analyst—Plans and schedules day-to-day production.

• Facilities manager—Assures that the building facility design, layout, furniture, and other equipment are operating at peak efficiency.

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

So how far can you go in a career in operations and supply management? One goal would be to become the chief operating officer of a company. The chief operating officer (COO) works with the CEO and company president to determine the company's competitive strategy. The COO's ideas are filtered down through the rest of the company. COOs determine an organization's location, its facilities, which vendors to use, and how the hiring policy will be implemented. Once the key decisions are made, lower-level operations personnel carry them out. Operations personnel work to find solutions and then set about fixing the problems. Here are profiles of some current COOs and their responsibilities.

David Berg, Best Buy International, directs efforts to improve the efficiencies of Best Buy's Canadian and Chinese operations and is responsible for evaluating new market opportunities and leading international merger and acquisition work and post-merger integration. Best Buy Co., Inc., continually strives to create superior customer experiences in more than 1,100 retail stores across the United States, Canada, and China.

Melvin Elias, The Coffee Bean, is responsible for the retail sales, finance, manufacturing, distribution, performance development, and marketing functions. He is instrumental in the development and implementation of the organization's strategic plan and communication of the plan companywide.

Derek Gannon, Guardian News & Media (GNM), oversees all the support functions in the business, including technology and IT, facilities management, HR, and learning and development. He also will manage the overall project for GNM's move to new offices near Kings Cross in 2008.

Anne Stevens, Ford Motor Company of the Americas, has overall responsibility for leading Ford's core operations in the Americas, including product development, manufacturing, and purchasing.

Rodger G. Marticke, FedEx, is responsible for all FedEx Ground U.S. operations, which includes more than 500 facilities across the country that deliver more than 2.6 million packages a day.

Managing the supply chain, service, and support are particularly challenging aspects of a chief operating officer's job at such innovative manufacturers as Apple. (See Breakthrough Bio on Timothy D. Cook of Apple.) Career opportunities in operations and supply management are plentiful today as companies strive to improve profitability by improving quality and productivity and reducing costs. The hands-on work of managing people is combined with great opportunities to leverage the latest technologies in getting the job done at companies around the world. No matter what you might do for a final career, your knowledge of operations and supply management will prove to be a great asset.