Academy of Management
The academy of management is the most significant and the largest professional association in the world whose main goal is facilitating and equipping scholars with information about management and organization. It was established in November 1936 by Professor Chares L. Jamison and William N. Mitchell of the University of Michigan and the University Chicago respectively thus making it the oldest management association worldwide. It is located on the Briarcliff manor campus of New York University (AOM, 2003).
The Academy of management was established on the basis of advancing the philosophy of management. As the organization continued developing, its original founding members saw the rising need for scholarly research in management. This resulted to making the academy wholly academic. Today, the Academy of management hosts 18, 518 members from 104 different countries as compared to its ten members during it formation.
The academy’s efforts to involve members form various countries is based on its efforts to share management information as well as giving people from different communities a chance to participate in the organizations. Among its affiliates are Asia, Iberoamerica and five management academies of the USA which include “the Eastern, Midwest, Southwest, the Western Academy of management as well as the Southern management association” (AOM, 2003, p. 1).
The operations management division of the Academy of management deals with change management in the process of producing goods and services regardless of whether it’s a profit or a non-profit making organization. The major topics in management include “operations strategy, products and service development, supply chain management, project management, quality management and issues facing operations such as international, human resources, environmental and IT” (AOM, 2003, p. 1).
Some of the sponsors that took place in this program in 2009 include “Platinum, Project Management Institute, BGSU college of Business Administration, University of Manchester-Manchester Business School, Kelly School of Business, Gold, College of Business-University of Illinois, Stanford University, Portland University, Wake Forest University” (AOM, 2003, p. 1) among others.
Operations Strategy
The topic of operations strategy in management deals with the strategic decisions that chief executive officer in the operations department of a company come up with. It links the strategic decisions and the products or the results of these decisions (Waters & Waters, 1999). Operations strategy differs from the corporate and Business strategy in that while the latter describes general strategies the former finds means to accomplish the general strategies. The operations strategy tries to relate the company’s strengths with consumer’s tastes and preferences. Some of the details that this strategy considers before coming up with a product include the kind of products to manufacture, the range of these products, the processes employed, technology, means of producing and maintaining quality goods, the areas of establishing their business and capacity to produce as well as means of enjoying the economies of scale (Waters & Waters, 1999).
Products and Service Development
The topic of products and service development involves the means which can be employed to ensure quality work in a company. The wave that is employed in this scenario is called the Design For Six Sigma which is built upon two principles or goals. The first goal is “Do the right things” while the second goal is “Do the right things all the time” (Yang & El-Haik, 1999).
The first goal means that when designing the manufacturing a product or a service, it is important to do it excellently. Doing the right things ensures that product gives the consumer great excitement since it fits his desires, delivers the product in the most economical, efficient and flexible way and it gives room for competitive advantage. The second goal ensures consistence in the results of the first goal and does not give room for compromising.
Supply Chain Management
Supply chain refers to a relationship created among various companies by interconnections in terms of services, information; finances among others form a source to a customer. Therefore supply chain management involves coordination of various businesses involved in the supply chain in order to ensure a long term existence of a company as well as the supply chain (Mentzer, 2001).
Some of the areas covered in the topic of supply chain management include its application in the global environment, how it can affect customer’s value, satisfaction, behavior and differential advantage, roles of marketing in supply chain management among others.
Project Management
In Academy of Management conferences in 2007, several workshops and papers were basically geared towards project management. This was one of the best management conferences whereby the quality of the conference was quite good. Among the issues discussed concerning project management included:
teaching project management with people in mind, debating a research agenda on the management of large engineering projects, how to study project management while involving diverse research methods and specific phenomena in studying project, as well as the relationship between project management and firm success. (Yaghootkar, 2007. P.1)
The conference put emphasis on giving the students projects that were applicable in the real life situation as well as in the Job market.
Quality Management
This is another major topic in management according to the Academy of management. The four main components of quality management include “quality planning, quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement” (AOM, 2003, p. 1).
The quality standards of the ISO 9000:2000 and ISO 9000:2008 which were derived from the experts who took part in the ISO certification among which were the Academy of management included “customer focus, leadership, involving people, system approach to management, consistent improvement, factual approach to decision making, and mutually beneficial supplier relationship” (ISO, 2011, p.1).
Issues facing Operations
Another major topic in management is the topic covering issues facing operations in management. Some of the major issues discussed in details in this area include international, human resources, environmental and IT issues facing business bodies which the Academy of management have identified through continued scholarly research and real life experiences. These issues have been triggered by globalization which has reduced the world to a cyber space as well as extending the work of operations in management since businesses and organizations are no longer limited to geographical boundaries.
Conclusion
Since its formation in 1936, the Academy has contributed a lot and impacted so many people who have interest in the field of management. The Academy has been developing with time while giving academic scholars greater room for research in order to come up with scholarly materials.
The above discussed major topics in the field of management have equipped managers with the required information in their line of profession. This has prevented frustrations in the field of management since such knowledge brings about excellence in organization management. Managers and scholars in management should acquire membership to the academy of management to continue equipping themselves with quality ideas in this field.
References
AOM. (2003). Dedicated to Advancing the Scholarship and Advancement of Management. AOM Online. Web.
ISO. (2011). Quality Management Principles. ISO Organization. Web.
Mentzer, J. (2001). Supply Chain Management. California: Sage.
Waters, C & Waters, D. (1999). Operations Management. London, UK: Kogan Page.
Yaghootkar, K. (2007). Project Management Session in AOM Conference. Project Management Review. Web.
Yang, K & El-Haik, B. (1999). Design for Six Sigma: A Road Map to Product Development. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Professionals.