Human and Organizational Factors in Operations Management

This note analyzes the importance of the human and organizational factor in an operations system and its characteristics as a productive factor. This importance stretches from the undertaking of individual activities, through to the organizational structure that supports the system, and on to the operational culture. The requirements necessary to achieve a more humanist approach to the "human resource" are set forth, as are the systems of people and cultural aspects most relevant in the context of operations management. The objective is mutual enrichment for operations management and people management teams. Operations managers will broaden their vision of organizations as communities of people, whereas people managers will better understand the relevance of production systems in how people think, feel and act.