The Psychology of Quality and Operations Management

Psychology in operations management is one thing that cannot be ignored in this modern world if the desired performance is to be achieved in any company or organization.

Operations management is all about looking after the day to day running of a particular company so that the set goals are achieved and quality performance is realized.

According to MIT Sloan School of Management, Operations Management deals with the design and management of products, processes, services and chains of supply.

Operations management is a complex issue; it requires organizational structure, system and process, resources and values that can be achieved through strategic training, planning and management. However this needs a proper way of handling the team that run the operations management.

Companies try hard to maintain the quality of their goods and services through different methods and programs, some put in place strict laws and regulations, and others carry out motivation through different ways. Many people and companies consider monetary reward to be the major factor towards employee motivation.

In this modern world money is seen as the ultimate solution to most problems, and thus everyone’s target, in the psychology of quality it may not necessarily be the case. People work for different reasons and benefits ranging from material, social and spiritual. A highly paid electrician may fail to perform up to the expectations of a company or decide to quit the job, where as a low paid teacher may efficiently perform his duties and stay in his job.

Human beings are heavy going creatures who have different physiological, social and psychological needs, so motivation alone in terms of monetary reward may not change their behaviors for quality work, it is important for companies to also take the behavioral approach when dealing with employees in the field of operations management if they are to get the best out of them.

Job satisfaction which is how one feels about work and the work place is one of the things that might change behavior, so one might work with or without commitment because of the feeling he has towards work and the working environment.

Job satisfaction is determined by a number of things for example relationship with colleagues, customer and employers, working conditions, benefits, participation in decision making and even outside the company like people’s perception on the job.

For the required organizational performance to be realized, companies need to consider the element of psychology of quality for proper operations management because people have different telling reasons why they work.