Using Teams in Production and Operations Management
Marquita Jackson
Dr. Laura Pogue
Contemporary Business BUS 508
November 13, 2011

“Production and operations managers oversee the work of people and machinery to convert inputs into finished goods and services” (Boone 357). They must consider many factors such as taxes, employee needs, labor force skills and size, and economical transportations for materials and supplies, and the amount of energy services. These managers are responsible for planning the production process, selecting the most appropriate layout, implementing the production plan, and controlling the production process. Managers are also responsible for maintaining quality control and ensuring that goods or services that they provide meet the customers expectations (Boone 2011). General Electric is a major household brand that revamped and reformed their production and operations management. In 1890, Thomas Edison established the Edison General Electric Company to be able to bring together his various businesses. During that same period, a competitor company, Thomson-Houston Company, became a dominant innovation company. As both businesses expanded and grew it became more difficult for both companies to produce complete electrical installations relying solely on their own patents and technologies. In 1892, the two companies merged together and created a new organization called the General Electric Company. The first General Electric Appliance was an electric fan that was produced at the Ft. Wayne electric works as early as the 1890s. A full line of heating and cooking devices were developed in 1907. General Electric’s leaders have built the brand based on a diverse portfolio of leading businesses, powerful company-wide initiatives that drives growth and reduce costs, financial strength that allows it to capitalize on opportunities, and a set of