The three companies that I have observed are Wal-Mart, Wendy’s, and Starbucks. Each of these companies have a different purpose in the world, but they all provide goods to the consumer, either in the form of food, drink, or a multitude of other items. Every employee within each company has a function that will help the company meet their long-term goals, but to also further their reputation for the future. Each employee has a job, and that job create the daily success for each company.
Wal-Mart and their employees have many different jobs ranging from cashiers, stocker, produce or deli clerks, bakery, management, and many other jobs. With such a wide variety of jobs with this business it is very important for the company to have a solid operating system. The operating system that Wal-Mart primarily uses seems to be a mass production system which means which means they have an operating system that uses automated machines and standard procedures that make the work routine and makes large numbers of standardized product. A standardized product means they have many products that are identical to one another, and this comes from getting them from suppliers that keep their cost low. The advantage in a mass production system is that it achieves high productivity, low operating cost, which turns into low product prices. Each employee has to have different set of skills that help them complete their jobs, and these skills have to be taught and learned in different ways. This means each department in the store has to be organized in different ways as well because you cannot run a perishable department the same as clothing. So each department has a set of procedures and responsibilities for each employee that help it function day-to-day, and if it was not for them being set up in different ways it would be hard to control quality within the store.
Wendy’s is a fast food chain that has many different functions within the company from it distributing centers to each Wendy’s store. The type of operating system that they use is a mass production operating system, and that is because they make a lot of the same things at the lowest cost possible but with the highest quality. Wendy’s has to find ways to make their product good, but have to drive the cost low so it is affordable to the customer. They work with bread distributors and meats producers that allow them to get quality products for a cheap price which make their operating cost lower. Every employee has a job but within this company they seem to like cross-training employees to work every position. By doing this there will never be a need to fear of missing an employee if they cannot work that day. If each employee if able to perform each function of the business it makes it function much smoother, and by running smoother the experience for the customers would be much better. Each area of the restaurant has to function together to make it a success, so they have procedures that they follow so each person know their function at any given moment. Since each employee knows their job it make the customers feel more comfortable and make them want to come back.
Starbucks is a worldwide coffee company that produces a wide variety of drinks for its customers, but they also have a very high quality that they want. The operating system uses a mass production operating system because they a several branches that use the same products to create many of the same drinks. They have to be in the market to keep the cost of their coffee as low as possible, but they need to keep the quality the same as well so they have many different aspects they have to tend to. They need to make sure the quality of the coffee is the same throughout the company, they have to make sure the cost from different suppliers meets their business plan, and they have to make sure each employee is trained the same so the products taste the same everywhere in the world. Each employee in this company has to perform each job with precision because be a barista is not an easy job. So Starbucks has very high standards that each employee follows so the quality of the drinks is universal.
The different types of operations and material management cost for these companies are raw materials and components, plant, labor, inventory, and distribution cost. With all of these costs it is very important to make sure that the type of operating system a company chooses is the best for the success of their company. If a company wants to be a mass production company then they need to drive the cost as low as possible in every one of these categories so they can give the consumer a better price. If you are smaller company with a small-batch production you still want cost low but you can be more flexible because you will have less cost. Each cost directly translates to the operating system so it is important to understand each and how they work.
Like the three companies discussed earlier they all want to be the best in their fields, so they use their operating systems in different ways that will give them the edge on the competition. The way companies can gain the competitive edge would be to increase productivity, increase innovation, increase responsiveness to customers, and increases quality. Companies can find ways to improve their product quality, but they can also find better ways to use their resources to make quality products. If companies find ways to stay ahead of the completion by using new technology, or just different more efficient methods they will be very successful.
The purpose of having a business is to provide a service or a product to a customer, but it needs to be at the best price and the best quality. An operating system is important to that process because without a good system the company would not function well, and become disorganized and the products will be of poor quality. If you are a mass production company, or a small-batch production company it is important to be organized and have good practices. Each company needs to be productive and find ways to stay ahead of the competition, and they use different means such as technology to do this. They use the operating system to set up procedure and goals that will make them stand out and produce a good product.

Reference
Ch. 12 of Introduction to Business/The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2007