DEVELOPING GOOD BUSINESS SENSE
NICOLE COLEMAN
BUS/210
MARCH 20, 2014
INSTRUCTOR: DR. SHONDRIA WOODS-McAFEE

INTRODUCTION Each business has a way that it operates, an operation and materials management (OMM) process, which is unique to each company. It is a way that the company operates. It is the input and output process. I will be going over three different companies and discussing their unique operations and what they entail. (Jones, 2007) The three companies I will be using for my examples are Subway, an Optometrist office, and an Old Navy clothing store.
SUBWAY
For this company I believe they would use an OMM that was the most beneficial for their particular type of business. For example, their operations include making sandwiches, breads, and cookies. The average customer would spend between $6-15. They need a supplier for their ingredients, and an employee who is capable of mixing ingredients and putting them together. I think of all the three companies I am discussing, their operating costs are the lowest. I think that the main cost for operating this company come from the lease for the building, the ingredients used for their food products, and the employees pay. There would also be smaller operating costs included for things such as bags, napkins, cups, lids, straws, fountain drinks and cleaning products. These operations for this company are much different than the operations for other types of companies. To give Subway a competitive advantage they would need an operating system that kept very detailed inventory so that they could reduce waste that costs the company profit. They would also need to be able to order food and receive it in a relatively short period of time.
AN OPTOMETRISTS OFFICE An optometrist office is a common type of sole proprietorship. For this kind of small optometrist office, they would need someone to work the front office and do the billing and scheduling and then an assistant to perform routine procedures. The optometrist would then do the custom procedure, and that would require some specialty equipment. To keep up with advances in eye technology there would be a need to upgrade equipment periodically. The operating costs for this business would be relatively low after the large initial costs to start up and acquire the necessary exam equipment and things of that nature. The optometrist would order patient specific lenses directly from the manufacturer at a discounted rate and charge the customer, or the customers insurance anywhere from $150 and up for the exam, then the cost of the lenses and frames. There would be a certain number of exams needed to fulfill any one person’s optical needs. I think the cost for operating and managing this type of business would be relatively simple. The makers of the frames would supply the doctor with samples and there would only be orders placed based on the customers need which reduces and actually eliminates the amount of waste of any type of unused product which reduces costs. For this kind of company the highest cost for operating would be the initial startup cost for the exam equipment and the lease of the space as well as the pay for the employees. Because the doctor would most commonly bill insurance companies, they would be most likely paid very regularly.
OLD NAVY Old Navy would cost the most to operate of the three types of business that I have chosen. The cost to manufacture the products would e relatively high as you need many manufacturers for the process of making all the products, and the cost to use and run the machinery and the cost for the employees. The company would have to purchase material constantly and there may be a high amount of unused fabric or material for many reasons. I think from the material to the manufacturing to the store, the cost would be relatively high. The company then has to sale the product to the consumer, and what it fails to sale would be marked down on clearance. There would be a high turnover but because clothing is seasonal, it would have to have an operating system that tracked sales and directly linked sales to production to avoid making too much of any one product. In the corporate aspect they would have a high demand for new ideas and they would have to avoid making untrendy products to avoid loss from manufacturing products that were hard to sale. The highest things the company has to operate would be production, material, leasing building space and strong advertising. To keep a competitive edge the company would have to keep up on current fashion trends and find ways to cut costs from things like wasting material. The company would have to track the sales directly with the production to ensure they were meeting without exceeding demand to cut costs.
CONCLUSION
The most common types of business are very different and even companies that offer similar products need different types of operating processes require different operating systems and are very unique in their own ways. In order to be successful and meet the needs of consumers, each company should be able to identify its OMM.

REFERENCES:
Jones, G. R. (2007). Introduction to business: How companies create value for people. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.