AURELIO, Maria Maridel B.

BA 105 Reaction Paper

2013-19729 1 March 2016

Operations: The Backbone of Every Business

For three class meetings, I was able to hear from three experienced people about the
applications and significance of Operations Management in the outside world.

Miss Yanpi Oliveros, Unilevers Business Partner for Supply Chain and the first speaker,
focused more on the HR application of operations management. I find it very timely, as we have
just discussed the HR side of operations management, and also because Im eager to hear from
company representatives this internship-hunting season. I find it helpful that she discussed The
Employee Life Cycle in Unilever. Even though Miss Yanpis talk was HR-inclined, the
application of operations management was still evident through the discussion on the work
conditions, quality of work life, and framework Unilever uses to develop its employees. On a
more personal note, she was able to instill in my mind that what matters is our attitude towards
work, not our course or school. What is important is that we are able to contribute to improving
the operations of the company as we continue learn and become a better version of ourselves.

The speaker that our group and Group 4 invited, Miss Fiona Aytona, is one of the most
inspiring student-entrepreneurs that I was able to hear from. Being able to stay in the BAA
program is not an easy feat, and neither is managing your own small business. The fact that she
is able to do both motivated me and somehow taught me a lesson about time management and
setting my priorities straight. Her talk provided me the advice not just about managing a
business, but also managing the resources and people that I will work with. She mentioned that
BA 105 taught her a lot, and that she was able to apply the concepts that she learned to
improve her processes, products, and profit. I appreciate that she told the story of how her small
business started, her inspiration, and the challenges she faced.

Miss Fionas passion about her small business and other ventures is something I hope
to emulate. The passion of a business owner or operations manager is what drives an
organization forward. It is what keeps the employees motivated, and makes them realize that
they are important in the companys operations.

I am impressed that the last two groups were able to invite Mr. Renato San Jose, the
DOTC-MRT3 Director, as the last speaker. I am one of the thousands of commuters who ride
the MRT everyday to and from UP, and also one of the least satisfied by the service it offered
last year. There have been threats to the safety of the commuters who had to walk along the
rails because the train stopped in between stations, or had to close their eyes and not look
down when the MRT ran with some of its doors open.

Mr. San Jose discussed eight principles of Operations Management, namely: Reality and
Causality, Organization, Accountability, Variance, Passion, Humility, Success, and Change. He
highlighted the importance of Reality and Causality, Organization and Accountability in
achieving a companys objective. His talk opened my eyes to the reality that the benefits of the
Philippines economic growth still hasnt reached the masses. Mr. San Jose mentioned that
various legal factors and the fact that the position of Director of MRT 3 had three turnovers
created a huge impact on the operations of the MRT and thus caused delays. It is said that a
developed country is not where the poor have cars, but where even the rich ride public
transport. In our country where road traffic is considered one of the worst in the world, more and
more people are relying on the MRTs fast and safe service to arrive at work earlier. But the
sad reality is that our country is already billions from road traffic, even more from delayed train
service. If people receive commodities late, one can expect that the country will have a hard
time keeping up with other countries.
 After hearing from the speakers, I was able to learn more about the application
and importance of operations management on a grander scale, and why it is considered the
central business function. If plans are not executed and controlled properly, the inputs of all the
other functions will not result to the organizations desired outcome. This experience also taught
about the challenges each company faces and the measure they take in order to keep their
operations smooth. All in all, I learned about how operations management increases the value
of a companys product or service. It is truly the backbone of every business.