Operation Management at Costco

The management of the operations within an organization is extremely essential in bringing about its success. This is especially the case considering that for the most part, organizations in the business world are increasingly getting involved in competition with each other in order to remain competitive. Costco is one of the organizations that seek to bring about the best quality in their services through making sure that its employees are satisfied and this is achieved through the advancement of their interests both within and outside the company. In this way, Costco has been able to develop a good reputation based on its need to promote its image through its employees while at the same time providing the best services possible to its customers.

One of the most fundamental aspects of Costco’s operations is that is seeks to promote the efficiency of their employees. This is especially considering that it seeks to create an environment within which its employees are able to do their best for the sake of the company through the advancement of their interests within it. A good working environment where employees are provided with free reign on how to handle customers on a more personalized basis has made it possible for employees to feel empowered in their work. Taking competitive advantage into consideration is another aspect of management that can ensure Costco’s success (Heizer and Render 71). This has been achieved through the provision of benefits and higher wages to employees for the sake of advancing their quality of life which has in turn made them more loyal to the company. The result is that Costco has allowed for the advancement of its workforce in a manner that brings about the best in them for the sake of promoting its own interests in the market. Moreover, the empowerment of employees can also be considered to be a sound strategy especially considering that other companies tend to deny their employees the right to do what they think is best for the sake of promoting the products that they are selling. The result is that there is a loss of morale among employees who come to believe that they are not valued enough by management to independently bring in customers. This is not the case with Costco which has put employee empowerment at the forefront of its strategy because it has made employees the biggest promoters of its image.

Another aspect of Costco’s operations that can be considered to be important to its success is employment stability. This has been achieved through the promotion of benefits for its employees which include job security as well as benefits in case of disability as well as when suffering from any ailments (Heizer and Render 435). This is an extremely sound strategy because it ensures that employees are completely focused on their work instead of seeking more stable work elsewhere. Works schedules that put into consideration the need to take case of the welfare of employees have also been put in place. This, in addition to the higher wages that they receive when compared to rival companies, has allowed for an increase in motivation to work among employees to such an extent that they give their best to their work. The various constraints to its human resource strategy, such as the need to control the expenditure that it places on its employees when compared to other companies, have been smoothed over by Costco through its making sure that the potential financial problems it might face are outweighed by its excellent performance in the market. This has been to such an extent that a significant number of employees have ended up doing their best in their work in the comfort of knowledge that they will be compensated.

Healthcare benefits are some of the most important aspects of the success of any company because the more generous they are, the more likely that employees will be motivated to increase their performance. This is a lesson that Costco’s management seems to have taken to heart because it has provided extremely generous medical and dental benefits to its employees that have allowed for the advancement of the health of these individuals. Moreover, the extension of these benefits to dependents has made it possible for individuals that work at Costco to increase their output because of the motivation that they have based on the belief that the company cares for their welfare and that of their loved ones. The generous benefits that the Costco has advanced its employees are essential because it has become a major contributor to the success of its operations. The generous incentive system that has been put in place by the company is important because it allows employees to be self-directed in their work (Heizer and Render 438). This means that they are better able to make sure that they work with minimal supervision, which helps the company save both time and money when it comes to dealing with issues concerning employs. Thus, productivity remains high while at the same time making sure that the interests of employees are secured in a manner that advances the interests of the company.

By competing through the advancement of its employees’ interests, Costco has the potential of attracting some of the best individuals in the industry to work for it. The pro-employee policies that it has adopted can be considered to be essential for promoting not only its image as a viable employer, but also shows potential employees that unlike its rivals, it is a generous employer. In this way, it becomes possible to make sure that there is a large pool of potential employees to choose from when the time comes for recruitment. However, while it has the best possible number of potential recruits, there is need for the company to make sure that it only employs those individuals who display the highest ethical standards possible (Heizer and Render 455). This is because when companies in the contemporary world conduct their operations, it is essential for them to observe ethics at all fronts or risk ending up getting their reputations damaged and in turn ending up losing their market share. Therefore, in order to make sure that all operations run smoothly, it is important that Costco, when staffing its operations, is able to advance the highest ethical standards possible so that it can maintain and advance its market share. It is important for there to be an effort to observe ethical standards while at the same time promoting continuous improvement because it is one of the most fundamental ways through which employee commitment to the company can be ensured while at the same time promoting the competitiveness of the company in a way that allows for the creation of better market opportunities than it already possesses.

In conclusion, it is essential for Costco to make sure that it continues to promote the interests of its employees through providing them with incentive packages as well as better working conditions than its competitors. This is one of the most fundamental ways through which it will be able to continue performing well in the market while at the same time attracting the best talent possible to help run its operations. Making employees the center of its operations management is essential because it is these who are the driving force behind their success while at the same time advancing the good name of the company through their efforts to make it a success. It is, therefore, essential for the interests of employees to be protected as a means of making sure that there is a proper means through which operations can be advanced without any glitches as a result of lack of motivation.

Work Cited

Heizer, Jay and Render, Barry. Operations Management: Sustainability and Supply Chain Management. 11th Edition. New York: Pearson, 2013.