What are the similarities between all operations?

It is mainly devoted to categorizing the types of resources and processes which are found in operations. The intention is to demonstrate these standard categorisations of resources and processes are to be found in any sort of organization. So for example, the table below shows what would constitute the two types of transforming resources (facilities and staff) in three very different types of operation. 

The facilities and staff transforming resources of three operations

	Ferry company	Paper manufacturer	Radio station
Types of facilities	Ships on-board navigation Reeling equipment Dry docks Materials-handling equipment Steam-generating boilers On-shore buildings Computerized reservation systems Warehouses	Pulp-making vats Paper-making machines Slitting equipment Packing machinery Warehouses	Broadcasting equipment Studios and studio equipment Transmitters Outside broadcast vehicles
Types of staff	Sailors Engineers Catering staff On-board shop assistants Cleaners Maintenance staff Ticketing staff	Operators Chemists and chemical engineers Process plant engineers	Disc jockeys Announcers Technicians

Transformed resources in operations are some mixture of materials, information and customers. The important issue here is that, although most types of operation process all three types of transformed resource, one is usually the most important. So, for example, a hospital will process information in the form of patients’ medical records. It will also devote some of its resources to processing materials, for example in the way it produces meals for patients. The main operations task of a hospital, however, is to process customers in a way which satisfies its patients, maximises their health care and minimises its costs. It is predominantly a customer processing operation.