A: "Operation" has a very general meaning, it can refer to medical procedures involving surgery, but it can also refer to other activities, processes, or missions. "Surgery" is specifically an operation that involves making a medical incision (cut) or the use of medical tools to manipulate wounds or internal parts of the body. In UK English specifically, "surgery" also has another meaning that is roughly equivalent to the US term "doctor's office". It basically refers to a place where patients receive medical advice and treatment from a particular doctor (or dentist). They are a well known example of high volume low cost hamburger and fast food production. The volume of their operation is key to how their business is organised. Essential to their operation is the repeatability of the tasks, as well as the systemisation of the work. From this, standards and procedures drive the way in which each part of the job is carried out and then by combining in this way provides the organisation with a low cost base. In contrast a local café or restaurant will have a much lower volume of output, less labour, less systemisation, and each staff member completes a wider variety of tasks which results in higher unit costs. 2. The Variety Dimension
A common example used to describe the variety dimension is the contrast between a taxi and a bus service. Both offer hired transportation services but a taxi service has a much higher variety dimension as they will basically pick you up and drop you off wherever it is you need to go. A bus can only provide a defined route and schedule. Whilst they offer a similar service, variety and flexibility is high for the taxi company and low for the bus company. It is worth noting here that a low cost model is more easily achieved with less variety. 3. The Variation Dimension
Consider two home building contractors. One offers prefabricated homes that you choose from a catalogue or online. It is transferred to site and erected over the course of a few days. The second building company offers customised homes they have display homes they have built that you can walk through. Each aspect of the home from the façade to the number of bedrooms to the floor materials to the type of heating can all be customised to the customer. The design and build phase can take anywhere between 24 weeks to 52 weeks. Company two will have a much higher level of cost and lower volume than company one who offers standard pricing and can control costs much more easily. 4. The Visibility Dimension
This dimension refers to a customers ability to see, track their experience or order through the operations process. A high visibility dimension includes courier companies where you can track your package online or a retail store where you pick up the goods and purchase them over the counter. A low visibility dimension could be a web design company who takes your order and advises your new website will be ready in 4 – 8 weeks. The service skill of employees will greatly affect the customers’ experience. These four aspects should be carefully dealt with in ensuring process excellence. It includes higher efficiency, faster cycle time and higher overall productivity. In essence, adding value to organisation. As the competitive nature of the business world increasingly demands, value creation is the key path to survival. It is well recognised that the four Vs of operation, once aligned and appropriately tuned, should ensure value creation. ADJ. major | minor, small | life-saving, vital | emergency | routine | delicate a delicate eye operation | exploratory | surgical, transplant | heart, knee, etc. VERB + OPERATION have, undergo He had an operation to remove a tumour. | come through, survive She came through the operation very well. | carry out, perform the surgeon performing the operation PREP. during a/the ~ She woke during the operation. | ~ for an operation for a kidney problem | ~ on a major operation on his heart 2 organized activity ADJ. big, large-scale, major, massive | covert, undercover | combined, joint | tricky a tricky rescue operation | intelligence, military, naval, police | guerrilla | clean-up, drilling, mining, mopping-up, offensive, peacekeeping, relief, rescue, salvage, security UN troops supervised the relief operations. | banking, building, business restrictions placed on business operations VERB + OPERATION begin, launch, mount, undertake The authorities launched a massive security operation in the city. | carry out, conduct | supervise PREP. during a/the ~ during joint military operations PHRASES a theatre of operations (= where military operations take place) 3 fact of sth functioning ADJ. effective, efficient, smooth | day-to-day the smooth day-to-day operation of the department VERB + OPERATION come into A ceasefire came into operation in May. | bring/put sth into | cease The factory will cease operation at the end of the year. PREP. during ~ The machine can get very hot during operation. | in ~ The current tax system has been in operation for ten years. PHRASES in/into full operation the only reactor in full operation
Từ điển WordNetn. - a business especially one run on a large scale
a large-scale farming operation a multinational operation they paid taxes on every stage of the operation they had to consolidate their operations - a planned activity involving many people performing various actions
they organized a rescue operation the biggest police operation in French history running a restaurant is quite an operation consolidate the companies various operations - a process or series of acts especially of a practical or mechanical nature involved in a particular form of work; procedure
the operations in building a house certain machine tool operations - the state of being in effect or being operative
that rule is no longer in operation - a medical procedure involving an incision with instruments; performed to repair damage or arrest disease in a living body; surgery, surgical operation, surgical procedure, surgical process
they will schedule the operation as soon as an operating room is available he died while undergoing surgery - activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign); military operation
it was a joint operation of the navy and air force - (computer science) data processing in which the result is completely specified by a rule (especially the processing that results from a single instruction)
it can perform millions of operations per second - process or manner of functioning or operating; functioning, performance
the power of its engine determine its operation the plane's operation in high winds they compared the cooking performance of each oven the jet's performance conformed to high standards - (mathematics) calculation by mathematical methods; mathematical process, mathematical operation
the problems at the end of the chapter demonstrated the mathematical processes involved in the derivation
| 
