Operation Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Operation Management - Essay Example At the same time it is also very capital intensive as requires heavy machinery and costly equipment for both building of ships and carrying out repairs. It also requires a very large area or layout for its activities and needs to be next to a sea port or at least on the coast with very good rail and road facilities for transporting goods and materials. Its consumption of electrical power is also very great. It is for these reasons that this industry is not as widespread as some other industries like apparel manufacturing or food processing which may be bigger in size or turnover but far easier to manage and organize. For such an industry to survive and to prosper it must have certain traits and special skills. Such industries are also located in a few select areas of the world and have developed their knowledge base and their especially skilled workers over long periods of struggles and have become respected the world over for the excellence of their work. One such place in Europe is Rijeka, a city of 200,000 people, located on the north coast of Kvarna Bay between the Istrian Peninsula and the eastern Adriatic coast of Croatia. This small town boast of two shipyards and one of them is the famous Viktor Lenac Shipyard (formerly known as Lazarus). For forty years it was the pride of Yugoslavia, until Croatia seceded from it mother country and became independent in 1991. Because of political turbulence during the next ten years foreign buyer hesitated to give business to Croatian shipyards. But Viktor Lenac survived well as it concentrated on ship repairs and remained profitable all along. During the Yugoslavian days all shipyards were owned by the government but Croatia decided to opt for the open market economy and privatized the shipyards. Attracted by its profitability a group of Italian and American investors stepped in and took over the