Choose three companies and observe how employees do their tasks. These can be three different fast-food restaurants or three entirely different types of companies, such as a fast-food restaurant, a department store, or the emergency room of a hospital

1. Think about the differences in the operations involved in the input, operations, and output stages of these companies. Try to identify the nature of their operating systems. Are employees organized in different ways? If so, why? If possible, talk to the managers and employees in these operations to further your analysis.

2. What are the main kinds of OMM costs companies have? How does this affect their OMM operations?

3. How do companies design their operating systems to give them a competitive advantage?