Manual on elective ii - theme parks and attractions

Theme Parks and Attractions
3.2 Operations management II – Required skills
and problem solving
Skills involved
To manage daily operations successfully, an operations manager should possess the
following skills:
♦ Comprehensive knowledge across different functional areas of the site
♦ Thorough understanding of visitor needs and behaviour
♦ The ability to manage the site as a whole while paying attention to detail
♦ The ability to plan systems and procedures in advance, but being flexible in
response to changing circumstances
♦ Good communication skills
♦ The ability to work under pressure and in response to crises
♦ A good understanding of the principles of management control and financial
management
♦ Seeing things from the visitors’ point of view and understand staff concerns
Problems and problem solving
There are many unforeseen problems in the day-to-day operations that need special
attention from the managers. Some of them happen unexpectedly, such as:
♦ Minor vandalism
♦ Mechanical breakdowns of rides or computer systems
♦ Bad weather affecting parts of the operations
♦ Inadequate staff
Other problems may be long-standing and continuous, like:
♦ Long queues or bottlenecks on the site
♦ Slow throughput in catering outlets because of poor design of the facilities
♦ Waste reduction, such as energy usage or unsold food in the catering outlets
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