HOW CAN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS BECOME MORE ATTRACTIVE IN THE COSTA RICAN LABOUR MARKET IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE COUNTRY’S COMPETITIVENESS?

Abstract

This research focuses on determining how professionals in operations management can become more attractive in the Costa Rican labor market, increasing the attractiveness of the country, through the creation of Shared Service Centers. The demand for professionals in operations management is analyzed, as well as the requirements requested by organizations in the labor market; the skills that allow operations managers an appropriate development within the Costa Rican business environment are determined and the best strategy with which professionals in operations management can become more relevant at the labor level is identified, increasing the establishment of new multinationals. The main findings in this research show that both types of skills —soft and technical— are essential to develop successfully in the labor market and be attractive for foreign direct investment, since the professional in operations must be seen as an integral being, which is not only made up of theoretical and technical knowledge in its field, but must also have its own skills, which cannot be easily imitated by technological inventions. As a recommendation, it is proposed that both universities and professional associations and even technical colleges offer workshops and talks on current topics of operations such as Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, ISO standards, total quality management, strategic planning, and analysis of risks. This is quantitative research, which starts from a population of 2488 professionals, a sample of 93 people, and obtains 104 responses in the collection of information through a questionnaire. The confidence margin is 95%, with a margin of 10%.