You are here

Operations Management
Share
Share

Operations Management
A Strategic Approach



November 2005 | 328 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
`This reader is an outstanding piece of work. It captures the essence of operations management by providing an interesting and sometimes provoking set of readings. It also provides an excellent review of the topic. Its approach to operations management is both topical and comprehensive. The editors have done an outstanding job of including many of the significant recent developments in the area, particularly in the technology and operations strategy areas' - Nigel Slack, Professor of Operations Strategy, Warwick University

How have consumer demands, environmental and ethical concerns, the advancement of technology and the globalization of business changed and redefined operations management?

This Reader explains new and emerging areas and re-evaluates some important mainstream issues. Leading specialists contribute their experiences and thoughts on four key areas. They are:

- Strategy - makes the case for regarding operations as a strategic asset in their own right

- Methodology - examines the myriad of approaches taken towards process improvement

- Technology - asks why problems associated with the implementation of technology continue to dog organisations

- Human Issues - repositions human input to the top of the operational agenda


 
Introduction
 
THEME 1: OPERATIONS AS STRATEGY
Robert Hayes and David Upton
Operations-Based Strategy
St[ac]ephane Gagnon
Resource-based Competition and the New Operations Strategy
Edward Freeman and Jeanne Liedtka
Stakeholder Capitalism and the Value Chain
Rogelio Oliva and Robert Kallenburg
Managing the Transition from Products to Services
Jeanne Liedtka
In Defense of Strategy as Design
 
THEME 2: APPROACHES AND TECHNIQUES
Kenneth Euske and Steven Player
Leveraging Management Improvement Techniques
Stefano Biazzo
A Critical Examination of the Business Process Re-Engineering Phenomenon
John Oakland, Steve Tanner and Ken Gadd
Best Practice in Business Excellence
H J Harrington
The Fallacy of Universal Best Practices
 
THEME 3: THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY
James Fleck and John Howells
Technology, the Technology Complex and the Paradox of Technology Determinism
N Venkatraman
IT-Enabled Business Transformation
From Automation to Business Scope Redefinition

 
Robert M Price
Executive Forum
Technology and Strategic Advantage

 
Mary Jo Bitner, Stephen Brown and Matthew Meuter
Technology Infusion in Service Encounters
Linda Angell and Robert Klassen
Integrating Environmental Issues into the Mainstream
An Agenda for Research in Operations Management

 
 
THEME 4: HUMAN ISSUES
Jeffrey Pfeffer
Seven Practices of Successful Organizations
James Detert, Roger Schroeder and John Mauriel
A Framework for Linking Culture and Improvement Initiatives in Organizations
David Bowen and E Lawler
Empowering Service Employees
Lance Bettencourt et al
Client Co-Production in Knowledge-Intensive Business Services

Good book for introducing operations concepts to undergraduates. For specialists: too light on statistics and the numerical side of the discipline; for general business undergraduates: provides a fairly broad coverage, i.e. presents the essentials in a readable manner.

Mr Kenneth Anthony Wilkinson
Dept of Marketing, Ops & Digital Busin, Manchester Metropolitan University
February 18, 2016

I like this book. As a first year undergraduate introductory text, it is pretty thorough - in its coverage, not its depth. I would not recommend it for students who are specialising in operations, because it is too shallow, and has very little quantitative content. The numerical/statistical aspects of the discipline are out of this book's scope, although they do get a mention. This book is ideal for students who are business generalists but taking an operations model, or want to get an insight into the nuts and bolts of basic production concepts. Supply chain is also introduced, which is a nice addition.

Mr Kenneth Anthony Wilkinson
Dept of Marketing, Ops & Digital Busin, Manchester Metropolitan University
February 18, 2016

A good reader that introduces some interesting elements of operations management theory & research for students.

Mr Philip Cragg
HE Business & Management, Calderdale College
September 28, 2012

Returned to publisher

Professor Narcissus Shambare
Business Administration , College of Saint Mary
July 24, 2012

Excellent pieces in here that significantly augment my teaching.

Dr Kenneth Gadd
Leeds University Business School, Leeds University
February 28, 2012

Good overview, and addition to Slack - Operations Management

Mrs Carrie Foster
Business School, Chester University
December 13, 2011

This reader encourages students to consider operations management critically and from a range of perspectives, enabling them to develop principles of good practice.

Ms Linda Martin
Management , Coventry University
June 23, 2011