This indispensable text offers students a high quality treatment of strategic operations management. It provides the reader with a clear understanding of the importance and nature of operations strategy by determining exactly which management activities, core competencies, resources and technologies underpin an operational strategy. The book demonstrates how various operational elements and components can be combined and customised into unique operational strategies. When these strategies are correctly implemented, they provide sustainable competitive advantage and allow firms to provide a diverse range of services and goods in their increasingly demanding, complex and dynamic marketplaces and spaces.
Includes chapters covering customising operational strategies for retail, manufacturing, services and SMEs, and sections on eBusiness and complexity theory in relation to operations theory.
Features include:
*extended case-studies including several from Europe and the USA
*case vignettes
*learning objectives
*key terms
*chapter introduction and 'maps' to aid reader accessibility
*'time out' boxes to prompt the reader to reflect on what has been learnt
*'critical reflection' boxes that analyse theories and models.

Related link: www.routledge.com/textbooks/0415256542
eBook available with sample pages: 0203361520

Six Sigma is a data-driven management system with near-perfect performance that is a statistical target of operating with no more that 3.4 defects per one million chances. Six sigma has both created avid interest and raised concerns among executives and its practioners. This is all very well for multinationals like Motorola or General Electric but how can it help small and medium-sized enterprises or the service industry? How do you ensure that solutions stick? Quality Beyond Six Sigma responds to this challenge and provides a practical implementation of the issues of Six Sigma, Lean Enterprise and Total Quality and aligns the 'hard' sigma message with the softer sustainable 'strategic issues'. The result is FIT SIGMA.
The authors utilize major and minor case studies to support principles and learnings of FIT SIGMA and include review examples and self-assessment that underpin the sustainable process. The three major case studies are contributed by General Electric, Dow Chemical and Seagate Technology.
Senior Executives and Managers of organizations of all types and sizes, Management Consultants and Students of all disciplines will find this book a stimulating guide to quality and operational excellence.
*Provides a practical approach of FIT SIGMA
*Supported by case studies and phased action plans
*Focuses on all functions, manufacturing or service, for any size of business

Maintaining good business leadership in a world of rapidly changing expectations levied by customers, investors, society, governments and employees is a challenge. These stakeholders are increasingly making choices about if or how they support businesses - through the purchase of their products and services, shareholdings and financing, regulatory approvals, and even experiences working for them - based on not just what a business does, but how it does it. We are seeing shifts in stakeholder sentiments that manifest in a greater expectation that businesses work with society in addressing society's contemporary concerns. This greater good that businesses bring is rewarded by a greater brand awareness, connection and loyalty, which in turn provides businesses with an underlying strategic advantage over the competition with its customers, investors and other stakeholders. But this greater good cannot be faked with PR and bought media; in an increasingly connected world populated by an increasingly savvy millennial stakeholder base, authentic leadership and its ability to effect cultural shifts in the DNA of businesses is essential. Failure to do so will likely result in shorter and less successful tenures of Board members and C-suite leaders as this business trend spreads. This book looks at how the emerging generation of leaders must change paradigms and transform their employees to do more than just operate a business. It examines how to effect culture shifts that are necessary to innovate businesses so that they simultaneously meet market needs while meeting stakeholder expectations on concerns as varied as ethical business conduct, labor practices, climate change, responsible use of diminishing natural resources and contribution to socio-economic challenges in their market catchments. These are perspectives and skills that are still glossed over, by academic and professional institutions, as they develop the leaders of the future. Essentially, this book: * Articulates the strategic business case for doing good in a good business; the why, and where this trajectory is leading * Provides strategies to lead authentically on the array of issues that provide key stakeholders - customers, investors, governments and employees - with a greater reason to engage with and build loyalty to the business * Provides strategies to energize and spark innovation among his/her employees in an organization on these issues so that transformative power is harnessed.

Creating a Culture of Predictable Outcomes demonstrates the importance of creating cultures in the design and construction industries grounded in sophisticated-caring leadership, high-performing collaborative teams, and master-level decision-making discipline, informed by values, to finally address massive inefficiencies, waste, and unpredictability. Barbara White Bryson offers specific guidance to industry stakeholders to succeed in achieving project-related predictable outcomes by focusing on culture rather than process. This includes selecting the right team members by hiring and firing bravely, valuing psychological safety, leading with values, practicing respect and transparency, fostering empowerment to make decisions at the right level at the right time, and more. This book is a must-read for design and construction professionals who want to finally understand how to set goals and meet those goals for their clients as well as for their teams.

* Provide expert insights and detailed explanations of the various practices and functions involved in break bulk and general cargo maritime operations. * Unique in addressing a prevalent element of the shipping business that requires a greater level of in-depth knowledge. * Written to appeal to a global audience. * Complementary to Rowbotham's Introduction to Marine Cargo Management.

Learn about new strategies to improve service, quality, and profitability for quick service restaurants Quick Service Restaurants, Franchising, and Multi-Unit Chain Management examines a variety of issues pertaining to quick service restaurants. Quick-service restaurants (QSR) are the dominant sector of the foodservice industry and a one-hundred-billion-dollar industry. Since their inception in the 1920s, quick-service restaurants have become one of the cultural icons of America. This informative book contains vital information on: growth, change and strategy in the international foodservice industry food safety as an international problem and the formation of outreach committees to combat the challenges faced globally food consumption patterns and the driving forces that influence consumer food preferences the differences between mature and younger customers' expectations and experiences in QSRs, casual, and fine dining restaurants consumer attitudes toward airline food adding quick-service meals to airplane menus factors influencing parental patronage of QSRs a case study on how Billy Ingram, founder of White Castle restaurants, made the hamburger a staple on American menus

This book is aimed at manufacturing and planning managers who struggle to bring a greater degree of stability and more effective use of assets to their operations, not realizing the degree to which production scheduling affects those objectives. It has been reported that 75% of the problems on the manufacturing floor are caused by activities outside the plant floor. Poor production scheduling strategies and systems are often the biggest contributors to the 75%. The book explains in detail that no scheduling strategy, and especially no transition to a different and better scheduling strategy, will succeed without strong commitment and guidance from senior leadership. Leadership must understand their active role in the transition, that people will feel uncomfortable and even threatened by change, and that they will need to be measured by different standards. Effective scheduling requires that following the schedule and production to plan is more important than trying to maximize each day's throughput. The book explains the advantages of a structured, regularly repeating schedule: how it can increase throughput, right-size inventory based on cycles and variabilities and therefore make it more usable, and improve customer delivery. It will explain the trade-offs between throughput, inventory, and delivery performance, how those trade-offs are actually decided in production scheduling, and how an appropriate scheduling strategy can make the trade-offs and their ramifications visible. It discusses several popular structured scheduling concepts, their similarities, and differences, to allow the readers to decide which might fit best in their environments. In addition, the authors discuss what makes an appropriate scheduling software system, and why a package designed for structured scheduling offers capabilities well beyond the Excel workbooks used by many companies, and how it offers much more design capability and ease of use than the finite scheduling modules in SAP or Oracle. Finally, the authors offer a proven roadmap for implementation, critical success factors necessary to achieve the full potential, and give examples of operations that have done this well. In addition, a guide for leaders and managers post-implementation is provided to help them fully exploit the advantages of a structured, repeating scheduling strategy.

- Ties together the three (now) competing modern disciplines in Program and Project Management - Tells you how to do it, not just some theory based on a one of a kind project - Provides clear and concise definitions for the three disciplines helping with career choices, separation of duties and when to use - Perfect desktop reference usable for many years to come

This research monograph presents an inter-disciplinary study of the impact, and current status, of applications of complexity-related concepts in the early stages of development of Agile Project Management (APM). The results serve as an introduction for exploring more profound relations between complexity-related ideas and APM in the future. The increasing complexity of software projects and their environment in the 1990s constituted the main determinants of the development of the family of methodological frameworks called Agile Project Management. Development of APM has been shaped by a broadly defined area of research called complexity science or complexity theory based on complex adaptive systems (CAS) and on their characteristics: Complexity, chaos, the edge of chaos, emerging properties, non-linearity, self-organization, etc. In the 21st century, due to the expansion of Agile beyond software development, the challenges deriving from the complexity of projects and the environment are even more urgent or compelling. Such phenomena demand more profound inter- and multi-disciplinary studies. This book examines the impact of applications of complexity-related ideas deriving from intuitive complexity and from complexity science in the early stages of development of the Agile methodological frameworks in project management and considers the current status of those applications. It questions the usefulness of those applications for the practice and theory of APM, and then proposes a conceptual framework for further theoretical studies and several ways of improvement and refinement of the Agile Project Management necessary to deal with broadly defined complexity in project management. Requiring a medium-level knowledge of complexity studies and knowledge of project management, this book is written for the research community studying the links between the various methodological frameworks included in APM and complexity-related ideas. It will also be interesting for studies of the impact of complexity on modern management, and for master's students on IT and management courses.

Presents Total Manufacturing Assurance (TMA) as a holistic approach to manufacturing operations Focuses on analytics and performance assessment, along with Industry 4.0 and its role in advanced manufacturing, strategic planning, Innovation and engineering economics, as well as manufacturing processes, materials, and operations. It also covers product and manufacturing system reliability, maintainability, availability, quality, and safety, financial issues in decision making and engineering analysis Offers a case study for each chapter highlighting key TMA connections all with the same structure of overview, issue, objective, approach, results, and conclusion Discusses management and engineering techniques and tools, and their practical implementation, required to achieve TMA Expands on integrating fundamental manufacturing, engineering, and management topics, which are key in achieving TMA PowerPoint slides and a solutions manual are available to instructors for course adoptions.

'Operations Management: policy, practices, performance improvement' is the latest state-of-the-art approach to operations management. It provides new cutting edge input into operations management theory and practice that cannot be found in any other text. Discussing both strategic and tactical inputs it combines and balances service and manufacturing operations.* Cutting edge techniques accompanied by brand new case studies* Challenges standard approaches* Comprehensive coverage of strategic supply management* Critical sample questions to aid discussion* Reading lists and articles to support learning* Additional lecturer support materialThis outstanding author team is from the Operations Management Group at the University of Bath. Their expertise and knowledge is apparent in the text, and they bring to it their original research and experience in the field of operations management.

The Spring Electric is a lower priced electrical vehicle from The Renault Group. It is the result of an impossible project that was a breakthrough in cultural innovation. The development of the Spring brought together a French company, a Japanese partner, an Indian project, and a Chinese developer to deliver a car for the European market. The Innovation Odyssey: Lessons from an Impossible Project examines four key issues central to this vehicle's development: The nature of the automotive industry itself and the actors involved in these "societal" innovations. The movement toward the electrification of vehicles is inseparable from public policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions. Without substantial subsidies or rigorous bans on internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), the electric vehicle (EV) would not be developed. It is these public policies that create the conditions for an electrified vehicle market. Electrification is thus a three-way game, in which public actors play a central role alongside suppliers and customers. Therefore, an analysis of these policies is essential to understand manufacturers' strategies in this area. What are the differences between these policies? Do they introduce regional competitive advantages? How do firms in the globalized automotive sector adapt to or take advantage of these differences? How can they combine local adaptation. Product strategy. To what extent should this technological breakthrough at the heart of the car be associated with a more profound break in the definition of the automobile product? Is the answer an electrification of the dominant ICEV design (and if so, how?) or a complete redefinition of the vehicle? International cooperation. Automotive design is largely concentrated in the technical centers of the parent companies: Detroit, Guyancourt, Wolfsburg, Yokohama. How can the design processes and the European and Chinese skills and know-how be combined in a project designed far from the traditional European or Japanese bases and under time constraints? Can this original form of design inspire new forms of international cooperation, and under what conditions? Globalized innovation strategies. For multinational groups such as car manufacturers, competitive advantage depends on their ability not only to invent relevant products that find customers in local markets, but also to deploy them rapidly at the global level, harnessing economies of scale that a startup, however innovative, cannot achieve. How then to combine local adaptation of innovations with effective global deployment?

This book provides insights on how to approach and utilize data science tools, technologies and methodologies related to artificial intelligence (AI) in industrial contexts. It explains the essence of distributed computing and AI-technologies, and their inter-connections. Description of various technology and methodology approaches, and their purpose and benefits when developing AI-solution in industrial contexts is included. In addition, it summarizes experiences from AI technology deployment projects from several industrial sectors. Features: Presents compendium of methodologies and technologies in Industrial AI and digitalization. Illustrates sensor to actuation approach showing complete cycle, that defines and differences AI and digitalization concept. Covers a broad range of academic and industrial issues within the field of asset management. Discusses impact of Industry 4.0 in other sectors. Includes a dedicated chapter on real-time case studies. This book is aimed at researchers and professionals in industrial and software engineering, network security, AI and ML, engineering managers, operational and maintenance specialists, asset managers, digital and AI manufacturing specialists.

This book addresses the vital importance of reshoring US manufacturing capability to ensure economic and military security and then discusses the proven methods that the United States used to gain manufacturing supremacy in the first place. The vital takeaway is: If the job can be made sufficiently productive, the per-unit labor cost ceases to be relevant which means a business can pay high wages, realize high profits, and deliver low prices simultaneously. The contest is then not between high wages and cheap labor, but between efficiency and inefficiency and, when automation is involved, machine against machine. Readers will be able to put these principles to work very quickly to achieve tangible results. The relatively low Federal minimum wage has meanwhile become a major issue, but inflation skyrocketed in the second quarter of 2022 when higher wages, and higher demand for goods and services, were not matched with higher productivity. The book addresses the relationship between the money supply and the velocity of money to prices, wages, and productivity. A manufacturing resurgence in the United States will not only increase our standard of living enormously but generate taxable economic activity that will help pay down rather than increase the Federal debt. Higher productivity also delivers a greater supply of goods to accompany higher wages, and thus works against inflation. This can prevent looming recessions and disruptions.

Series Information:
Routledge Advances in Management and Business Studies

This impactful volume demonstrates the application and power of psychology and behavioural economics in the pursuit of quality and continuous improvement. It focusses on how the works of stalwarts such as Daniel Kahneman, Richard Thaler, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and many others can be used to build an organization that is known for quality products and flawless service delivery. The application of psychology and behavioural economics is still new to quality improvement, and in this book, Debashis Sarkar shares 25 lessons, featuring specific examples based on real life, that show how their application can increase the effectiveness of outcomes. Behavioural Science for Quality and Continuous Improvement: 25 Lessons from Psychology and Behavioural Economics is ideal for business improvement professionals of all hierarchies and across different functional areas and industries seeking to understand the potential of psychology and behavioural economics and their applications, as well as in training and executive development programmes and for scholars of operations management, quality management, and engineering.

The Theory of Constraints (TOC) - as developed by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt - has seen a rapid expansion since the publication of his book, The Goal. As with most fast growing areas, you can quickly feel out of touch with new developments. The World of the Theory of Constraints provides a summary of recently published research on TOC.
The authors explored databases, and sought out papers and books drawing on as wide a range as possible. Aside from the works by Dr. Goldratt himself, the authors focus on items published since 1990, highlighting the most recent developments in TOC. The scope of the material covers works containing specific reference to TOC, including Synchronous Manufacturing and Constraint Management.
The book is organized into three sections. The first section contains an analysis and interpretation of the results of the search. The second provides abstracts on all the material. The third supplies author, keyword, and subject indexes along with a list of books, journals, websites, and publishers.
Extensively researched and referenced, The World of the Theory of Constraints furnishes comprehensive material on TOC. The multi-search approach has made this arguably the most exhaustive bibliography on this subject available. If you are researching TOC, this is the best place to start. If you use or teach TOC, you will want this resource.

Features

As organizations move into the future, the operations environment needs to expand into Collaborative Planning and Forecast Replenishment (CPFR), Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), and an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) operating system to become and remain competitive. These innovative and complex methods require an unprecedented degree of accuracy and knowledge of the basics in operations management. Back to Basics: Your Guide to Manufacturing Excellence details the key concepts necessary to expertly apply new approaches such as ERP, CPFR, VMI, and much more.

Based on the popular "Back to Basics" columns that appear in the magazine APICS: The Performance Advantage, the structure of the book allows for sufficient development of each topic and is short enough to be quickly read. Topics include: capacity, inventory, inventory accuracy, part numbering, processes, problem solving, and general managerial guidelines. Each chapter has everything you need to understand the issues and their implications.
Many careers in operations management begin with production and inventory control. When entering this field, you need to know the basics - in a hurry. Developing excellence takes time and usually comes through the "school of hard knocks". Whether new on the job, or brushing up to implement the latest technology, Back to Basics: Your Guide to Manufacturing Excellence gives you the information you need to become an expert - quickly.

Fifty years on from the Marshall Plan, this volume describes the influence of the US management model on Europe after 1945. It examines institutions assisting in American efforts at a national and international level and analyzes in detail the reaction to the US productivity drive in a wide range of European companies, industries and countries.

Large corporations must become far more agile in implementing new products and new business models. The pace of technology change, the blurring of industry boundaries, and the agility and resources of startups in almost every industry segment demand it. Many companies have begun to adopt the principles of Lean Startup in order to increase the pace and agility of their innovation initiatives, but most have had limited success in doing so. Although the principles seem intuitive and straightforward, there are challenges to using them inside an existing company, especially in a manufacturing environment. The biggest requirements, beyond those espoused for startups, are: Developing a business model for the new venture that not only works in the marketplace but also works within the constraints of the corporation Managing the conflicts that inevitably arise with the current operating business; every business that has operated over decades has well-established ways of doing things that may not fit the required pace and flexibility required of a new venture Conducting business experiments with physical goods as well as with software offerings Managing the risk of investing in a new domain for executives that are used to investing where the risks are more clearly understood This book describes a systematic approach for implementing Lean Startup in large organizations. It builds on the principles of Lean Startup and adds additional practices required to manage the realities of the corporate context. The book describes how it is done, with examples from practice in companies that have successfully used the methods. It complements Lean Startup methods with elements of corporate innovation practices developed by leading academics and practitioners. It brings these practices together for the first time in a practical and integrated way.

The globalization of the economy has become an irreversible, universally dominant trend. Industrialized and developing nations as well as countries in transformation have to face the challenge of building internationally competitive economic structures. One-sidedly liberalist economic policies do not lead to the emergence of systemic competitiveness. What is called for are active development strategies. But how are they to be implemented, and what is the state of the political governance capacity of societies in the context of the new world economy?

Managing Operations is a concise guide to the fundamentals of operations management. Using examples and case studies from public, private and voluntary sector organizations, this book will enable managers to develop their competency to an excellent standard in an industrial or commercial setting.
As well as being very practically based, Managing Operations also provides the theory behind operations management.
The book is based on the Management Charter Initiative's Occupational Standards for Management NVQs and SVQs at level 4. It is particularly suitable for managers on the Certificate in Management, or Part 1 of the Diploma, especially those accredited by the IM and Edexcel.
Managing Operations is part of the highly successful series of textbooks for managers which cover the knowledge and understanding required as part of any competency-based management programme. The books cover the three main levels of management: supervisory/first-line management (NVQ level 3), middle management (Certificate/NVQ level 4) and senior management (Diploma/NVQ level 5). Also included are titles which cover management issues in particular sectors, such as schools or the public sector, in more depth. You will find a full listing of other titles available at the front of this book.
Bob Johnson is a freelance management consultant and trainer with extensive experience of the retail, service, government and voluntary sectors. He has managed operations in the sales, marketing, purchasing, training and consultancy functions.
Concise guide to the basics of operations management
Includes examples of best practice from from public, private and voluntary sector organizations
Linked tothe MCI standards

Business and Economics of Port Management is a comprehensive but concise textbook and reference for insights into the workings of port industry from the business and economics perspectives. The book examines port management from various entities which include the government, port operator, shipping line, logistics companies and other port service providers. It provides in-depth discussions on strategic issues, challenges and disruptions that are faced by this industry. Given the uniqueness of each port and international nature of the port business, the book comes with useful case studies and lessons from different port regions around the world. Key lessons on challenges and issues faced by port managers, developers and regulators are highlighted and discussed using a combination of professional insights and publicly available information sources. The aim is to illustrate the decision-making process with the purpose of contributing to better outcomes for the industry, government and the public at large. Anyone who is approaching the subject matter will gain utmost understanding of how ports are critical in the global economy and societal well-being.

The characteristics of "Co-operative Process Management" covered in this book concern the requirements of the dynamic situation "per se" as well as the requirements of the co-operation. Important factors are that no single person can have an overview of the situation; that expertise is distributed both temporally and qualitatively; that the ongoing process has to be represented in some way whether or not computerized; that co-operation is dependent on formal as well as informal information transfer; that predictions of the developing situation have to be performed; and that knowledge and skills of the participants must develop on different levels. What results is a book which covers analyses, field studies, micro-world studies, training and the creation of computer artefacts under the Co-operative Process Management umbrella.; This book should be of interest to those engaged in research or building applications in a dynamic co-operative information technology environment. It presents the work of some of the world's leading researchers from the four corners of CSCW, HCI, Process Control and Cognitive Ergonomics.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203212673

Project management skills are valuable for any healthcare project, not just technology projects. Non-technology activities that would benefit from project management skills include implementing a new policy housewide, updating training for use of the electronic health record (EHR), creating a new orientation program, quality assurance activities, submitting an article or presentation, writing a research proposal, or opening a new patient care unit. In addition, project management skills are not just for project managers, but they can be used by anyone leading these types of activities, such as managers, staff, educators, and researchers. Many books on healthcare project management have been focused on technology projects while non-technology projects flounder without the required knowledge or skills of the person leading the project. The purpose of this book is to discuss these skills based on the Project Management Institute (PMI) standards in a way that non-project managers would be able to understand and apply. Concepts from project initiation through project closure will be presented twice, first for novices and then for project leaders with more advanced skills. Practical, accessible, and containing numerous examples for each phase of the PMI Framework, this book will be a valuable resource for all healthcare professionals and both novice and experienced project managers.