Synopsis
Jack Meredith and Scott Shafer abandon the traditional approach for operations management books and focus on business processes and spreadsheets to solve problems. They provide readers with an applied and contemporary introduction to operations management as well as a solid foundation in its theory. With this text, readers will discover the latest trends currently being used in business. They'll learn about the additional skills needed to succeed in an extremely competitive environment. This includes the trend away from vertical hierarchical organizations toward horizontal process-centered ones creating a need for individuals who can also work as part of a team and who understand how technology can be used to better meet customer needs.
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About the Author
Norman Gaither is Professor Emeritus of Business Analysis and Research at Texas A&M University. He received his Ph.D. and MBA from the University of Oklahoma and his B.S.I.E. from Oklahoma State University. Prior to teaching, Professor Gaither worked at Olin Corporation, where he held the positions of chief industrial engineer, plant manager, and director of a multiplant operation, and at B.F. Goodrich Company as senior industrial engineer.
Professor Gaither's writings on a wide range of operations management topics have appeared in Management Science, Decision Sciences, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Simulation, Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, IIE Transactions, Journal of Cost Analysis, and International Journal of Operations and Production Management.
Dr. Gaither has served on the editorial boards of several highly respected journals in the operations management field. He is also an AACSB Federal Faculty Fellow.
Review
Excellent topic coverage - I especially like the coverage on technology selection & management, supply chain management, and maintenance management.
I like the way the appendices are handled at the end of the text and not scattered throughout the text. Gaither/Frazier has done a good job of integrating the quantitative methods used in POM into the regular text material rather than treating them as appendices.
I am using the Gaither and Frazier textbook this semester because I was pleased to see a chapter on maintenance planning in an Operations Management book. By having the subject included in a textbook the students see that it is now important. I introduce engineering terminology such as MTBF, MTTR, and Availability measures. I feel it is important because these are specs purchasing agents or sales reps will need to become familiar with. This chapter should always be included in a course that teaches the concepts of JIT manufacturing.
The strengths of Gaither and Frazier include: (1) the internet assignment, industry snapshots, and wrap-ups are excellent bridges between theory and practice; and (2) the visual aids, such as the colors, images, and graphs, are used so nicely that really help materials flow and catch the reader's attention.
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