Operations Management: Strategy and Analysis

This highly respected book presents strategic and managerial issues in order to emphasize that the decisions made by operations managers should be consistent with a corporate strategy shared by managers in all functional areas. It presents the operations tools and techniques for solving problems in the context of achieving a firm's overall goals and strategies, and provides a balanced treatment of manufacturing and services throughout. The book blends the latest in strategic issues with proven analytic techniques, and offers a wealth of interesting examples to engage readers and bring Operations Management to life. This sixth addition adds an increased emphasis on processes, to provide linkage between operational issues, as well as new problem-solving software and a website with innovative Internet resources. Other coverage includes operations as a competitive weapon, operations strategy, managing technology, total quality management, statistical process control, capacity, location, layout, supply-chain management, forecasting, inventory management, aggregate planning, resource planning, lean systems, and scheduling. For operations managers in a variety of fields.

LEE J. KRAJEWSKI is the William R. and F. Cassie Daley Professor of Manufacturing Strategy at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to joining Notre Dame, Lee was a faculty member at The Ohio State University, where he received the University Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award and the College of Business Outstanding Faculty Research Award. He initiated the Center for Excellence in Manufacturing Management and served as its director for four years. In addition, he received the National President's Award and the National Award of Merit of the American Production and Inventory Control Society. He served as President Elect of the Decision Sciences Institute and was elected a Fellow of the Institute in 1988.

Lee's career spans more than thirty-two years of research and education in the Field of operations management. He has designed and taught courses at both graduate and undergraduate levels on topics such as manufacturing strategy, introduction to operations management, operations design, and manufacturing planning and control systems.

Lee served as the editor of Decision Sciences, was the founding editor of the Journal of Operations Management (1980-1983), and has served on several editorial boards. Widely published himself, Lee has contributed numerous articles to such journals as Decision Sciences, the Journal of Operations Management, Management Science, Harvard Business Review, and Interfaces, to name just a few. He has received five best-paper awards. Lee's areas of specialization include manufacturing strategy, manufacturing planning and control systems, supply-chain management, and master production scheduling.

LARRY RITZMAN is the Thomas J. Galligan, Jr. Professor in Operations and Strategic Management at Boston College. He previously served at The Ohio State University for twenty-three years, where he acted as department chairperson and received several awards for both teaching and research. He received his doctorate at Michigan State University, having had prior industrial experience at the Babcock and Wilcox Company. Over the years, he has been privileged to teach and learn more about operations management with numerous students at all levels—undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctorate.

Particularly active in the Decision Sciences Institute, Larry has served as Council Coordinator, Publications Committee Chair, Track Chair, Vice President, Board Member, Executive Committee Member, Doctoral Consortium Coordinator, and President. He was elected a Fellow of the Institute in 1987 and earned the Distinguished Service Award in 1996. He has received three best-paper awards. He is a frequent reviewer, discussant, and session chair for several other professional organizations.

Larry's areas of particular expertise are operations strategy, production and inventory systems, forecasting, multistage manufacturing, disaggregation, scheduling, and layout. An active researcher, Larry's publications have appeared in such journals as Decision Sciences, Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, Harvard Business Review, and Management Science. He has served in various editorial capacities for several journals.