Operations Management: A Strategic Approach(Published in Association with The Open University)

`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

Table of Contents:
Introduction THEME 1: OPERATIONS AS STRATEGY Operations-Based Strategy - Robert Hayes and David Upton Resource-based Competition and the New Operations Strategy - St[ac]ephane Gagnon Stakeholder Capitalism and the Value Chain - Edward Freeman and Jeanne Liedtka Managing the Transition from Products to Services - Rogelio Oliva and Robert Kallenburg In Defense of Strategy as Design - Jeanne Liedtka THEME 2: APPROACHES AND TECHNIQUES Leveraging Management Improvement Techniques - Kenneth Euske and Steven Player A Critical Examination of the Business Process Re-Engineering Phenomenon - Stefano Biazzo Best Practice in Business Excellence - John Oakland, Steve Tanner and Ken Gadd The Fallacy of Universal Best Practices - H J Harrington THEME 3: THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY Technology, the Technology Complex and the Paradox of Technology Determinism - James Fleck and John Howells IT-Enabled Business Transformation - N Venkatraman From Automation to Business Scope Redefinition Executive Forum - Robert M Price Technology and Strategic Advantage Technology Infusion in Service Encounters - Mary Jo Bitner, Stephen Brown and Matthew Meuter Integrating Environmental Issues into the Mainstream - Linda Angell and Robert Klassen An Agenda for Research in Operations Management THEME 4: HUMAN ISSUES Seven Practices of Successful Organizations - Jeffrey Pfeffer A Framework for Linking Culture and Improvement Initiatives in Organizations - James Detert, Roger Schroeder and John Mauriel Empowering Service Employees - David Bowen and E Lawler Client Co-Production in Knowledge-Intensive Business Services - Lance Bettencourt et al