Managing Operations is about Operations in the broad sense. The text will regularly step outside the boundaries of manufacturing to show the broad scope of Operations as it really is – a function that exists in almost every kind of business enterprise (for profit and not-for-profit).

This is also a book about business. It places Operations Management in the context of the overall business system. In every chapter, a framework is provided for relating the linkages and relationships of Operations to the other elements of the company. This is done using a Business System Model that helps show the interdependencies Operations has with other organization functions and business processes. Throughout the book a strong emphasis is placed on a holistic approach that considers effects of plans and actions across the company.

The latest concepts in Operations Management are covered in depth: Just-in-Time, Total Quality Management, Theory of Constraints, Supply Chains, and so on. Importantly, you will see these concepts as applying to services, engineering processes, paper work flows, distribution networks and the like, as well as to manufacturing.

A significant amount of content is devoted to non-manufacturing examples. Ways of combining features of these new concepts to amplify their power are also covered in detail. Traditional concepts of operations management are also presented, with frequent comparisons to the new approaches.

A primary feature of the book is its focus on improvement. It provides students with logic tools (thinking tools) for analyzing the current reality, and the expected future reality. These tools include a powerful construct for resolving dilemmas. Combined, these tools provide a focus on what to change, to what to change, and how to bring about a change successfully.

This does not just talk about change as a concept. It talks about how to do it. The thinking tools are a linked set. One provides the logical constructs for defining the current reality. This helps identify the core problems. Then, tools for mapping conflicts and dilemma’s in the environment are presented with effective methods for surfacing the underlying assumptions. (These assumptions can then be challenged in order to frame the direction for solution.) Other logical constructs are presented to map the future reality as it will be when the recommended solutions are implemented.