Operations Management

This text surveys the field of operations in the services and manufacturing sectors. It provides enhanced coverage from the strategies of designing a product or service, through the processes and systems of making and delivering the product and controlling the operations. All the standard topics are covered with concepts and supporting examples, problems, cases and appropriate current news clips and readings. Stevenson highlights the very important role operations play in today's business world with concise coverage of concepts such as JIT, TQM and supply chain management with more thorough integration of services and increased use of real world examples. All basic quantitative techniques are presented, many in supplements that can be highlighted or bypassed depending on the course structure, and all are supported with step-by-step examples and solved problems, many including example solutions built into Excel spreadsheets. The text is the most widely adopted of any for the introductory course mainly due to the balanced coverage and clearly explained concepts.
The text contains a balanced mix of newsclips from the popular press, classic readings, and short articles all highlight and support student motivation and understanding of the real-world applications and the pre-eminent importance of OM concepts in business today. A wealth of carefully tested and refined assignment material is included, from thoughtful discussion questions to conceptual "big picture" memo exercises, cases and operations tours, along with a complete set of problems. Text presentation is supported by more graphic illustrations than any other, using four colours for interest and function, as well as carefully chosen colour photos.