What do you think?
Rate this book
Operations Management
Operations management is important, it is exciting, and it is challenging. It is concerned with creating the products and services upon which we all depend and creating products and services is the very reason for any organization's existence, whether that organization is large or small, manufacturing or service, for profit or not for profit. Operations management is also at the centre of so many of the changes affecting the business world - changes in customer preference, changes in supply networks brought about by internet-based technologies, and changes in the extent of environmental responsibility that we expect from companies. This revised and fully updated edition of this book continues to provide a clear, well-structured and comprehensive treatment of the subject, balancing a logical approach with the insights that come from operations practice around the world. This text looks at how operations can be managed in order to support and contribute to the strategic objectives of an organization. It is relevant to manufacturing and service operations and is written from a European perspective with examples from different countries. It is divided into five parts for ease of use. In the first part, a clear general overview is provided of the nature and scope of operations management. Part two looks at the nature and design of operation processes and Part three examines planning and control. Part four looks at ways in which operations can be improved through an examination of failure prevention and recovery and in the final part, the main points discussed thus far are brought together in a look at the strategic role of operations. It includes management techniques such as TQM and JIT.
815 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
43 people are currently reading
560 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 14, 2013
You do not need to have technical knowledge to start with this book. It may be your entrance to the world of industrial management. If you need the book just tell me ;)
July 22, 2022
good book , I am still reading
June 11, 2025
(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)
Довольно трудное было для меня чтение, и я не думаю, что это объяснялось тем, что книга была на английском. Я прочитал много книг на английском, так что уверенно могу сказать, что если был бы профессиональный перевод на русский, книга не сильно от этого воспринималась бы легче или проще. Более того, я узнаю стиль, которым написана книга. Такой стиль я часто встречал в университетских учебниках по стратегическому менеджменту � сухой академический слог, суть которого трудно понять, даже читая книгу на родном для тебя языке. Так что один из выводов, которые можно сделать в отношении этой книги заключается в том, что книга не упрощает сложный материал, а наоборот его усложняет (и это без учёта многочисленных формул, которые я просто пропускал).
Несмотря на то, что большинство тем я понял, это произошло не благодаря авторам, а благодаря ранее прочитанным бизнес-книгам, как например книге «Цель. Процесс непрерывного совершенствования» (The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement) и многим другим похожим книгам из мира маркетинга и менеджмента. Какую бы тему авторы этого учебника не взяли бы, в итоге объяснение получалось и слишком коротким и слишком запутанным. Причина этого была только одна � неумение авторов доходчиво и просто объяснять сложный материал.
Если всё с этим учебником плохо, то почему я поставил среднюю оценку, почему не отрицательную? Дело в том, что этот учебник предлагает хороший вариант рассматриваемых вопросов, плюс, у авторов получилось хорошо обрисовать сферу операционного менеджмента. Это означает, что для полноценного понимания предмета, который важен для всех маркетологов, придётся обращаться к узкоспециализированной литературе, т.е. к книгам, которые рассматривают только какую-нибудь одну тему, но делают это легко и просто, чтобы любой человек понял. К примеру, отдельные книги по Supply chain management, Inventory management и так далее.
It was quite difficult for me to read, and I don't think it was because the book was in English. I've read a lot of books in English, so I can say that if there was a professional translation into Russian, the book would not be much easier or simpler to understand. Moreover, I recognize the style in which the book is written. This is a style I have often seen in university textbooks on strategic management - a dry academic slogan, the essence of which is difficult to understand even if you read the book in your native language. So one of the conclusions that can be drawn about this book is that it does not simplify complex material, but rather complicates it (and this is without taking into account the numerous formulas that I simply skipped).
Although I understood most of the topics, it was not because of the authors but because of previously read business books like The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement and many other similar books from the world of marketing and management. Whichever topic the authors of this textbook took, the explanation ended up being both too short and too confusing. There was only one reason for this - the authors' inability to explain complex material in a clear and simple way.
If everything is bad with this textbook, why did I give it an average grade, i.e., why not a negative one? The fact is that this textbook offers a good version of the issues addressed, plus, the authors have managed to outline the field of operational management well. This means that for a full understanding of the subject, which is important for all marketers, you will have to turn to highly specialized literature, i.e., books that address only one topic but make it easy and simple for anyone to understand. For example, separate books on Supply chain management, Inventory management, and so on.
Довольно трудное было для меня чтение, и я не думаю, что это объяснялось тем, что книга была на английском. Я прочитал много книг на английском, так что уверенно могу сказать, что если был бы профессиональный перевод на русский, книга не сильно от этого воспринималась бы легче или проще. Более того, я узнаю стиль, которым написана книга. Такой стиль я часто встречал в университетских учебниках по стратегическому менеджменту � сухой академический слог, суть которого трудно понять, даже читая книгу на родном для тебя языке. Так что один из выводов, которые можно сделать в отношении этой книги заключается в том, что книга не упрощает сложный материал, а наоборот его усложняет (и это без учёта многочисленных формул, которые я просто пропускал).
Несмотря на то, что большинство тем я понял, это произошло не благодаря авторам, а благодаря ранее прочитанным бизнес-книгам, как например книге «Цель. Процесс непрерывного совершенствования» (The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement) и многим другим похожим книгам из мира маркетинга и менеджмента. Какую бы тему авторы этого учебника не взяли бы, в итоге объяснение получалось и слишком коротким и слишком запутанным. Причина этого была только одна � неумение авторов доходчиво и просто объяснять сложный материал.
Если всё с этим учебником плохо, то почему я поставил среднюю оценку, почему не отрицательную? Дело в том, что этот учебник предлагает хороший вариант рассматриваемых вопросов, плюс, у авторов получилось хорошо обрисовать сферу операционного менеджмента. Это означает, что для полноценного понимания предмета, который важен для всех маркетологов, придётся обращаться к узкоспециализированной литературе, т.е. к книгам, которые рассматривают только какую-нибудь одну тему, но делают это легко и просто, чтобы любой человек понял. К примеру, отдельные книги по Supply chain management, Inventory management и так далее.
It was quite difficult for me to read, and I don't think it was because the book was in English. I've read a lot of books in English, so I can say that if there was a professional translation into Russian, the book would not be much easier or simpler to understand. Moreover, I recognize the style in which the book is written. This is a style I have often seen in university textbooks on strategic management - a dry academic slogan, the essence of which is difficult to understand even if you read the book in your native language. So one of the conclusions that can be drawn about this book is that it does not simplify complex material, but rather complicates it (and this is without taking into account the numerous formulas that I simply skipped).
Although I understood most of the topics, it was not because of the authors but because of previously read business books like The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement and many other similar books from the world of marketing and management. Whichever topic the authors of this textbook took, the explanation ended up being both too short and too confusing. There was only one reason for this - the authors' inability to explain complex material in a clear and simple way.
If everything is bad with this textbook, why did I give it an average grade, i.e., why not a negative one? The fact is that this textbook offers a good version of the issues addressed, plus, the authors have managed to outline the field of operational management well. This means that for a full understanding of the subject, which is important for all marketers, you will have to turn to highly specialized literature, i.e., books that address only one topic but make it easy and simple for anyone to understand. For example, separate books on Supply chain management, Inventory management, and so on.
August 11, 2017
A practical and useful book on process and operations management. The examples from industry links theory to practice which provides a useful learning experience! Working on or adding to the parts on improvements such as lean operations and Kaizen will improve the quality of the reading journey.
November 18, 2020
I have read and worked with this book in different editions over the last 20 years or so. I found it to be one of the most helpful business textbooks in general, and definitely among the very best ones regarding operations management.
November 7, 2017
Excellent book introducing the reader to operations management terminology and concepts used by OM professionals. well laid out and clear book that is easy to understand.
March 18, 2018
Useful overview, particularly the chapters on product and systems design.
November 13, 2021
Lo he tenido de core text book and n el MBA de Strathclyde y me ha gustado mucho. Sencillo de leer, entender y seguir. Con muchos ejemplos para fijar contenidos. Lo recomiendo
February 3, 2025
Far too complex for a beginner.
Read
March 26, 2016This is a PROPER textbook - all 650 pages of it. Can't recommend it enough though - very well written (no bumf), well structured providing a fantastic run-through of all things operations management, full of interesting case studies and useful diagrams. If ever a textbook could be called 'un-putdownable', this would be it!
January 13, 2016
This was a great book and I really learned so much! I loved learning about the different operation techniques and how it has changed so much in the last 20 years. I found this text very useful to my studies.
September 24, 2015
While exhaustive in general, the book is has shoddy quantitative explanations (ch. 4 Little's Law, for example). New terms are poorly defined, the explanations are incoherent and usually either oversimplified or rushed.
February 3, 2016
Its more like the handbook for industrial engineering student. It provides wide ranging topics, from operations strategy, layout and flow of production, SCM, forecasting, organisation, planning, inventorym ERP, lean, quality, project management, SPC, risk management and social responsibility.
Read
February 8, 2021Putting pressure on you to rate 5 star without u been able to read the book. Not worth it
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.