This well-written, comprehensive book strikes the perfect balance between both the managerial issues and quantitative techniques of operations. A major thrust of the revision includes increased emphasis on information technology and the effect of the Internet and e-business on operations management.A four-part organization covers the strategic importance of operations, designing the operating system, managing the supply chain, and ensuring quality.For project managers and other business personnel who need to manage and improve processes.

In the first edition of this book, we wanted to create a textbook on operations management that was very clear, concise, and organized. We also wanted to include lots of special features and examples to make the topics interesting. We wanted the concepts we described to be logical and easy to understand. Most importantly, we wanted the student to feel excited about operations management, because we live in an exciting time with many new, unique, and interesting changes occurring in service and manufacturing operations around the world. With each subsequent edition, including this fourth edition, we have attempted to maintain these original goals, and to keep our book current and completely attuned to new innovations. As such, a major thrust of this new edition is to reflect the changes in operations management resulting from the advances in computer and information technologies. MAJOR TEXT THEMES We have sought to make this new edition of our textbook contemporary and comprehensive. We want to make sure that the many new and important changes taking place in operations today, such as supply chains, e-business, and information technology are conspicuously integrated with the more traditional topics in operations, which include strategy, quality, and competitiveness. Operations Strategy and Competitiveness A company's plan for achieving a competitive edge is its strategy. The success of a strategic plan is determined by how well a company coordinates all of its internal processes, including operations, and brings them to bear on its goals. Throughout the book we try to show how the functions and processes described in each chapter fit into a company's strategic plan. In each chapter we emphasize the need for considering the overall strategic implications of particular operating decisions. For example, in Chapter 7 on Supply Chain Management we emphasize that supply chain design is a strategic issue, and in Chapter 14 on Quality Management we discuss the strategic implications of TQM. Although most firms express their goals in terms of customer satisfaction or level of quality, their underlying objective is to beat the competition. One way in which companies can gain a competitive edge is by deploying the basic functions of operations management in a more effective manner than their rivals. Therefore, we give literally dozens of examples that explain how companies deploy specific operations functions that provided a competitive edge and made them successful. We begin our discussion of competitiveness in Chapter 1 and continue throughout the book with "Competitive Edge" boxes, describing how successful companies have gained a competitive edge through operations. E-Business and Information Technology A major feature of this new edition is the increased emphasis on information technology and the effect of the Internet and e-business on operations management. Throughout the text we indicate how information technology and the Internet are changing how operations are managed. For example, in the first chapter the fundamentals of business-to-consumer and business-to-business e-commerce are discussed as well as the impact of e-business on operations management. In Chapter 2 we discuss strategy and the Internet, in Chapter 3 collaborative product commerce, in Chapter 4 e-manufacturing and advanced communications. A major portion of Chapter 7 discusses e-procurement; e-business and information in the supply chain. Chapter 12 presents web-based ERP and related e-business software, Chapter 14 explores quality on the web, and Chapter 17 discusses alternative workplaces. Services and Manufacturing We have attempted to strike a balance between manufacturing and service operations in this book. Traditionally, operations management was thought of almost exclusively in a manufacturing context. However, in the United States and other industrialized nations, there has been a perceptibl