Operations Management for MBAs

This book includes what every MBA needs to know about OM. Operations is one of the most important factors in whether an organization survives in the international marketplace. While not everyone will be solving quantitative operations problems, every manager will confront important operations issues that will have a critical impact on the success of their organizations. Revised to reflect the growing importance of soft and hard technologies, as well as the rise of service organizations and the global economy, this Third Edition of Jack Meredith and Scott Shafer's "Operations Management for MBAs" focuses on what MBAs need to know about operations in their careers. This includes: Six sigma improvement projects; Project management; Enterprise resource planning; Lean management; Outsourcing and offshoring; Supply chain management; and, Process design and planning. Emphasizing the strategic role of these operations topics, the authors keep the needs of marketing, finance and other majors in mind, and show how a basic understanding of operations is important to all career paths. The text's clear and concise overview of key concepts makes it the perfect complement to cases and readings on OM. New features of the Third Edition include: new chapter on Six Sigma; expanded coverage of ERP, lean manufacturing, and outsourcing; a stronger emphasis on the strategic role of operations topics, including more strategic examples and expanded material in Chapter 2: Strategy, Operations, and Global Competitiveness; new appendix on Crystal Ball with two solved example problems; more service examples throughout the text; and, new international examples, as well as many revised problems and cases with an international focus.