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.