TEACHING THE PRODUCTION/OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT CORE COURSE: INTEGRATING LOGISTICS PLANNING ACTIVITIES

This paper discusses the benefits of restructuring the introductory undergraduate production and operations management (pom) course to improve its pedagogical effectiveness and to better convey the importance of integrating logistics planning activities. The introduction of a dynamic integrative semester-long case study which involves students in applying pom concepts and tools through a simulation game is reported.     

INTRODUCING INTERNATIONAL ISSUES INTO OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT CURRICULA

As the world moves toward a global economy, it is increasingly important that operations management courses prepare students to address globalization issues. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the dialog concerning how international topics are best incorporated into operations management curricula. On the basis of the results of a survey of operations management academicians worldwide, current course offerings are cataloged and topic areas critical to the globalization of operations are identified. Four major reasons for studying international operations management are proposed, which provide the basis for recommendations on how international topics can be introduced into established operations courses and for the design of an elective course in global operations. Finally, teaching materials relevant to international operations are surveyed.     

DOES INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT NEED A SEPARATE PERSPECTIVE?

This essay argues that it is difficult to justify intellectually a separate subject of international operations management. Nevertheless, courses with titles like that abound and other professional activities are centered on international operations, at least in the United States. Of course, there are real differences in management activities in different parts of the world that must be contended with. A comparison of European and U.S. managers' exposure to international business suggests that there is a higher startup cost for U.S. managers to do so. Drawing an analogy between the management of operations and the solving of a huge mathematical programming problem implies that there are few new variables introduced by going international, but that the weights on existing variables can change substantially. Therefore, even though difficult to justify intellectually, continuing to treat international operations management separately may provide us some short-term advantages. By helping us focus our attention on the important variables that change, it may provide us the insights to help reduce the startup cost for U.S. managers entering international operations.     

A NEW PARADIGM FOR TEACHING INTRODUCTORY PRODUCTION/OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

This paper postulates that the perception among students that operations management is a tedious, irrelevant subject is a symptom of the lack of a conceptual framework that effectively communicates the importance and relevance of the operations function in a firm. The first half of this paper discusses traditional frameworks, those most frequently found in introductory production and operations management (pom) textbooks, and several alternative approaches to teaching an introductory POM course. The discussion questions whether any of these existing frameworks is sufficient to meet the challenges faced while teaching POM in today's environment and identifies what characteristics an effective framework should possess. These characteristics include defining the scope and bounds of the field, capturing its integrative and system aspects, providing a visible depiction of the framework to aid comprehension, and promoting higher-level thinking (i.e., analysis, synthesis, and criticism) to deepen understanding. This discussion concludes that no current framework meets all of these criteria, therefore there remains a need for a more effective approach for introducing POM. The remainder of the paper describes one approach to conceptualizing the field that satisfies these criteria.     

TEACHING OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT FROM A SCIENCE OF MANUFACTURING

Recently, there has been much concern over the dumbing down of production and operations management (pom) courses in response to the repudiation of the theory-heavy operations research (or) approach that became dominant during the 1970s. However, although almost everyone agrees that a new POM framework is needed, there is as yet little agreement on what it should be like. As a result, there is currently a huge variance among POM courses at different universities, ranging all the way from traditional OR courses to almost purely anecdotal case-oriented courses. Although academics have struggled with the search for an appropriate level of methodological rigor in POM courses, our customers (i.e., students and the firms that hire them) have been inundated by a blizzard of management buzzwords. Although many of these undoubtedly contain kernels of truth, the very nature of the buzzword approach is such that it provides little balanced guidance as to what methods work well in a given situation. In recognition of these disparities, POM researchers have begun trying to systematically describe the underlying behavior of production systems. The goal is to provide a framework that will help organize educational approaches and business practices in a consistent fashion. In this paper, we describe our attempt at the needed “science of manufacturing,” which we call factory physics, and illustrate how it fits into a new paradigm of POM teaching.     

BUILDING THE POM CURRICULUM FOR A PRIVATIZING ECONOMY: AN EVALUATION FROM MANUFACTURERS‘ PERSPECTIVES

Manufacturing in Eastern European countries is in transition to open-market competition. One transitional issue is university education for operations managers from the perspective of business practitioners. Survey responses by 203 manufacturing professionals from 83 companies provide recommendations for operations management education at the University of Sibiu in Romania. The recommendations substantially reorient curricula that traditionally prepared students for professions in centrally controlled economies rather than for open-market competition. The redesigned curriculum has an educational advantage in its integration of production, marketing, and engineering, all under one college of engineering. However, the curriculum is inconsistent with some tenets of quality management and just-in-time production. Also, survey data imply a need for coverage of competitive manufacturing strategy that, currently, is underrepresented in the curriculum.     

DEVELOPING POM FACULTIES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Having added total quality management (tqm), operations strategy, new product development, and many other topics to its repertoire over the past two decades, operations management is being pushed-by practitioners and students alike-to extend its reach both horizontally (to encompass the whole supply chain and the interface with other functions) and internationally. Moreover, the increasing sophistication of computer technology and the growth of the intemet are expanding the teaching and research methodologies that can be used to address these complex issues. Meeting the challenges posed by this ever-broadening conceptualization of our mission and the new tools available to us will require more than simply new knowledge and new courses. It also will require an influx of new people having very different backgrounds than in the past. We have to learn how to attract such people, how to prepare them to be effective teachers and researchers in production and operations management (pom), and how to work effectively with them. The locations of faculty, students, and potential partners in the learning experience also will be transformed, forcing us to reconsider how we organize to do our work and when and where we do it.     

TEACHING SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT THROUGH GLOBAL PROJECTS WITH GLOBAL PROJECT TEAMS

In this article, we describe the Global Project Coordination Course, a course in which project teams composed of three students from each of two overseas universities execute company‐sponsored projects dealing with global supply chain management issues. The $75,000 to $100,00 contributed in total by the three to four sponsoring companies funds all course expenses. We assess the benefits and challenges of the use of cross‐cultural project teams with diverse educational backgrounds. We conclude that the course provides a unique and effective vehicle for furthering students' knowledge of Supply Chain Management and Information Systems, improving understanding of “soft” issues, and training students to work in diverse, global, cross‐cultural project teams.     

INTERNATIONAL DIFFUSION OF ISO 14000 CERTIFICATION

The ISO 9000 series of quality management systems standards and the more recent ISO 14000 environmental management systems standards have generated much controversy among practitioners. Although ISO 9000 has become a de facto requirement for many firms, its effects are poorly understood, and similarly the value and domain of applicability of ISO 14000 have been questioned. This paper reports on an exploratory study into the global spread of ISO 14000. We interviewed practitioners worldwide to identify factors that they believe explain differences between national ISO 14000 certification counts. We then collected quantititive data for these factors and, using regression analysis, we found that exports, environmental attitudes (combined with economic development), and ISO 9000 certification count were significant. The fact that ISO 9000 appears as an important factor explaining diffusion of ISO 14000 certifications suggests that the drivers behind the two have significant overlap. This indicates that, although ISO 14000 is an environmental standard, many of the factors driving national certification patterns are not at all environmental in nature, and that ISO 14000 therefore needs to be studied from a broader perspective than from a purely environmental point of view.     

HOW PROFESSORS OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT VIEW SERVICE OPERATIONS?

This study empirically tests assumptions that underlie operations management (OM) scholars' belief that service operations should be managed differently. Respondents were self-classified into manufacturing and service types. There is a significant statistical difference between the views held by each group with regard to statements such as “service Om should be taught as a separate course” and “service operations should be managed differently from manufacturing.” There was general consensus on the service research agenda with the exception of three research areas: time standards, technology, and productivity. The survey also revealed that customer influence has the greatest impact on service Om strategies and decisions.     

What “international” subtopics are crucial to business education?: A survey of management school professors

The question addressed by this survey is, “What ‘international’ topics are crucial to the practice of management?” The objective of the study was to identify “international” curricular subtopics, tools, and concepts that faculty respondents deemed absolutely crucial to business pedagogy and to the practice of management, and would therefore require in every business program. This survey is one of the few that addresses the international pedagogy issue from the micro-, or subtopic, end of the spectrum. A list of the topics identified should be of considerable value to curriculum committees in charge of business school programs. The selections ranged not only over the six major departments found in most business schools, but beyond. Respondents as a whole were willing to step outside their narrow departmental boundaries when thinking about the question of internationalization of pedagogy. The results also seem to confirm that the bulk of the burden of the internationalization of the curriculum will continue to rest, principally but by no means exclusively, on two departments, Management and Marketing.     

INTRODUCTION: SHAPING THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING AND SERVICE OPERATIONS

The challenges and opportunities in production and operations management (POM) are almost unlimited because in the world economy, manufacturing andservice operations account for more than 10 trillion dollars per year and in any single industry, the performance varies widely from country to country and from organization to organization. The goal of Production and Operations Management is to contribute to improving the management of manufacturing and service operations all over the world. The editors and reviewers judge the papers published in the journal for their contribution to improving of business practices and to further closeness between research and practice. The journal will publish high quality papers on a broad range of topics in POM, and it encourages all paradigms, old and new. We also invite managers from around the world to describe specific POM problems that provide challenging opportunities for academic research.     

THE MALL IS MY FACTORY: REFLECTIONS OF A SERVICE JUNKIE

This paper presents a personal perspective on the history, current research, and emerging topics in the field of Service Operations Management. I see research in the field evolving from a focus on classifications and operations research models in the 1970s and 1980s, to a current focus on laboratory studies, and survey- and case-based research. Selected current research is presented under the following headings: Service encounter design, service quality, drivers of service competitiveness, yield management, and the information revolution and the globalization of services. Examples of creativity in service delivery and some whimsical characteristics of service junkies are also presented.     

Addressing the Challenge of Modeling for Decision‐Making in Socially Responsible Operations

Companies seek sustainability by combining the quest for profitability with the pursuit of social responsibility. Since socially responsible operations are characterized by the presence of multiple stakeholders with conflicting goals, applying classical optimization models would seem premature; we first need to capture the behavior of the entire system before attempting to optimize sub‐systems to ensure that we focus on the ones driving the behavior of interest. Alternative methodologies are required if we are to gain insight into the most important drivers of socially responsible operations in order to apply traditional operations research (OR)/management science (MS) models correctly. This study presents an umbrella approach which combines different methodologies to tackle the complexity, unfamiliar context, and counter‐intuitive behavior of socially responsible operations at the overall system level.     

EXPLAINING PLANT-LEVEL DIFFERENCES IN MANUFACTURING OVERHEAD: STRUCTURAL AND EXECUTIONAL COST DRIVERS IN THE WORLD AUTO INDUSTRY

Using data from 62 automobile assembly plants worldwide, we examine the extent to which various structural cost drivers (plant scale, automation, and product mix complexity) and exe-cutionalcost drivers (product manufacturability, management policies, and production practices) account for plant-level differences in manufacturing overhead. Our analysis of structural drivers finds that overhead hours per vehicle are negatively associated with production volumes, consistent with economies of scale in overhead functions. However, automation appears to have little influence on overhead levels. Product mix complexity's effect on overhead requirements varies with the complexity's form and the plant's manufacturing capabilities. Option and parts complexity (measures of peripheral and intermediate product variety) both exhibit adverse effects on overhead, reflecting the considerable logistical, coordination, and supervisory challenges that accompany an increased number of parts and more complex manufacturing tasks. In contrast, model mix complexity (a measure of fundamental variety) appears to have little impact on direct or overhead labor requirements in auto assembly plants. Our analysis of executional drivers provides empirical support for the claim that advanced manufacturing practices such as the reduction of buffers, multiskilled production workers, and the use of teams can lower overhead costs. We also find preliminary evidence that the lower overhead costs in Japanese auto assembly plants are due primarily to the use of multiskilled work teams and the shifting of traditional overhead activities to production workers. Overall, our results indicate that manufacturing overhead is a function not only of the structural cost drivers that have dominated the academic literature but also of executional cost drivers that are harder to duplicate and therefore potentially more valuable for achieving competitive advantage.     

THE ROLE OF SUPPLY MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES IN GREEN SUPPLY

Managers realize that they should avoid complex green supply initiatives when they do not have the capabilities to implement them. However, they have little guidance on how these capabilities can be developed. This paper provides an initial analysis of the role of supply management capabilities in green supply. We argue that the implementation of green supply is better explained by focusing on the development and deployment of an organization's specialized internal resources, rather than by the more usual focus on external environmental pressures on a firm. Further, we argue that capabilities appropriate for green supply are developed by a proactive corporate environmental stance and by a more strategic purchasing and supply management approach. We test our model using data from a two‐phase survey of 70 operating units within UK public limited companies. Our results indicate support for our conjecture that supply management capabilities are jointly developed by a proactive corporate environmental approach and a strategic purchasing and supply process. Our study results should be useful to business strategists, regulators, and researchers interested in the predictors of corporate green behavior. They should also assist future researchers in many branches of environmental management who are seeking to explore the role of the internal capabilities of firms in supporting environmental management.     

Framework for assessing the strategic plant role and deploying an improvement roadmap in global operations networks: an empirical study

In the current global economy, with an increased international presence of all types of organisations, the design and management of global operations networks (GON) plays a vital role in organisational competitiveness. Whilst all types of organisations are facing significant challenges for managing increasingly complex global operations, current literature on GONs is still limited in its scope. The aim of this paper is to discuss the development and evaluation of a construct for assessing the strategic plant role and developing of an improvement roadmap in GONs. This research makes a contribution to current knowledge on global operations by extending the model proposed by Ferdows in ‘Making the Most of Foreign Factories’ (HBR, 1997) and operationalising it to enable its application for the design and optimisation of GONs.     

COLLABORATION AND EVALUATION IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN: THE IMPACT ON PLANT‐LEVEL ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT

Manufacturing organizations can potentially improve environmental management both by increasing the level of investment in environmental technologies and by shifting that investment away from pollution control and toward pollution prevention. However, managers must not only consider their own manufacturing operations in isolation, but also those of others along the supply chain. This paper explores two dimensions of supply chain activities—collaboration and evaluation—that might be leveraged by plant managers to improve environmental management in their own plant. The linkages with suppliers and customers were assessed. Both customer‐ and plant‐initiated collaboration were found to have a significant effect on the level and form of investment in environmental technologies for a sample of Canadian plants. Of greatest importance, as customer‐initiated collaborative activities increased, plant‐level investment in environmental management was increasingly allocated toward pollution prevention. In contrast, only very limited evidence was found that evaluative activities influenced environmental investment.     

The management of international manufacturing networks: a missing link towards total management of global networks

Abstract

The purposes of this article are to provide a brief overview of the research on international manufacturing networks (IMNs), identify corresponding gaps and provide background for the papers published in this special issue. First, this article shows the importance of addressing the management of IMNs, especially in times of global turbulence as a result of new economic, political and technological trends. Second, it highlights research into the management of IMNs as a missing link in the Operations Management (OM) discipline, as most of the current OM research neglects the fact that the internal structures and relationships of multi-plant organizations inside firms play a critical role in how a supply chain/network operates and relies mostly on scholars in other fields for insights into high-level and strategic issues in the management of global operations. Finally, this article argues there is still a lot to do in order to develop new theories towards the total management of global networks that can holistically analyze different global (intra- and inter-firm multi-functional) networks and address the complex interdependencies between them.     

Research on global strategy

This paper reviews the extant literature on global strategy. We argue that the literature has developed along three major directions, namely: (1) the literature identifying the emergence of a global village; (2) the literature identifying the advantages to a firm following a global strategy; and (3) the literature addressing the management challenges and the implementation issues faced by an international firm. We find that the literature has arrived at a number of important conclusions, namely: (1) the global environment places conflicting demands on participating firms; (2) there is no one strategy called global strategy, firms adopt different strategies to compete in the global arena; (3) the benefits accruing from a global strategy are contingent on the industry environment; (4) it is imperative to have multidimensional capabilities in the global arena; (5) matrix structures are becoming increasingly vital in implementing global strategies; and, finally, (6) the actual benefits of adopting matrix structures are contingent on the adoption of appropriate management processes. We identify the trends in the literature and suggest some directions for further research on the topic.