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.     

MINIMIZING ABSOLUTE AND SQUARED DEVIATION OF COMPLETION TIMES FROM DUE DATES

This is a study of a single-machine scheduling problem with the objective of minimizing the sum of a function of earliness and tardiness called the earliness and tardiness (ET) problem. I will show that if priority weights of jobs are proportional to their processing times, and if earliness and tardiness cost functions are linear, the problem will be equivalent to the total weighted tardiness problem. This proves that the et problem is np -hard. In addition, I present a heuristic algorithm with worst case bound for the et problem based on the equivalence relation between the two. When earliness and tardiness cost functions are quadratic, I consider the problem for a common due date for all jobs and for different job due dates. In general, the et problem with quadratic earliness and tardiness cost functions and all job weights equal to one is np -hard. I show that in many cases, when weights of jobs are proportional to their processing times, the problem can be solved efficiently. In the published results on the et problem with quadratic earliness and tardiness cost functions other researchers have assumed a zero starting time for the schedule. I discuss the advantages of a nonzero starting time for the schedule.     

ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE SCHEDULING POLICIES FOR HOSPITAL NURSES

The persistent shortage of nurses adversely affects the productivity, quality of care, and operating costs in most acute care hospitals. Aggravating the shortage are high nurse turnover rates, approaching 200% in some institutions. Policies to ensure adequate staffing levels and provide more attractive work schedules are alleged to improve nurse retention. However, their cost is seldom discussed. We compared expected nursing expense and workforce requirements to staff eight medical and surgical nursing units of a large hospital for 1 month, under 12 different scheduling policies alleged to improve turnover. Using simulation and an integrated staffing and scheduling methodology, we found that the expected nursing wages and workforce requirements for some policies differed by as much as 33%. In this hospital, the expected labor costs for certain policies could erode the benefits expected from improved retention. In contrast, other policies appear to allow high utilization of nursing resources, enhancing the expected benefits of reduced turnover with significant reductions in expenses for labor, recruiting, training, and fringe benefits.     

DEVELOPING SOPHISTICATED QUALITY IMPROVEMENT APPROACHES THROUGH BUSINESS-ACADEME COLLABORATIONS: INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE

The pursuit of better performance has led to a number of business-academe collaborations. These collaborators have developed a number of sophisticated approaches that go far beyond such traditional simple methods as benchmarking against the best company, Ishikawa diagrams on feedback and control, Pareto diagrams, incentive systems based solely on output or quality, standard process control charts, and separate treatment of control charts and product inspection. The authors in this special issue report on approaches like benchmarking industrial performance through industry studies; the use of an artificial-intelligence statistical-tree growing method to analyze complex customer service data; an incentive system based on the total quality management (TQM) concepts of continuous improvement, teamwork, adaptation to change, and a focus on customer satisfaction; and integration of product inspection and process control. Because of the continuing widespread interest in TQM, there is an opportunity to take stock of how successful TQM initiatives have been and how we should consolidate and further extend the knowledge in TQM. Two of the papers report on the gap between what organizations espouse as TQM and what they actually implement and on the literature on TQM.     

LOT‐SIZING RULE AND FREEZING THE MASTER PRODUCTION SCHEDULE UNDER CAPACITY CONSTRAINT AND DETERMINISTIC DEMAND

This paper investigates the performance impact of lot‐sizing rule (LSR) selection and freezing of the master production schedule (MPS) in multi‐item single‐level systems with a single resource constraint under deterministic demand. The results of the study show that the selection of LSRS and the parameters for freezing the MPS have a significant impact on total cost, schedule instability, and the service level of the system. However, the selection of LSRS does not significantly influence the selection of the MPS freezing parameters. The basic conclusions concerning the performance of the freezing parameters under a capacity constraint agreed with previous research findings without consideration of capacity constraints.     

COMPARING THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND QUALITY INITIATIVES OF BALDRIGE AWARD WINNERS

Can best‐practice quality firms leverage their quality programs for environmental management? This paper explores this question by comparing the implementation of successful and unsuccessful quality and environmental initiatives in five manufacturing‐ and five service‐sector Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (mbnqa) winners. The results lead to a series of propositions to guide future research. While the literature suggests that quality and environmental programs are closely related, this study finds that drivers of successful environmental initiatives are not the same as those for successful quality initiatives.     

IMPROVING JOB SHOP PERFORMANCE THROUGH PROCESS QUEUE MANAGEMENT UNDER TRANSFER BATCHING

This research investigated the value of protecting the continuity of release batchs in a transfer batching environment, by modifying the SPT rule. A simulation model of a job shop was used to test the modified SPT rule. The performance measures evaluated were mean flow time, flow time variance, and mean lateness. Conditions under which the SPT modification improved results were as follows: large number of transfer batches, small setup time to process time ratio, and large variation in process times from station to station. The results suggest that shop loading is not a significant factor affecting performance of the modified SPT rule.     

THE STATIONARY BEER GAME

This paper presents a variant of the popular beer game. We call the new game the stationary beer game, which models the material and information flows in a production‐distribution channel serving a stationary market where the customer demands in different periods are independent and identically distributed. Different players, who all know the demand distribution, manage the different stages of the channel. Summarizing the initial experience with the stationary beer game, the paper provides compelling reasons why this game is an effective teaching tool.     

TWO‐ AND THREE‐STAGE FLOWSHOP SCHEDULING WITH NO‐WAIT IN PROCESS

In this paper we study the time complexities of some two‐ and three‐stage no‐wait flowshop makespan scheduling problems where, in some stage, all the jobs require a constant processing time and the stage may consist of parallel identical machines. Polynomial time algorithms are presented for certain problems, while several others are proved to be strongly NP‐complete.     

EXTENDING THE BOUNDARIES OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: AN INTERNATIONAL FIELD-STUDIES APPROACH INTEGRATING INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Continued globalization, extensive use of information technologies, increasing cross-functional dependencies, and new organizational forms are rapidly changing the learning context of operations management. This paper describes an example of a mba elective course that has been created to address and learn from these new realities. We have taken a process view of the global firm, focusing mainly on the new product/service development, order fulfillment, and supply chain/ after-sales service processes. We have designed our course to contain most of the traditional topics in operations management (om) with information systems (is) woven in to support the key business processes. Our underlying belief is that these two functional areas should be seen as a blend, a seamless merging of the two fields, to obtain a competitive advantage. Besides teaching om and is in this integrated manner, the course engages in face-to-face student consulting projects with multinational companies. This paper describes our rationale for the course design and how it has been implemented over the last 6 years-as well as our plans for the future.