Operations Management, 2nd edition

Citation

Morris, B. (1999), "Operations Management, 2nd edition", International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 2-3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijsim.1999.10.2.2.2

It is a pleasure to bring to readers′ attention this second edition of a highly successful text. No major changes have been made to the excellent format, so for those who are familiar with the first edition, there will be no surprises. For those not familiar with the first edition, it is a UK text, but in length and format it is closer to the US model of an operations management text than the UK model. As I stated in the review of the first edition, normally, a text not dedicated to services would not be reviewed in this journal, but this particular text warrants inclusion because it has a significant services′′ component, the authors taking the view that while there may be contextual differences between manufacturing and services, the operations tasks, decisions and responsibilities are substantively the same.

While the format remains the same, there has been some repositioning of material, but essentially this second edition is an update rather than a radical change. The primary effect of the update is to make it even better as a teaching text. The book retains its wealth of illustrations, most of which are updated or new, and discussion questions are added to the boxed examples, making them even more teacher‐friendly′′. A useful feature for students is that the key questions posed at the beginning of each part in the first edition have now been developed, and carried through to the appropriate chapters, and there are summary answers to them at the ends of the chapters.

<P>The aim of the book remains the same as its predecessor: to provide a clear, well structured and interesting treatment of operations management as it applies to a variety of businesses and organizations′′, and as with its predecessor, the authors have achieved this. It is highly recommended, not only for its primary purpose as it as an introductory text for undergraduate, MBA and postgraduate students who wish to understand the nature and activities of operations management, but also as a highly readable text with a breadth of coverage which should make it attractive to practitioners who wish to improve their own organisation′s performance.