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Presents a report on a postal survey of production managers and production management academics carried out in New Zealand. The managers were asked questions about their tasks, responsibilities, and educational needs. The academics provided data on their teaching of production management. The survey particularly focused on the practical relevance of production management topics commonly taught in undergraduate courses of tertiary institutions. Survey results show that the practical relevance of production management education in New Zealand is significant, but there is room for improvement.

The main objective of a 1986 survey of production and operations managers throughout New Zealand industry was to determine the extent of computer use. The survey explored the use of microcomputers, mini computers and mainframes by production managers. Job title and responsibilities of the manager responsible for the majority of production management functions were investigated. It appeared that information and decision making in production management was fragmented in most organisations. The survey examined the main uses of computer information and control systems in production planning and inventory control, the perceived benefits and problems. The main computer brands in use and types of software were also analysed. Comparisons were made with surveys of British companies and some work in the USA.

The purpose of this study is to introduce an enterprise's productivity management named “Production efficiency improvement - PEFF”. This study shows the way of developing the management system to keep their shop floor “flexible to change” and “continuously controlling and improving” from the different levels and in various factories.

This study refers to Toyota's PEFF management system in the context of productivity enhancement through detailed management processes including yearly management, monthly management, daily management and its application in a case study from another sector as a model case of PEFF expansion. The methodology of this study is to introduce a method for production efficiency analysis, measure and select standard time through PEFF calculation.

Toyota's PEFF management can be extremely effective at developing management's ability to conduct day-to-day shop-floor management, know-how sharing and how Toyota applies PEFF to develop the world-standard on manpower efficiency for their factories. Besides, this study shows the applicable of PEFF improvement has successfully conducted in other manufacturers in a flexible way to achieve the improvement targets.

The results of this study will aid the managers in production lines to find the method of calculating and evaluating production efficiency through Toyota's management techniques such as PEFF, YIP, WVACT and standard time. However, the approach for this paper was from a synchronized system as Toyota is limited to generalized to small and medium-sized enterprises.

This paper is introducing the original Toyota's management technique to sustainable enhance their manpower performance and efficiency and answer the question of why TPS still exists in the age of digital management. PEFF management serves as an example of a value management process to help manufacturers to set guidelines to improve their productivity.

This paper presents the results of the second part of a study into the “barriers to acceptance of production management techniques in UK manufacturing industry”. The results of a telephone survey and detailed in‐company work carried out with seven manufacturing companies are presented. The important factors contributing to the successful usage of the techniques and concepts are discussed in detail and a proposed methodology for widening the application of techniques is outlined.

Examines Just‐in‐Time (JIT) from its evolution as a Japanese concept through to a review of its philosophy and implementation. Cites several techniques of implementation. Includes a review of the early work of various researchers and practitioners. Concludes that JIT is a very effective manufacturing philosophy which is universal in nature encompassing all aspects of manufacturing. Suggests a few deficiencies in current literature.

This paper aims to propose a model of production management that integrates knowledge management, as a third dimension, to the production and work dimensions and to identify factors that promote a favorable context for knowledge sharing and results achievement in the production operations shop floor environment.

The model proposed is built from opportunities identified in the literature review.

The factors in the model integrate its three main components: knowledge management, production organization and work organization, providing a representation of the dynamics of the workplace and shop floor environment.

The proposed model and its factors allow managers to better understand and to improve the organization activities, because it integrates knowledge management with the production organization and work organization components of traditional models.

Literature acknowledges the role of knowledge as competitive advantage, but it is still dealt in an implicit way within the traditional models of production management. This paper proposes a model and factors that provide a favorable context for tacit knowledge sharing and results achievement in the production operations shop floor environment. The model explicitly integrates knowledge management with traditional models' components.

The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.

The purpose is to provide an intellectual history of Operations Management, particularly noting recent developments and its underlying continuity with earlier systems and thinking. Operations Management as a discipline identifies its “modern” incarnation as dating from the 1960s when it became more rigorous and managerially focused. This re-invention constructed a “narrative” that the profession still follows, yet a critical perspective reveals significant, though under-appreciated continuity with earlier theory and practice.

This paper presents a comprehensive literature review and comparative analysis of historic developments in management and academia.

In the early 1900s, F. W. Taylor’s Shop Management established Operation Management, but its main component, Scientific Management, had stagnated by the 1950s. At that point, the rise of Management Science both reinvigorated Operations Management and threatened it with a competing new discipline. To compete Operations Management then modernized by redefining itself, reasserting its interest in several areas and co-opting Operational Research tools for those. It also contracted, withdrawing from areas considered vocational, or more suited to Industrial Engineering.

This historical overview shows the critical importance of drawing research agenda from practical managerial concerns.

Practitioners benefit from the intellectual rigor that academics provide and a historical perspective shows that the relationship has been mutually beneficial.

The disciplines of Operations Management, Operations Research and Industrial Engineering are complementary and competitive in addressing many problems that transcend their boundaries, and use common ideas and techniques. The demands of “academic rigor” have had a deleterious effect on the practical managerial relevance of these disciplines.

A long-term, cross-disciplinary perspective provides a unique understanding of the research interests and practical orientations of these disciplines.

The purpose of this paper is to holistically discuss, explore and synthesise the key literature on visual management (VM), an important, yet highly fragmented subject that is frequently referred in lean production accounts.

An extensive literature review was conducted to classify the current literature, to explore the different aspects and limitations of the current discussions on the subject, to clarify in what ways VM benefits manifest themselves in a workplace and to identify the future research focus.

VM is an important close-range communication strategy based on cognitively effective information conveyance. This strategy has been frequently discussed in the production management literature. However, the literature is fragmented as to the roles of VM in a production setting; the body of literature lacks integrated focus and cohesion with an abundance of related terminology from scholarly works and consultant books; a practical VM tools taxonomy and a visual workplace implementation framework were presented; there is poor clarity with regards to the functions (benefits) that VM may provide within organisations, nine conceptual VM functions were proposed; a wide array of future research directions related to VM was identified.

This paper synthesises the key literature related to VM, providing a conceptual picture of the current knowledge.

The purpose of this study is to compare different models integrating the TOC and Lean approaches.

The models of reference were identified through a comprehensive literature review. A qualitative and comparative analysis was carried out by pointing out the strengths, weaknesses and gaps of models integrating the TOC and Lean based on the production system requirements.

The findings indicate that these models can be improved by introducing aspects related to the system structure such as main key performance indicators, type of shop layout and performance metrics to evaluate the improvements implemented in the production system. The results provided evidence that the TOC and Lean are complementary approaches, and the individual gaps of each approach seem to be, in the most part, offset by the virtues of the other.

This study enables decision makers and industrial managers to evaluate the practices adopted in the production environment, as well as the use of the different set of continuous improvement practices. This article also minimizes the literature gap regarding whether and how integrated Lean and TOC approach can be used in the firms.

This study contributes to the body of literature on Lean by comparing three different models integrating Lean and the TOC. Furthermore, a research agenda is suggested for future research aimed at developing new models integrating both approaches, aiming to increase the competitiveness of the production systems.