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In reference to the offshore-wind industry, this study aims to show that innovative purchasing and supply management practices can increase both firm- and industry-level performance. This paper also includes a description of the offshore-wind supply chain, which remains understudied in academic literature, despite increasing global development of offshore-wind farms.

Offshore-wind farm projects use more and larger turbines, which greatly increase the complexity of the supply chain. Innovative purchasing and supply management practices, designed to tackle this growing complexity, could help companies achieve the key success factors that define this industry. The evidence comes from real-world, offshore-wind farm projects, with the London Array farm as a principal example.

Innovative purchasing and supply management practices include decisions to make or buy, contract forms and local-to-global sourcing. These practices affect the key success factors of the industry by increasing competition, capabilities and control.

Purchasing and supply management practices could affect industry-level performance. This paper is among the first ones to provide an analysis of the offshore-wind supply chain and its evolution.

Simulation is one of the most widely used tools within management science. The teaching of simulation has traditionally involved theory and practical model development. With the advent of modern software, practical model development can be undertaken with very little knowledge of simulation theory. This enables students who are more able in model building to develop their capabilities in this area and use their strengths to help develop the theoretical knowledge as they progress. This paper demonstrates how a little knowledge of the principles of simulation has been used to help students to develop working models by prototyping.

Business process reengineering (BPR) is widely applied. However, its high failure rates give much cause for concern and call for more research, thus future BPR programmes might be implemented more successfully. Reports on one such research programme. Based on a holistic perspective, it critiques BPR as an approach to change management, in which four types of organisational change are classified: change in process, structure, culture, or power distribution. They are often seen to be interrelated, thus the management of the interaction is central. BPR, it is argued, is powerful in addressing process change, but incapable of dealing with other types of organisational change. Suggests that if BPR is to be applied successfully, either its usage needs to be restricted to change situations where process dominates, or a holistic approach is needed to help address adequately change situations where different types of organisational change are surfaced.

Suggests that hospitals are faced with variable demand patterns, and simulation provides managers with a powerful means to access the demands on resources created by different case scenarios. Outlines the iterative development of a case study of patient flows at one clinic in an out‐patients department, describing the software used ‐ a Windows‐based simulation environment called SIMUL8.

A major problem facing students undertaking postgraduate study is that of taking far greater responsibility for their own independent learning than was the case at undergraduate level. In managing this transition, educators must ensure that students are provided with the necessary tools. In particular, at postgraduate level, a strong emphasis is placed on research, yet most undergraduate courses will not have equipped students with any framework for evaluating research. Such a framework is important in assessing the completed work of other authors, for evaluating a proposed research programme, and for reviewing work in progress. Provides a set of guidelines which will enable students to valuate management science research effectively and efficiently.

While total quality management (TQM) has been widely applied in the management of change, and is likely to remain a priority into the next century, failure rates at times above 75 per cent give cause for concern. The study on which this paper is based has reviewed TQM as an approach to change management. Four interrelated classifications of organisational change are presented: change as structure (or “functional change”), process, values, or power distribution. Of these, it is contended, TQM adequately addresses only process change, with incidences of failure closely correlated to the application of process‐based TQM techniques in change contexts characterised by structure, values or power. This study suggests that, for TQM to be applied successfully, either an approach is required which adequately addresses all types of change context (a so‐called “systemic” approach), or its application needs to be restricted to those contexts where process dominates.