Cases in Operations Management: Building Customer Value Through World-Class Operations is unique in its strong grounding in real-world decisions. The cases are structured into six chapters, each of which offers an overview of key concepts. Given that most managers will need to function effectively in an international context, the cases draw from challenges faced by experienced managers in such varied settings as China, France, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Trinidad, Vietnam, and others, in addition to the United States and Canada. These cases continue to illustrate basic concepts while expanding students' understanding of economic, political, and cultural concerns that must be interwoven into such key areas as process design, quality, and supply chain management.
Robert Klassen is an Associate Professor of Operations Management at Ivey. Prior to joining the Ivey Business School in 1995, he completed his PhD at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. His work experience includes a variety of managerial and technical positions in the steel, consumer products and petroleum sectors.
Professor Klassen’s research interests focus on exploring the linkages between operations and the natural environment, including international challenges. This research has emphasized, first, characterizing the pattern of investment in environmental technologies, and second, understanding both the antecedents and performance outcomes of these investments. His research has been published in
Management Science, Journal of Operations Management, Academy of Management Journal, and
Decision Sciences, among others. He is currently serving as an Associate Editor for the
Journal of Operations Management. Professor Klassen also has served as the Chair of the Operations Management division of the Academy of Management. Professor Klassen wrote the Canadian adaptation of the bestselling Operations Management text,
Foundations of Operations Management, by Lee J. Krajewski and Larry P. Ritzman.
Larry Menor is an Assistant Professor in the Operations Management Area Group and J.J. Wettlaufer Faculty Fellow at the Richard Ivey School of Business. He received his doctorate from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Professor Menor′s research interests focus primarily on service management and operations strategy issues. His current research efforts revolve specifically around new service development. He is also actively involved as an Associate Investigator in the International Service Study, a multi-university international research initiative focused specifically on practice drivers and performance of service organizations worldwide. His research has been published in academic journals such as Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, Journal of Operations Management, and International Journal of Service Industry Management. He also recently served as Guest Editor for a Production and Operations Management Special Issue on "Designing and Managing Service Operations." Professor Menor serves as an Senior Editor for Production and Operations Management and Associate/Feature Editor for POMS Chronicle. He also serves on the Editorial Review Board for Manufacturing & Service Operations Management and Decision Sciences.