Suchergebnisse

The continuing debate on production and operations management (POM)
research has led to a new emphasis on empirical methods. Claims that,
while surveys and case research are increasingly recommended to POM
researchers, action research has been relatively neglected. The distinct
characteristic of action research is the intervention by the researcher
in the situation under study. The nature of the intervention, and of
action research outputs, differs however from consulting or from the
applications reported by APICS. Explains these differences and offers a
simple model of action research. Action research is particularly
valuable for theory building, as has been seen in the fields of
organization behaviour (OB) and management information systems (MIS),
where qualitative methods have often been employed rather than
traditional scientific methods. POM researchers can learn from the
experience of other disciplines and use action research to create new
theory. Since many POM researchers will be unfamiliar with action
research, explores some practical aspects of conducting such
investigations with illustrations from the author′s own research
experience. Concludes by showing that a properly conducted action
research project can be as rigorous as other methods.

Reports a series of action projects in UK manufacturing companies which
found that formal planning and control activity was less evident than
the management of priorities. The reasons for this were found in the
innate instability of these companies′ operations. This finding
provokes a fresh look at two themes which formerly produced much
literature: the relative failure of computers in production management;
and the gap between OM academics and practitioners. A third theme, taken
from the OB literature on the reactive nature of managerial work, throws
light on both these issues. The instability of batch manufacturing
operations can thus be seen as a norm, not a departure from a norm of
stability. The assumption of a stable environment helps to explain why
the formal MPC systems had often disappointed, and why the practitioners
had made little use of OM academic work. Explores the nature of the
instability as being principally concerned with the three dimensions of
variety, variation and volume. Defines priority management, and
positions it in relation to manufacturing strategy and to more technical
approaches to OM. Develops a general theory of priority management which
draws together various mid‐range theories and empirical studies.

The study of Japanese manufacture continues to focus on certain elements of the JIT/kanban approach. A recent study tour found that these elements might be broadened to include planning systems and people development initiatives, examples of which are described. The degree to which JIT is a system at all, or has been fully understood in the West, is considered and future research directions proposed.

This paper reports the results of a survey conducted to explore issues surrounding mass customization and in particular its implications for operations management. The findings cover the market changes driving customization, the methods used to provide customized goods, the positive and negative effects of customization, and the difficulties of implementation. There are shown to be important implications for operations management in a strategy of mass customization, and thus substantial scope for further research by operations management academics.

There has been a growing call from within the operations management (OM) academic community for research of more managerial relevance. This has implied a greater emphasis on empirical research: surveys, cases, and action research. But in fact these types are quite different. However, the great majority of empirical OM work published is based on postal surveys and/or interviewing executives, where research method selection is made for reasons of practical convenience and academic expectation. Given the level of complexity involved in understanding the OM perspective of business issues then the emphasis should be placed on plant‐based research. Conducting research on‐site and investigation through the analysis of relevant data, issues, developments and events ensures relevance and a validity essential to making an impact on business practice. There are obstacles to increasing the amount of plant‐based research which is carried out, such as practical and personal difficulties, a mistaken concern over research rigour, and academic institutional inertia. Each of these needs to be overcome if OM research is to influence business practice more in the future than it has in the past.