Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

  • Discuss why operations and products are important, and contrast manufacturing and service operations.
  • Compare the differences among operations systems with respect to tangibility of products, levels of customer involvement, operations flexibility, and management of resources and technology.
  • Explain the four facility layouts in terms of their level of customer involvement and flexibility, and give an example of the type of industry that would use each of the four facility layouts.
  • Describe the three planning schedules,  supply chain management, and quality control.
  • Recall how to measure productivity and list three ways to increase it.