Module Overview

This module will examine the strategic importance of operations management in manufacturing and
service settings in both private and public sectors. In the past, where organisations tended to be
more hierarchical than today, the words, "strategy" and "operations" were almost mutually
exclusive. In today's highly competitive environment, though, strategic operations capabilities must
be in place in order for organisations to provide goods and services that meet and exceed customer
requirements. Key issues such as cost, speed, quality, flexibility and constant innovation are all part
of strategic operations.

Recommended Reading/ Resources

Essential:

Brown et al (2018) Strategic Operations Management – 4th edition.

Recommended: Slack et al (2016) Operations Management 8 th ed.

Module Outline
The table below indicates how the syllabus will be covered. This schedule is subject to change
depending on the needs of the group.

Session Date Tutor Lecture topic

1 16/3 Steve Brown Introduction; Strategic Operations Management

2 23/3 Steve Brown Understanding Services Operations - concepts
and definitions
3 27/4 Steve Brown Process Choice and Layouts in Operations
4 30/4 Steve Brown Managing Materials & Inventory; MRPI; MRPII;
ERP and Just-in-Time
5 1/5 Jack Gong Sustainable Purchasing Management

6 4/5 Steve Brown Making Improvements - Quality, Benchmarking,

Business Process Reengineering, Process Mapping
Using Work Study Strategically in Operations
7 7/5 Steve Brown Scheduling & Capacity Management
8 8/5 Steve Brown Operations’ involvement in Innovation

Recent Improvements
The following improvements have been made to this module in response to feedback from previous
students:

None required – but the content has been updated considerably due to ongoing changes in a volatile
business world.
 Additional Information

Session Lecture Topic Indicative Reading List by Subject Area

1 Introduction - Strategic Strategic Operations Management: Chapters 1 and 2
Operations
Management Adner, R. (2016) “Many Companies Still Don't Know How to Compete in the
Digital Age” Harvard Business Review Digital Articles. 28th March 2016, p2-6

Boscari, S; Bortolotti, T.; Netland, T. H.; Rich, N. (2018) National culture and
operations management: a structured literature review. International Journal
of Production Research Vol. 56 Issue 18, p6314-6331

Brown S and Blackmon K (2005) “Aligning Manufacturing Strategy and Business

- Level Competitive Strategy in New Competitive Environments: The Case for
Strategic Resonance” Journal of Management Studies 42:4 pp793-815.

Manikas,; Boyd, L; Guan, J; Hoskins, K (2020) A review of operations

management literature: a data-driven approach. International Journal of
Production Research. Vol. 58 Issue 5, p1442-1461

Matthias, O., & Brown, S. (2016). “Implementing operations strategy through

Lean processes within health care: The example of NHS in the UK”.
International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 36(11), 1435-
1457.

Mudambi, R; Saranga, H; Schotter, A. Mit (2017) “Mastering the Make-in-India

Challenge” Sloan Management Review. Vol. 58 Issue 4, p59-66

Kumar V; Younis J ; Paria J; Garza-Reyes J (2020). Learning orientation and

innovation performance: the mediating role of operations strategy and supply
chain integration Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 25, 4,
pp. 457-474

Yongyi S; Xinyu Z; Lujie Chen L (2019) Operations strategy of cloud-based

firms: achieving firm growth in the Big Data era International Journal of
Operations & Production Management, 40, 6, pp. 873-89
Session Lecture Topic Indicative Reading List by Subject Area
2 Services Operations - Strategic Operations Management: Chapter 3.
Concepts and
Definitions
Baines, T., Bigdeli, A., F. Bustinza, O., Shi, V. G., Baldwin, J., & Ridgeway, K.
(2017). “Servitization: revisiting the state-of-the-art and research priorities”.
International Journal of Operations and Production Management,37(2), 256-
278.

Frei, Frances X. (2008): The Four Things a Service Business Must Get Right.
Harvard Business Review, Vol. 86 Issue 4, p70-80

Hemp (2002) "My Week as a Room Service Waiter at the Ritz" Harvard
Business Review June pp4-11.

Hill A and Brown S (2017) "Understanding how service operational fit impacts
business performance in markets with different needs" International Journal of
Operations & Production Management Vol 37, Issue 10
Matthias, O., & Brown, S. (2016). Implementing operations strategy
through Lean processes within health care: The example of NHS in the UK.
International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 36
Issue 11, pp 1435-1457.
Vargo, Stephen L. , Maglio, Paul P., and Archpru Akaka, Melissa (2008),
"On value and value cocreation: A service systems and service logic
perspective," European Management Journal, 26 (3), 145-152.
3 Layouts, Process Choice and Strategic Operations Management, Chapter 7.
Strategy in Manufacturing &
Services Berman, B (2002) “Should Your Firm Adopt A Mass Customization Strategy?”
Business Horizons July-August pp51-60.

Businessweek (2017) “Remodeling a Sedan Plant for the SUV Era”. 3rd July,
Issue 4529, p18-19

Holweg M and Pil F (2001) “Successful Build to Order Strategies- Start with the
Customer” Sloan Management Review Fall, 74-83

Huckman, R S (2009) Are You Having Trouble Keeping Your

Operations Focused? Harvard Business Review September, 91-5.
Session Lecture Topic Indicative Reading List by Subject Area
4 Materials & Inventory Strategic Operations Management, Chapter 6
Control; MRPI; MRPII; ERP
and Just-in- Time Ellram L.M., Tate, W.L., and Billington, C: (2007) “Services Supply Management:
the next frontier for improved organizational performance” California
Management Review Vol. 49, No. 4 Summer. 44-66.

Holweg, M (2007): “The Genealogy of Lean Production” Journal of Operations

Management Vol. 25 Issue 2, p420-437

McCauley A. (2020) Why Big Pharma Is Betting on Blockchain Harvard Business

Review Digital Article May.

Shih W (2014) “What It Takes to Reshore Manufacturing Successfully” Sloan

Management Review Fall. vol. 56(1)

Shih W (2020) Global Supply Chains in a Post-Pandemic World

Willy HBR Org. Sep 2020

Womack, J.P., Jones, D.T., (2005) “Lean Consumption”. Harvard Business

5 Sustainable Purchasing
Management
Review Vol. 83, No. 3 pp. 58-68.
Strategic Operations Management: Chapter 5 and 11
Gimenez, C. and Tachizawa, E.M. (2012), “Extending sustainability to suppliers: a
systematic literature review”, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal,
Vol. 17 No. 5, pp. 531-543.

Tachizawa, E.M. and Wong, C.Y. (2014), “Towards a theory of multi-tier sustainable
supply chains: a systematic literature review”, Supply Chain Management: An
International Journal, Vol. 19, Nos, 5/6, pp. 643-663.

Walker, H., Di Sisto, L. and McBain, D. (2008), “Drivers and barriers to

environmental supply chain management practices: Lessons from the public and
private sectors”. Journal of purchasing and supply management, Vol.14 No. 1, pp.
69-85.

6 Making Improvements – Strategic Operations Management, Chapter 9.

Managing Quality,
Benchmarking, Beltagui, A. and Candi, M. (2018), "Revisiting service quality through the lens of
Business Process experience-centric services", International Journal of Operations & Production
Reengineering, Management, 38, 3, pp. 915-932.
Process Mapping & Work
Study Strategically. Benner, M J and F M Veloso (2008) “ISO 9000 practices and financial performance:
A technology coherence perspective” Journal of Operations Management 26 611–
629.

Buenstorf, G. and Murmann, J. P. (2005) “Ernst Abbe's Scientific Management:

Theoretical Insights from a Nineteenth-Century Dynamic Capabilities Approach.”
Industrial & Corporate Change, Aug, Vol. 14 Issue 4, p543-578
Cole, R E., Matsumiya, T (2007) “Too Much of a Good Thing? Quality As An
Impediment To Innovation” California Management Review, Vol. 50 Issue 1, p77-
93

Hashem, G . (2020) Organizational enablers of business process reengineering

implementation: An empirical study on the service sector International Journal of
Productivity & Performance Management. 2020, Vol. 69 Issue 2, p321-343.

Hendrich A, Chow, M, Skierczynski B. A., and Zhenqiang Lu (2008): “A 36-Hospital

Time and Motion Study: How Do Medical-Surgical Nurses Spend Their Time?” The
Permanente Journal Summer Vol.12 No. 3, pp 25-34.

Juran J. (1993) "Made in the USA", Harvard Business Review, July-Aug., pp42-50.

Kerr, John (2007) “Clocking Performance” Logistics Management, Vol. 46 Issue 4,

p47-52.Gripenstraw K; and Anne Noyes Saini (2020) A Brief History of the Modern
Office Harvard Business Review on line 15 July.

Riva, A., Pilotti L. (2019). The strategy and the evolution of benchmarking
methodology: the case of Rank Xerox-Fuji. Economia Aziendale Online, Special
Issue, 10(2), 273-291.

Talib, Faisal; Faisal, Mohd. Nishat. (2020) IUP Journal of Operations Management.
May2020, Vol. 19 Issue 2, p7-28

Yee, R W Y, Yeung, A C L, Cheng, T C E. (2008) “The impact of employee

satisfaction on quality and profitability in high-contact service industries” Journal
of Operations Management, Vol. 26 Issue 5, p651-668
Session Lecture Topic Indicative Reading List by Subject Area
7 Scheduling and Strategic Operations Management: Chapter 10
Capacity Management
Ağralı, S; Taşkın, Z. C; Ünal, A. (2017) “Employee scheduling in service
industries with flexible employee availability and demand” Omega. Part
A, Vol. 66, p159-169

Fuente, D; Disney, S M. (2017) “Exploring nonlinear supply chains:

the dynamics of capacity constraints”. International Journal of
Production Research. Vol. 55 Issue 14, p4053-4067

Silander, K; Torkki, P; Lillrank, P; Peltokorpi, A; Brax, S A.; Kaila, M. (2017)

“Modularizing specialized hospital services” International Journal of
Operations & Production Management. Vol. 37 Issue 6, p791-818.
8 Operations’ Strategic Role in Strategic Operations Management, Chapters 4 and 9.
Innovation
Bonabeau, E, Bodick, N, Armstrong, R W (2008) “A More Rational
Approach to New-Product Development”. Harvard Business Review,
Vol. 86 Issue 3, p96-102.

Chesbrough, Henry W (2003) “The Era of Open Innovation”

Sloan Management Review, Spring2003, Vol. 44 Issue 3, p35-
41.

D’Aveni R. Ankush V (2020) How to Make 3D Printing Better HBR Org

September

Goldenberg, J. Mazursky, D. Horowitz, R. Levav, A. (2003) “Finding Your

Innovation Sweet Spot” Harvard Business Review, March, Vol. 81
Issue 3, p120-129

Hamel, G. “Innovation” (2006) Harvard Business Review, Feb., Vol. 84

Issue 2, p72-84.

Lyons, Richard K.; Chatman, Jennifer A.; Joyce, Caneel K. (2007):

“Innovation in Services: Corporate Culture and Investment Banking”.
California Management Review, Vol. 50 Issue 1, p174-191.

Thomke, S and E. von Hippel (2002) “Customers as Innovators: A New

Way to Create Value.” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 80 Issue 4, p74-81

Tidd, J. and J. Bessant (2018). Managing innovation: Integrating

technological, market and organizational change. Chichester, John Wiley
and Sons.