Production and Operations Management
(in traditional Chinese)

Note from the Editor

Operations is concerned with the design, planning, direction, and control of the facilities, processes and people used to transform materials and energy into products. Many people think of operations in terms of factories that produce physical goods, but operations also includes the full range of service and resource-based industries.

Operations principles apply in every organization, in every industry and in every environment. All organizations perform the operations functions of planning, scheduling, equipment operation, quality control, human resource management and product and service delivery.
Operating systems change or "transform" inputs into outputs. In most instances, operations are crucial to the organization?s ability to survive. Careful management of the "transformation process" is necessary so that it contributes effectively to the goals of the enterprise.

An Operation and its Components

The selected cases focus on adding value and competing on operations excellence. More particularly, specific cases deal with eliminating waste, ensuring quality, enhancing capability, maximizing human potential, competing on time and sustaining competitive advantage through operations.