Operations Management for Competitive Advantage with Student-CD

Rating:
Summary: Reassessing My Earlier Thoughts
Review: I have previously reviewed this book, but have recently read it again, and am reassessing my opinions on it. While I still hold most of my earlier opinions, I have a couple of other insights after the second reading.

First, the PowerPoint slides on the included CD are very useful, and are generally well done, but they do contain a number of errors, which should have definitely been caught.

Second, the book gets more mathematically oriented as it goes on, and by the time the reader gets to about Chapter 9, the book makes so many assumptions about mathematical background (that may not be safely assumed, even in Business schools) that the example problems and, more importantly, explanations given, are very difficult to grasp: the chapter on forecasting is the peak of indecipherability. Some problems will just say something like 'using calculus...' and then show what happened as a result (this is especially true in the PowerPoint slides, by the way). What I am saying is that people who have recently had advanced calculus and statistics won't have a problem, but anyone who has been away from higher math for a couple of years will struggle.

Third, many of the case studies, while very well written and illuminating, are clearly taken from company specific corporate public relations fodder. In other words, they frequently read like propaganda. Don't get me wrong, I very much like the case studies, they just seem a bit stilted, though frequently they are the strongest part of a chapter.

Fourth, the book is absolutely strewn with buzzwords. I understand the needs to use specific terms to define specific concepts, and these authors are far from being alone in this misdeed, but sometimes speaking clear English actually helps a student understand the information. I absolutely draw the line when the authors call 'eyeballing' a line on a graph "Ocular Heuristic Approximation" (OHA). (Just a tip for the authors before they write the next edition.)

Finally, the book is filled with color and expensive printing tricks throughout, like color type, inset boxes, lots of color graphs and charts (some of which are redundant), and the like. My point here is that this stuff, while generally nice to look at is not value added, and dramatically raises the price of the book (mine was $135.00) with no increase in value to the students. For Mr. Chase and the rest of the authors: read your own book. Understand what the consumer (in this case students) want and need, and write that book. Don't fill a book with tons of color and fancy typographical tricks and drive the price through the roof. There are many other Operations Management books available for half the price and I recommended a couple of specific titles in my course critique. The book may look nice, but it isn't worth this price.

In summation, I now give this book three stars. It is very comprehensive, and there is a lot of good information between it's covers. If you can grasp the advanced math, put up with the buzzwords, and deal with paying $135 for a single book, this really isn't too bad.

Rating:
Summary: poor service
Review: I was very displeased with bookbestdeal. I had ordered and paid for a hardback version of the book and I received a paperback version. I went to class and also discovered that our school had listed the wrong version of the book and that I would really nead the ninth edition. I contacted bookbestdeal immediately and they basically stated that it wasn't their problem and that they would not accept a return. Now I am forced to sell the book myself in order to recoupe the money I have lost. Very unprofessional. I will never purchase from them again!

Rating:
Summary: Very Comprehensive Book and CD
Review: This is an excellent text for a graduate or advanced undergraduate course on operations management. The book is very comprehensive, and in the tenth edition the authors have emphasized recent innovations in e-commerce and the internet. The text is well written, with less obfuscation than most books of this genre. The organization is quite good, with numerous graphs, charts and photos to illustrate the thrust of the subject matter.

I particularly like the concept of putting key words in blue type in the margins to easily locate the discussions of a particular subject. The other thing that I really like about this book is the excellent applicable case studies cited as examples in the text. This really helped with comprehension on the material. The CD has some expanded Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations for the various chapters, and miscellaneous other items of interest. In all candor, I have really not used the CD much, but it is a nice resource to have.

Detractors for the book include the degree of statistical background and comprehension that students are presumed to have when they begin using the book, the price of the book (which is driven way up by the lavish full color printing process), and the lack of clarity of some of the illustrations, particularly of the multi-spoke 'activity map' variety.

This is a good book, and I would recommend it, especially to a student with a strong mathematical background.

Rating:
Summary: Operations Management for Competitive Advantage with Student
Review: This well written textbook, i.e., Operations Management for Competitive Advantage with Student-CD by Richard B Chase provides a current and thorough introduction to the concepts, processes, and methods of managing and controlling operations in manufacturing or service settings. The text provides comprehensive coverage, from high-tech manufacturing to high touch services with a balanced treatment. CJA also thoroughly integrates and discusses current issues such as globalization; supply chain strategy, E-business, and ERP. The concepts are illustrated by using abundant real world examples, articles, illustrations, problems and cases. Technology is integral to the success of this course, as such, CJA also provide students and instructors with an innovative array of leading edge technology learning and teaching tools.