Operations Management: Sustainability and Supply Chain Management, Twelfth Edition

Summary

Operations, marketing, and finance/accounting are the three functions basic to all organizations. The operations function creates goods and services. Much of the progress of operations management has been made in the twentieth century, but since the beginning of time, humankind has been attempting to improve its material well-being. Operations managers are key players in the battle to improve productivity.

As societies become increasingly affluent, more of their resources are devoted to services. In the U.S., more than 85% of the workforce is employed in the service sector. Productivity improvements and a sustainable environment are difficult to achieve, but operations managers are the primary vehicle for making improvements.

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