Preface

Organizations grow and thrive based on their response to a competitive environment within a particular market. The success of an organization in how it responds to market demand is largely dependent on how the organization is structured and managed. Today’s world of Internet-based e-commerce allows for a broader and potentially worldwide market base requiring faster response in managerial decision processing. The knowledge, skill, and experience within management will dictate the speed and quality of managerial decision processing and the competitive advantage it will afford the organization.

It’s the knowledge and skill managers have that establish how managerial processes are developed and implemented, and what effect these processes will have in the overall operation. Much like people who use tools to perform their work, their success is largely dependent on knowing what tools to use, when to use them, and how to use them to accomplish a desired goal. Managers can also have tools that will help develop processes to manage their department more effectively and efficiently.

Project managers have used several specific tools designed to manage various components of a project to ensure that the project is completed by the appropriate staff, on budget, on schedule, and delivering a quality product or service. Project management tools used for developing processes to manage resources and other levels of management, communications, budget and schedule, supply chain, process improvement, facilities, and waste as well as risk management can also be applied to operations management, having proved to be very effective in maximizing efficiency, productivity, and problem resolution. This gives managers more power and confidence not only in managing and completing their responsibilities, but also in offering efficient ways to improve the culture of management and how the organization conducts business.

Organizations are continually looking to improve competitive advantage, typically through product improvement and production efficiency, but this book offers the manager tools to make improvements not related to product, but that can result in similar improvements in the organization’s competitive advantage. These tools can be implemented in small businesses to very large corporations with locations all over the world, as well as organizations such as government, educational, and nonprofits. These tools can be used by operations managers as well as executive management and lower or mid-level managers because they are effective in all areas of managerial responsibility.

Managers can now have their own tools that will change how they approach managerial responsibilities. When managers implement these tools and witness their usefulness firsthand, this will result in stronger and more confident management resources, creating an advanced and technical managerial base of assets within the organization. It will be these highly effective managers who will create a culture of managerial decision processes, and based on these tools can help organizations turn the tides of competitive advantage to their favor. Managers can now make a bigger difference than ever in being effective by having the right tools and knowing when and how to use them.