Can a factory be fast, dependable, and flexible; produce high-quality products; and still provide poor service from a customer's perspective?
Why should a service organization worry about being world-class if it does not compete outside its own national border? What impact does the Internet have on this?
What are the major priorities associated with operations strategy? How has their relationship to one another changed over the years?
For each priority in question 3, describe the unique characteristics of the market niche with which it is most compatible.
A few years ago, the dollar showed relative weakness with respect to foreign currencies such as the yen, euro, and pound. This stimulated exports. Why would long-term reliance on a lowervalued dollar be at best a short-term solution to the competitiveness problem?
In your opinion, do business schools have competitive priorities?
Why does the "proper" operations strategy keep changing for companies that are world-class competitors?
What is meant by the expressions order winners and order qualifiers? What was the order winner(s) for your last major purchase of a product or service?
What do we mean when we say productivity is a "relative" measure?
