Research Methods for Operations Management, second edition is a toolkit of research approaches primarily for advanced students and beginner researchers but also a reference book for any researcher in OM. Many students begin their career in research limited by the one or few approaches taken by their department. The concise, accessible overviews found here equip them with an understanding of a variety of methods and how to use them, enabling them to tailor their research project to their own strengths and goals. The more seasoned researcher will find comprehensive descriptions and analyses on a wide variety of research approaches. This updated and enhanced edition responds to the latest developments in OM, including the growing prominence of services and production of intangible products, and the increasing use of secondary data and of mixed approaches. Alternative research approaches are included and explored to help with the early planning of research. This edition also includes expanded literature review and analysis to guide students towards the next steps in their reading, and more detailed step-by-step advice to tie theory with the researcher’s own practice. Including contributions from an impressive range of the field’s leading thinkers in OM research, this is a guide that no-one embarking on an OM research project should be without.
This core textbook combines a highly engaging approach with academic rigour to guide students through understanding and using research methods. Now in its second edition, this text has been fully updated and revised throughout. With a focus that is fresh and applied, Researching Business and Management goes beyond the theory to demonstrate how to actually do research. The unique 4-Ds model shows students how to define, design, do and describe their research and, in this way, offers them a definitive guide to the research process as a system and a lifecycle that they can relate to their own work. Its user-friendly style enlivens the text and makes even some of the most complex issues accessible. Written by a dynamic author team of leading experts in the field, this is an ideal textbook for undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA students studying research methods, and essential reading for any business student doing a research project. New to this Edition: - Even more cases and examples to highlight real-life examples of student research that helps bring the process to life - Increased coverage of the internet and online research - Expanded material on quantitative analysis to provide a truly balanced overview of the discipline - New dedicated chapter on research ethics and avoiding plagiarism Accompanying online resources for this title can be found at bloomsburyonlineresources.com/researching-business-and-management-2e. These resources are designed to support teaching and learning when using this textbook and are available at no extra cost.
Researching Operations Management fills the growing need for a comprehensive textbook and reference on doing quality research in the field of Operations Management (OM). It addresses the particular problem—especially for advanced students and beginning researchers—that many academic departments specialize in just one or a few approaches to research. As a result many students and researchers are not exposed to the breadth of possible research approaches in OM. Providing a concise overview of each of the most important research approaches in the field, the book enables researchers and students to understand and practice these methods, thus giving them a platform for choosing appropriate and complementary approaches to their research. With contributions from an international group of leading thinkers in the OM research field, the book covers those methods frequently used in studies of OM as well as adjacent applied management areas such as management of innovation and R&D, logistics, and supply chain management. Included are chapters on surveys, case studies, action research, longitudinal field studies, and models and simulations together with chapters on planning, positioning, assessing, and publishing research. In addition, the contributors also consider ethical and cultural issues in researching operations management.
The present book project on Research Design, which is planned in English, is intended to create an innovative textbook that can be used at university undergraduate and graduate levels in internationally oriented education in the German-speaking countries. This textbook shall provide comprehensive guidance for students when tackling their (applied) research papers. Instead of reiterating qualitative and quantitative methods it focuses on how to come up with an appropriate research design that allows the student to make the intended intellectual contribution. Starting from the desired (hypothetical) conclusion or statement the student will be guided through the process of finding the appropriate Research Question that will be answered by such a statement and the required Research Design consisting of data collection and data analysis, that allows for such a statement as the conclusion of the study. Common Research Designs in Business and Management, i.e. well beyond the standard Research Designs of Social Sciences and curtailed to the focus area, will be described with regard to their suitability to answer specific kinds of questions as well as the idiosyncrasies of the these Designs and their impact on the written research reports. Examples for each Research Design will be provided as well as guidance about how to write about such research.
For reseach in all subjects and among different philisopical paradigms, research methodologies form one of the key issues to rely on. This volume brings a series of papers together, which present different research methodologies as applied in supply chain management. This comprises review oriented papers that look at what kind of methodologies have been applied, as well as methodological papers discussing new developments needed to successfully conduct research in supply chain management. The third group is made up of applications of the respective methodologies, which serve as examples on how the different methodological approaches can be applied. All papers have undergone a review process to ensure their quality. Therefore, we hope that this book will serve as a valid source for current and future researchers in the field. While the workshop on “Research Methodologies in Supply Chain Management” took place at the Supply Chain Management Center, Carl von Ossietzky Univ- sity in Oldenburg, Germany, it is based on a collaboration with the Supply Chain Management Group of the Department of Operations Management at the Cop- hagen Business School and the Department of Production Management at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. We would like to thank all those who contributed to the workshop and this book.
Operations Management (OM) is a multi-faceted blend of myriad academic andpractical disciplines – from engineering and economics via mathematics and marketing, to systems and psychology. To capture the state of the art, the bookreviews contemporary and classic scholarship in one of the oldest business and management disciplines. To offer the reader a thought-provoking point of entry into the selected sources, the book curates its content as an imaginary exhibit, eachchapter a thematic OM ‘gallery’ (process; planning and control; people; strategy and measurement; technology) introduced by a description of some extraordinary artefacts, paintings, sculptures and architecture. The content has been curated around three principles intended to benefit the casual reader and both new and established OM scholars. First, it incorporates works that build on, or help to distinguish, fundamental tenets from more transitory fads. Second, the text makes significant efforts to try and balance the gravitational pull of the factory, (even though this may not offer an accurate representation of the majority of the field) and third, to try to keep managerial rather than technical/ analytical concerns to the fore. This concise book provides a useful overview of current and classic OM research. Written by a leading authority, it is intended to be a valuable and engaging resource for both students and scholars of business.
`This book provides refreshing and powerful insights on the challenges of conducting management research from a European perspective. Particulalrly for someone embarking on a managment research career this book will provide valuable guidelines.′ -- Ian MacMillan, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania `This comprehensive volume is distinguished by its balance and pragmatism. The authors who present the various research methods are not proponents but researchers who have applied these methods. The authors who discuss philosophical and strategic issues are not advocates but researchers who have had to confront these issues in their research′ - Bill Starbuck, New York University `Doing Management Research is a fabulous contribution to our field. Thietart and his colleagues have put together a unique and valuable guide to help management scholars more deeply understand the issues, dynamics and contradictions of executing first class managerial research. This book will hold an important place on the researcher′s desk for years to come′ - Michael Tushman, Harvard Business School ′This is an excellent in-depth examination of the conduct of management research. It will serve as a valuable resource for management scholars and researchers and is a must read for Ph.D. students in management.′ -- Michael Hitt, Arizona State University `This book will prove to be an excellent guide for those engaged in management research for the first time and an excellent refresher for more experienced scholars. Raymond Thietart and his colleagues should be thanked roundly for this comprehensive volume′ - Gordon Walker, Southern Methodist University, Cox Business School `This textbook makes an outstanding contribution to texts on management research. For researchers considering management research it offers an extensive guide to the research process′ - Paula Roberts, Nurse Researcher Doing Management Research, a major new textbook, provides answers to questions and problems which researchers invariably encounter when embarking on management research, be it quantitative or qualitative. This book will carefully guide the reader through the research process from beginning to end. An excellent tool for academics and students, it enables the reader to acquire and build upon empirical evidence, and to decide what tools to use to understand and describe what is being observed, and then, which methods of analysis to adopt. There is an entire section dedicated to writing up and communicating the research findings. Written in an accessible and easy-to-use style, this book can be read from cover to cover or dipped into, to clarify particular issues during the research process. Doing Management Research results from the ′hands-on′ experience of a large group of researchers who have all had to address the different issues raised when undertaking management research. It is anchored in real methodological problems that researchers face in their work. This work will also become one of the most useful reference tools for senior researchers who are looking for answers to epistemological or methodological problems.
Research Methods for Operations Management, second edition is a toolkit of research approaches primarily for advanced students and beginner researchers but also a reference book for any researcher in OM. Many students begin their career in research limited by the one or few approaches taken by their department. The concise, accessible overviews found here equip them with an understanding of a variety of methods and how to use them, enabling them to tailor their research project to their own strengths and goals. The more seasoned researcher will find comprehensive descriptions and analyses on a wide variety of research approaches. This updated and enhanced edition responds to the latest developments in OM, including the growing prominence of services and production of intangible products, and the increasing use of secondary data and of mixed approaches. Alternative research approaches are included and explored to help with the early planning of research. This edition also includes expanded literature review and analysis to guide students towards the next steps in their reading, and more detailed step-by-step advice to tie theory with the researcher’s own practice. Including contributions from an impressive range of the field’s leading thinkers in OM research, this is a guide that no-one embarking on an OM research project should be without.
All businesses strive for excellence in today’s technology-based environment in which customers want solutions at the touch of a button. This highly regarded textbook provides in-depth coverage of the principles of operations and supply chain management and explains how to design, implement, and maintain processes for sustainable competitive advantage. This text offers a unique combination of theory and practice with a strategic, results-driven approach. Now in its fourth edition, Operations Management for Business Excellence has been updated to reflect major advances and future trends in supply chain management. A new chapter on advanced supply chain concepts covers novel logistics technology, information systems, customer proximity, sustainability, and the use of multiple sales channels. As a platform for discussion, the exploration of future trends includes self-driving vehicles, automation and robotics, and omnichannel retailing. Features include: A host of international case studies and examples to demonstrate how theory translates to practice, including Airbus, Hewlett Packard, Puma, and Toyota. A consistent structure to aid learning and retention: Each chapter begins with a detailed set of learning objectives and finishes with a chapter summary, a set of discussion questions and a list of key terms. Fully comprehensive with an emphasis on the practical, this textbook should be core reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of operations management and supply chain management. It would also appeal to executives who desire an understanding of how to achieve and maintain ‘excellence’ in business. Online resources include lecture slides, a glossary, test questions, downloadable figures, and a bonus chapter on project management.
