In the past six editions, this premier text has set the standard in the market for giving students a strategic, big picture perspective of operations within a firm. The new edition is a substantial revision that is both timely and topical and intended to help students become more effective managers in today's competitive global enviornment.

While the seventh edition maintains its perspective on the big picture and the strategic importance of operations, it shiffs its overall approach to a process orientation. This new approach starts at the level of a basic process in chapter one and then transitions to the level of value chains, which involve the linkages of processes. Because processes are the fundamental unit of work in all organizations, this unifying theme makes the study of operations management more relevant to all students , regardless of their majors or career paths.