1. Why is production and operations management important in both manufacturing and service firms?
2. What types of production processes do manufacturers and service firms use?
3. How do organizations decide where to put their production facilities? What choices must be made in designing the facility?
4. Why are resource-planning tasks such as inventory management and supplier relations critical to production?
5. How do operations managers schedule and control production?
6. How can quality management and lean-manufacturing techniques help firms improve production and operations management?
7. What roles do technology and automation play in manufacturing and service-industry operations management?
8. What key trends are affecting the way companies manage production and operations?