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Reports the results of a survey of manufacturing managers to assess their perception of the changing manufacturing task and the role of the manufacturing manager. Within this context investigates the contribution of new manufacturing techniques and approaches, the involvement of manufacturing staff in service factory roles and the steps to increase integration across the value chain on manufacturing performance.

The study investigates the roles and capabilities likely to be required of customer service professionals (CSPs) in future service encounters. Following a literature review and the results from customer focus groups, a matrix for future customer service roles is developed in which the domains of technical interaction and emotional interaction are displayed. The matrix is tested against interview data from executives in leading service organisations and four key CSP roles are developed, corresponding to the customer service domains displayed in the matrix. The study concludes with a discussion of these four roles and the management implications of the study.

Outlines a workshop approach to evaluating service delivery in order to improve customer service, as well as developing a service strategy and designing delivery systems consistent with this strategy. Describes the tools used in the workshop ‐ particularly the ′Service Triangle′. Sums up the benefits of such a workshop in evaluating service delivery.

Describes how the increasing emphasis on customer service‐based performance measures changes the way in which we need to manage operations along the total supply chain from raw materials to end user. Senior managers at Caterpillar, General Motors, ICL, Philips and Rank Xerox were interviewed about the steps that they have taken to achieve greater supply chain integration and the problems to be overcome before further progress can be achieved. Describes the changes that have been necessary to achieve greater supply chain integration and discusses the likely impact of these changes on the future role of the operations manager.

This article examines quality assurance in the uniform branch of the police service from an operations management standpoint based on an initial case investigation of the Greater Manchester Police Force. It suggests that many of the concepts which apply to other types of service operations are relevant to the police service and could be extended to improve quality assurance of the service. The conclusions drawn from the study represent the view of the author.

In recent years, it has become almost commonplace amongst production and operations management practitioners that the concepts, principles, methodologies and techniques from manufacturing can be applied to service operations. This article attempts a framework for thinking about organisations and a suggestion for research to facilitate the transfer of expertise across the interfaces. It is not simply the application of techniques which is sought but a synergistic growth in the effectiveness of production and operations management.

Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover specific articles devoted to certain topics. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume III, in addition to the annotated list of articles as the two previous volumes, contains further features to help the reader. Each entry within has been indexed according to the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus and thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid information retrieval. Each article has its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. The first Volume of the Bibliography covered seven journals published by MCB University Press. This Volume now indexes 25 journals, indicating the greater depth, coverage and expansion of the subject areas concerned.

For some time there have been models for considering manufacturing strategy which focus on the product but which essentially ignore dimensions of aftersales support. This article presents a framework for formulating and reviewing an after‐sales support strategy and links it to a manufacturing strategy model to produce a comprehensive strategy for customer satisfaction over the lifetime of a manufactured product.

This paper explores evidence of “social capital” within the service delivery process of a large telecommunications company. It considers the extent to which a specific business process exhibited structural, relational and cognitive features of social capital, which enabled social credits to be traded and status to be conferred across operational boundaries. Through a textual analysis of interview data, the research generates an understanding of how certain groups within business processes – often utilising informal structures – created, maintained and exchanged social credits. This framework of analysis is then applied to address the function of social capital within the process. Evidence is presented to suggests that credits shared across functional boundaries informed upon employees ability to deal with emergencies, recover services and to cope when things went wrong. The paper concludes by making a range of propositions that may enable managers to identify, build and maintain social capital within processes.

Discusses a survey mailed to some 3,000 managers to ascertain how service managers approach the management of resource capacity to satisfy the demand for their type of business, and how this process impacts on their ability to maintain a constant delivery of the most important features of service quality. Reviews the results in respect of important features of service quality, management of service delivery process recovery from mistakes and the and the management of service quality.