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Article
Publication date: 4 January 2013

Steve Brown

The aim of this series of papers is to offer key insights from eminent professors or practitioners within the field of Operations Management. This is the second of a series of…

1816

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this series of papers is to offer key insights from eminent professors or practitioners within the field of Operations Management. This is the second of a series of interviews with “Operations Masters” and future contributions will include a range of inputs from manufacturing and services, private and public sectors. This series aims to provide an important contribution to the understanding of the strategic importance of operations management in a range of settings.

Design/methodology/approach

An interview with Professor Wickham, Emeritus Professor at Harvard Business School, a leading international figure in the field of operations management, whose contribution to operations manufacturing/strategy has been cited as seminal. The interview was conducted by Professor Steve Brown, Editor‐in‐Chief of International Journal of Operations & Production Management.

Findings

Wickham Skinner explains how he developed his reasoning behind his Harvard Business Review articles and books. He also describes how courses were developed at Harvard Business School to reflect the changing nature of business. He examines some of the challenges facing academics and practitioners alike in highly competitive, global business environments.

Originality/value

Professor Wickham Skinner is a leading international figure in the field of manufacturing and operations strategy. In this interview he offers key insights into how he first developed the notion of operations as a corporate concern. The message is highly relevant to academics and practitioners today.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 33 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

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Article
Publication date: 17 October 2016

Roberto Sarmiento, Matthias Thurer and Garvan Whelan

The purpose of this paper is to further clarify the link between the theoretical and practical/real-life implications of a seminal topic in the strategic operations management…

1030

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to further clarify the link between the theoretical and practical/real-life implications of a seminal topic in the strategic operations management field: Wickham Skinner’s strategic trade-offs model. This will help researchers, practitioners and students to realize the “everyday life” consequences of this highly influential model.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical analysis is made of previous research dealing with the strategic trade-offs model. Building on these investigations, a Popperian approach is used to logically develop the model, and the authors demonstrate how it can be empirically tested.

Findings

Previous investigations on Skinner’s model mainly focus on trade-offs between competitive capabilities (e.g. cost, quality, delivery) at the firm level. This paper demonstrates that the implications of this model necessarily should include consideration of the strategic trade-offs between the competitive characteristics of products/services that practitioners, students and the general public can observe.

Originality/value

While previous investigations have provided necessary clarifications, no paper has addressed the issue of the existence of strategic trade-offs between the competitive characteristics of products/services. This paper offers guidelines for researchers and practitioners on the way that the strategic trade-offs model can be conceptualized, understood and tested.

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Article
Publication date: 1 April 1987

Kasra Ferdows and Wickham Skinner

Manufacturing has suddenly developed a whole new perspective. In the last few years, manufacturing management has broken out of the confinement of a century's accumulation of…

154

Abstract

Manufacturing has suddenly developed a whole new perspective. In the last few years, manufacturing management has broken out of the confinement of a century's accumulation of stagnant wisdom. These old concepts had so confined the thinking of industrial managers that the conventional factory had gradually become an anachronistic institution. But now the conventional factory has been thrust into a totally unaccustomed role. It is no longer the corporate villain—the creator of costs and absorber of capital. For better or worse, it is now a critical strategic resource.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0275-6668

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1980

WICKHAM SKINNER

Managing manufacturing in mature industries is considered in theory to be routine, with stable products, long runs, and well‐developed process technology. No theory could be less…

165

Abstract

Managing manufacturing in mature industries is considered in theory to be routine, with stable products, long runs, and well‐developed process technology. No theory could be less true these days, when the pressures on profit margins and for full‐capacity utilization, with a typically unionized work force and old equipment, make for a frantic scene.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 1 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0275-6668

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Article
Publication date: 17 February 2012

Steve Brown

The aim of this series of papers is to offer key insights from eminent professors or practitioners within the field of Operations Management. This is the first of a series of…

1302

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this series of papers is to offer key insights from eminent professors or practitioners within the field of Operations Management. This is the first of a series of interviews with “Operations Masters” and future contributions will include a range of inputs from manufacturing and services, private and public sectors. This series will provide an important contribution to the strategic importance of operations management in a range of settings.

Design/methodology/approach

An interview with Professor Terry Hill, Emeritus Fellow at the University of Oxford, UK and a leading international figure in the field of operations management and operations strategy, conducted by Professor Steve Brown, Editor‐in‐Chief of International Journal of Operations & Production Management.

Findings

Terry Hill explains that his motive when writing his seminal book Manufacturing Strategy in 1985, which built on the work of Wickham Skinner, was to fill the gaps in both the language and concepts that comprise operations strategy, which would enable operations executives to exercise their strategic roles more fully. He goes on to describe the challenges that still exist in getting operations strategy onto the agenda in most companies and in the classroom. Finally Terry Hill makes recommendations for research which would help to elevate the strategic importance of operations.

Originality/value

Professor Terry Hill is a leading international figure in the field of operations management and operations strategy. In this interview he offers many insights into how this field has developed, both in business and in academia and highlights some of the challenges faced, particularly if research is to have real value in business.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1983

Wickham Skinner

An emerging wave of competitively aggressive moves originating in the operations function is a striking new phenomenon of the 1980s. These moves are creating an arsenal of…

113

Abstract

An emerging wave of competitively aggressive moves originating in the operations function is a striking new phenomenon of the 1980s. These moves are creating an arsenal of strategic weapons that are essentially physical. While the weapons are numerous, their common feature is that they are derived from better deployment and management of physical assets.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 3 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0275-6668

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Article
Publication date: 20 November 2017

Matthias Thürer, Mark Stevenson, Roberto Sarmiento and Peter Gianiodis

The purpose of this paper is to reaffirm the suggestion that there are at least two distinct types of laws of trade-off that affect all firms and, in doing so, to contribute…

304

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reaffirm the suggestion that there are at least two distinct types of laws of trade-off that affect all firms and, in doing so, to contribute toward resolving the persistent trade-off debate in the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

Conceptual study using implicit deductive reasoning.

Findings

Two types of trade-offs are identified: “internal” can be understood following the dictates of the law of diminishing returns, while “external” can be modeled using the principle of energy conservation.

Research limitations/implications

New insights are provided by discussing the impact of both laws of trade-off on the resource-based view of the firm, on new capabilities such as sustainability and innovativeness and on key strategic choices.

Practical implications

The study explains why trade-offs occur and outlines contextual factors that determine the “strength” of the trade-offs.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous study has attempted to investigate the topic of strategic trade-offs on the basis of the principle of energy conservation.

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Article
Publication date: 1 January 1980

Milton C. Lauenstein and Wickham Skinner

The grass may seem greener in another field, but take a long, hard look before your company diversifies. The pitfalls of scattering your resources—technology, knowledge…

418

Abstract

The grass may seem greener in another field, but take a long, hard look before your company diversifies. The pitfalls of scattering your resources—technology, knowledge, management, human skills, and finances—can mean disaster. Concentrate instead on focusing your energies and gaining competitive advantage.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0275-6668

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Article
Publication date: 1 January 1980

T.J. Hill

Recently two groups of senior managers were asked what they understood by the phrase “manufacturing policy”. Following the initial silence their replies in both instances, centred…

234

Abstract

Recently two groups of senior managers were asked what they understood by the phrase “manufacturing policy”. Following the initial silence their replies in both instances, centred around comments such as:

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

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Article
Publication date: 19 October 2010

Angele Pieters, Charlotte van Oirschot and Henk Akkermans

The purpose of this paper is to report on a study investigating the limits of the applicability of the focused factory concept (FFC) in health care. The case setting comes from…

1127

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on a study investigating the limits of the applicability of the focused factory concept (FFC) in health care. The case setting comes from the Dutch obstetric care system, which is organised by principles in sync with the FFC; the organisation for “simple” pregnancies (independent midwifery practices) is fully separated from that for “complex” pregnancies (obstetric departments in hospitals). The paper investigates the degree of fit between how the Dutch obstetric care system is organised and how it operates (internal fit).

Design/methodology/approach

This study analyses one year of patient data from one obstetric hospital department and from one midwifery practice in its immediate geographical proximity. Data were collected regarding the medical condition, consultations, and delivery. These data were used to test the degree to which the obstetric care system operates in line with the FFC; one would expect the midwifery practice to operate as a “line process”, and the obstetric department as a “jobbing process”.

Findings

Findings suggest that the Dutch obstetric care sector is designed in line with the FFC, but does not operate accordingly. Root causes for this misalignment can be found in the characteristics of the medical condition of pregnancy.

Research limitations/implications

The fact that the data concern only one region must raise caution for generalisation. However, the fact that medical conditions, which can be assumed to be universal, lead to an intrinsic mismatch between the FFC organisation and medical operational reality, suggests that this paper may have broad implications for theory and practice.

Practical implications

For the Dutch obstetric case system, this paper is one in a series that casts doubts on the sustainability of the two‐tiered system. For obstetric care in general, integrated care seems preferable to the FFC. For health care in general, this paper suggests that caution is required in applying the FFC. Moreover, in OM research for health care, more efforts should be made to understand how medical conditions affect the daily operational processes and, hence, the organisational design.

Originality/value

Most of the studies focusing on the applicability of the FFC look at financial and medical outcomes. This paper is original in that it looks at what drives these outcomes, i.e. the degree of fit between strategy, organisational design and operational performance.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 30 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

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