Production and Operations Management Systems Chapter 1: Introduction

The Stages of P/OM Development

	Internally – Inside Firm’s Organization	Externally - In the Firm’s Marketplace
Top Management Is Neutral to P/OM	Stage I – worst case; indifferent to P/OM’s ability to lower costs, raise quality, etc.	Stage II – next to worst case; indifferent to the voice of customers re quality; has interest in cost reduction by P/OM
Top Management Is Supportive of P/OM	Stage III – next to best case; support for P/OM process advantages but not product design	Stage IV – best case; total support for P/OM with product design and process abilities

• Guideline examples might be:
• Stage I – government tax and license offices
• Stage II – franchise gas stations
• Stage III – phone and cable company offices
• Stage IV – FedEx, UPS, Disney, Toyota, Apple