My attitude to this new and important text is that there are a balance of pros and cons in the approach that has been taken. For MBA students the book is now more focused and practically relevant than the previous offering, the standard and rather bulky operations management text. The new text takes a very clear “process” perspective of the operations function and so quickly gets to the key issues that concern the operations manager. The level is pitched higher than the previous text, and the chapter titles indicate an updating of coverage and themes. It remains the British operations management text against which all other offerings will be judged, and justifiably in my view. It will be well received by students and tutors alike. My first use of the text on a recent Executive MBA programme has demonstrated that the new book is well received and seen as relevant by experienced professional managers.
There are, though, some drawbacks with the new text. Firstly, I detect a tendency to increased prescription: I was concerned to see much of the emphasis on “design” has now been superseded by the process perspective. This will fit well with MBA operations management courses which are geared towards the needs of consultants, but the book is now more limited for syllabuses which require the student to think through their own practice in a reflective way. Additionally, I was concerned that the long standing and well tried Slack et al. structure (Design, Planning and Control, and Improvement) seems to have been largely abandoned. I found the structure of topics and their titling a little off‐putting and not always entirely logical in delivery. Finally, the book remains very expensive as a recommendation for purchase, particularly as it is now slimmer than the previous volume.
My overall view, therefore, is a little mixed. Whilst now producing a book that appeals to many MBA students and managers, the combination of caveats (contents, perspective and price) has opened the door to competing texts, which lecturers and students may believe offer better value for money. I recommend the Slack et al. text to younger and less experienced lecturers who are starting out, and currently it remains my core text of choice. But I believe that more experienced academics, with confidence in their own teaching material and approach, may be tempted to look elsewhere, particularly as the new text forces a more restricted, prescriptive and managerialist view of operations management in practice.
