Public Service Operations Management

How do policy makers and managers square the circle of increasing demand and expectations for the delivery and quality of services against a backdrop of reduced public funding from government and philanthropists? Leaders, executives and managers are increasingly focusing on service operations improvement. In terms of research, public services are immature within the discipline of operations management, and existing knowledge is limited to government departments and large bureaucratic institutions.Drawing on a range of theory and frameworks, this book develops the research agenda, and knowledge and understanding in public service operations management, addressing the most pressing dilemmas faced by leaders, executives and operations managers in the public services environment. It offers a new empirical analysis of the impact of contextual factors, including the migration of planning systems founded on MRP/ERP and the adoption of industrial based improvement practices such as TQM, lean thinking and Six Sigma.This will be of interest to researchers, educators and advanced students in public management, service operations management, health service management and public policy studies.

'This book brings together a fantastic collection of articles around public service operations management. I am sure this book will become a core text for many studying service operations management and will influence researchers in the field of operations management and public sector management. But this book is not just for academics – I would urge anyone managing resources in the public sector to read this book.' - Jill MacBryde, Professor, The University of York, UK'This book brings together a range of authors to show how leading service operation management change initiatives have transformed public services. This gives direction to both practitioners and future researchers to continue to move the field of public service operations management forward.' - Fiona Lettice, Professor, University of East Anglia, UK'For anyone considering undertaking OM research in a public sector context, this book is a excellent place to start. The eclectic mix of studies encompass a range on contemporary OM and SCM topics which not only give useful insights into various phenomena, but also provide helpful examples of how one might undertake research successfully in public sector organisations.' - Alistair Brandon-Jones, Professor, University of Bath, UK

Zoe J. Radnor is Professor of Service Operations Management at Loughborough University, UKNicola Bateman is a Senior Lecturer in Operations Management at Loughborough University, UKAnn Esain is a Lecturer in Logistics and Operations Management at Cardiff University, UKManeesh Kumar is a Senior Lecturer of Service Operations at Cardiff University, UK Sharon J. Williams is an Improvement Science Fellow with the Health Foundation and an Associate Professor at Swansea University, UKDavid M. Upton is American Standard Companies Professor of Operations Management at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, UK