As in other fields, promotion and tenure decisions of academicians in POM are very closely related to their publication achievements. Such achievements are generally measured by where academicians publish rather than just what they publish. Therefore, the perceived quality or image of POM journals is important to the faculty and researchers in this field. Not surprisingly, several previous studies have attempted to rank order journals belonging to related fields such as accounting, finance, economics and management. Unfortunately, for POM journals, there exist little published data accepted and shared by all in this respect. The primary objectives of the study are to establish the perceived relevancy and quality ratings of 20 selected journals that are frequently used to disseminate POM‐related research work. The results are based on a questionnaire survey of those Decision Sciences Institute members who listed POM as their primary area of interest (DSI code N). Regarding relevancy, the Journal of Operations Management is rated as the most relevant journal for POM research. Other journals that received high relevance ratings are: International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Journal of Manufacturing and Operations Management, Decision Sciences, and Production and Inventory Management Journal. Based on the quality ratings. Management Science, Journal of Operations Management, and Decision Sciences appear to be the “best” journals publishing POM‐related research. IIE Transactions, International Journal of Production Research, Harvard Business Review, Operations Research, Naval Research Logistics, and Journal of Manufacturing and Operations Management form the group of next best journals. The results provide some evidence of an apparent incongruity between the notions of journal relevancy and journal quality, as perceived by the respondents. Some journals that received high quality ratings were found only moderately relevant to POM research. On the other hand, some journals received poor quality ratings but were rated highly for relevancy. The opinions of the associate and full professors, as well as those with better publication associations with the included journals, were found strikingly similar to those of the entire sample surveyed. Some discrepancy was evident as to what the respondents and their administrative evaluators think are the top journals. The faculty evaluators tend to consider Management Science and Operations Research as the top two journals in the POM field. Such an observation, along with other pertinent data, suggests that there still exists a tendency to equate POM with OR, and the field, to an extent, is suffering from an identity crisis.

Group Technology (GT) is a multi-faceted approach to batch production that includes the reconfiguration of plant equipment from a functional layout to a series of product-oriented layouts that are referred to as manufacturing cells. The cells are dedicated to process families of parts that have similar machine operations. The purported benefits of GT over traditional functional layouts range from reduced work-in-process inventory and throughput times to increased worker satisfaction and productivity. However, recent simulation studies challenge some of these claims of superior performance for cellular layouts. This research examines the influence that factors in a firm's operating environment have on the performance of cellular layouts. A simulation model using hypothetical shop data is used to compare a process layout to a cellular layout using mean throughput time and mean level of work-in-process inventory as performance measures. The operating variables analyzed are (1) the ratio of setup to process time, (2) transfer time of material between work centers, (3) demand stability, and (4) the flow of work within cells. None of the individual changes in levels of operating variables produced a clear advantage for cellular layouts. However, the results from these experiments were used to postulate an "ideal" environment for cellular layouts. This environment is characterized as having a high ratio of setup to process time, stable demand, unidirectional flow of work within a cell, and a substantial level of material movement times between process departments. When all of these conditions are present, the cellular layout outperforms the process layout on both performance measures.group technology, plant design, simulation

In an increasingly intense competitive environment, the effective deployment of organizational resources is of paramount importance. Central to developing competitive strategies is the notion of comparative advantage. A strategic framework should allow a firm to gain advantage in existing and new markets. Establishing a dominant position in a changing market requires the integration of all organizational resources. Just like labour and capital, time is a critical resource. The emergence of continuous improvement philosophies such as justin-time (JIT), total quality management (TQM), and theory of constraints (TOC) in the last decade has underscored the importance of time management.While everybody agrees that wasted time is undesirable, consensus on what constitutes wasted time is far from unanimous. High speed is not always synonymous with better use of time, but attacking and eliminating delays invariably improves throughput and customer services. Measures for reductions in design times, cycle times, setup times, throughput times and delivery times are appearing with greater regularity on performance reports. Eliminating delays and improving product flows involves creativity, specialized skills, capital investments and behavioural changes that challenge the status quo. Frequently, significant improvements can be attained with relatively little, if any, additional capital investment.For many organizations, global competition is no longer on the horizon; it has arrived. While traditional strategies that were successful in the past may not be wrong, they frequently require a refocus or extension since they may be incomplete. Customer service and response time must originate from customer expectations and needs. A customer base with generic needs is a fading scenario.The list of competitive strategic options includes price/cost, quality, delivery speed, delivery reliability, customer service, flexibility, product design (features, functions, and aesthetics) and product image. Since no organization can excel in all these factors simultaneously, the decision to focus on one or a mix of these factors provides a unifying directional force for competitive advantage. If a firm competes on quality and lead time, then it should be evaluated in terms of its ability to deliver quality products in a timely fashion. The use of other measures can create confusion and lack of consistency. Waste is defined strategically and begins with the identification of customer value. Anything that does not add value can ultimately be viewed as waste. Inventory is considered waste in environments where cost is important. However, inventory is a form of value in

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