4 stars (Price too high) - What I got was a second Indian Reprint, it costs around $4 in India, but I had to pay around $35 (shippment not inlcuded in this amount)! What an arbitrage! 5 stars (Good reference material for practitioners) - I found this book to be a great source of reference for managers. It is not really a good teaching source, as I thought it already starts with a fair amount of assumed previous knowledge and jargon. The sections that are most well developed are the ones on inventory management and transportation logistics, where I found examples that were directly applicable to situations I encountered in a retail environment. The portion on forecasting was not as useful, and the part on e-business seemed somewhat contrived. Overall, this is the best reference I have found that does not require a heavy amount of mathematical familiarity. 4 stars (Excellent book overall but...) - I refered and used this book in 2 grad level courses. The first was a business school course on SCM (with an above average quantitative focus for a B-school course) and again for a fully quatitative SC Engineering course. While I was initially very impressed with the book, using this over 2 semesters has raised a few gripes. For the qualitative issues on SCM {make no mistake, these 'fluff' aspects are very important} there is no other equal. Chopra and Meindl do an outstanding and comprehensive job. They also bring out the importance of using scientific, quantitative techniques for SCM. This however is where my gripes start. Having brought out the importance of quantitative tools for use in SCM, they do only a moderate job on explaining these tools. For example, the chapter on forecasting (only the most simple and commonly used models are explained) is unnnecessarily complex and confusing. The topics covered are adequete but need revision. Treatment of inventory management also could be more detailed and better explained. This is an excellent book but for more comprehe... Prentice Hall :: Business & Economics & Production & Operations Management :: Physical distribution of goods :: Materials Management :: Marketing channels :: Marketing Managem :: Supply Chain Management- Second Edition
4 stars (EXCELLENT REFERENCE TOOL, BUT VERY DRY READING) - Okay, this book is long, and very dry reading material. Most individuals I've talked to buy it exclusively for the halo factor - having this book on their shelf makes them look like they understand the academics of project management. I would never recommending reading the entire book, but it is an invaluable reference - the bible/koran/gita for project management in my view. IF YOU'RE PREPARING FOR THE PMP EXAM. I read the following chapters through at least once each which helped my comprehension of the subject matter immensely: - Organizational Structures - Management Functions - Conflicts - Quality - Procurement 5 stars (A very good all-in-one book) - The book deals with the PMI's PMBOK areas of focus in a very structured way. Definitely a useful tool for PMP exam. In addition the book is definite winner for any practioner of PM. A full detailed chapter on pricing and estimation .... not to mention another on management of conflicts in PM scenario. It also has a Chapter on Critical Chain Management which is very much the topic today. ALL ROUND WINNER. 2 stars (A monolithic reference) - This Book is just a monolithic reference that I used for a class. Don't try and learn from it. The PMP exam is not as hard as you think; yes it is high pressure, time wise. It has primarily 2 types of questions. 1 is memory recall. 2. Is testing your experience, that is to say how do you respond to a given situation, what is your rational or judgment? And every question is tied directly or indirectly to the PMBOOK. Read it Twice. I used The PMBOOK with a book written in narrative style chapter for chapter against the PMBOOK. It's called "Information Technology Project Management" by Kathy Schwalbe. It has some simple IT examples that most business people can understand after all Project Management is irrelevant to industry. And The Project Manager (person) is not. Also Parts of the book "Project Management: The Manag... John Wiley - Sons Inc :: Technology-Engineering - Industrial :: Business & Economics & Finance :: Business & Economics-Production & Operations Management :: Business & Economics-Ent :: Project Management- A Systems Approach to Planning- Scheduling- and Controlling
4 stars (A well-done text w/ plenty of support) - I'll make two separate sets of comments - one for professors and one for students. Students first... There is a well-done website that accompanies the book, which includes outlines, sample tests & quizzes, and related study materials. The text is about average in terms of readability in comparison to other texts on the subject, and there are plenty of real-world examples to illustrate OM concepts (OM texts, as a general rule, don't read well). You may be able to get by with a previous edition if the textbook contents are your priority, but be advised, however, that the seventh edition contains some new and revised material, a few chapters have been re-arranged, and there are some different end-of-chapter exercises and cases. For professors... You are probably already aware that OM can be challenging for the professor as well as the student, esp. with respect to where to aim the course - to the managers and generalists, or to the technicians & quantitatively-oriented. Heizer and Render have enough material to support either approach. The text is accompanied with ample instructor resources, including a CD and a website with slideshows, notes, outlines, and various other pedagogical tools. The testbank is easy to use, but should be supplemented with some quantitative short problems (if a quantitative approach is important to you). Heizer and Render have also done a fair job of keeping the material up-to-date, which has resulted, after seven editions, in a pretty decent product. For me, the instructor resources and the comprehensiveness of the content (adequate support for either a managerial or quantitative approach) make Heizer and Render a good choice by comparison to other OM texts. ... Prentice Hall :: Business & Economics & Production & Operations Management :: Technology & Industrial Arts :: Science&Mathematics :: Production & Operations Management :: Oper :: Operations Management and Student CD-ROM- Seventh Edition