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nOTEs On THE CHAPTER 89
be overcome. In fact, the whole concept of operations performance improvement
is, in effect, an attempt to overcome trade-offs. It is therefore the responsibility of
all operations managers to seek ways of overcoming trade-offs. This also holds true
when broader trade-offs are being considered, such as those between corporate
social responsibility (CSR) performance and more obviously commercial aspects of
performance.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of focused operations?
The benefits of focus include achieving a clarity of performance objectives, which aids
day-to-day decision making, developing resources in a manner appropriate to achieve a
narrow set of objectives, and the enhanced learning and improvement that derives from
concentrating on a narrow set of tasks. On the other hand, the problems with focus
include the dangers inherent if there are significant shifts in the marketplace, which may
leave the operation ‘stranded’ with an inappropriate performance mix, the reduction
in opportunities for economies of scale as operations are segmented internally, and some
structural vulnerability because of the first two issues.

Further reading

Boyer, K.K. and Lewis, M.W. (2002) ‘Competitive priorities: Investigating the need for trade-
offs in operations strategy’, Production and Operations Management, 11 (1).
Grey, D., Micheli, P. and Pavlov, A. (2015) Measurement madness. New York: Wiley.
Hayes, R., Pisano, G., Upton, D. and Wheelwright, S. (2005) Pursuing the competitive edge.
New York: Wiley.
Menda, R. and Dilts, D.(1997). ‘The manufacturing strategy formulation process: Linking
multifunctional viewpoints’, Journal of Operations Management 15(4), pp. 223–241.
Merchant K. and Wim Van der Stede (2012) Management Control Systems: Performance Meas-
urement, Evaluation and Incentives. Harlow, UK: Financial Times (Prentice Hall).
Neely A. (ed.) (2012) Business Performance Measurement: Unifying Theory and Integrating Prac-
tice, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Neely, A. (2005) Measuring Business Performance. London: Economist Books.
Parmenter, D. (2007) Key Performance Indicators (KPI): Developing, Implementing and Using
Winning KPIs. New York: Wiley.
Savitz A. W. and Karl Weber (2006) The Triple Bottom Line: How Today’s Best-run Companies Are
Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Success - And How You Can Too. San Francisco:
Jossey Bass.
Simons R. (2013) Performance Measurement and Control Systems for Implementing Strategy Text
and Cases. Harlow, UK: Pearson.

notes on the chapter

1 Sources include: BBC website (2008) ‘BA managers leave after T5 fiasco’, 15 April; Browning
A. (2008) ‘How do you clear a bags backlog?’, BBC website, 19 April; Fran Yeoman and Nico
Hines (2008) ‘Heathrow T5 disruption to continue over weekend’, Times Online, 28 March;
Kevin Done (2008) ‘BA to cancel hundreds more flights from T5’, Financial Times, 30 March;
Kevin Done (2008) ‘Long haul to restore BA’s reputation’, Financial Times, 28 March; David
Robertson (2008) ‘Why Heathrow’s T5 disaster provide a lesson for Dubai’s T3’, The Times,
29 November.

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