This title was first published in 2000: A consideration of continuous improvement (CI) practice and performance. It brings together the results of a survey conducted simultaneously in a number of countries, with the express intention of building up understanding of how companies throughout the world are managing the process of implementing and, perhaps more importantly, sustaining, the process of CI. In so doing, the book offers a perspective on the similarities and differences of experience in a number of countries and sheds light on possible generic problems that managers throughout the world will have to grapple with if they are to take advantage of the true potential offered by their significant investments in human resources.

Manufacturing systems, regardless of their size, have to work with scarce resources in dynamic environments. Effective Resource Management in Manufacturing Systems aims to provide methods for achieving effective resource allocation and to solve related problems that occur daily and often generate cost overruns. This book will be bought by postgraduate students of business, engineering and computer science as well as researchers in these fields. It will also be of interest to practitioners in manufacturing systems and operations managers in industry.