This text addresses a growing demand for a briefer book in operations management. At less than 500 pages, it strikes the perfect balance by covering the essential topics and provides the pedagogical structure beginning students need.

Foundations of Operations Management provides a brief version of the up-to-date material in the 6th edition of our full-length textbook, Operations Management, and yet keeps much of the essential content. This streamlined version was created in part by transferring some content to the Student CD-ROM and to our Interactive Web site. We also did considerable pruning on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis to weed out material not needed for a streamlined "foundations" book. Chapters are consolidated as appropriate to create a smaller number of learning units. In so doing, we create opportunities in and out of the classroom for various forms of active learning: experiential exercises, cases, virtual tours, discussion questions, OM Explorer activities, video discussions, and Internet activities.