ABSTRACT
Once upon a time, or should we say “In the old days” production was manufacturing and operations were what surgeons did to remove tonsils. There were also logistical, mathematical, and secret operations. All that has changed as service operations became a fundamental part of P/OM. Operations has become the proper way to describe activities intended to make a product or deliver a service whether for profit or not. Also, boundaries of responsibility and authority were expanded to permit the crossing of functional lines and traditional disciplines to better resolve
problems. All operations that are relevant to the solution of a problem must be included in the definition of that problem and in the methods used to solve that problem. Consequently, the connection between processes and products led to the inevitable understanding that new products must fall within the joint domains of P/OM and marketing. NPD is at the core of the competitive evolution of the business enterprise. That core must be sound so that the dynamics of evolution produce processes that are beneficial and sustainable in an entirely global society.
