New Eyes On Planning

New analytical models for operational planning are presented, based mainly on value analysis and linear programming.   


Product value ratio (PVR) analyses the ratio of benefits to price. It breaks benefits into function, attitude and service benefitsj to suggest ways of improving the product value ratio. Value added analysis examines business operations using the value added concepts demonstrated in the section on linear programming. This is done with the help of graphical methods on log-log graph paper. Systematic opportunity search applies these models and others to business operations . 


Simple graphical models are included to illustrate the principles of linear programming and demonstrate the roles of value added and capacity constraints in making planning decisions.


Because many readers have little knowledge of queueing theory, the book includes a basic introduction to queueing theory. It gives enough explanation of simple queueing theory to understand queueing problems and their effects on capacity size decisions.


Worksheets and checklists are included to enable systematic search for planning opportunities. 


A secondary target of the book is to fight the amount of QWAP in organisations - where Q stands for Quagmire of bureaucracy, the triumph of routine over intelligence; W for Waste as in money, time, effort and talent; A for Apparent management as in doing things right instead of doing right things; P for Perverse decision-making.