Re-visiting Devons' historical perspective on black holes and bullwhip

Towill, Denis Royston 2005. Re-visiting Devons' historical perspective on black holes and bullwhip. Management Decision 43 (2) , pp. 293-311. 10.1108/00251740510581984

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Abstract

Purpose – To publicise the little known work of Eli Devons (1950) as a source of practical operations management “know how”, collated by an economist but of direct interest to wider academe. Design/methodology/approach – Evaluation of World War II UK aircraft production procedures against published literature and available case studies in operations management. Findings – Specific and substantial anecdotal evidence suggesting that both bullwhip and learning curve losses were common phenomena waiting to be discovered. Research limitations/implications – Much of the original evidence is circumstantial but still capable of triangulation because of multiple events pointing to the same causality. Practical implications – Identifies generic problems and solutions but also pinpoints areas which are applications specific. Originality/value – The re-discovery that learning curve and bullwhip phenomena were rife 60 years ago supports the view that knowledge and its exploitation is episodic. Specifically, as soon as the environment returns to normal, so are the lessons learned under duress quickly forgotten.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Business history; Production planning and control; Supply chain management
Publisher:	Emerald
ISSN:	0025-1747
Last Modified:	19 Mar 2016 23:10
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/41466

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