Kasra Ferdows

Kasra Ferdows has been doing research, teaching, and consulting in the field of operations management for three decades. Before joining Georgetown, he taught for 10 years at INSEAD (The European Institute of Business Administration, in Fontainebleau, France), where he still occasionally teaches as a visiting professor. He also has been a visiting faculty member at Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, and Melbourne Business School. He was the acting dean of the Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business from July 1997 to July 1998. He is a Fellow of the Production and Operations Management Society and was its President in 2005-2006. He is also a Fellow of the European Operations Management Association. He has published in scholarly journals in the field of operations management, including Production and Operations Management, The Journal of Operations Management, The International Journal of Production Research, The International Journal of Operations and Production Management, and the International Journal of Technology Management, as well as in general management journals such as Harvard Business Review, Strategic Management Journal, California Management Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, The Columbia Journal of World Business, European Management Journal, Industrial Engineer, and The Journal of Business Strategy. His book, Managing International Manufacturing (North Holland, 1989), is one of the pioneering works in the field. His more recent publications are in the area of managing international operations, particularly in charting strategies for global production and supply networks and implementing corporate lean programs in large multinational manufacturing companies. As a consultant and teacher, he has worked with many multinationals including Apple Computers (Ireland), Barilla (Italy), BASF (Germany), BHP Billiton (Australia), Danfoss (Denmark), Eli Lilly (France), Ford of Europe (UK), Hewlett-Packard (US), General Electric (US), IBM (US), Norsk Hydro (Norway), Pechiney (Now Rio Tinto, France), PepsiAmericas (US), SABMiller (South Africa), Unilever (Mexico) and the World Bank Group.

Education

• University of Wisconsin-Madison - Ph.D.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison - M.B.A.

Publications

Books (1)

Kasra Ferdows. Managing International Manufacturing. North Holland, 1989.

Articles in Journals (33)

Frank Weingarten, Cristina Jemez and Kasra Ferdows. "Exploring the importance of cultural collectivism on the efficacy of lean practices: Taking an organisational and national perspecitve." International Journal of Operations and Production Managment (2014)

Torbjorn Netland and Kasra Ferdows. "How company-specific production systems affect plant performance: The S-curve Theory." Production and Operations Management (2014)

Torbjorn Netland and Kasra Ferdows. "What to expect from a corporate lean program." MIT Sloan Management Review, 55, 3 (2014): 83-89.

Kasra Ferdows and Fritz Thurnheer. "Building factory fitness." International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 31, 9 (2011): 916-934.

Kasra Ferdows. "Focus on margins--not costs." POMS Chronicle, 17, 1 (2010): 13-15.

Kasra Ferdows, Christopher Carbetta. "The effect of inter-factory linkage flexibility on inventories and backlogs in integrated process industries." International Journal of Production Research, 44, 2 (2006): 237-255.

Kasra Ferdows. "Transfer of Changing Production Know-How." Production and Operations Management, 14, 1 (2006): 1-9.

Kasra Ferdows, Michael Lewis, Jose Machuca. "Rapid-Fire Fulfillment." Harvard Business Review, 82, 11 (2004): 104-110.

Kasra Ferdows. "New World Manufacturing Order." Industrial Engineer (2003)

Kasra Ferdows. "Expect More from Your Global Sites." Global Sites & Logistics (1997)

Kasra Ferdows. "Made in the World: Global Spread of Production." Production and Operations Management, 6, 2 (1997)

Kasra Ferdows. "Making Most of Foreign Factories." Harvard Business Review (1997)

K. Ferdows, A. De Meyer and U. Karmarkar. "Manufacturing and Distribution in Europe' 92: Problems and Opportunities." The American Production and Inventory Control Journal (1992)

Kasra Ferdows. "Removing the Borders in Manufacturing." The 1992 Annual Business Review (1992)

Kasra Ferdows. "Different Ways to The Top: A Comparison of European, US, and Japanese Manufacturers." The Engineer (1991): 22-23.

K. Ferdows and A. De Meyer. "Removing the Barriers in Manufacturing." The European Management Journal (1991)

Kasra Ferdows and A De Meyer. "Influence of Manufacturing Improvement Programs on Performance." The International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 10, 2 (1990)

Kasra Ferdows and Arnoud De Meyer. "Lasting Improvements in Manufacturing Performance." Journal of Operations Management, 9, 2 (1990): 168-184.

A. De Meyer and K. Ferdows. "Quality Up, Technology Down." The International Journal of Technology Management, 5, 7,8,9 (1990)

P. Adler and K. Ferdows. "The Chief Technology Officer." California Management Review, 32, 3 (1990)

A. de Meyer, J.G. Miller, J. Nakane and K. Ferdows. "Flexibility: The Next Competitive Battle." Strategic Management Journal, 10, 2 (1989)

A. de Meyer, J.G. Miller, J. Nakane and K. Ferdows. "Flexibility: The Next Competitive Battle." Strategic Management Journal, 10, 2 (1989)

K. Ferdows and A. De Meyer. "European Manufacturers: The Dangers of Complacency." The Columbia Journal of World Business, 33, 3 (1988)

K. Ferdows and P. Lindberg. "FMS as Indicator of Strategic Role of Manufacturing." The International Journal of Production Research, 25, 11 (1987)

K. Ferdows and A. De Meyer. "Managerial Focal Points in Manufacturing Strategy." The International Journal of Production Research, 25, 11 (1987)

K. Ferdows and W. Skinner. "The Sweeping Revolutions in Manufacturing." The Journal of Business Strategy, 8, 2 (1987)

K Ferdows and A. De Meyer. "Evolving Global Manufacturing Strategies: Projections into the 1990's." The International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 6, 4 (1986)

K. Ferdows and Christopher Spray. "Honeywell PACE." Journal of Management Case Studies, 1, 1 (1985)

K. Ferdows and A. De Meyer. "The Integration of Information Systems in Manufacturing." The International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 5, 2 (1985)

Kasra Ferdows. "Technology-Push Strategies for Manufacturing." Review of Economic and Management (Tijdschrift voor Economie en Management), 37, 2 (1983)

Kasra Ferdows. "Technology-Push Strategies for Manufacturing." Review of Economic and Management (Tijdschrift voor Economie en Management), 37, 2 (1983)

Kasra Ferdows. "Startup of Small Manufacturing Ventures in Developing Countries." American Journal of Small Business, 5, 2 (1980)

K. Ferdows and R.S. Rosenbloom. "Technology Policy and Economic Development." The Columbia Journal of World Business, 5, 2 (1980)

Articles in Books (17)

Kasra Ferdows. "Relating the firm's global production network to its strategy (Chapter 1)." International Operations Network, London: Springer, 2014.

Kasra Ferdows. "Managing evolving global production networks (Chapter 9)." Strategy, Innovation, and Change, 149162. Cambridge: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Kasra Ferdows. "AOL: International Expansion." Global Marketing, 3rd Edition, 601-612. McGraw Hill Irwin, 2003.

K. Ferdows, S. Berzeg, M. Maier and J-C Paez. "BMW: Globalizing Manufacturing Operations." Managing the Global Corporation, 427-442. Boston: Irwin McGraw Hill, 2000.

Kasra Ferdows. "Making the Most of Foreign Factories." World View: Global Strategies for the New Economy, 143-166. Boston: Harvard Business Review Book, 2000.

K. Ferdows and T. Maddery. "Manugistics." Global Operations and Logistics, 377-382. New York: Wiley, 1998.

Paul Adler and Kasra Ferdows. "Does Technology Need A Chief?." Management of Technology and Innovation, Oxford University Press, 1996.

Kasra Ferdows and Christopher Spray. "Honeywell Pace." Global Operations Management, 370-384. New York: McGraw Hill, 1996.

Kasra Ferdows. "Foreign Operations." The American Edge, 180-202. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993.

Kasra Ferdows. "Charting Strategic Courses for International Factories." International Review of Strategic Management, McGraw Hill, 1992.

K. Ferdows, J.G. Miller, J.S. Kim, A. De Meyer, J. Nakane and S. Kurosu. "Factories of the Future." Benchmarking Global Manufacturing, 161-180. Homewood, Illinois: Business One Irwin, 1992.

P. Adler and K. Ferdows. "The Chief Technology Officer: A New Role for New Challenges." Top Management and Effective Leadership in High Technology, 49-66. Greenwich, Connecticut: JAI Press, 1992.

Kasra Ferdows and Arnoud De Meyer. "The Europe Report: Removing the Barriers in Manufacturing." Benchmarking Global Manufacturing, 93-111. Homewood, Illinois: Business One Irwin, 1992.

Kasra Ferdows. "Explosion in the Dover Plant." Revitalizing Manufacturing, 119-129. Homewood, IL: Richard Irwin, 1990.

Kasra Ferdows. "Managing Disasters." Revitalizing Manufacturing, 130-133. Homewood, IL: Richard Irwin, 1990.

Kasra Ferdows and Wickham Skinner. "The Revolution in Manufacturing." Handbook of Manufacturing Automation and Integration, Auerbasch, New York: Auerbasch, New York, 1990.

Kasra Ferdows. "Remington Products, Inc.." Manufacturing Strategy: Text and Cases, Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1989.