Bernard W. Taylor III is the Pamplin Professor of Management Science and Head of the Department of Business Information Technology in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He received a Ph.D. and an M.B.A. from the University of Georgia and a B.I.E. from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the author of the book Introduction to Management Science (10th ed.) and co-author of Management Science (4th ed.), both published by Prentice Hall. Dr. Taylor has published over 80 articles in such journals as Operations Research, Management Science, Decision Sciences, IIE Transactions, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Computers and Operations Research, Omega, and the International Journal of Production Research, among others. His paper in Decision Sciences (with P. Y. Huang and L. P. Rees) on the Japanese kanban production system received the Stanley T. Hardy Award for its contribution to the field of production and operations management. He has served as President of the Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) as well as Program Chair, Council Member, Vice President, Treasurer, and as the Editor of Decision Line, the newsletter of DSI. He is a Fellow of DSI and a recipient of their Distinguished Service Award. He is a former President, Vice-President, and Program Chair of the Southeast Decision Sciences Institute and a recipient of their Distinguished Service Award. He teaches management science and production and operations management courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level. He has received the University Certificate of Teaching Excellence on four occasions, the Pamplin College of Business Certificate of Teaching Excellence Award, and the Pamplin College of Business Ph.D. Teaching Excellence Award at Virginia Tech.

Roberta S. Russell is a Professor of Business Information Technology in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She received a Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, an M.B.A. from Old Dominion University, and a B.S. degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Dr. Russell's primary research and teaching interests are in the areas of operations and supply chain management, service operations, scheduling, and quality. She has published in Decision Sciences, IIE Transactions, International Journal of Production Research, Journal of Operations Management, IEEE Transactions, Annals of Operations Research, Computers and Operations Research, and others. She is also coauthor of the Prentice Hall book Service Management and Operations. Dr. Russell is a member of DSI, ASQ, POMS, and IIE and a certified fellow of APICS. She is past Vice President of POMS, past President of the Southwest Virginia Chapter of APICS and has held numerous offices in Southeast DSI. She has received the Pamplin College of Business Certificate of Teaching Excellence, the University Certificate of Teaching Excellence, and the MBA Association's Outstanding Professor Award. She serves on the Education and Research Foundation Board of APICS, and is a certified supply chain management professional (CSCMP). Her consulting experience with IBM, AT&T, Dupont, Courtaulds, Xaloy, Northrup Grumman Shipbuilding and others brings a practical perspective into the classroom.