As goods and services are produced and distributed they move through a set of interrelated operations and processes with the primary goal for the organizations to maximize their value to the customer.
The design of these operations for achieving strategic advantage, improving and controlling them to meet the organization’s performance objectives is the domain of Operations Management. This includes designing, acquiring, operating, and maintaining the facilities and processes; purchasing raw materials; controlling and maintaining inventories; and providing the proper labor needed to produce a good or service so that customers’ expectations are met.
Successful organizations now routinely collect and analyze data in order produce forecasts that support informed decision making.
This course is intended to provide managers in all functional areas with sufficient knowledge to make informed “total business decisions” and to introduce standard terms and concepts for communications with operating personnel. It is intended to be a survey of operating practices and models in both manufacturing and service oriented firms. In such a course, it should be recognized that breadth of subject matter, not so much the depth of topic. To stimulate the classroom discussions and illustrate the theoretical models, we will often use cases studies.
This graduate level course combines management theory with the quantitative methods that support the optimization of those processes that create value and operate under constrained resources. Students should gain an understanding of the concept of “value” and the role it plays in each step of the total process diagram.
Upon completion, students should be able to confidently discuss topics such as:
