Operations Management

Operations management is the part of business that produces the goods and services the business offers. In order to a business to deliver the promises made by the marketing department, or to use the capital developed by the finance department, operations must run fluidly, efficiently and effectively. In our Operations Management Course, we will discuss the different parts of operations management, who is involved and what their roles are. We will see how management of operations is different for both production of goods (manufacturing) and for firms that provide a service - The decision-making differences involved in both, and the analytical tools required for evaluating and fixing problems. We will see the consequences of an effectively run operation and of an ineffectively run operation.

As an operations manager, you will have to consider both your position as a leader, as well as making technical and tactical decisions based on data. We will include in our course discussions of leader ship based on well-accepted leadership values and apply them to the field of operations. The more technical aspects of operations management will need to be considered as well like organization of resources like facilities and staff, as well as balancing customer service, efficiency, and the quality of your product of your service. We will provide you with the analytical tools needed for understand the topics that arise in discussing operations management.

In terms of workforce, an operations manager must be aware of any staffing issues that may arise. The manager is in the sense be aware of human resources issues. Especially in terms of a manufacturing plant, there may be many health hazards to employees so the operations manager

There are a number of sub-disciplines that must be discussed in order to effectively train an operations manager, including project management, as there are many “projects” that come up during operations. Although these may not usually be projects that are out of the ordinary for the operation, each sub-operation needs to be effectively managed individually. There is also supply chain management involved; you will have to manage the supply of raw materials for the product, whether it is information for a service, or plastic for a toy train. Logistics and supply chains are an integral part of being an operations manager and you will learn some of the basic tools and techniques of this sophisticated sub discipline.

We will also cover how operations management relates to strategy. Can you compete based on operations? How much strategy is really involved in operations? You will have to be in control of decisions like whether or not you will be customer based or use another strategy or methodology in planning your operations. Planning in operations will have to involve much decision-making. We will discuss briefly some decision-making models and how decision making factors into good operations management. What happens where there is a bad decision made? What part of your operations will be hurt the most or shine the most?

Much attention will have to be paid to your product as an operations manager. What is the design and what is the logic behind the design? How does this influence the process? You will have to make process based decisions and these decisions greatly influence the outcome of your product.

There are many, many considerations to make in operations management. There are also many sub-disciplines involved such as supply chains, logistics, project management, and process flow analysis. In order to be effectively prepared, all personnel involved in operations must be aware of these issues. With Manhattan Review’s Operations Management Course, the student will have a deep working knowledge of the technical issues associated with operations and the analytical tools to succeed at any level of operations.

Topics Covered

  • Process Flow and analysis
  • Workforce Issues
  • Quality control
  • Inventory Management
  • Decision making
  • Productivity
  • Strategic planning
  • Analytical tools and techniques