MBA in Operations Management

Quite often operations management is misunderstood due to its multidisciplinary nature. Generally, in the corporate segment, it means that a wide range of functions need to be performed for maintaining a consistent quality of services or products under development. This includes, but not restricted to all the activities required to create and deliver a product or service, from selecting suppliers and/or raw materials to supply chain management and distribution.

An MBA in operations management will enable an individual to create and implement effective process management and process engineering mechanism that, in turn, will ensure quality with optimum usage of resources.

In operations world one is expected to know and manage certain areas including planning, organizing and supervising in the contexts of production, manufacturing or the provision of services. It chiefly looks after the management of turning company inputs into outputs in an effective manner. The inputs themselves could represent anything from materials, equipment and technology to human resources such as staff or workers.

There are strong parallels between the skills required for effective operations management and those needed in both logistics and supply chain management. Organizational ability is crucial in successfully enhancing efficiency and driving productivity as an operations manager.

For a seamless process one must understand the series of functions within the organization that is put into place and in this sense the role is directly related to supply chain management. Meanwhile, the coordination involved in setting up these processes in practice represents logistics; the combination of understanding and coordinating the work of a company are therefore, central to be a successful operations manager.   

An MBA in operations management or a similar specialization in related fields like logistics and supply chain management will hone individual skill and those who enter into the industry by developing the requisite skill set or to help those already in the industry to widen their knowledge and push on into a business leadership role.

Pursuing an MBA in operations management will open up a global perspective on industry trends and an awareness of any financial regulations or political uncertainties that could impact an organization. Risk management is a crucial part of operations management and getting to grips with the industry’s inherent complexities and responding well to change will be a strong consideration for students during their course.

Strategic thinking and decision making is another important aspect of operations management programs, something that should enable graduates to ensure their organization stays ahead of its competition.

Roles in operations management may vary from company to company and even at industry level. However, it is to be noted that in reality most companies will not fit easily into one category or the other in the entirety of its operations. A car company doesn’t simply manufacture cars, it also services them. A café serving coffee might very easily also produce their own coffee.

Some specific organizations like quasi-manufacturing organizations though sounds like a manufacturing unit, but are clearly providing a service, such as an automated warehouse dispatching goods.

One needs to go beyond the apparent definition of operations management. There can be strong overlap with supply chain management, logistics or engineering, but there are many other industries and areas where operations functions and the skills of an effective operations manager are strongly tied to an organization’s lasting success.