Operations Management

What is Operations?

The operations function is at the heart of any organization, whether it is service or manufacturing, for-profit or not-for-profit. It is operations that makes it possible to design, produce and deliver the right goods and services in a fast and cost-effective way that ensures customer satisfaction. The know-how in operations is also what makes possible the successful conduct of day-to-day and emergency healthcare services, and other humanitarian and societal activities. In effect, the operations function defines the core purpose of an organization — for Florence Nightinghale Hospital, it is to provide patient treatment; for Şişecam, it is to manufacture glassware.

Some of the decision areas in operations include:

• Designing innovative products
• Choosing the best processes to produce goods or provide services
• Ensuring high-quality products and services
• Deciding for the best location for facilities
• Planning for optimal capacity
• Designing an efficient layout in a workplace
• Finding the right resources around the globe and ensuring efficient procurement
• Managing and controlling the raw material and finished-goods inventories
• Assuring a safe workplace for employees

Such decisions have significant impact on costs, product quality, variety and profits. In today’s fast-changing and global business environment, the success depends not only on how well the companies manage their internal operations, but also on how well they manage their entire supply chain network integrating suppliers to end customers.

Why Specialize in Operations Management?

There are several reasons why you may want to specialize in operations management:

• Operations function is responsible for the largest part of an organization’s capital and human expenses. This means as future operations managers, you have a great opportunity to impact company’s profitability by managing its operations intelligently.
• Operations area provides expertise in a wide spectrum of topics that are critical in determining the ultimate success of a company. In fact, most successful companies stand out because of their operational excellence. For example, Toyota is best known for its Just-In-Time (JIT) production system that delivers high quality products with zero inventory. Zara is one of the most successful global retailers thanks to its streamlined supply chain operations.
• Last but not the least, operations management is one of the business areas that highly emphasizes quantitative skills and analytical reasoning. Thus, a specialization in operations help you build such critical skills that are increasingly demanded by companies.

Career Opportunities in Operations

“Forbes magazine reported in 2011 that about three quarters of 
all CEOs came from an operations background 1

If you choose to specialize in the operations area, you will graduate with the knowledge and skill set required to succeed in a wide range of sectors, such as manufacturing, transportation, logistics, banking, retail, hospitality and healthcare. You may work for consulting companies that usually prefer business graduates with strong analytical skills. Some operations-related jobs include:

• Process, product or service design
• Purchasing and procurement
• Inventory planning and control
• Production planning and scheduling
• Quality assurance
• Distribution and logistics planning
• Warehouse operations
• Supply chain management
• Business process improvement or reengineering
• Support activities in the services/financial industry
• Revenue management

Sample Courses in Operations

The following includes a list of commonly offered courses in the Operations Management area. Please see BABUS OPER Area Electives for further details on course descriptions.

OPER 311    Logistic Management
OPER 312    Supply Chain Management
OPER 313    Revenue Management
OPER 314    Service Operations Management
OPER 315    Decision Making & Optimization Models
OPER 316    Management Science Modeling with Excel
OPER 318    Retail Operations
OPER 412    Enterprise Resource Planning Systems with SAP
OPER 413    Process Management with Six Sigma Tools
MGMT 311    Project Management

The operations management curriculum under the Business Administration program at Ozyegin University is designed to provide a strong foundation in the fundamental topics of operations management. Furthermore, students gain insights for their advanced careers in this area through case studies that illustrate the critical role of operations in global organizations.

1 The Path To Becoming A Fortune 500 CEO by Erik Savitz, Forbes (December 2011).