Manufacturing Strategy (OPER 712)
Offered By:
Management Technology Faculty
Description
This is an integrative course in Operations, which tries to present global operations concepts in a unified fashion. The course deals with the structural changes that corporations have to make in facilities, locations, technologies, and organizational structure. The course also deals with infrastructural changes—management policies and practices that enable the structure to operate at its full potential. The course relies heavily on the case method of instruction. The cases essentially deal with:
- Problems encountered in managing operations
- Identification of the constraints on the system performance
- Tradeoffs faced in operations decisions, and,
- Opportunities derived from effective operations management.
Above all, the cases place the operations management decisions in the context of the larger questions of corporate strategy, policy and style. Tools and techniques, while given general importance, will not be emphasized. Process understanding and managerial issues will be stressed.This course is intended for students with a strong interest in understanding operations in either manufacturing or service industries and the role operations can play in global business strategy and competitive advantage. Because the course has a strong managerial focus (sizing up a situation, taking effective action, getting things done), it will be of great value to all students with an interest in general management. It will be particularly relevant to those who see their career involving at least a stint in operations over the coming decade, or who see themselves doing consulting in operations for client businesses, or who plan to work in businesses where operations play an important role.
We will explore a variety of strategic issues in operations and their connection with other