Operations management is concerned with utilizing the company’s resources, staff, materials and technology, to effectively produce goods or deliver services to its customers.

This field of business is responsible for the administration of business practices to maximize efficiency. It involves all processes in planning, organizing, supervising and utilizing resources in an organization to deliver products or services that fulfil customer’s needs.

Duties of Operations Managers

Operations management finds its use across every business type, irrespective of the size, as it ensures effective production of goods and delivery of services, thereby increasing productivity in an organization.

Effective operations management creates a system for quality products and services that provide value to customers to be produced at minimal operating costs.

The duties of an operations manager in every organization are:

• An Operations Manager will be required to observe past and present trends to predict possible future occurrences like consumer satisfaction and market demand.

• Operations Managers generate ideas for the production of new products or upgrading existing products to meet customer’s needs. They create systems to ensure these products meet quality standards.

•  An Operations Manager is generally responsible for managing the supply chain process. These professionals control activities from production, shipping to delivery of products. Operations Managers ensure the supply chain process is properly managed to have an efficient production process at the minimal operating cost possible.

• The role of an Operations Manager also comes with the responsibility of delivery management. This responsibility is a part of the supply chain function. Operations Managers are to ensure timely delivery of products to customers. They are also required to set up systems that allow customers to send in feedback on their satisfaction with a product or service.

Skills required of Operations Managers

To understand an organization and the processes involved in maximizing its production efficiency, certain skills are required of Operations Managers. These skills ensure a seamless flow of production activities in an organization.

Here are 3 ideal skills an operations manager should have to be successful in this role:

• Interpersonal Skills: Operations Managers are typically responsible for managing and interacting with people. For this reason, an Operations Manager must have exceptional communication and conflict resolution skills to best utilize the human resources in an organization.

• Organization and Coordination Skills: Operations Management involves managing production systems and processes. An Operations Manager should have good coordination skills to plan and execute multiple projects with proper use of the company’s resources to deliver products and services. These skills help increase productivity in an organization.

• Tech-savvy Skills: Operations Managers should be familiar with tech developments that can help design processes to make production more efficient. These technological innovations help improve the production process and reduce wastage of resources.

Top Schools to consider for an MBA in Operations Management.

Getting an MBA in Operations Management or a related field like Supply Chain Management helps develop your skillset and widen your knowledge about business operations. It provides theoretical and practical knowledge on key areas relating to operations management.

An MBA in Operations Management offers a global view of industry trends and teaches students ways to navigate possible complexities like financial and political regulations that could affect an organization.

Here are 5 top business schools to consider for your MBA programs in Operations Management:

1. W. P. Carey School of Business
The highly ranked W. P. Carey MBA at Arizona State University is designed to develop your unique strengths, deepen your knowledge and broaden your perspective on the industry activities. W.P. Carey School of Business offers flexible MBA programs that are taught by experienced professionals in the industry.

2. Warwick Business School
Popular as the first business school to be accredited in the UK, the Warwick Business School creates a healthy balance between theory and practice. The Warwick MBA is available in full-time, part-time and distance learning programs, and is designed to train professionals to develop the knowledge and skills to transform their careers.

3. Mays Business School
With more than 5,000 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students in accounting, finance, management, management information systems, marketing, and supply chain management, Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School consistently ranks among the top public business schools in the United States. Mays Business School partners with national and regional business executives to deliver relevant education based on industry insights.

4. Fisher College of Business
Fisher College of Business MBA program by Ohio State University offers an Experiential, personalized, and integrated curriculum. The Operations and logistics MBA curriculum integrates students with industry trends and focuses on various topics such as Global sourcing, Supply chain tools and analytics and Logistics decision making.

5. Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University)
The Kellogg School of Management’s MBA Curriculum with Operations Major focuses on understanding organizational structure and how it affects other functions within the firm. This MBA operations major is particularly for students who are interested in consulting or general management or any functional areas of operations.

 

 

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