What is Operations Management?

Manufacturing management and the management of technology and innovation have always been central to the long term success of business and industry in the United States and throughout the world. However, over the past decades, the disciplines involved in the production of goods and services have generally been eclipsed by financial and marketing issues. During this intervening period, many corporate decision makers became increasingly isolated from manufacturing operations, its needs, and concepts. Management treated the manufacturing/operations activity as a black box which could be controlled by the manipulation of a number of financial targets. As pointed out in The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt and Jeff Cox, the obtainment of financial goals and ratios can produce disastrous results if viewed as an end in and of themselves.

In today's world, the increase in competitive pressure (typified by the Japanese inroads in the steel, automotive and electronics industries) and the advent of new technologies (e.g. Material Requirements Planning and Just-in-Time) have resulted in a rediscovery of the importance of total quality management, international competitiveness, and Production/ Operations Management. The increased awareness of environmental concerns and the desire to preserve our natural resources (particularly energy) have further contributed to the resurgence of interest in these areas.

The Operations Management (OM) major was established by the Department of Management Science and Information Systems to respond to these needs. Operations Management concerns the management of the direct resources required to produce the goods and services provided by an organization. It is the process that allows organizations to achieve their goals through the efficient acquisition and use of resources. Every organization, whether public or private, manufacturing or service, has an operations management function.

The Operations Management major studies the strategies, concepts, management tools, and analytic techniques that enable organizations to be competitive in the world economy. The curriculum for the OM major is concerned with solving the problems that confront manufacturing and operations managers today. Broadly speaking, the curriculum has three major areas:

• The study of basic problem solving and data analysis tools to assist the OM manager in making "good" decisions.
• The development of a basis of understanding of the manufacturing/operations function itself.
• The integration of the manufacturing and operations functions into the corporate strategy.

Careers in Operations Management

The Operations Management major qualifies graduates for entry-level positions in a wide variety of areas: production and operations management, quality management, and materials management. In the area of production and operations management, entry-level positions would include: production supervisor, production scheduler, production control analyst, inventory manager, operations manager and inventory specialist. In the area of quality management, entry-level positions would include: quality manager, quality supervisor, quality technician, quality specialist and Statistical Process Control (SPC) coordinator. In the area of materials management, entry-level positions would include: materials specialist, purchasing agent, materials scheduler and purchasing manager.

The areas discussed above are merely examples of Operations Management career paths. There are many other possibilities. All organizations have a process by which they obtain inputs from suppliers and produce output for their customers. The Operations Management major is concerned with managing the process which turns these inputs into outputs. Many of the techniques applicable in manufacturing situations can be applied to service situations. Graduates have found jobs in hospitals, insurance companies, and government as well as in traditional companies.

Career Opportunities

Account Administrator Administrative Analyst Administrative Manager Administrative Planner Area Supervisor Business Analyst Buyer Contract Negotiator Control Manager Cost Analyst Customer Service Manager Distribution Manager Distribution Planner Expediter Forecaster General Manager Health Care Administrator Internal Auditor Inventory Analyst Inventory Control Manager Inventory Specialist Inventory Systems Analyst Line Manager Line Supervisor Management Consultant Management Trainee

Manufacturing Manager Markting Support Representative Master Scheduler Materials Manager Operations Manager Plant Manager Procurement Manager Production Control Manager Production Manager Production Planner Production Scheduler Production Superintendent Purchasing Agent Purchasing Analyst Purchasing Manager Quality Assurance Manager Quality Auditor Quality Control Specialist Schedule Analyst Staff Analust Systems Coordinator Traffic Manager Training Supervisor Transportations Manager Warehousing Manager Zone Manager

Positions Held by Grads: Programming Consultant Computer Help Desk Manager Computer Programmer Cost Analyst Data Resource Coordinator Database Analyst Director of MIS Materials Management Materials Scheduler Production Supervisor Purchasing Agent Quality Assurance Systems Analyst Who Hires WSU Grads: Airborne Express American Mitsubishi Delphi Chassis Systems EDS Fifth Third Bank General Electric Company GM Hobart Corporation IBM Lexis-Nexis Navistar NCR Reynolds & Reynolds PFI Precision Machining Software Architects, Inc. Standard Register