Product and Operations Management

Operations management is concerned with the ways of achieving the most effective and efficient use of an organisation's resources, such as its financial and human resources, its capital resources and its raw materials. It is concerned with making a better product or service and with making it more efficiently or at lower cost. Operations management is therefore centrally concerned with the achievement of organisational objectives and ultimately with the achievement of business success.

Although the course presents operations management as a specialist business function, it will become clear that many of the ideas and techniques are relevant to many other management specialists. As you will see throughout this course there are many parts to the discipline of operations management and the course is likely to be of value to any manager in any business.

Introduction to POM and Operations Strategy

    Introduction
    Objectives
    Nature of POM
    Mission, policy and operations
    Strategy
    Operations strategy
    Summary
    References
    Further reading

The Product Service Package

    Introduction
    Objectives
    What do people buy?
    Design of products and services
    Variety
    Summary
    References
    Further reading

Processes and Systems

    Introduction
    Objectives
    Operations system design
    Method study and work measurement
    Work study techniques
    Method study
    Work measurement
    Summary
    References
    Further reading

Programmes and Schedules

    Introduction
    Objectives
    Capacity management
    Medium-term capacity planning
    Medium-term capacity strategies
    Short-term capacity planning
    Operations planning
    Loading
    Scheduling
    Order point systems
    Manufacturing resource planning
    Just in Time
    Scheduling in non-manufacturing operations
    Summary
    References
    Further reading

Plant and Supporting Facilities

    Introduction
    Objectives
    Facilities task cycle
    Criteria for equipment selection
    Handling risks
    Facility layout
    Maintenance
    Summary
    Further reading

People and Quality

    Introduction
    Objectives
    Quality: basic definitions and system
    Customer-supplier chains
    Total quality management (TQM)
    Tools and techniques of quality
    Implementation of TQM
    Summary
    References
    Further reading

There is no experience or previous qualifications required for enrolment on this course. It is available to all students, of all academic backgrounds.