Online MBA with a Concentration in Operations & Supply Chain Management

Organizations are under increasing pressure to be better, faster, and cheaper. This pressure has driven many organizations to adopt process improvement methodologies, like Lean Six Sigma, to increase quality and decrease costs. This course is designed to equip students with the foundation of theoretical knowledge and skills necessary to manage Lean Six Sigma programs. The course integrates basic learning (through readings and lectures) with real-world examples. After completing this course, students should understand how to effectively manage and navigate a process improvement program.

Properly addressing risks and facing possible disruptions are of primary importance to supply chain management. With the wake of high consequence disruptive events, risk identification and disruption response activities have become ever more critical. The objective of the course is to provide an overview of key supply chain risk areas, particularly with the proliferation of outsourcing, use of information technology and global logistics. Equally important is how companies are managing the preparation, mitigation and response strategies to major disruptive events. Topics covered include the science of catastrophes, vulnerability and threat assessments, resources and capabilities identification/integration, basic crisis management, contingency planning, disaster recovery, and business continuity in supply chain settings.

Often we are involved with developing a new system, a new product, planning an event, or participating in an undertaking where we cannot simply repeat things we have done in our past experience. These are "one-offs" or Projects. Projects are major undertakings that have a defined lifetime (i.e. limited duration) and a specific outcome. As such, they require a unique approach to management and administration. It is important to understand and appreciate the techniques and concepts used for successful project management. This course covers some of the basic issues related to, and tools used for, managing projects, and provides an opportunity for students to learn the application of the tools and concepts of project management.