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MGT 6353 Operations Strategy

Fall 2015, Full-Time MBA Program

Tuesday and Thursday 9.30 AM to 11 AM Room 221

Scheller College of Business

Professor Vinod R. Singhal, Operations Management

Phone: 404-894-4908

e-mail: vinod.singhal@scheller.gatech.edu

In recent years, global competitive environment has changed rapidly. In many product markets, competition has intensified to the point where costs often become the key competitive issue. Furthermore, there are important marketing issues such as product-mix flexibility, product quality, and quick customer response time that are directly dependent on operations capabilities. Together with rapid changes in the product markets in which a firm competes, technology is also undergoing rapid changes. New developments are occurring in hard technology having to do with equipment as well in the softer technology relating to procedures, organization, and information processing. Today, firms are faced with a wide spectrum of different equipment and system choices, involving substantial levels of investments and risks, with strategic implications for the firm as a whole. There has been a growing recognition that to succeed in the current environment firms must develop a coherent operations strategy.

The course on Operations Strategy deals with operating decisions that have long-term and irreversible impact on a firm's profitability, and enhances the ability of the firm to compete effectively in a rapidly changing environment. The course provides an introductory exposure to the major concepts of operations strategy. Operations management majors will find the concept of operations strategy particularly useful as they advance to positions of responsibility. This course will also be useful for students pursuing careers in marketing, finance, accounting, and other areas of management since it aims to develop the relation between operations, other functional areas, and the firm as a whole.

While the course will focus...