This course is intentionally designed to bridge the gap between theoretical frameworks and real-world execution. The assignments in this course are weighted to reflect the importance of application, peer collaboration, and personal synthesis.
Discussion Posts (10% of Final Grade)
Each week, you will participate in asynchronous discussion boards where you will apply the weekly textbook frameworks to new companies or service experiences. You are expected to formulate your own operational analysis and respond to your peers by acting as a consultant to critique their strategies.
Business is inherently collaborative, and operations management requires rigorous peer review. MBA discussions thrive when the peer-to-peer critique is robust and analytical, rather than just saying, "Great post, I agree!" This practice builds your ability to identify hidden vulnerabilities in a business plan and articulate strategic operational pivots.
Cases (30% of Final Grade)
Each week, you will dissect and analyze real-world operational challenges. We will tackle comprehensive case studies involving industry leaders, including the Mayo Clinic, and Amazon.
A brilliant corporate strategy means nothing if the physical operations cannot execute it. These cases force you out of the textbook and into the messy reality of business. By evaluating how these specific organizations manage bottlenecks, capacity, and global inventory, you will learn how to apply decision-making frameworks to actual corporate crises and turn physical supply chains into a primary competitive advantage.
Book Club & Report (30% of Grade)
At the start of the course, you will select an approved book to read over the semester. You will meet with a small group of peers based on your shared scheduling availability to discuss the reading as a 'book club', and you will submit a final report discussing your personal take on the book.
Operations management is driven by overarching philosophies (like Lean Thinking and Six Sigma) that are often best understood through long-form reading and narrative case examples. The book club format mimics the cross-functional team environment of a real business, requiring you to collaboratively digest complex operational strategies, debate their merits, and extract actionable leadership insights.
Personal Reflection (30% of Final Grade)
At the conclusion of the course, you will submit a comprehensive personal reflection paper. This assignment requires you to look back at the frameworks, tools, and case studies we have explored and directly connect them to your own professional background, current role, or future career trajectory.
The ultimate goal of an MBA is personal and professional transformation. This reflection ensures that the course material does not remain abstract. By forcing you to internalize these operational concepts and evaluate your own industry's supply chain or process flows, you will leave the course with a concrete, personalized operational playbook that you can immediately apply to your career