Operations Management Science

For the past several decades, academic research in OMS has studied the transformation process at the shop-floor level, investigating issues of scheduling and sequencing of production and transportation. Department of Operations and Management Sciences faculty are dedicated to standing on that shop-floor foundation and reaching up to the next level of organizational complexity. Our research studies the transformation process at the senior management level. The fundamental problem at that level is to put in place the design and coordination structures that induce smooth tactical execution. Our research is naturally cross-functional, because interactions with other functions in the firm cannot be ignored at the senior manager level. OMS faculty research targets such specific topics as: functional strategic options and cross-functional interfaces, supply chain management and contracts with vendors and distributors, extended make/buy and partnering/acquisition issues, concurrent capacity planning and demand management, managing operational complexity, concurrent product/process design, and investments in new technologies.

The OMS department offers a range of courses from foundational material through advanced electives in supply chain management, cross-functional integration, strategic R&D management, new product development, rapid plant assessments, project management, manufacturing operations, operational strategy, and service operations, among others.