MSc Business Analytics: Operational Research and Risk Analysis / Course details

“Operations may not run the world, but it makes the world run!”— Nigel Slack

Operations Management (OM) is a core field of management encompassing the design, operation and improvement of the processes and systems employed in the creation and delivery of an organisation’s products and services. Essentially, operations management is concerned with explaining how factories and services work. Managing operations well requires both strategic and practical skills and is critical to every type of organisation. It is only through effective and efficient utilisation of resources that an organisation can be successful in the long run.

This course focuses on developing students’ understanding of the foundations of Operations Management. The primary objective is to familiarise students with the basic theories, principles, techniques, methods, and applications of operations management within a variety of industries. Topics include Operations Strategy, Quality Management, Process Analysis, Capacity Management, Inventory Management, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Lean Synchronisation. Throughout the course different theories, principles and practices will be discussed, the focus is on using these techniques to manage and improve operational performance.

Operations Management is an applied discipline that benefits from experiential learning. Accordingly, the course incorporates practice-oriented methods to connect conceptual understanding with their practical application.

Why should you study operations management? A solid understanding of Operations Management (OM) is necessary in all careers. For example:

1. Good knowledge of OM tools (diagnostic and analytical tools) is highly valuable for employees, production managers, Operations Directors and management consultant.
2. Detailed knowledge of OM is required for Managing Directors to understand the cost and benefits of combining the companies’ operations in a merger or acquisition scenario.
3. Good understanding of OM is needed for a marketing manager when they want to develop new products that leverage the established production processes.
4. Good knowledge of OM is required for a finance manager to evaluate the capital investment proposals in a better way
5. Above all, good knowledge of OM is mandatory if you plan to start your own company!

BMAN70081 Programme Req: BMAN70081 is only available as a core unit to students on MSc Operations, Project & Supply Chain Management and as an elective to students on MSc Business Analytics

BMAN70081 is only available as:
• A core unit to students on MSc Operations, Project & Supply Chain Management
• An elective to students on MSc Business Analytics
 

The unit aims to:

1. To introduce students to the core topics of Operations Management at the start of their MSc degree.
2. To cover issues associated with Operations Management that are not explicitly covered in other parts of the MSc programme.
3. To show how the various topics within the field of Operations Management are integrated in managing operations functions.
4. To provide a view of operations management that encompasses service and manufacturing applications.
5. Offer a practical grounding in key Operations Management and Strategy decisions through a combination of experiential methods.

This unit introduces students to the foundations of Operations Management at the start of the MSc and develops an integrated understanding of how operations strategy and operational decisions shape performance across manufacturing and service contexts. The curriculum covers core concepts and tools for designing, managing and improving operational processes—drawing on topics such as operations strategy and alignment, process analysis and improvement, quality management and lean thinking, capacity and demand management, inventory and flow, operations planning and control, and innovation in products and services. Throughout, the emphasis is on understanding and applying frameworks to real and strategic operations dilemmas through practice-oriented learning activities, enabling students to diagnose strategic and operational problems, evaluate trade-offs, and develop evidence-based recommendations.

The learning and teaching methods for this unit are designed to integrate conceptual understanding with applied practice through a structured blend of synchronous and asynchronous activities.

Weekly three-hour sessions (30 h) incorporate lectures, case discussions, simulations and workshops to support applied understanding of operations management.

Digital learning is embedded through the use of online resources, process-analysis tools and asynchronous materials online that extend classroom activities and enable flexible engagement. Synchronous sessions focus on interaction, practical application and problem-solving, while asynchronous elements reinforce core concepts and provide structured opportunities for independent study (120 h).

Evaluate how content and process of operations strategy shape the role, objectives, and activities of the operation.

Critically appraise key quality management components including Total Quality Management (TQM), Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Six Sigma methodologies to determine their impact on process performance.

Diagnose service operations performance by applying service process analysis, service design principles and service quality frameworks to identify improvement priorities.

Evaluate inventory management decisions by applying Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) calculations, reorder point logic, safety stock principles and Just in Time (JIT) concepts to varied operational contexts.

Apply process mapping techniques such as flowcharting, value stream mapping and bottleneck analysis to identify inefficiencies and propose targeted improvements.

Specify the different attributes of the Lean Production System and apply them to contemporary operational contexts, drawing upon the principles, tools and practices developed by Toyota.

Demonstrate effective decision-making by applying operations management tools and techniques to solve complex real-world business problems across various industries.

Communicate operations-related insights and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, enhancing collaboration and problem-solving within cross-functional teams.

Group Presentation (40%)

Group Report (60%)

 

Within 15 working days of the submission deadline.

Core Text:

The textbook will only support the lectures. It is not designed to replace them! The required textbook for this course (available from the MBS Library, University Bookshops, student noticeboards, or Amazon.co.uk) is:

Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A., & Burgress, N. (2022) Operations Management, Tenth Edition, Pearson Education, Harlow, UK. In addition, this textbook contains a free online learning website that you can access after purchasing the textbook.

Supplementary text:

Liker, J. (2020), The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer by, Second Edition, McGraw Hill, New York.

Johnston R., Shulver M., Slack, N., and Clark G. (2020), Service Operations Management: Improving Service Delivery, Fifth Edition, Pearson.