GRA 8310 Operations Management

GRA 8310 Operations Management

Course code: 
GRA 8310
Department: 
Accounting and Operations Management
Credits: 
2
Course coordinator: 
Eirill Bø
Kim van Oorschot
Course name in Norwegian: 
Operations Management
Product category: 
Executive
Portfolio: 
EMBA Business Administration - Core Courses
Semester: 
2025 Autumn
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

Operations Management is concerned with the production and delivery of goods and services. It includes the design of the products and processes, the planning and execution of production, and acquisition and deployment of resources. Efficient operations can provide a firm with major competitive advantages, since the ability to respond to consumer and market requirements quickly, at low coast, and with high quality, is vital for sustained profitability and growth. A process view of operations will be used to analyze different key operational dimensions such as capacity management, supply chain and logistics management, and quality management.

The main objective of the course is to introduce operational challenges that operations managers are confronted with, and provide you with knowledge to critically understand and deal with those challenges. For example, we will discuss fundamental principles of inventory management, demand forecasting, quality management, production planning, agility & devops, capacity planning, and supply chain management.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge
  • Understanding the fundamental principles and concepts of operations management, including supply chain management, production planning, quality management, and inventory management.
  • Identifying the key performance indicators (KPIs) used to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of operations management.
  • Developing an appreciation for the role of operations management in achieving organizational goals and objectives.
  • Understanding the importance of supply chain management and its impact on the overall operations of an organization.
  • Understanding the importance of quality management and implementing quality control measures to ensure customer satisfaction
Learning outcomes - Skills

On completion of this course, students should be able to:

  • Develop capabilities for understanding, assessing, and resolving technical and administrative issues for operations management.
  • Develop knowledge of concepts, principles, and methods in the operations management from a supply chain perspective.
  • Develop capabilities for case study and analysis of contemporary operations management.
General Competence
  • Communicate effectively with colleagues and other stakeholders about operations management and its key challenges
  • Reflect upon such challenges by using state of the art research and best practices discussed in class
Course content
  • Overview the course
  • Key concepts and definitions
  • REALGAME: this is a cloud-based business simulation game with an internal clock, operating in real time. You will play in teams in a production company facing different supply chain challenges.
  • “Internal” operations management (within one organization): interactions between product/service development and operations/customer service
  •  “External” operations management (supply chain management): maturity of supply chains, reshoring and resilience of supply chains, oscillations and amplifications in supply chains  
Teaching and learning activities

1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. The course is conducted through a total of 16 hours of lectures and 44 hours of self-study.

Attendance to all sessions in the course is compulsory. If you have to miss part(s) of the course you must ask in advance for leave of absence. More than 25% absence in a course will require retaking the entire course. It's the student's own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/ It's learning or other course materials.

The course is a part of a full Executive MBA programme and examination in all courses must be passed in order to obtain a certificate.

In all BI Executive courses and programmes, there is a mutual requirement  for the student and the course responsible regarding the involvement of the student's experience in the planning and implementation of courses, modules and programmes. This means that the student has the right and duty to get involved with their own knowledge and practice relevance, through the active sharing of their relevant experience and knowledge.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Qualifications

Granted admission to the EMBA programme. Please consult our student regulations.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Submission PDF
Exam/hand-in semester: 
First Semester
Weight: 
100
Grouping: 
Group (2 - 4)
Duration: 
4 Week(s)
Comment: 
Reflection note (max 2000 words), counts 100% of the final grade.
The reflection note should consist of two parts:
1. Reflection on the (online) simulation game
Write a reflection report analysing your team’s performance and teamwork in RealGame. This reflection report helps you identify which elements in your team’s activities were successful and what your team could do to improve both performance and teamwork. In your analysis and reflection, use reports and KPI’s from RealGame Business Intelligence.
2. Reflection on the course material/cases discussed in class.
Pick two topics that were discussed in class during the course and relate them to your own experiences (for example your work experiences). Which takeaways from the course are relevant for you, your work, and/or your organization, and why? Provide references to slides and/or references from the reading list and/or references discussed in class when appropriate.
Exam code: 
GRA 83101
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
16 Hour(s)
6 hours related to simulation game, 10 hours in the classroom
Prepare for teaching
12 Hour(s)
Student's own work with learning resources
32 Hour(s)
Sum workload: 
60

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 2 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 54 hours.