Operations
AnalyticsCornell

Certificate Program

Most organizations, whether for profit or nonprofit, seek to optimize efficiencies and maximize the use of their resources. In operations management, one key responsibility is to regularly assess the processes within the work system to ensure resources are appropriately used and aligned to best achieve the goals of the organization.

In this course, you will consider how to analyze an operational process with the purpose of determining its current capacity and potential improvement opportunities. You will start by defining a process graphically then assess the capacities of the resources within it along with the process as a whole. The course culminates with identifying and evaluating different options to improve performance. Along the way, you will create a decision support tool in Microsoft Excel, applying the course concepts to your tangible skills for your work and beyond.

Minimizing wait time is often considered a critical element in maximizing customer satisfaction. Yet managing wait time can be especially difficult in some processes because there can be significant variability in arrival and processing times. A well-designed queueing system can help manage wait time and customer satisfaction, even in situations of high variability.

In this course, you will discover how queueing can be managed effectively through the use of various tools. You will have opportunities to explore, develop, and utilize decision support tools as you consider the customer experience beyond wait times. By the end of this course, you will have broader perspectives on customer satisfaction and the tools needed to understand and affect it.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Process Performance

Strong operational performance depends on shrewd inventory management decisions, and there are several individual considerations that go into selecting and implementing an overall plan that will work for an organization. In this course, you will explore two classic models for managing inventory and consider how choosing the appropriate model can vary depending on the goals and needs of the organization. You will apply your understanding of these concepts to build a decision-making tool and apply it to real-world business decisions.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Process Performance
• Queueing Analysis

Decision making is an indispensable professional skill for those working in an operations management setting. In this course, you will explore three different tools that aid in the development and implementation of this key skill. You will examine each method and see how each is meant to be used in resolving decision problems related to production, inventory, and risk. By the end of this course, you will have gained applicable skills that support your operations management work across any industry.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Process Performance
• Queueing Analysis
• Inventory Management Analysis