Course Syllabus
Welcome to BUS606: Operations and Supply Chain Management
Specific information about this course and its requirements can be found below. For more general information about taking Saylor Academy courses, including information about Community and Academic Codes of Conduct, please read the Student Handbook.
Course Description
Course Introduction
Operations management is one of the main functions of a firm. The supply chain for the firm ensures the firm has the inputs needed to operate. Operations and supply chain management (OSCM) studies how a firm produces goods and services efficiently. As part of this graduate-level course, we will analyze the major aspects of business operations, including facility location, input procurement, demand forecasting, product and process quality control, manufacturing process analysis, project management, and inventory control. Other business courses, such as marketing or advertising, focus on specific functions of the firm. OSCM goes to the heart of what makes a firm tick. Basic questions such as how many workers to hire, how much raw material to have on hand to ensure no production shortfalls, and how many production shifts to schedule each week to meet forecast demand are part of OSCM. Likewise, OSCM includes deciding where to source raw materials and intermediate inputs (local, regional, or international), forecasting demand for these inputs, and ensuring production and service processes have the necessary inputs to operate efficiently. When there is a shock to operations – like when an overseas supplier of a key part is hit with a typhoon or when a labor shortage happens in a key production area – OSCM asks how the firm will react and what tools it will use to analyze and respond effectively. OSCM provides tools to analyze basic business functions, respond to business and market shocks, and mitigate risks associated with an uncertain production environment.
This course includes the following units:
- Unit 1: Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management
- Unit 2: Process and Service Design Capacity Management
- Unit 3: Operations and Process Analysis
- Unit 4: Scheduling Model Analysis
- Unit 5: Demand Forecasting
- Unit 6: Process and Inventory Management
- Unit 7: Facility Analysis – Location and Layout Planning
- Unit 8: Supply Chain Distribution and Logistics
- Unit 9: Supply Chain Integration and the Bullwhip Effect
- Unit 10: Project Management
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Describe the fundamentals of productivity and how productivity is linked to operations and supply chain management;
- Explain the basic elements of operations management within the supply chain framework;
- Analyze complex cases in OSCM and formulate effective and efficient strategies to increase production output while maintaining quality;
- Analyze issues that affect the supply chain of a firm to suggest ways they might be addressed;
- Explain the importance of inventory control in ensuring a constant supply of production inputs to efficient operations management and minimization of production delays;
- Explain the significance of project management and project completion forecasts to the implementation of operations management;
- Relate the successful management of supply chains to the larger area of continual changes in external business conditions, such as changing modes of transportation, political uncertainty, and trade agreements;
- Describe the interaction between operations management and other functional areas of business; and
- Evaluate potential shocks to a supply chain and methods that would be appropriate to deal with each.
Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.
Course Materials
This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.
All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course at this link.
Some parts of this course may have been created or reviewed with the support of artificial intelligence (AI). To make sure you receive accurate, high-quality, and academically sound learning materials, all AI-assisted content is carefully checked and approved by Saylor Academy's faculty and subject matter experts.
Evaluation and Minimum Passing Score
Only the final exam is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on the final exam.
Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. Be sure to study in between each attempt! If you do not pass the exam, you will not complete this course or receive a certificate of completion. You can attempt the exam as many times as you want.
There are end-of-unit assessments in this course that are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take them as many times as you want until you understand the concepts they cover.
You can see all of these assessments at this link.
Continuing Education Credits
The certificate earned by passing this self-paced course displays the program hours you completed and continuing education credits (CEUs). CEUs document successful completion of courses that are designed to improve the knowledge and skills of working adults. Many industries value CEUs, and now your certificate reflects them clearly, and they may be used to support career advancement or to meet professional licensing standards. This course contains 9.6 CEUs.
Tips for Success
BUS606: Operations and Supply Chain Management is a self-paced course, meaning you can decide when to start and complete the course. We estimate the "average" student will take 96 hours to complete. We recommend studying at a comfortable pace and scheduling your study time in advance.
Learning new material can be challenging, so here are a few study strategies to help you succeed:
- Take notes on terms, practices, and theories. This helps you understand each concept in context and provides a refresher for later study.
- Test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned improves long-term memory retention.
Technical Requirements
This course is delivered entirely online. You will need access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and consistent internet access to view or download resources and complete auto-graded assessments and the final exam.
To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, log into your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you don't have an account, you can create one for free here. Note that tracking progress and taking assessments require you to log in.
For more details and guidance, please review our complete Technical Requirements and our student Help Center.
Optional Saylor Academy Mobile App
You can access all course features directly from your mobile browser, but if you have limited internet connectivity, the Saylor Academy mobile app provides an option to download course content for offline use. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.
Fees
This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. All course materials, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, are available at no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and a free course completion certificate.