EARN YOUR OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT DEGREE AT SC!

Total Credit Hours: 124

Transfer Credits: Up to 94

The Southwestern College operations management program is committed to preparing future professionals for roles that are now, and projected to be, in demand. From careers in quality assurance to purchasing, the SC online operations management program provides the foundation you need. Instructors are industry experts who bring real-world experience and application to the virtual classroom setting. Learners experience courses in six-week sessions at an accelerated rate in order to earn their degree more quickly.

• Experience applied learning through simulated scenarios and case assessments involving skills including project management, forecasting, planning, analyzing, and measuring as they relate to manufacturing and service operations
• Engage in a progressive curriculum with courses including workforce performance management, supply chain management, and operations risk management
• Discover more reasons to choose SC!

Recently ranked by U.S. News and World Report for its online business degree programs, Southwestern College offers quality online degrees to adult learners. With courses taught by expert faculty and access to a variety of student resources, SC learners are provided with the tools and flexibility needed to succeed in their education while preparing for professional advancement.

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CAREER OUTLOOK

Average Salary (PayScale): $78k

Graduates of the online operations management program at Southwestern College will be prepared for a variety of careers, including:

• Operations manager
• Quality assurance manager
• Industrial production manager
• Facilities coordinator
• Purchasing manager

STUDENT SUCCESS STORIES

“(My degree allowed me to receive) a promotion with additional pay. It also allowed me to understand how everything works in unison to provide our customer with a quality product.”
Aaron, 2018 Operations Management Graduate

FACULTY

Visit our faculty page to view current operations management instructors.

View Courses & Program Details

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

Students enrolled in the online operations management program at Southwestern College can expect to:

• Explain contemporary operations management theories, concepts, and practices and their respective applications in service and manufacturing environments.
• Use operations management methods and practices in service or manufacturing environments that align with the organization’s strategic goals and objectives.
• Evaluate solutions to operational problems based on analysis of qualitative and quantitative data appropriate to the problem.
• Apply best practices for knowledge-based operations management decision making.
• Appraise successful methods for engagement and collaboration with business partners, customers, managers, employees, and other stakeholders in diverse environments throughout the supply chain and organization.
• Employ sustainable, ethical, legal, and socially responsible operations management practices in domestic and global environments.
• Communicate effectively with diverse audiences about complex operations management concerns using various types of media.

RELATED PROGRAMS

Operational Leadership Certificate
Organizational Communication Certificate
Business Administration
Business Quality Management

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OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM DETAILS

Operations that meet or exceed customers’ and other stakeholders’ expectations are critical to both service and manufacturing organizations’ success. This is especially true in increasingly complex domestic and global environments. Realizing this goal requires effective leadership and management from those with operations-specific knowledge and skills. The Bachelor of Science in operations management program provides learners the opportunity to develop competencies in operations management practices some of which include logistics management, workforce and performance management, quality and risk management, supply chain management, negotiation and conflict resolution, and data analysis and reporting. Emphasis is also placed on operations management as an organizational strategy and the ethical, legal, and socially responsible behaviors expected of operations managers. Throughout the program, learners are offered opportunities to explore the application of operations management in different service and manufacturing industries, and they select one type of organization and/or industry as a focus for their Capstone project. Graduates have practical, marketable operations management knowledge and skills grounded in industry-accepted theories and practices to help them enter and/or progress in a competitive job market, while building a solid theoretical foundation for potential graduate studies.

Admission Requirements

1. Applicants must be graduates of an accredited high school or have completed a GED®
2. Minimum GPA of 2.0

Prerequisites:

MASC 110: Statistics & Probability

This course acquaints learners with the tools and major components of statistics. Learners will apply technology to analyze data. The course also includes the foundational terminology and practices used in contemporary statistics, such as data collection, metrics, score interpretation, and experimental design. Additionally, this course will promote the skills that learners need to be able to take information from the world around them and use it to make sound decisions based on solid evidence.

MASC 115: College Algebra

The course provides learners with fundamental algebra, reasoning, and problem-solving skills needed for everyday life and real-world situations. The course focuses on understanding mathematical symbols and notation, simplifying expressions, and solving equations using variables for unknowns. Learners will analyze and graph various mathematical functions including polynomial, rational, absolute value, root, exponential and logarithmic functions. Learners will also solve associated equations, including systems of equations, inequalities, and complex numbers. Learners will solve word problems using algebraic principles and tools and then incorporate these mathematical concepts into realistic business, consumer, science, and statistical contexts. This course establishes mathematical competencies required for higher learning.

Core Major Requirements

OMGT304: Principles of Operations Management

As operations management encompasses the core processes that enable delivery of an organization’s services and products, their effective management that meets or exceeds customers’ and other stakeholders’ expectations is desired. Learners explore the salient aspects of operations management related to process analysis, product and service delivery design, work measurement, reliability, and quality. Operations strategies within the context of domestic and global environments are examined.

BQM 305: Principles of Quality Management

The quality of a service or a product is a high expectation of the customer, and a core value of the organization and its stakeholders. Quality is an integral component the organization’s competitive strategy. Managing for a quality outcome is essential. Learners explore the principles and practices of managing quality within service and manufacturing organizations including ISO standards, quality management systems, and practices such as benchmarking, statistical process control, continuous improvement, and quality audits. Learners also examine such practices within the context of sustainable, ethical, legal, and socially responsible quality management in domestic and global environments. In addition, learners assess the complementary relationship of quality management and risk management.

OMGT444: Project Management

Project management is applicable to all types of service and manufacturing settings where a specialized task, job, or venture has been presented. Learners study project management as a general practice and method, as well as its application within the context of the specific task, job, or venture and the environment in which the project is realized. Learners apply project management practices and methods within the context of various projects. Emphasis is given to the role of human resources and communication in a project’s success. While not a certification preparation course, this course provides foundational knowledge that will be useful if a learner chooses to take project management certification preparation courses.

OMGT315: Operations Logistics Management

A key element of success to operations management is the ability to manage the intricacies of operational logistics effectively. Learners explore layout, forecasting, constraint, planning, and scheduling strategies, and associated methods and practices in various service and manufacturing situations. In turn, learners apply this knowledge in simulated scenarios.

OMGT415: Integrated Supply Chain Management

Whether providing a service or product, the supply chain represents the integration of many different people, partners, materials, processes, technologies, and other components. Learners conduct in-depth examinations of the functioning of all aspects of integrated services and manufacturing supply chains. The examination includes components such as strategies, business processes, facility layouts, capacity and forecasting (including sales and operations planning), procurement, logistics, and inventory control. Sustainable, ethical, legal, and socially responsible operations management in domestic and global environments are also part of this examination.
Prerequisite: OMGT315 Operations Logistics Management.

OMGT325: Operations Workforce and Performance Management

Human resources are a key element, if not the most critical element for operational and organizational success. Learners explore essentials such as job analysis and design, performance management, compensation and benefits, developing and recruiting workforce talent, and job performance assessment including reviews, rewards, and disciplinary actions. Employee health and safety is also addressed.

OMGT423: Operations Risk Management

Risk management is a definitive strategy for mitigating or reducing operational risk. Learners examine operational risk management principles and practices from the perspectives of service and manufacturing operations, differentiating them from those of quality management. Learners evaluate and apply models and methods for identifying, analyzing, measuring, and managing risks in simulated scenarios. In addition, learners assess best practices for integrating operational risk management and quality management processes, procedures, and controls.

ISM 465: Data Acquisition and Analytics

Whether an inventory, nursing, quality, or human resources manager, or a professional in another field, knowing what information is needed to make a decision and how to analyze that information is critical. Learners explore methods to determine what information is needed and the types and sources of information required for different types of decisions encountered in their major field of study. Utilizing pre-selected or researched qualitative and quantitative sources of data relevant to their fields, learners select appropriate data, apply qualitative and quantitative analytics, and interpret the initial results. Microsoft Excel and Word are required for this course. Proficiency in the routine functions of Microsoft Excel and Word are highly recommended.
Prerequisite: MASC110 Statistics and Probability.

ISM475: Data Visualization and Reporting

The data has been acquired and analyzed. The manager or professional must visualize the results for his or her own benefit, anticipate the questions that will be asked by others about the results, and visualize, present, and report on the results to others in ways that the results will be well received. Learners use visualization tools to present data in a manner that end‐users readily understand, and presentation and document tools to present the results in a variety of formats that meet expectations ranging from one-page targeted summaries to professional presentations and analytical reports. Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word are required for this course. Proficiency in the routine functions of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word are highly recommended. Other industry recognized visualization software may be provided as part of the course.
Prerequisite: ISM 465 Data Acquisition and Analytics.

BSAD415: Negotiation and Conflict Resolution

Effective interpersonal skills are essential for professionals as they communicate, collaborate, and negotiate with other individuals and groups within and outside an organization. Successful learners develop the professional interpersonal, facilitation, negotiation, conflict management, and dispute resolution skills necessary for success in today’s complex business environments. This complexity includes elements such as the social, cultural, and economic diversity of the workforce in domestic and global environments. Learners apply these skills in a series of scenarios including those related to personnel, team, contractual, procedural, change, and other stakeholder concerns. Prior study of professional communication recommended.

HRD323: Finance for Non-Financial Managers

Learners will develop an understanding of the role of finance in the business organization. Topics include ratio analysis, creation of financial statements, sources of funds for financial operations, managing the cash flow process, the cost of capital, and capital budgeting. In addition, the financial impacts of international operations will be explored.

BSAD490: Essential Economics for Business

This course provides the foundation of economic understanding that business leaders need in managerial decision‐making. Learners will gain a comprehensive overview of economic theory and analysis, using both qualitative and quantitative tools and techniques. Topics will illustrate the application of economic thinking to a wide variety of practical situations.

CAPS495: Senior Capstone

Learners engage in two projects that assess their achievements and preparation for pursuit of professional aspirations in their major field. Through application and assessment, learners examine the knowledge and skills gained throughout the program, achievement of the program outcomes, and their preparation as followers and leaders in their chosen professional field.
Prerequisites: The capstone should take place within the last 9 hours of a learner’s program.

General Education Requirements*

Basic Skills

CORE110: Information Literacy

This course is designed to provide learners with the skills that are fundamental to becoming an information‐literate professional who can locate, evaluate, organize and communicate information. The abundance and rapid flow of data requires skill development in the understanding of information resources, accessing information sources, determining the credibility of Internet information, logically organizing sources and finally presenting the information professionally.

ENGL101: Composition 1

This course helps learners develop writing skills that are transferable to any academic or workplace writing task. The course guides learners through the process of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading academic and workplace writing. Learners will develop skills necessary to craft coherent sentences and paragraphs, to edit editing their writing for proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. They will learn about narrative structure and techniques as well as the elements of successful argumentation and persuasive discourse. This course also guides learners through every stage of the research process. Learners will develop a research plan, conduct research, organize and draft a research paper, and then revise, edit, and proofread that research paper.

ENGL102: Composition 2

This course builds on the thinking and writing skills introduced in Composition 1. Learners will write critical, argumentative essays based on their interpretations of nonfictional texts, including literary, film, and cultural texts, and in doing so, will recognize the role of rhetoric in the writing situation as they craft persuasive discourse. In doing so, they will learn methods of questioning, analyzing, and evaluating their own beliefs as well as the perceptions and perspectives of others. These methods of critical thinking are intended to improve the quality and organization of learners’ writing for any purpose, including academic and workplace purposes. In addition to writing essays, learners will develop more advanced research strategies, as well greater proficiency in APA style.
Prerequisite: ENGL101

COM125: Speech

This course helps learners majoring in any discipline strengthen communication skills essential for success in academics and the workplace. Learners will focus on listening, evaluating, and delivering spoken discourse based on audience and purpose. Learners will evaluate why some people are more effective than others as public speakers, analyze speeches and audiences, study ethical considerations for speakers, research and organize findings on a topic, and present findings before an audience, and learn techniques for identifying and reducing speech anxiety.

MASC110 Statistics & Probability or MASC115 College Algebra

MASC110 Statistics & Probability, or MASC115 College Algebra, or more advanced college credit bearing mathematics course requiring college algebra or higher as a prerequisite.

Ethical Reasoning

HUM201: Ethics

Ethics introduces learners to moral philosophy, the branch of philosophy that questions what is good and bad. The course surveys a number of important ethical theories—ethical relativism, objectivism, egoism, altruism, utilitarianism, duty‐based moral theory, natural law, natural rights, and virtue ethics—as they examine reasons why certain actions are morally right or wrong. Learners will apply ethical theories in the evaluation and analysis of current controversial issues, question ethical matters from a variety of angles, and acquire new tools to assist them in making ethically sound, well‐informed decisions throughout their lives.

Disciplinary Perspectives

Natural Science (3 or more credit hours)
Social Science (3 or more credit hours)
Humanities (3 or more credit hours)
The Arts (3 or more credit hours)
Other Cultures (3 or more credit hours)

Capstone

CAPS495: Senior Capstone

Senior capstone or major capstone course.

*Most general education requirements are waived for students with an AA, AS, or AAS degree. Speak to your admissions counselor for details.

Graduation Requirements

1. Complete all foundation and major courses with an overall GPA of 2.0
2. Complete a minimum of 124 credit hours, with at least 60 hours at a bachelor’s degree-granting institution
3. Complete at least 30 credit hours with a C average or above from Southwestern College

All degree requirements are subject to change. Please see Southwestern College Professional Studies Catalog for the most current degree requirements.