The broadest definition of business operations is that it focuses on the production of products and services which every organization, and each of  its part, provide for customers. To satisfy such customers and to do this efficiently is the purpose of all organizations. This is the starting point and the focus of this course: it is about the management of the systems which actually provide the goods and services. The course is relevant to all types of business activity in both the private and the public sectors, because the operations function is at the core of all such activity.

This course primarily concentrates on introducing you to the concepts of operations management and systems and how they apply in all organizational environment. The course will also define the techniques necessary in managing and controlling such operational systems. There are a number of activities which are designed not only to help  you absorb the topics covered, but also to help you apply the principles to real life scenarios that may exist in your own organization.

This course also deals with the critical relationship between operations and business policy. It looks at how changing patterns of work organization and design have evolved in response to both the development of organizations and the changing environmental pressures whch they face.It looks at how organizations can develop their capabilities and continuously improve their performance.