Operations Management in small businesses: key techniques

Name: Operations Management in small businesses: key techniques
Rating: 4.4 (1973 reviews)

A toolkit for making small business operations effective and efficient

(1,973 ratings)

5,020 students

Created by Chris West

Last updated 10/2015

English

English [Auto]

What you'll learn

Successfully apply operations management techniques in a small business
Develop and implement operations that can deliver business strategy
Evaluate and select an operations management technique to deliver a specific need
Manage others to implement an operations management technique

Requirements

There is no requirement for prior theoretical knowledge
To provide a meaningful context to apply the techniques, students should either be working in a small business or be familiar with a small businesss

Description

Small business operations are often developed informally and by trial and error. Operations management can make or break a business. As your business grows there will be a need to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of its operations. Operations management techniques, which have their origins in large organisations, can be applied with great results in small businesses. This course is a practical guide to how these proven techniques can be used in small businesses.

This course will take you on a journey through:

Learning the key concepts of operations management
Exploring how operations management can deliver your business strategy
Learning how to design products, services, operations and processes
Exploring how operations can be planned and delivered
Learning how operations can always be improved

The course is aimed at owners and managers of small businesses. It is also suitable for business studies students, at any level, who are keen to run or work in a small business. You do not need any prior theoretical knowledge to take this course. You will need to have a passion for running a successful business, whether now or in the future. Practical experience of small business management or a general overview of the way a particular small business works will help you to relate these techniques directly to real situations. The course comprises 40 lectures in the form of video presentations and includes:

4 quizzes to confirm your understanding of the course sections
Mini case studies of the applications of these techniques in a range of small business sectors
Suggestions for activities for you to apply specific techniques to your own business or a business you are familiar with
Discussions where we can share experiences of applying these techniques

We will be learning a myriad of techniques including: fitting operations to strategy, optimising flexibility and cost, designing layouts, maximising yield, supply chain management, lean approaches, project planning and control, risk management and quality improvement.

Who this course is for:

Small business owners and managers
Business studies students, at all levels, who plan to set up or work in a small business

Chris West

Business and Academic Leader

4.4 Instructor Rating
1,973 Reviews
5,020 Students
1 Course

Qualifications: BSc. (Hons) Mathematics, Member of the British Computer Society, Chartered Engineer, Chartered IT Professional.

Chris West has worked in education and business in the UK. He started his IT career in project planning and control in civil engineering. He was Head of Computing, Electronics and Mathematics at a college, which later became the University of Gloucestershire. His research interest was mathematical modelling. As Vice-Principal at Swindon College, he led planning and resourcing. Chris was an Associate Lecturer for the Open University. He worked in a government policy unit to develop college management information systems nationally. As Chief Executive of ECCTIS, he privatised the UK government’s information service on higher education courses and credit transfer, using an outsourcing model. As Head of the UK NARIC, he created this international qualifications equivalence information service. For Anglia Television he developed and led an e-learning business for schools and subsequently a professional development business for Granada Media.

Chris now works as a consultant. He tutors under-graduates in Operations Management for the University of Essex Online. His recent activities for the Association of Colleges include researching the potential for colleges of cloud computing, CRM applications, IT outsourcing, delivering professional development programmes and as a national leader of governance. He is currently Vice Chairman of the Royal National College for the Blind