This career specialization is for those students who wish to pursue careers in service operations, manufacturing operations, or in supply chain management and consulting. Graduates from this specialization will be capable of adding value to organizations as operations managers, operations analysts or operations consultants.
Optional Secondary Concentration: HOP, Marketing, Finance or Strategy
The specialization requires students to take a total of 20 credits, including the following six credits which are required in preparation for their career:
Supply Chain Management Operations Strategy Management of Service Operations In addition to these three courses, students must take at least eight credits from the following:
Management Science in Spreadsheets
Managing and Improving Processes
Operations Planning and Control Strategic Management of Technology International Operations Project Management Health Care Operations Operations Capstone Projects (4 credits—count 2 courses)
Students may also choose to take up to six credits from the courses listed below and count them as part of the specialization. Only three of these courses can be included in the specialization.
Advanced Spreadsheets for IT Applications Enterprise Resource Planning Outsourcing Business Processes Negotiation Strategic Alignment of Human Capital Game Theory Corporate Valuation Business Forecasting Several capstone project options will be available in the student’s second year of study. If a project has sufficient operations content, the faculty coordinator for the Operations specialization can approve the project for credit toward the specialization. In addition, a student can develop an independent study in a special area, which if approved by the faculty coordinator, may count towards the specialization. (Note: Capstone project credits cannot be applied to the twelve credits required for the Operations concentration.)
Students pursuing the Managing Operations Specialization should fulfill their Ethics requirement by completing a separate course. This course is in addition to the 20 credits specified above. Choose from one of the following, or any other pre-approved course on ethics which might be offered at Owen while in the program:
Ethics in Business Strategies for Social and Environmental Responsibility Sample Companies that Recruit Vanderbilt Operations MBAs Accenture
Amazon
American Express
Apple
Dell
Deloitte
Dollar General
Emerson
Genzyme
Harrah’s
HCA
HP
Lowes
Sara Lee
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Owen Extras Clubs, activities, events, and programs to help build your résumé:
Owen Operations Club
Management Consulting Association
Owen Student Government Association
Operations Key Competencies Do you have these personal attributes?
Flexibility
Strong initiative
Leadership
Do you have or can you build the following competencies as an MBA?
Strategic thinking skills
Ability to tackle complex business problems
Financial/operational analysis skills
Ability to analyze and make recommendations
Strong quantitative skills such as statistics and data analysis
Interpersonal and communication skills
Team skills
