Operations management is one of the central functions of all organisations. This free course, Understanding operations management, will provide you with a basic framework for understanding this function, whether producing goods or services or in the private, public or voluntary sectors. In addition, this OpenLearn course discusses the role of operations managers and the importance of focusing on suppliers and customers.

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• define ‘operations’ and ‘operations management’
• identify the roles and responsibilities of operations managers in different organisational contexts
• apply the ‘transformation model’ to identify the inputs, transformation processes and outputs of an organisation
• identify operational and administrative processes
• describe the boundaries of an operations system, and recognise its interfaces with other functional areas within the organisation and with its external environment.