Certification Courses in Operations Management: How to choose one.

Earning a specialisation certificate is very important to achieve your career goals. Everyone has both personal and professional objectives in life. In most cases, reaching your personal goals depend greatly on how well you perform professionally. It means that you must get a good job or advance well in your job to reach your life goals. Certain professions are more lucrative than others, and operations management is one such area. It is why many people choose to enrol in certification courses in operations management. 

The Advanced Executive Certificate Course In Supply Chain Strategy And Operations Management offered by IIT Guwahati is an excellent course to learn your skills for the job. More details about this course are available on our website. 

What Is Operations Management?

Before you look at the various certification courses in operations management to find the best one, it is necessary to understand what the job is and how important it is for an organisation. Operations management is the administration of various processes in a company to ensure maximum efficiency and profitability. This job deals with using various resources to deliver goods or services to customers most profitably. The resources include workforce, machines, materials and technology. They deliver products based on buyer needs and company capabilities.

They decide the size of machinery and facility needed for the profitable manufacture of a product. These professionals also oversee the implementation of an information technology network that helps communication and storage of data. Certification courses in operations management also teach you how to manage inventory to reduce waste and improve its utilisation. Another important role that these managers perform is maintaining quality as laid down by the company policies. They must also ensure that the customer gets goods on time. All these make OMs highly valued members of every organisation.

Duties Of Operations Managers

While attending certification courses in operations management, you are bound to learn the roles and responsibilities of these officers in an organisation. 

Capacity Planning – This is an important role the operations managers play. They must assess the market’s requirements and then decide what quantity of a product they must produce. They will evaluate the capacity of the company to deliver a product or service. On this basis, these professionals will decide on the facility required to produce the goods. 

Process Design – Operations managers decide the most efficient process to produce the goods or services. They must design the process in such a way that there is the least waste and reduced costs. They must ensure that the method is good enough to produce a product that can satisfy buyers’ needs. These professionals must also ensure that the process will make optimum use of the available resources. 

Layout Design – This is another important aspect of achieving maximum efficiency in a production facility. The machines must be arranged so that the production flow is smooth and there is no waste of time. The services of the operations managers are essential for deciding the office layout for efficient functioning. 

Quality Control – Maintaining the quality as promised by the company to the client is very important. Any failure in this can permanently damage the company’s reputation and result in big losses. The OMs must ensure that the company purchases raw materials that can result in products having the desired quality. They must also ensure that the production process is tuned to maintain consistent quality. 

Location – The location of the facility is very important for achieving maximum profits. If the factory is located very far from customers, the company can lose a lot of money transporting goods. In a competitive market, the organisation may be unable to retrieve this amount from the customers. OMs must also ensure that all the raw materials needed for production are available close to the manufacturing unit. 

Workforce Utilisation – The certification courses in operations management teach you to use the available workforce optimally to improve the company’s efficiency. Operations managers must understand the staffing requirements and ensure that people with the necessary skills are available. They must also check the employees’ strengths and weaknesses and ensure they are placed in the right place to get maximum output. 

Supply Chain Management – This is an important responsibility of operations managers. They must ensure that the supply chain is efficient enough to reduce costs and improve profitability. The OMs must make important decisions about suppliers and what materials must be sourced from them. They should also look for the most cost-effective way to deliver the goods to the customer. 

Inventory Management – Inventory costs can affect a company’s profitability greatly if not managed properly. It can also affect the organisation’s reputation and frustrate customers. Too much or too little stock of finished goods can harm the firm. Operations managers should make sure that the warehouses carry optimum stocks of all items so that there is no excess inventory cost or delay in the delivery of goods to the customers. 

Scheduling – Scheduling deals with the time required for production and how it will affect those involved in the process. OMs must be aware of the number of goods that can be produced within a duration. They must see what manpower resources are needed and how they must be planned to ensure no process disruption. These professionals must also look at the possibility of automation to make the process more efficient.

Maintenance – It is not enough to have everything in place and start production. The process is continuous, and it is essential to make sure that there are no unplanned breaks. To achieve this, the machinery must be maintained well. Regular inspections must be made to ensure that all machines are in good condition and they will continue producing without breaks. The operations managers also must maintain the right amount of raw materials and finished goods. 

You will learn more about the responsibilities of operations managers in the Advanced Executive Certificate Course In Supply Chain Strategy And Operations Management conducted by reputed institutions. More details about this course are available on our website. 

Essential Skills For An Operations Manager

We see above that operations managers have to perform a variety of duties, and this will certainly require many skills. So, what are the skills that operations managers should possess?

Technical Skills

Operations managers must necessarily possess technical skills as many of the processes are automated. They must also have enough knowledge to find new ways to automate manual processes and improve efficiency. Another reason why they must be proficient technically is that they will need to use various applications used for tracking different functions in the company. They will benefit greatly by making themselves technology savvy only by using the most modern devices and gadgets. The certification courses in operations management offered by reputed institutions equip the participants with such skills. 

Data Processing Skills

As an operations manager, you must utilise a huge amount of data as part of your daily functioning. These professionals need to receive, enter and send different types of data. Many business processes like order tracking, monitoring cash flows and checking shipments from vendors will need data to be collected and analysed to see how each of these functions is performing. Organising the incoming data properly is also a necessary function as they may be required in future for creating various reports. 

Product Development

Though this may not be one of their main responsibilities, operations managers work closely with product managers in creating a product. This is because the OMs are responsible for producing the item profitably using the company’s resources. So their involvement in the designing of the product is very vital. They will also need to support the product development team in creating a product that will earn profits for the company. The certification courses in operations management also teach students that OMs must approve the final quality of the product before releasing it in the market. 

Risk Analysis

Businesses are always prone to various types of risk. Operations managers must be able to calculate various types of risks to mitigate the losses suffered by the company. These officials know the weaknesses in the system and can alert others about the risks that are likely to occur. This will help find solutions for the same and reduce the effects of such events. OMs are also more aware of the factors that can affect the operation of the firm and are hence more capable of predicting possible risks and finding ways to avoid them. 

Strategic Planning

This is an essential skill for OMs as they are responsible for ensuring that products are manufactured and delivered on time to the customers. They must do correct planning for production and ensure that all factors required for the operation are ready. They must be able to plan the output of goods based on the predicted demand from the market. These professionals must plan for any untoward incidents that can affect the production of goods and make alternate plans for the same. The certification courses in operations management will equip participants with the skill to analyse information and make correct decisions. 

Budgeting Skills

Operations managers are responsible for managing production budgets. This makes it essential that they have good finance and maths skills. They must be able to predict cash requirements for the procurement of materials and production of goods. These professionals must be able to anticipate the revenue that the company will be earning in the near and distant future. This will help them plan various development plans for the company. They will also need to know to make forecasts of revenue and expenses and how they will affect the profitability of the company.

People Management

Operational managers typically work with different teams. They must coordinate with production, sales, sourcing and other departments to efficiently manage the operations. This will require excellent people management skills. They must be able to get work done from all these departments and also make them cooperate. OMs must also possess the skills to collect information from various sources inside and outside the company. They must be able to handle people from different backgrounds and ensure that work doesn’t suffer. Aspirants to the job can learn the skill from certification courses in operations management conducted by reputed institutions. 

Also Read: Operations Management: Definition, Examples, and Strategies

Decision-Making Skills

Making the right decision is crucial for making operations successful and efficient. You must be able to analyse the inputs correctly and arrive at the correct conclusion. Your decisions can affect the functioning of various other departments. Taking the right action is necessary to make the company profitable. Various unexpected situations can develop during the production and delivery of goods. Operations managers must possess the skill to correctly understand the situation and make decisions that will reduce the impact of such events on the company. 

Conflict Resolution Skills

The creation and marketing of a product involve people from various departments. Most of them have their own goals apart from the common objectives of the company. This is bound to result in conflicts between different teams working to deliver the product. Such conflicts can delay processes and sometimes even bring everything to a halt. You must possess the skills to diffuse such situations and resolve conflicts amicably. The certification courses in operations management teach the skills to keep conflicts away and bring everyone together to achieve a common goal. 

Communication Skills

Operations managers are required to communicate various information to people at different levels daily. You must inform technical details of the product to the production team. This must be done through written communication. OMs must also regularly interact with the sourcing teams to ensure the availability of enough raw materials for production. They also need to communicate with distributors and retailers to understand customer sentiment and what buyers expect from a product. All these make it essential for OMs to have excellent communication skills. 

The Advanced Executive Certificate Course In Supply Chain Strategy And Operations Management is an excellent programme to acquire all the above skills. You can learn more about this course on our website. 

How To Choose The Right Course?

Know Its Credibility

When you choose a certification course, you must first ensure that it is a credible course and that the certificate is valid everywhere. Make sure that the certificate you get after completion of the course will be accepted by employers within and outside the country. That is the way to make sure that you get to benefit from having spent your effort and money on it. When you join the certificate courses in operations management, check the faculty that will be teaching the course. This is how you can ensure that it is a course that will give you future benefits. 

Check The Affiliation

The next thing to do is to check the affiliations of these courses. You must find out who is offering the certificate on completion of the course. It must be a recognised university or college. Getting certificates from unregistered institutions will have no value at all. Many of the reputed institutions in India, like IITs, are offering online education through various platforms. The certificates given by them are highly valuable and will assure you employment in most companies in India and abroad. You must also make sure the agencies offering the course are authorised to offer the course. 

Value For Money

It is essential to check the fees before you enrol for certificate courses in operations management and see whether it is in line with the benefits you get. Though online certification courses are much more economical than regular courses, it is worth comparing a few of them before you select one. You must also not go for the cheapest one because sometimes the certificate you get from the course may not be accepted by many employers. It is best to see the returns you will get from the money you invest in the course.

Check The Course Curriculum

It is not just enough to see the name of the course. You must check the curriculum in detail and make sure that the course teaches everything that you want to learn. Most people join a certification course to acquire certain skills that will help them advance their careers. But if these topics are not taught in the programme you enrol for, then the money and time you invest become a waste. Certifications courses in operations management offered by reputed institutions always have their detailed curriculum mentioned on the site. 

We have seen what factors you must check before joining a course in operations management. The Advanced Executive Certificate Course In Supply Chain Strategy And Operations Management is a course that will teach you all the skills you need to become an operations manager. You can find the detailed curriculum on our website. 

Conclusion

The operations part of a company is very crucial for its success and hence requires highly skilled people at its helm. Operations managers are very important for the success of an organisation as they can improve efficiency and reduce costs. These professionals contribute directly to the profitability of the firm. They are also responsible for ensuring customer satisfaction and earning their loyalty. This is why the person needs to possess all the skills needed for the job. Enrolling on a certificate course in a reputed institution is the answer to gaining the capabilities needed for the job.

More Information:

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