Abstract:
This study investigates the teaching of operations management on MBA core
courses at ten of Europe’s leading business schools. A review of the operations
management (OM) literature showed that no previous publication has focused on
European teaching-consequently a survey was made of European schools. The
results give a comprehensive picture of the topics covered, teaching materials
used, pedagogy and how OM fits into the MBA curricula Interestingly, big
differences exist in the amount of time allocated to OM at merent schooHom 18
hours to over 70 hours. Despite the dif5erences in time available, course
content is surprisingly similar although course structures vary widely, this
being partly determined by the MBA programme of which OM is part. Interviews
with OM teachers showed that courses require constant revision, to keep up with
current issues such as supply chain management, new technologies, etc. Teachers
of OM identified a number of key challenges they face, particularly the need to
develop a clearer definition of the subject and increase the recognition of the
strategic importance of OM. This paper should be useful to all lecturers who
teach OM as it is a source of data on both teaching strategies and the relevant
literature. In addition, a number of topics for further research are identifie