Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

To an increasing extent, corporations are recognizing the strategic role of the operations function. These organizations are discovering that a focus on customer needs is effective only if the operations function is designed and managed to meet those needs. From acquiring raw materials to fabricating parts, to assembling products, to customer delivery, a total systems perspective can enable us, in the ideal, to fashion an operations function like the inner workings of a finely tuned machine (Like clockwork as we used to say in the days before electronic time pieces!). Life would be uninteresting without change, however, so we can be thankful that operating systems are dynamic in nature. We alter one element and others are affected. We introduce variability at one point and watch the ripple effects over time. These system behaviors can be difficult to grasp and even more difficult to predict. In addition to understanding the dynamic, integrated nature of systems it is important to understand and to practice the tools supporting the management of these systems. Teaching the concepts of modern information systems and the ability of these systems to enhance competitiveness are an important challenge to any I. E or MBA program.