Operations management teaching on European MBA programmes

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 identifi