Computer-based management systems and analytic approaches to decision making are increasingly vital to effective management in both the public and private sectors, and in both product-oriented and service industries. As organizations continue to develop and implement sophisticated decision support systems in all aspects of their business, they increase the demand for managers who have the expertise to understand, create, and profitably exploit the rapidly developing management technology. There also is a growing demand for skilled professionals who can manage effectively the operations function encompassing the manufacturing and distribution of products and services. Rapidly changing developments in information technology, production automation, robotics, and telecommunications, and intensifying competitive pressures for productivity and quality, present challenging opportunities for managers who have a thorough understanding of information systems, operations planning and control, and management decision models.
The Operations, Information and Decisions curriculum prepares students to meet these challenges by providing rigorous foundations in the complementary disciplines of decision processes, management information systems, management science, and operations management. A concentration in OIDD consists of four courses (not including OIDD 101). Students can either take a general program of four OIDD courses or can follow a designated track within the OIDD concentration which provides a more focused program in one of three major disciplines: decision processes, information systems, and operations management/management science. Each track includes at least one foundation course that provides an introduction to the subject area and serves as a prerequisite for higher-level courses within a discipline. These foundation courses are: OIDD 290 – Decision Processes, OIDD 210 – Management Information Systems, OIDD 220– Process Management in Manufacturing or OIDD 321 – Management Science. These courses are then followed by additional electives. It is suggested (but not required) that students who elect to pursue a program outside the designated tracks consult the undergraduate advisor to discuss appropriate course sequences and combinations that will best satisfy a student’s individual objectives. The department welcomes not only students who select one or more of these fields as a primary concentration, but also students who choose to supplement their educational program in other departments with a second concentration.
Recent graduates from the department occupy responsible positions in consulting firms, manufacturing companies, accounting firms, banks, computer services companies, hardware vendors, and software development firms, or operate their own companies. The OIDD concentration is also an excellent foundation for future graduate studies, in part because of the technical and analytical elements of this program.
The official policy for waving OIDD 101 is as follows:
1) Student must be in a dual (Engineering + Wharton) degree program
2) Student must take at least one OIDD course from the following list of 200 level courses:
– 210 Management Information Systems
– 220 Introduction to Operations Management
– 224 Service Operations Management
– 290 Decision Processes
Note that:
– M&T students get an automatic waiver
– It is not permissible to substitute CIS 110 for OIDD 101
We are not accepting various higher level ESE or OIDD courses as a substitute for OIDD 101.