Building OM Curriculum for the New Millennium: Industry Perceptions

This paper studies current trends in the teaching of operations management. Research questions focus on how well operations management curriculum in American business schools match employersO perceptions of required skills. Through surveys of both universities and business firms, we assess the value of general skills such as communication, team building and mathematical modeling. We also assess the importance to employers of incorporating specific computer-based applications into the curriculum, and well as the value of building stronger management information system (MIS) skills in operation management majors.