Catalogue 2009-10

• The Schools
  • USC Marshall School of Business
    • Undergraduate Degrees
    • Areas of Concentration
      • Center for Management Communication
      • Department of Finance and Business Economics
      • Department of Information and Operations Management
      • Department of Management and Organization
      • Department of Marketing
      • Academic Programs
    • Graduate Degrees
    • Master’s Degree Programs
    • Doctor of Philosophy
    • Special Programs
    • Courses of Instruction
  • 
    USC Leventhal School of Accounting
    • Undergraduate Degree
    • Graduate Degrees
    • Courses of Instruction
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Areas of Concentration

Department of Information and Operations Management

The Information and Operations Manage­ment Department focuses on the development of total enterprise quality through effective utilization of resources and technology. The courses offered by this department reflect the systems view of organizations in terms of operational processes and information exchanges. The department offers undergraduate options in operations management (OM) and information systems (IS). Operations management focuses on the management of quality and productivity in manufacturing and service organizations. Information systems focuses on the management of the various resources, people and computing technology that satisfy the information needs in all organizations.

Information Systems Concentration

Information technology has evolved to become one of the greatest opportunities and challenges facing business today. The information systems senior concentration prepares students for management careers related to information systems (IS) and to design, implement, evaluate and manage information technology (IT).

Although appropriate for a wide array of career paths, many graduates choose to pursue careers in information systems consulting (e.g., Big Four), work in corporate IT departments or provide critical IT expertise in functional areas such as finance, marketing and accounting.

The IS option classes are designed to prepare students for positions as business analyst, applications systems analyst, Internet marketing analyst, risk management analyst, information security analyst and project coordinator.

The concentration requires a minimum of 16 units of information systems classes. The classes may be taken in any order. No prerequisites are required, but a recommended course sequence is listed.

Recommended Course Sequence — 16 units required

Semester 1		Units
IOM 401	Business Information Systems: Spreadsheet Applications	2
IOM 402	Business Information Systems: Database Applications	2
IOM 431	Business Information Systems	4
IOM 435	Business Database Systems	4

Semester 2		Units
IOM 428	Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence and Data Mining	4
IOM 433	Business Information Systems Analysis and Design	4
IOM 444	Business Systems Networking and Information Security	4
IOM 445	Business Information Systems Management and Strategy	4
IOM 455	Project Management	4

Operations Management Concentration

This concentration prepares undergraduate students for management careers in manufacturing or service operations, including operations consulting, supply chain management and distribution and logistics. Career tracks include production manager, project manager, management consultant, warehouse manager, buyer/planner, logistics director, quality assurance associate and supply chain manager. Course work topics include supply chain analysis, lean operations facilities design, new production technology investment decision, quality management, material procurement, inventory control, logistics, and optimization and simulation tools for operations analysis.

To gain the operations management concentration, take four of the following courses in any order.

IOM 427	Spreadsheet Modeling, Optimization and Analysis	4
IOM 431	Business Information Systems Management and Strategy	4
IOM 455	Project Management	4
IOM 482	Supply Chain Management	4
IOM 483	Operations Consulting	4

Business Process Consulting Concentration

The business consulting concentration leverages a natural confluence of three main areas: operations management, information systems and statistics, and promotes a flexible, interdisciplinary emphasis. Classes teach students skills for improving business processes that contribute to a firm's competitive advantage.

These skills include the ability to identify core processes in a firm from a strategic perspective; describe the process from an "end-to-end" perspective; quantitatively and qualitatively analyzing the processes to identify areas of improvement; and applying such improvement mechanisms as information systems design, operations analysis and business intelligence. Students learn how to consult with clients in carrying out these improvement activities. As such, students concentrating in business consulting are prepared for employment in consulting firms as well as future-focused firms concerned about maintaining a competitive advantage through process improvements.

The senior concentration requires a minimum of 16 units from the following classes. The classes may be taken in any order and no prerequisites are required:

Course options		Units
IOM 427	Spreadsheet Modeling, Optimization and Analysis	4
IOM 428	Data Warehousing and Data Mining	4
IOM 431	Business Information Systems	4
IOM 433	Business Information Systems Analysis and Design	4
IOM 435	Business Database Systems	4
IOM 437	Technology-enabled Global Businesses, Markets and Sourcing	4
IOM 455	Project Management	4
IOM 482	Supply Chain Management	4
IOM 483	Operations Consulting	4

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