5 Reasons To Get A Master of Business Operational Excellence Degree

How do you create an organization where everyone is continuously learning, improving and remaining committed to its purpose every day? Leaders from various industries including healthcare, information technology, manufacturing and finance are constantly searching for the answer to this question.

At The Ohio State University, the Master of Business Operational Excellence (MBOE) program is an innovative 13-month executive master’s degree program focused on preparing leaders to answer that question. Experienced project coaches and sponsors guide our students during their learning journeys, helping them become experts in four areas: building operational excellence systems, driving decisions with data, creating and sustaining change, and making an impact.

Below are the top 5 ways an MBOE degree can benefit you and your organization:

Develop Problem-Solving skills

Operational Excellence is a philosophy that embraces problem-solving. MBOE offers an introductory module in which the rudiments of lean problem-solving tools like value stream mapping, policy deployment and A3 thinking are covered along with simulations that facilitate in-depth thinking about operational excellence and problem-solving.

Systems Thinking Capability

The academic foundation of the program is operational excellence systems, which include problem-solving systems, daily-management systems, strategic alignment and adaptability systems, and people-development systems. Research[1] reveals that very few organizations have all four systems in place (less than 10%). Additionally, findings showed that having these four systems were correlated to short term (ROI and profit) and long term (market growth) outcomes as well as allowed companies to adapt to external changes swiftly. 

Data Driven Decision Making

Analytics is more than a toolset; it is a mindset. It is a way of seeing, thinking and working with data that sharpens decision-making and reveals growth opportunities. The MBOE program provides a manager’s eye view of probability and statistics including hypothesis testing, inference and multivariate statistics, with a key learning outcome of thinking about problems with rigor.

Leadership Skills for Change Management

While data and analytics have the potential to inform sound decision-making and reveal new opportunities, that power is diminished if it collides with “established ideas and mindsets.” The principles of change management can be applied to open eyes and minds to the new learning that analytics can provide. The MBOE program includes a module on creating and sustaining standard work, managing change, visual management, and Total Productive Maintenance – and how you can link these approaches to strategic issues. Key learning outcomes include mastery of the concepts necessary to establish stability in operations.

OpEx Capabilities

The MBOE program provides a vast curriculum to help you lead your organization on its continuous improvement journey, from creating and managing flow and leading operations to supply chain excellence and managing an extended value stream. Students also complete a Capstone Project, focusing their improvement projects on a specific value stream. The value stream selection will be driven by current performance gaps in the student’s organization and should be aligned with the company’s broader strategic objectives. Leading a team within their own organization, students will complete four, three-month improvement cycles over the course of the program.

The MBOE offers a myriad of other benefits: courses are taught by experienced faculty who are accomplished educators, researchers and consultants -- including the newly named Faculty Director Dr. Jurriaan de Jong; students earn their Black Belt certification in Lean Six Sigma; and graduates join a network of over 350 MBOE alumni, 82,000 Fisher alumni and over 550,000 Ohio State University alumni.

Interested in learning if the MBOE program is right for you? Contact MBOE Director Laurie Spadaro at spadaro.8@osu.edu for more information! Applications are currently being accepted for the cohort that begins November 30, 2021.

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