What Can I Expect?
From the time you apply till the time you graduate, you will be surrounded by leaders.
More than a series of lectures, the MBOE program is an ongoing exchange of ideas and insights. This powerful marketplace of ideas allows you to learn, challenge assumptions, rethink what success looks like and reorient your approach to solving problems. Our curriculum is designed to seamlessly integrate these various facets. So seamlessly, in fact, that students often find themselves immersed in a transformative learning experience where traditional boundaries between classes blur.
Student Experience
During on-campus sessions, concepts come to life through interactive discussions, hands-on simulations, company visits and immersive project work. By engaging directly with professionals from both academia and industry, students gain invaluable insights into real-world challenges and emerging trends. These interactive sessions foster a culture of innovation and critical thinking, empowering students to apply their knowledge in practical scenarios and develop effective solutions.
Sample Session Schedule
By traveling to select companies throughout the program, students experience firsthand how what you are learning is being put into practice through real-life case studies across industries. These site visits allow students to analyze operations and assess the value of ongoing process improvements in a variety of settings.
In between on-campus sessions, students typically dedicate 10 to 20 hours per week on course assignments and project work, including meeting with your assigned industry coach.
Curriculum Areas of Focus
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.
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.
While our primary focus is on operational excellence, we understand that true operational excellence leadership requires a comprehensive understanding of business fundamentals. That's why our curriculum not only emphasizes operational strategies but also incorporates essential business elements including finance and leadership.
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.
Meet the MBOE Faculty
Master Business Administration (MBA) from OSU (2016). Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from Heidelberg University (2003).
Senior Lecturer, Management & Human Resources
PhD in Business Administration, University of Minnesota. MS in Industrial Engineering, University of Minnesota. BS, College of Engineering, Anna University India.
Associate Dean for Executive Education
Professor of Operations
Associate Director, Center for Operational Excellence
PhD, Operations Management, The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business. MS and BS, Industrial Engineering & Management Science, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands.
Assistant Professor, Management Sciences
Academic Director, MBOE
PhD in Statistics, The Ohio State University. BS in Mathematics, Florida State University. BS in Statistics, Florida State University.
Clinical Assistant Professor
Whitney Mantonya is a Senior Lecturer in Operations and Business Analytics Department, where she teaches Operations, undergraduate electives and in the Master’s of Operational Excellence program.
David Thompson is a Senior Lecturer for The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, teaching classes for the undergraduate, MBA and Executive Education programs. Additionally, he coaches and consults business leaders on change management, leadership, and team effectiveness.
MBOE, The Ohio State University. BSN, Case Western Reserve University.
Senior Lecturer
Questions? I'm here to help!
Hello! I’m Laurie Spadaro, your guide to the Master of Business Operational Excellence program at Ohio State. Whether you’re just starting your exploration or ready to apply, I’m here to provide personalized support. Please don’t hesitate to contact me—I look forward to helping you achieve your goals!