COWharton School · on Coursera
Business Operations
Beginner 27 hours English University Certificate
Our recommendation
Part of Wharton's business foundations, this course introduces operations — how organisations design processes, manage quality and improve productivity. It is concept-led and academic, a solid grounding if you want the thinking behind how businesses actually run.
Skills you'll gain
Operations managementProcess designQuality managementProductivitySupply chain basicsService operations
Is this course right for you?
A good fit if you…
You want operations fundamentals
You prefer frameworks and concepts
You are studying business
Consider something else if you…
You want hands-on tools or software
You already work in operations
You want a short overview
About this course
This Wharton School course covers operations management from first principles: analyzing process capacity and bottlenecks, applying Little's Law and queuing models to service operations, implementing quality management and Six Sigma concepts, and optimizing supply chain trade-offs between cost, quality, and speed.
What you'll learn
Analyze process flow and identify bottlenecks using capacity analysis
Apply Little's Law and queuing models to service operations
Implement quality management frameworks including Six Sigma and SPC
Optimize inventory levels using newsvendor and EOQ models
Make supply chain trade-off decisions between cost, speed, and quality
This course includes
27h
On-demand video
Yes
Certificate
Yes
Mobile access
English
Language
What it costs
Free to audit on Coursera; the certificate needs a subscription, with financial aid available.
Comparison · LBS
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Prices & availability can change — confirm on the provider's site. We're not affiliated with any single provider.
Is the certificate recognised?
The certificate is issued through Coursera with Wharton, as part of its Business Foundations. It is an introductory credential; the grounding is the value.
Instructor
CT
Christian Terwiesch
Coursera instructor
380K+ learners6 courses4.8 instructor rating
Taught by Christian Terwiesch and Karl Ulrich from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, two of the most respected operations management academics.
About this provider
CO
Coursera
University-backed online learning platform. 142M learners, 7,000+ courses from 325+ institutions.
Frequently asked questions
Yes for the fundamentals of operations from a top business school. It is conceptual rather than hands-on.
You can audit it free on Coursera; the certificate needs a subscription, with financial aid available.
Yes. It is part of Wharton's Business Foundations, which also covers marketing, finance and accounting.
Mostly conceptual — process design, quality and productivity. It builds understanding rather than tool skills.
About 27 hours over three to four weeks.