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    • Operations Research

    Operations Research Courses Online

    Study operations research for solving complex organizational problems. Learn about optimization, simulation, and decision analysis techniques.

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    Explore the Operations Research Course Catalog

    • S

      Stanford University

      AI in Healthcare

      Skills you'll gain: Feature Engineering, Healthcare Ethics, Pharmaceuticals, Data Ethics, Clinical Research, Clinical Data Management, Health Systems, Healthcare Industry Knowledge, Medical Records, Unstructured Data, Health Care, Patient Evaluation, Health Informatics, Data Mining, Statistical Machine Learning, Applied Machine Learning, Electronic Medical Record, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Artificial Intelligence, Health Technology

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      2.1K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • U

      University of California, Irvine

      Leverage Data Science for a More Agile Supply Chain

      Skills you'll gain: Supply Chain Planning, Demand Planning, Customer Demand Planning, Inventory Management System, Inventory Control, Supply Chain Management, Capacity Planning, Materials Management, Process Optimization, Forecasting, Operations Management, Resource Allocation, Service Level, Capacity Management, Performance Measurement, Microsoft Excel, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Statistical Methods, Cost Reduction, Simulation and Simulation Software

      4.5
      Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
      ·
      416 reviews

      Intermediate · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months

    • I

      IBM

      IBM Product Manager

      Skills you'll gain: Usability Testing, New Product Development, Product Management, Product Lifecycle Management, Agile Software Development, Product Development, Innovation, Product Roadmaps, Agile Methodology, Kanban Principles, Product Planning, Product Strategy, Product Testing, Project Management Life Cycle, Agile Project Management, User Story, Stakeholder Engagement, Sprint Retrospectives, Stakeholder Management, Competitive Analysis

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      3.4K reviews

      Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

    • D

      DeepLearning.AI

      Natural Language Processing

      Skills you'll gain: Natural Language Processing, Supervised Learning, Markov Model, Text Mining, Dimensionality Reduction, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Artificial Neural Networks, PyTorch (Machine Learning Library), Deep Learning, Tensorflow, Machine Learning Methods, Data Processing, Feature Engineering, Machine Learning Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms, Keras (Neural Network Library), Linear Algebra, Data Cleansing, Probability & Statistics

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      6.1K reviews

      Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • U

      University of Virginia

      Business Strategy

      Skills you'll gain: Growth Strategies, Business Strategy, Strategic Thinking, Plan Execution, Mergers & Acquisitions, Competitive Analysis, Organizational Strategy, Business Ethics, Peer Review, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Corporate Strategy, Strategic Decision-Making, Governance, Stakeholder Management, New Business Development, Business Research, Analysis, Project Management, Innovation, Market Analysis

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      4.5K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • A

      Amazon Web Services

      AWS Cloud Technology Consultant

      Skills you'll gain: AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Amazon CloudWatch, AWS CloudFormation, Software Development Life Cycle, CI/CD, Amazon Web Services, Professional Networking, IT Automation, Cloud Computing, Amazon S3, Extract, Transform, Load, DevOps, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Software Architecture, Cloud Computing Architecture, Amazon DynamoDB, Cloud Infrastructure, Web Applications, Leadership Development

      Build toward a degree

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      6.5K reviews

      Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

    • I

      IESE Business School

      Think like a CFO

      Skills you'll gain: Financial Statement Analysis, Financial Statements, Income Statement, Corporate Finance, Accounting, Cash Flows, Operational Analysis, Financial Accounting, Capital Budgeting, Financial Modeling, Financial Reporting, Financial Analysis, Balance Sheet, Financial Management, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Operating Expense, Financial Market, Profit and Loss (P&L) Management, Business Valuation, Equities

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      6.2K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • S

      Stanford University

      Algorithms

      Skills you'll gain: Data Structures, Graph Theory, Algorithms, Bioinformatics, Theoretical Computer Science, Network Model, Computational Thinking, Network Analysis, Analysis, Programming Principles, Probability & Statistics, Network Routing, Probability, Operations Research, Design Strategies

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      5.9K reviews

      Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • A

      Arizona State University

      Design of Experiments

      Skills you'll gain: Experimentation, Sample Size Determination, Research Design, Regression Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Methods, Data Analysis Software, Statistical Modeling, Design Strategies, Probability & Statistics, Data Analysis, Mathematical Modeling, Data Transformation, Descriptive Statistics, Probability Distribution, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Variance Analysis, Quality Control

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      359 reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free
      Free
      C

      Coursera Project Network

      Business Analysis & Process Management

      Skills you'll gain: Process Analysis, Business Process, Business Analysis, Process Mapping, Workflow Management, Process Management, Process Flow Diagrams, Business Process Modeling, Stakeholder Management

      4.4
      Rating, 4.4 out of 5 stars
      ·
      6.5K reviews

      Beginner · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours

    • U

      University of Pennsylvania

      Introduction to Financial Accounting

      Skills you'll gain: Financial Statements, Financial Statement Analysis, Financial Reporting, Financial Accounting, Balance Sheet, Accrual Accounting, Financial Analysis, Cash Flows, Income Statement, Bookkeeping, Revenue Recognition, Depreciation

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      8.3K reviews

      Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • Status: Free
      Free
      U

      University of Colorado System

      Researcher Management and Leadership Training

      Skills you'll gain: Performance Management, Mentorship, Budget Management, Team Management, Project Accounting, People Management, Leadership and Management, Recruitment, Leadership, Professional Development, Coaching, Compliance Management, Goal Setting

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      392 reviews

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    Operations Research learners also search

    Operations Management
    Operations Analytics
    Business
    Management
    Business Management
    Business Development
    Project Management
    Business Projects
    1…121314…334

    In summary, here are 10 of our most popular operations research courses

    • AI in Healthcare: Stanford University
    • Leverage Data Science for a More Agile Supply Chain: University of California, Irvine
    • IBM Product Manager: IBM
    • Natural Language Processing: DeepLearning.AI
    • Business Strategy: University of Virginia
    • AWS Cloud Technology Consultant: Amazon Web Services
    • Think like a CFO: IESE Business School
    • Algorithms: Stanford University
    • Design of Experiments: Arizona State University
    • Business Analysis & Process Management: Coursera Project Network

    Skills you can learn in Business Strategy

    Modeling (25)
    Market (economics) (21)
    Plan (19)
    Planning (16)
    Strategic Management (16)
    Business Model (13)
    Operations Management (13)
    Analytics (12)
    Evaluation (12)
    Project Management (11)
    Supply Chain (10)
    Decision-making (9)

    Frequently Asked Questions about Operations Research

    Operations research is the use of statistical analysis and mathematical optimization techniques to help organizations solve problems and improve decision-making. The ability to harness vast amounts of data on day-to-day operations has created opportunities to rigorously optimize processes for cost, quality control, inventory management, and other goals, making operations research an important part of many businesses.

    The tools of operations research are similar to those of other fields relying heavily on quantitative analysis and statistics. Operational data is input into programs such as Microsoft Excel and Solver, R, and Python, where mathematical optimization techniques such as linear programming (LP) are applied to find the best solution for business problems. Monte Carlo simulations and other probabilistic analyses may also be used to discover areas of sensitivity and risk.

    These data-driven insights are typically applied according to process management and process improvement frameworks such as Six Sigma and Lean, which strive to reduce variation and eliminate waste in operations.‎

    Operations research is a core competency of careers in operations management, supply chain management, and logistics. This skill is particularly highly valued by businesses in manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, and other industries where companies must compete to deliver goods and services with complex supply chains in cost-sensitive markets.

    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, operations research analysts earned a median annual salary of $84,810 in 2019. These jobs are also expected to grow much faster than jobs in the rest of the economy, due to the explosive growth in the availability of operations data along with the increasing importance of adopting these data-driven approaches to remain competitive in many industries. Operations research analysts typically have at least a bachelor’s degree in technical and quantitative fields such as engineering, computer science, analytics, or mathematics, as few schools offer degrees in operations research specifically.‎

    Certainly. Coursera offers courses and Specializations on operations research and related topics such as supply chain and operations management, operational analytics, and statistical research. Offered by excellent schools such as the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Melbourne, and Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, these courses give you the opportunity to learn remotely on a flexible schedule and a lower tuition than on-campus students. Whether you’re a student or mid-career professional looking to add new skills to your repertoire, Coursera gives you the opportunity to optimize your operations research education to fit your specific needs.‎

    The skills and experience that you might need to already have before starting to learn operations research may include knowledge of mathematical and engineering methods, understanding of the fundamentals of business, and some background in linear programming, a math technique to solve systems of linear constraints. All of these can help you fully grasp the basics of operations research. Furthermore, having a background that includes computer algorithms and optimization techniques can help you to better analyze optimization problems in computer science, civil engineering, economics, and management. This multifaceted field is also linked with machine learning, as some operations researchers are sampling machine learning methods to test various metrics in a particular optimization process.‎

    The kind of people who are best suited for operations research work are often quantitative thinkers who are detailed and analytical. These people use mathematics formulas to help companies study labor needs, cost scenarios, product distribution, and other factors. In doing this work, they need to be curious, methodical, rational, and logical. Because operations researchers understand how algorithms, math, and statistics may impact workflows, budgets, employee staffing, and profitability, they also tend to be the kind of people who are investigative in nature, using their intellect and curiosity in the work.‎

    When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Operations Research, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here.‎

    This FAQ content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

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