Erdman CenterFor Operationsand TechnologyManagementSpring 2009

Editor’s Note In this issue of OTMatters, our theme is Project Management (PM) and what it takes to bring projects to successful completion. Managing projects is an essential skill that goes well beyond using PM software.

Key managerial insights for success are presented here by Tom Westcott, an instructor for a course on PM the Erdman Center arranged for our MBA students in January, and by Karen Brown and Nancy Hyer, authors of a brand-new book on PM. Urban Wemmerlöv

Interview With Tom Westcott, Project Solutions GroupTom Westcott is CEO of the Project Solutions Group (PSG), Savannah, GA. In addition to managing its operations, he supports sales, helps PSG customers envision solutions, and helps craft those solutions. In addition, he does strategic consulting for clients on things that they need to do to change their processes and technology infrastructure or on ways they can mature their project and portfolio management processes. He is also a Wisconsin Executive Education instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he “really enjoys the interaction” with his students.

How to Succeed, or Fail, with Project Management

CONTENTS

New Look on Project Management .......................................................5

OTM Students Win APiCS Competition ...................................................7

OTM Classes of 2009 and 2010 ..............................................................8

Executive Roundtable Speaker Series .................................................10

Erdman Center Alumni: Where Are They Now? ....................................11

bus.wisc.edu/erdman

Left: Tom Westcott leading a discussion on Project Management.

MATTERSOPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Continued on page 2

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OTMatters: How did you first become interested in Project Management? It was one of those very classic situations—I was good at what I did, and someone turned around and said, “We have a project here that we need somebody to manage. Since you are good at what you do, we are going to put you in charge of project management. At that time, I knew nothing about managing a project, like many new project managers. But it interested me quite a bit because I am a very detail-oriented person, very conscious of schedule, have strong organization skills, and am very good in planning and coordination. Those are a lot of skills that are involved in project management. It was exciting to come out of the subject-matter expert role, take a look more strategically from a business standpoint, and not just a technological standpoint, and understand how a project integrates into the business.

OTMatters: In addition to those skills you just mentioned (detail-oriented, time-focused and organizational), what do you believe are the most important skills that a project manager should possess?I think in addition to good planning and organization skills, the most important skill a project manager should possess is good communication abilities. This is because you are going to be extracting information from various sources, repackaging that, and communicating it to others. You are going to be seen as a single point of contact, you are going to be seen as an authority. Also, project managers need to understand the detail, but extract themselves and see the big picture. Some people are very detail-oriented but fail to see the big picture and some are visionaries who don’t see the details. A balance needs to be struck and project managers need to do both.

OTMatters: What do you think are some major mistakes that new project managers make?New project managers need to resist falling back into the technical area, because they would feel safe there. When they see someone on their team doing something differently from what they would

have done or if there is a void in the team, they should avoid jumping in and doing that work. Part of the maturity of a project manager is to work through others. It is a major change to move into project management, where you are no longer measured by what you do but by what other people in your team do. You are moving the control from your hands into the hands of others, but at the same time you need to affect their performance, and do so in a way where you are not being dictatorial, but also not being completely laissez-faire or hands-off. It’s a really tough balance. Most project managers don’t have the authority to hire or fire, and

have to influence their team without that authority. It is an uncomfortable position for most new project managers. Most new project managers use their title as a way to get people to perform activities. Unfortunately this only works so far, and after that you need to earn the respect of the people who are reporting to you.

OTMatters: Is good project management more of an art than a science? Can someone be trained to be a good project manager or are you just “born with it?”It’s an interesting question, because I spent the first half of my career thinking you could train people to do anything. I have since changed that view, as I have become an employer. I realize that some people, no matter how much you train them, don’t have the talent. You can transfer knowledge, you can give people skills, but that only takes them so far. What you are really trying to build is competency, which is a combination of knowledge and skills. This competency takes into account your experience, your vision, your ability to discern and judge, etc. All these are intangible aspects that are difficult to teach. There are people that are competent and there are people that are talented. Taking someone from a low degree of talent to high competency takes a lot of training, mentoring, coaching, and experience. Some will never make it. Someone with a natural ability is easier to guide toward becoming competent. So, in the second half of my career, I have focused on identifying people’s talents to put them in positions where they can leverage their talents to the maximum. I believe in creating positions where individuals can maximize their potential rather than try and fit an individual to a position.

INITIATE PLAN EXECUTE CLOSE

I think in addition to good planning

and organization skills, the most

important skill a PM should possess

is good communication abilities.

Interview With Tom Westcott Continued from page 1

The Project Management Process

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OTMatters: So you believe that rather than train all employees in project management, it is more important to select a few and provide them the knowledge?Yes, definitely. Unfortunately, many organizations don’t see it that way. They believe that if there is a project in your department and you are the department head, then, automatically, you become the project manager. But there is a difference between having budgetary and human resource accountability and being able to manage a project. It is a different skill set and is not for everyone. This is probably why there are a lot of bad project managers out there and a lot of failed projects.

OTMatters: In 1997, KPMG did a survey of the Canadian IT industry in which a large number of companies were contacted regarding the success of their IT projects. The shocking conclusion was that about 61% of all IT projects fail. In your experience, what are the most common reasons for the failure of projects? Do you think the major fault is with the project manager and his/her senior management?A major factor is lack of sponsorship at the executive level, since executives not only set the vision and scope but can also intervene when there are issues with the project in terms of conflicting demands of resources. Top executives also ensure that the outcome of the project will provide benefit to the organization and that any new tool or process is used or enforced. Another major factor is just plain poor planning. Many times not enough time is spent in due diligence and the organization jumps right into the project without planning for the risks. A lot of the issues that projects face can be eliminated just by planning better upfront. Both of these

factors lead to a lack of control over change. This leads to factors such as scope creep, since users might demand features that were not initially part of the plan and there might be no support from the higher management to push back on these requests. Some factors that also lead to project failure are completely out of the control of a project manager. The organization may choose to do the wrong project. A project manager does not choose which project to do; he/she merely executes it. We might build the best cow in the world, but what if the organization needs a horse? Another related issue involves choosing too many projects and ending up with resource and time constraints.

OTMatters: What are the main misconceptions that sponsors and stakeholders have about project management?The biggest misconception is always overall optimism, especially in the area of risk management. Most organizations manage to get a handle on the scope of their projects. Where they are weak is in identifying the unknowns and planning for those. There is so much variability and there are so many forks in the road. Organizations that are good at envisioning the future are able to predict which path to take, but it is a difficult skill to acquire and is something organizations need to improve going forward.

OTMatters: In your experience, which industries do you think value project management the most?That’s a very interesting question. Construction is one of the oldest industries to use project management and in many ways it has matured it the most. However, it is still not very good at it. There are always pockets of excellence, but the industry on the whole is

Tom Westcott instructing OTM students Mukund Chavan, Joel Anacker, and Sang-Ho Hyun. At the laptop is Papi Valmond, a Corporate Finance student.

Continued on page 4

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wrought with custom builders who are smaller operations and are generally lousy at project management. Probably the industry most receptive to project management is IT. It still has a long way to go but is the one trying to mature the most in project management. Project management is also seen more on the new-product development side of manufacturing than in the more traditional side of it. The whole innovation-management process is taking a look at a portfolio of concepts and ideas, selecting the right ones, executing them, and bringing new products to market. There is a manufacturing component to it, but most of it falls into the category of operations.

OTMatters: What are the career paths for an MBA who would like to get into project management?The career path for a project manager is to move on to larger and more complex projects, large programs. Eventually what they do

Some of the best companies in the

world are making major investments

in portfolio management, but they

have been doing it only for the past

two to three years.

is move into a Project Management Office (PMO) where they are managing a project-management function—managing other project managers, mentoring, coaching, etc. Another career track is portfolio management. This involves blending project management with strategic planning and requires a heavy finance and accounting background. In many ways, this is probably the role that is the best fit for an MBA. This is where you are trying to align the strategic vision of the organization with the operations, and looking at maximizing returns from investments.

OTMatters: Many believe that portfolio management hasn’t taken off as it should have. What is your opinion?True. Portfolio management is in a relatively early stage right now, but it is expected to take off in a big, big way. As a matter of fact, I am interacting with more and more customers who want to adopt portfolio management. Companies like Chevron, Coca-Cola, and Haemonetics, that are relatively mature in portfolio management, use it to decide which projects to take on. Some of the best companies in the world are making major investments in portfolio management, but they have been doing it only for the past two to three years. I don’t believe that companies are not using it because they don’t believe in it— it’s just early. Until this point,

portfolio management has not had a national sponsor. The Project Management Institute (PMI) is now beginning to do to for portfolio management what it did for project management. It started the project management drive back in the ‘60s. It took them decades to make project management a term that is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, develop a certification program, and help organizations realize the benefit of project management. Companies are hearing about the importance of portfolio management from analysts and are learning about project management tools. They understand that they are doing portfolio management but not necessarily in the right or most effective way. In today’s economy portfolio management becomes more important because you have a limited set of resources and you have to generate the highest value possible to all stakeholders. Hence, selecting the right projects becomes of utmost value.

OTMatters: Lots of companies think twice about having a PMO, because they think that if there is no project, the PMO would be a waste of resources. What do you believe is the future of PMOs?This is an especially interesting question because I just wrote a paper about this. I have walked into organizations where you cannot even use those three letters because they tried a PMO, failed, and never want to hear about it again. In the late ‘80s and ‘90s, we had a lot of companies that started PMOs. But by the mid- to late-‘90s, a lot of them were shutting them down. By the mid-2000s, we saw many companies trying to restart their PMOs but they came up with a bunch of creative names to hide that they were really PMOs. These PMOs failed because they did not add value. They did a lot of work, performed a lot of activities, but they did not add value. Oftentimes, PMOs were staffed by the PM evangelist in the company who wanted to spread the word about project management. The first thing he/she wanted to do to get everyone on board was to have a methodology, so they spent months creating a big document describing a methodology. However, once the methodology was complete the rollout was a disaster, because most people were not trained enough to follow the methodology. Most people were not cognizant of the change-management aspects, and a lot of organizations found that people were resistant to change. People often felt that these methods were bureaucratic and did not realize that in an organization there needs to be common standards and processes that should be followed. In short, PMOs did not have a lot to show for the resources that were spent on them because the methods they rolled out were not widely followed. PMOs became big spends and turned out to be cost centers rather than profit centers. This led to many of them being killed. PMOs of today and tomorrow need to demonstrate value by helping organizations realize their strategic objectives by helping organizations execute their projects. The bridge that will enable this to occur will be portfolio management. I think organizations will continue to invest in project management, but it will be viewed as being part of a larger framework of portfolio management.

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OTMatters: What is the significance of the title of your book “Managing Projects: A Team-Based Approach? (McGraw-Hill, forthcoming 2009)” Can there be project management without teamwork?We each have fielded countless calls from managers who want to “get project management in place” and ask us which software we recommend for making this happen. People, especially those with technical orientations, tend to look at project management tools by themselves, believing they will manage projects or create a project management system for the organization. This is naive. The tools, in combination with the team, make it all happen. In fact, many times the team is more important than the tools it uses. And, as odd as it may sound, this is true even in those rare instances when a project is conceived and executed by a single person. That individual likely will need to rely on others for input, resources, and cooperation to make it happen. The savvy project manager will recognize these people as members of the informal project team and will work with them accordingly.

Our unique contribution is that we demonstrate how the tools of project management may be applied in team settings. In the book we present team-based tools to use, for example, in initiating the project, developing the work breakdown structure, managing uncertainties, scheduling the project, developing a communication plan, and facilitating project learning.

Thus, although the mention of teams in the title of our book might sound like a no-brainer, we hope it gets people’s attention and opens their eyes to an integrative, holistic approach to managing projects. Additionally, we believe there is an important distinction

between “managing projects,” which is action-oriented, and “project management,” which implies the study of a topic.

OTMatters: What are the most critical ingredients for successful project management?Our work with project managers over the past several years, along with evidence from research, has led us to conclude that 10 factors are essential to project success. These include:1. A shared purpose and goals: All project participants agree on

the purpose or mission of the project.2. Motivated project team and stakeholders: Project team

members must feel the project is important – that it is valued by the organization, the client, and other stakeholders.

3. Unfailing customer orientation: In successful projects, team members know who the final customers are and what they need.

4. Adequate support and resources: Without having support from upper-level managers, and access to necessary resources when they are needed, even the most charismatic project manager will have difficulty inspiring the team or getting things done.

5. Clear roles and responsibilities: All members of the team, along with supporting stakeholders, must understand their roles in the project.

6. Attention to planning: Effective project managers and teams not only plan from the beginning, but re-plan as new information becomes available.

7. Effective management of uncertainty: Effective project teams anticipate possible risks and opportunities and prepare for their occurrence.

In organizations

with strong project

orientations,

change is the norm.

Karen Brown is Associate Professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Glendale, Ariz. (Karen.Brown@thunderbird.edu).

Nancy Hyer is Associate Professor at the Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. (Nancy.Lea.Hyer@owen.vanderbilt.edu).

Continued on page 6

Interview with Karen Brown and Nancy Hyer, Authors of “Managing Projects: A Team-Based Approach”

Many times the

team is more

important than the

tools it uses.

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8. Continuous, effective communication: An effective project manager knows the importance of keeping key stakeholders informed about the project’s purpose, goals, progress, outcomes, and changes.

9. Effective scope management and change control: Although change is inevitable in project work, effective scope management entails both carefully managing stakeholder expectations and having an appropriate change control process.

10. Leadership: Regardless of the leadership style and level of formality in the leadership function, every project should have a central person who takes responsibility.

A project that is missing any one of these elements is likely to run into difficulties. The starting point, however, is a shared agreement and clear understanding of what the project is intended to accomplish. In these difficult economic times, few organizations can afford the luxury of a team having to reset and rework because the intended outcome was not clear or agreed upon by key stakeholder groups.

Interview with Karen Brown and Nancy Hyer

OTMatters: What do you see as the relationship between project management and change management?Projects, by their very nature of being unique, introduce change. In organizations with strong project orientations, change is the norm. In more stable organizations, the changes projects introduce can be much more disruptive. Every project manager needs to be aware of the way his or her project affects people. People are especially sensitive about potential loss of job security or degradation of their power and control. Project managers who are adept at stakeholder management appreciate that people support what they help to create. Knowing this, they effectively facilitate the management of change for those who are affected by soliciting and incorporating stakeholder input throughout the project. In this way the project manager and team are paving the way for the smooth introduction of the changes their project brings about. Effective stakeholder management relies on constant, ongoing communication, one of the elements we noted above in our project success factors. Team members and other stakeholders need information to know what and when to contribute or how the project will affect them. The project manager is at the hub of all these information exchanges

Continued from page 5

This Executive Education certificate program consists of six required courses. You can take the courses in a three-day format or in a one-week format (two courses in one week).

Course offerings:• Project Management: Planning, Scheduling and Control • Project Leadership Communication • Managing Project Risks

• Negotiating and Contracting with Project Service Providers • Persuasion and Influence Skills for the Project Manager • Project Management Capstone

All classes can be taken on a stand-alone basis. To attain a Master’s Certificate for Project Manage-ment participants are required to pass comprehensive exams and complete a capstone team-managed project. Grades are recorded with UW-Madison transcript department.

For more information, go to exed.wisc.edu/projectmanagement or contact Program Director David Antonioni at dantonioni@exed.wisc.edu.

THE WISCONSIN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS OFFERSA MASTER’S CERTIFICATE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

David Antonioni, Ph.D.Program Director for Project Management,Executive Education

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The executive search firm Spencer Stuart conducts research on the background of CEOs in the U.S. In December 2008, the firm released a study of S&P 500 firms: • For the second year in a row, Operations (31%) was the most

popular functional role before becoming CEO, followed by finance (21%), marketing (12%), and general management (6%).

• University of Wisconsin tied with Harvard as the undergradu-ate schools having most alumni being CEOs of S&P 500 firms.

For more details, go to spencerstuart.com.

First-year OTM students Brandon McGirr, Joel Anacker, Ani Das, Sreejith Satheez, and Ankit Puri, joined by Applied Security Analysis Program student Chase Nicholson, won the APICS Case Competition on February 21-22, 2009 (APICS = The Association for Operations Management). The competition, held in Oak Brook, Ill., and with 28 university teams participating, involved reviewing a case on Supply Chain Management and global strategy, preparing a report and a PowerPoint slide show, and presenting the recom-mendations the following day in front of a team of judges. The win-ning team brought home $800 for the Madison APICS Chapter.

OPERATIONS: the most common background

CEOSfor

OTM Students Win APICS CASE COMPETITION

THE WISCONSIN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS OFFERSA MASTER’S CERTIFICATE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

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Sarah BaranowskiWASSER Studios, Seattle, WAManagement consultant, program director, project management, leadership and development.Bachelor of Arts, Journalism and EnglishUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison, WISummer Internship: Third Wave (Hologic, Inc.)

Looking for TALENT in the Operations and Technology Management field? Here is our graduating MBA class of May 2009

Mukund ChavanTATA Power Company, Mumbai, IndiaPortfolio management, resource planning, strategy and leadership.Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering University of Pune, India Summer Internship: Johnson Controls

Eric HennenIntertek Caleb Brett, Signal Hill, CASupervision, development, and analytics.Bachelor of Arts, ChemistryWhitman College, Walla Walla, WA Summer Internship: Ecolab

Sang-Ho HyunLG-PHILIPS LCD, South Korea, KumiManagement, strategy, leadership, and automation.Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical EngineeringKorea University, Seoul, KoreaSummer Internship: Case New Holland

Abhijeet PawarBharti Industries, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Process planning, design, management, and procurement.Bachelor of Engineering, Production EngineeringUniverity of Mumbai, Maharashtra ,IndiaSummer Internship: Johnson Controls

Andrew PulvermacherCUNA Mutual Group, Madison, WI Financial analyst, consulting, and business development.Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting and Finance University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, WISummer Internship: Best Buy

Ruchira SharmaHCL Technologies, Noida, U.P., IndiaLeadership, training, CRM, and quality improvement.Bachelor of Technology, Electronics & Comm. EngineeringGovind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttaranchal, IndiaSummer Internship: Cummins, Inc.

Abhishek SinghSolidcore Systems Inc, Delhi, IndiaTechnical leadership, modeling, strat-egy, and management.Bachelor of Technology, Computer Science & Engineering UNS Institute of Engineering & Technology, UP, IndiaSummer Internship: S.C. Johnson

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Looking for INTERNS in the Operations and Technology Management field?

Joel AnackerPPD (a contract research organization), Madison, WI and Minneapolis, MNSystems manager for Madison location and IT operations manager for Minneapolis siteBachelor of Science degree in Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI

Aniruddha DasGE HealthcareProject Leader, IT applications, processes and systemsBachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering Nagpur University, Nagpur, India

Brandon McGirrEpic Systems CorporationSoftware developer, specializing in the company’s pharmacy systemBachelor of Science degree in Computer ScienceUniversity of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN

Ankit PuriEricsson India Private Limited, Gurgaon, Haryana, IndiaSenior Engineer-Network ConsultingBachelor of Engineering degreeMaharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, India

Sreejith SatheezGE HealthcareConsultant, business analyst and platform architectBachelor of Computer EngineeringCochin University of Science and TechnologyCochin, Kerala, India

Here is our class of first-year MBA students, looking for challenging summer positions.

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Erdman Center Executive-Led

SPEAKER SERIES – 2008/2009

Jonathan D. LeverenceChief Information Officer, GE Enterprise Solutions

Troy VellingaVice President, Continuous Improvement, W.W. Grainger, Inc.

Rod CopesVice President & Managing Director, Asia Pacific Harley-Davidson

Date: March 12, 2009Topic: Life and Leadership Changes at Harley-Davidson

Date: October 23, 2008Topic: Strategies for Professional Growth

Date: September 25, 2008Topic: Servant Leadership

Rahul ShindeEngagement Manager, McKinsey & Company

Date: October 9, 2008Topic: A Career with McKinsey & Co, and Case Coaching for Interviews

Erdman Center Board members

Other Roundtable speakers

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Brian Larson, MBA 2001 Plant ManagerSpartechRipon, Wis.

What is your current job, including title and responsibilities? I am the Plant Manager for a Spartech Plastics Technology manufacturing plant. Spartech produces thermoplastic sheet and rollstock, color and specialty compounds, and custom-engineered plastic products. They acquired my plant (formerly Creative Forming) last September to strengthen their position in the packaging industry. My plant performs custom thermoforming, which includes design engineering, prototyping, tooling production, and rollstock extrusion. We manufacture reusable polypropylene tubs (for Presto), Swiffer refill tubs (for Procter & Gamble), and hinged produce containers (for Sambrailo and others), as well as miscellaneous clamshells and blisters. As the Plant Manager, I’m responsible for the plant‘s P&L, safety, maintenance, quality, and production, and our 170 employees. I started with Creative Forming in April 2007 as the Thermoforming Value Stream Manager. When Spartech purchased Creative Forming, the Vice President of Operations recommended me for the Plant Manager position, and Spartech promoted me in October.

What major projects have you been working on in your career? Results? My accomplishments include implementing the DuPont STOP safety program, certifying the plant in AIB (product safety), reducing costs, and transitioning the plant from a “company” plant to part of a large corporation. The plant’s OSHA recordable rate equaled around three times industry average, and upon arrival I noted several unsafe practices. I instituted safety rules, created a safety committee, and trained the supervisors and plant leaders in behavioral modification techniques (STOP). I also set clear expectations on safety accountability. As a plant that produces food packaging, I felt AIB certification should be a priority. We had been working on AIB for a couple years, but hadn’t accomplished much. I took over this initiative and we passed with an ‘Excellent’ rating in December 2007.

I have reduced costs as I have reorganized reporting structures, positions, and the number of people in job classifications. I’ve decreased overtime by cross-training and flexing my labor

force. I’ve also implemented systems and procedures to allow better process flow and improved communications. My plant was the only one in the division to hit budgeted net earnings for the first quarter of 2008. I’ve also managed through a culture shift and a reorganization, as the plant (previously privately owned) became a “corporate” plant. Lots of uncertainty, a smaller benefits package, and a mandatory 10% headcount reduction (not including the previous management) have made for difficult times. I started holding monthly communication meetings with each shift where I discuss plant performance and answer questions on any topic. I also work on all three shifts each month to make myself available to all employees.

What was your first position upon graduation from the Erdman Center? Once I graduated, I went to work for Sonoco Products Company (a paper-based packaging company). I served as a quality manager, maintenance manager, productivity manager, and production manager in three different locations. I developed systems and processes in each plant, leveraging Lean/Six Sigma training to lead each plant to exceed productivity and cost savings goals every year. At my last Sonoco plant, I successfully installed a new production line and won a prestigious Division Award for Excellence.

How do you think the MTM (now OTM) program has helped you in your career? As an engineer-turned-manager, I focused on human resource courses to help with leadership and communication skills (thanks to Urban [Wemmerlöv, Erdman Center Executive Director] for his flexibility!). Many of the courses taken through the MTM program have helped me, but the improvement in my ability to manage employees and work with peers has led me to my current position.

Knowing what you know now, what advice do you have for your fellow students?Focus on the courses that will help your performance in what you want to do in the future.

ALUMNI ERDMAN CENTER

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

SPEAKER SERIES – 2008/2009

Rahul ShindeEngagement Manager, McKinsey & Company

Date: October 9, 2008Topic: A Career with McKinsey & Co, and Case Coaching for Interviews

The OTM Newsletter

The newsletter is produced by the MBA students in the Operations and Technology Management Program under the supervision of Center Executive Director Urban Wemmerlöv. The objective is to inform professionals, faculty, and students of the Erdman Center of activities and events in the field of operations and technology management.

Reporters: Srejith Satheez and Urban Wemmerlöv

Erdman Center for Operations and Technology Management

Executive Director ................................. Professor Urban Wemmerlöv

Director ................................................................. Andrew Jakubczak

Center Assistant ............................................................Kathy McCord

University of Wisconsin-MadisonWisconsin School of Business3510 Grainger Hall, 975 University AvenueMadison, WI 53706-1323Phone: (608) 263-2563FAX: (608) 263-3142E-mail: ErdmanCtr@bus.wisc.eduWeb: bus.wisc.edu/erdman

Operations and Technology Management (OTM) is a cross-functional area of study that is concerned with the development, implementation, and improvement of processes, technologies, and management systems for the purpose of designing, making, and delivering goods and services in an efficient and effective manner that brings value to the customer. This MBA program leverages the students’ technical backgrounds in generating new skills in business process improvements, IT implementation, the strategic use of technology, economic analysis, and management of change.

OTM graduates’ career goals include leadership positions in operations, supply chain, information technology management, business development, and consulting. They have been placed in a variety of large and small organizations, including Abbott Labs, Accenture, Capital One, Celerant, Cisco, DaimlerChrysler, Deere & Co, Deloitte Consulting, Delphi, Eaton, EPIC Systems, General Motors, Goodyear, Grainger, Guidant, Harley-Davidson, HP, i2, Intel, Johnson Controls, Johnson Diversey, Kimberly-Clark, Novartis, Philips Broadband Networks, Promega, Samsung, Schlumberger, Sonoco, Sorrento Lactalis, Spectrum, TRW, ZS Associates, and others.

The OTM program is administered by the Erdman Center and guided by an Academic Advisory Board comprising faculty from the Wisconsin School of Business and the College of Engineering. Also linked to the program is an Executive Advisory Board with members drawn from 15+ organizations.

For more information on the OTM program at the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, please go to bus.wisc.edu/erdman.

Erdman Center for Operations and Technology Management“Home of the OTM Program”