In the last few years two important developments in manufacturing have occurred:

1. global competition in manufacturing has intensified, and
2. microprocessor and computer-based technologies have changed the nature of automation in manufacturing as well as its impact on other functions.

Taken together, information-intensive process technologies have become a critical competitive weapon in global competition. In this course an attempt will be made to understand the structure of these new technologies and their implications for management. The course also provides an introduction to discrete and continuous simulation techniques, applying these and other quantitative techniques to the analysis of advanced production systems