Operations management in education: specifics, challenges, and differences from the corporate sector

The article presents a systematic analysis of operations management in educational organizations, focusing on its specifics, current challenges, and fundamental differences from the corporate sector. Based on a review of Russian and international literature, the key characteristics of educational organizations as objects of operations management are identified: multiplicity of stakeholders, intangibility and simultaneity of production and consumption of educational services, high regulatory burden, and multidimensionality of quality. The main challenges associated with digital transformation, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the implementation of lean and agile methodologies are examined. The applicability of reference models (EFQM, BSC, ISO 21001) to the educational context is analyzed. The necessity of developing specialized operations management models that account for industry-specific features is substantiated. The research findings can be used in designing reference systems for managing educational organizations.