UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

Spring 2016

MGT 303 KY:OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Instructor
Office
Phone
Fax
Web
E-mail
Office Hours

Mon, 6:25 PM 9:05 PM, Whitten LC 180

: Dr. Murat Erko
: Room 282 McArthur (Engineering) Building
: (305) 284-4477
: (305) 284-4040
: Refer to the Blackboard System
: merkoc@miami.edu
: Mondays/Wednesdays 1:45 PM 3:15 PM. I also
have an open-door policy for all students.

Course Outline:
The course is designed to introduce you to some of the problems, models and solution methodologies in
the field of Production and Operations Management (POM). It is recognized that this course is an
introduction to POM for the majority of students, and the students are likely to require some knowledge
in this area in their careers. With this in mind, the course is designed to emphasize the understanding of
general concepts of practical interest.
The course is broadly divided into two sections: i) System design, and ii) System operations and control.
System design usually deals with strategic decisions requiring long-term commitments. Some examples
are planning the location of the facility, process selection and capacity planning, and planning the layout
of a facility. System operations and control address medium and short-term issues to keep the facility
running smoothly. Some examples are inventory and supply chain management, total quality
management, materials requirement planning, scheduling, aggregate planning, etc.
The teaching method will be a combination of lectures, class discussions on assigned topics, case
analysis, and problem solving supply chain simulation games.

Course Objectives:
The objectives of this course are to provide the student with:
1. An understanding of the role of POM in global business operations;
2. An understanding of the individual components of POM and their interrelationships within individual
companies;
3. An understanding of the analytical tools and problem-solving skills necessary to develop solutions for a
variety of POM problems.
4. Knowledge about the professional opportunities in the field of POM.

Learning Objectives
To achieve the course objectives, I will use Lectures, Case Studies, and Simulation Games to cover a
variety of topics that include: Decision Making Models, Forecasting, Capacity Planning, Breakeven
Analysis, Location Strategies, Facility Layout, Quality Management, Inventory Management, Supply
Chain Management, Materials Requirement Planning, Waiting Line Models, and Project Management.

Required Text
1. Heizer and Render. Operations Management, (Flexible Version), 10th or later editions, Prentice-Hall,
(ISBN: 0-13-216394-2).
2. Additional handouts will be distributed in class when needed.

Evaluation Criteria
Final course grades will be determined using the following weights:
3 Exams
75%
Quiz Average
5%
Homework assignments (3)
15%
Littlefield Technologies Game
5%
Each element is described in greater detail below.

Exams
There will be two non-cumulative exams and each exam will have a weight of 25%. See the attached
course outline for the dates for the exams. The final exam (weight 30%) will also be non-cumulative
based on topics covered after the second exam. Additional details will be provided in the class. Each
exam and the Final Exam will consist of quantitative problems and short-answer type questions.
In general, no make-up exams will be given. If you miss an exam period for Medical reasons, a copy of
the Doctors letter would be required. Make-up exams will be given at the end of the semester only. You
should contact your instructor by e-mail regarding examination difficulties. Contacting your instructor by
phone, voice message, or casual discussions before or after class does not constitute proper notification.
Notification must be documented by e-mail or written correspondence.

Quiz/Homework Assignments:
There will be a total of three graded homework assignments (individual submission required with your
name on the top right corner of the first page). Assignments can be picked up at least a week in advance
during the lecture. The assignments must be turned in at the beginning of the lecture and late submissions
will be penalized with grade loss. All work must be shown in order to receive credit for the homework.
Some homework problems are best solved using Microsoft Excel or other software available in the
computer lab. When such software is used, calculations must still be explained to receive full credit.
There would be about 6 to 8 quizzes total. Two lowest quiz grades will be dropped. Note that the quizzes
will be given at the beginning of the classes. If you are late, and miss the quiz, you are out of luck. If you
are sick and miss a quiz, you are out of luck. That is why the lowest two quiz grades will be dropped.

Littlefield Technologies Game

This is an online competitive business game housed by Responsive Technologies. You will team up to
play this game which is driven by a central simulator. To join the game you will need to purchase a
registration code for a nominal fee. I will give more details in class.

Class Participation/Attendance
Students are responsible for all material covered in class. If you are unable to attend a class session, it is
your responsibility to obtain notes from a classmate.

General Behavior
Students will conduct themselves with respect and professionalism toward faculty, students, and others
present in class and will follow the rules prescribed by the instructor for classroom behavior. Students
who fail to do so may be asked to leave the classroom with a grade penalty. Arriving late, leaving early,
and missing class will affect your participation grade. All cell phones/beepers must be turned off during
the class.
Laptops, Smartphones, PDAs and other electronic devices (such as recording equipment) may not
be used during class except at the express discretion of the instructor. Use of a laptop or Tablet PC is
permitted only if (1) it is used for class function such as taking notes or following lecture notes, (2) the
use does not distract the student from paying attention to class content, and (3) the use does not distract
other students in class. Activities such as checking messages and browsing the internet are especially
prohibited.

Honor Code
The University of Miami is governed by an Undergraduate Student Honor Code, with which all students
must be familiar. The Honor Code applies to all course assignments and examinations, and violations will
not be tolerated.
Although we encourage studying together, we do not tolerate any cheating on the tests. In general, we
expect and encourage students to discuss readings, computer exercises, and other course content with
their classmates. Such discussions constitute a valuable aspect of the students own learning experience.
However, all work submitted for a grade must be produced solely by the individual student
submitting it. A student who commits cheating (or plagiarism) automatically receives an "F" for
their final grade in MGT 303 regardless of the point contribution to her/his total grade.

Accessibility Resources
Reasonable accommodations will be provided by the instructor or through Accessibility Resources (AR)
for students who have a documented disability and are registered with AR. Accommodations will not be
made for students who are not registered or who do not present the required letter. The accommodations
letter must be presented to the instructor at the beginning of the semester, during office hours, and a
minimum of two weeks prior to the desired use of the accommodation. The instructor will then work with
AR to determine the best way to accommodate the student for that course. Students should not assume
that they will be accommodated in exactly the same manner for every course. It is the responsibility of the
student to contact this instructor to coordinate the details of all accommodations. Students may speak with
the instructor or contact Accessibility Resources at (305) 284-2374 or for more information about
receiving classroom accommodations.

Course Web Site

Students are required to make use of the course web site hosted in the Blackboard System: Refer to UM
course listings for MGT303 at courses.miami.edu

Final Grades
As per the School grading policy for Undergraduate courses, the grade band for the class will be between
3.00-3.30.

MGT 303KY - Operations Management

Tentative Class Schedule for Spring 2016 (subject to minor modifications)
January 13

Course Overview, Introduction to POM, and Decision Making Chaps. 1 and 2

January 20

Decision Making: Module A

January 27

Forecasting

February 3

Forecasting

February 10

EXAM I

February 17

Capacity Planning

February 24

Capacity Planning

March 2

Location Strategies

March 16

Inventory Management

March 23

EXAM II / Littlefield Technologies Game 1

March 30

Inventory Management

April 6

Waiting Line Models

April 13

Waiting Line Models/ Littlefield Technologies Game 2

April 20

Project Management

Final Exam - Wednesday, April 27, 2016 8:00 PM.