MBA 703 Operations Management Professors Gilland and Tomlin, 2007

2007 Syllabus
INSTRUCTOR Wendell Gilland (8:00am and 11:00am sections) Office: McColl 4711 Phone: 962-8465 Office hours: Wed 3:30pm-4:30pm and by appointment Brian Tomlin (9:30am and 2:00pm sections) Office: McColl 4713 Phone: 843-3620 Office hours: Wed 4:00pm-5:00pm and by appointment

INSTRUCTOR

Required Texts:

Course packet and novel (both are available from Student Stores): Operations Management MBA703, Course packet coordinated by Wendell Gilland and Brian Tomlin. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, Goldratt, E.M., and J. Cox, (2004), 3rd Revised Edition, North River Press, Croton-on-Hudson, NY. (2nd Revision OK as well.)

Optional Text:

Textbook (available from Student Stores): Matching Supply with Demand: An Introduction to Operations Management Grard Cachon and Christian Terwiesch (ISBN: 0-07-291899-3). (On the course website we will suggest voluntary readings from this book to supplement/reinforce content for some class sessions. However, we will cover all required content in the class and course slides and, therefore, suggested textbook readings are not mandatory.)

Operations management can be defined as the design, operation, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver the firm's primary products and services. This class provides an understanding of the operations management function and its relationship to other functional areas within the firm. In this class, we will develop frameworks to analyze the strengths and weakness of a firm's operations and to develop viable alternatives in pursuing its goals and objectives. We will examine the tradeoffs that managers face in emphasizing one goal (such as high

MBA 703 Operations Management Professors Gilland and Tomlin, 2007

capacity utilization) as compared to another goal (such as customer service). We will compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of different strategies and techniques, as determined by industry and global operating environments. Ultimately, we hope to stimulate your interest in operations management. Whether you end up in finance, marketing, operations, accounting, or any other field, you will have opportunities to consider and systematically improve the way you do things. Operations management provides tools, techniques, and strategies for making organizations work more effectively and efficiently, and can make you a better manager.

COURSE OBJECTIVES 1) 2) Provide an understanding of the operations management function, and its relationship to other functional areas within the firm. Develop a framework whereby the strengths and weaknesses of a firms operations can be analyzed, and whereby the firm can develop viable alternatives in pursuing its goals and objectives. Examine the tradeoffs that managers face in emphasizing one goal (such as high capacity utilization) as compared to another goal (such as minimum throughput time). Develop competence with specific tools and techniques used by practicing operations management personnel. Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of different strategies and techniques, as determined by industry and global operating environment. Familiarize the student with the business vocabulary used within the operations management field. Prepare students for summer internships. Stimulate interest in operations management.

3)

4) 5) 6) 7) 8)

The approach we will take in introducing the areas of Operations Management is twofold. First, we will cover some basic theory in the areas. Second, we will look at a variety of domestic and international cases that show applications (good and bad) of the theory. We wont go into a lot of detail (or depth) in theory, so some of you may want to explore more on your own. We will do some problems to cement your understanding of the theory and there will be homework assignments on some of the theoretical material. The cases will be like those you have had and will have in other MBA courses. There will be a variety of settings and problems to resolve. In some of the cases, there will be a need to implement some changes and we hope we have time to work on implementation plans for those cases.

MBA 703 Operations Management Professors Gilland and Tomlin, 2007

GRADES The final grades will be determined as follows: Homework 20% Littlefield 10% Participation 20% Final 50%

Homework/Littlefield: Homework assignments will be submitted by groups of two or three students that you will be asked to form during the first couple weeks of class. The final solution turned in must reflect work done by the persons whose names are on the submission. We encourage you to do the work individually and then work with your group members to perfect the work. All assignments are due at the start of class on the date given. 1) Process Analysis. (60 points) 2) Inventory (60 points) 3) Book report on The Goal (done individually) (25 points) 4) Littlefield (100 points) 5) Quality (55 points) Total: (300 points, representing 30% of your grade)

We will solicit peer feedback on team member contribution/performance at the end of the mod. Class Participation: Students are expected to come to class having completed the readings and having prepared the case. On several of the case-study days, there will be a required question for each student to answer on the course web page. Typically, the instructor will select three or four answers from students who will be expected to explain or elaborate on their analysis. As a group, we will try to build a complete analysis of the situation and address the problems and issues it presents. We also will talk about the implementation of those recommendations and the complexities of effecting change in firms with a strong operations component. One portion of the class participation score will be based on your answers to the web questions related to the cases. To receive credit, your questions must be submitted 2 hours prior to the start of class (for 9:30am, 11:00am and 2:00pm sections). By 10:00 PM the previous evening (for 8:00 am section). You should consider the classroom as an opportunity to develop verbal skills. You should work on your ability to convince your peers of the correctness of your approach to complex problems and of your ability to achieve the desired results through the use of that approach. Some criteria for assessing effective class participation are:

MBA 703 Operations Management Professors Gilland and Tomlin, 2007

1. Is the participant a good listener? 2. Are points that are made relevant to the discussion and linked to the comments of others? 3. Do the comments show evidence of analysis of the case? 4. Is there a willingness to participate? 5. Is there a willingness to test new ideas, or are all comments safe? (for example, repetition of case facts without analysis and conclusions) 6. Do comments clarify and highlight the important aspects of earlier comments and lead to a clearer statement of the concepts being covered? You may be asked to assist in the assessment of the class participation grade for your colleagues. The above criteria should be used as the basis of your assessment. Additionally, your participation score will suffer if you miss class. We recognize that (very occasionally) you will have priorities that may take precedence over this class. You do not need to let us know the details of why you are absent on a particular day. Help Sessions: There will be help sessions every Monday from 3:30 4:50 in McColl 2250. Final: A final examination will be given Thursday, December 20, 2007 from 9:00-12:00. Timeliness: Homework will not be accepted late. Please plan to take the exam at the scheduled time. Make-up tests will not be offered (only extraordinary circumstances will justify an exception). Technology: The use of laptop computers is not permitted during class, except when specifically authorized by the instructor. Many students and visitors find the use of laptops distracting; the best place for taking notes will be on the lecture notes that we distribute at the beginning of each class session. Also, please remember to ensure that your cell phone does not ring during class. Updates: The professor reserves the right to update or modify this syllabus during the course of the semester. The specific readings and study questions for each class session should be obtained from the course web page.

MBA 703 Operations Management Professors Gilland and Tomlin, 2007

Honor Code: All students must abide by the Honor Code. No discussion, sharing of materials, or consultation of any form is allowed between students on the exam. Exams must be turned in promptly at the end of the designated time. For homework, discussion with other students outside your homework team should be limited to issues regarding the interpretation of the assignment. Specifically, solution approaches should not be shared across teams. For case study preparation, you should feel free to work in a group if you so choose. Each student, however, should be prepared to defend his/her position. Web questions should be answered individually, and your answer need not be the same as the groups consensus. You may not use materials obtained from students who took this course in previous years or similar courses elsewhere. Additionally, you may not use materials obtained from class websites of earlier offerings of this course. This syllabus cannot identify all possible situations which represent honor code violations, and is not meant to be comprehensive in that regard. Students are expected to abide by the intent and letter of the honor code, and are expected to report any honor code violations that are observed.

MBA 703 Operations Management Professors Gilland and Tomlin, 2007

Course Outline and Assignments (highlighted topics have web questions due)
MBA 703 2007
Session 1 2 3 4 5 xxxxxx 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 xxxxxx xxxxxx 13 14 15 xxxxxx 16 17 18 19 20 Mon Wed Fri Mon Wed Fri Mon Wed Fri Mon Wed Fri Mon Wed Fri Mon Wed Fri Mon Wed Fri Mon Wed Fri Wed Thu Date 10/22/07 10/24/07 10/26/07 10/29/07 10/31/07 11/2/07 11/5/07 11/7/07 11/9/07 11/12/07 11/14/07 11/16/07 11/19/07 11/21/07 11/23/07 11/26/07 11/28/07 11/30/07 12/3/07 12/5/07 12/7/07 12/10/07 12/12/07 12/14/07

2007 Help Sessions: Mondays 3:30-4:50, McColl 2250 Web question due Topic Session Intro to Operations Systems Operations Strategy - Process Choice Fundamentals of Business Process Analysis Process Analysis: Capacity & Mass Customization Impact of Variability on Process Performance Leadership Day Role of Customer in Operations Strategic Uses of Inventory Impact of Service Process Design Inventory Management under Uncertainty Simulation to Guide Operations Decision Six Sigma and Statistical Process Control Lean Operations THANKSGIVING THANKSGIVING The Theory of Constraints; Sustainable Operations Operations in Action Operations Simulation OCS Day Supply Chain Dynamics Simulation Intro to Supply Chain Management Prod/Proc Design in SC's: Pooling, Postponement Supply Chain Velocity Accurate Response in Global Markets The Beer Game, Kenan 204 Intro to Supply Chain Management / Bullwhip Effect HP Deskjet Dell - New Horizons Sport Obermeyer 2:00 - 5:00, Room to be determined Final all 2nd floor classrooms 9:00 - 12:00 Zipcar Inventory Basics: EOQ Global Financial Corporation Stochastic Inventory: Newsvendor, QR Charles River (Monte Carlo) SPC / Process Capability Toyota (JIT) THANKSGIVING THANKSGIVING The Goal/ single facility (HW 3) Outside Speaker Littlefield Debrief (HW 4 The Goal) Benihana Case Prod-Proc Matrix / Benihana Capacity Analysis Executive Shirt (Timbuk2) Factory Physics / Little's Law

Turn in

Homework Teams

HW 1 due (Proc analysis)

Littlefield Technologies (Start 11/14, 1:00 pm)

HW 2 due (Inventory)

HW 3 due (The Goal) Littlefield Technologies (End 11/28, 1:00 pm) HW 4 due (Littlefield)

HW 5 due (quality)

12/19/2007 Review sessions 12/20/2007 Final all 2nd floor classrooms 9:00 - 12:00