MGT 314
Operations Management
Overview
This course focuses on the management of the direct resources required to produce goods and services. Operations objectives are cascaded through the organization and are translated into measurable terms that become part of the operating goals for production-related departments and their managers.
Required Materials
Operations Management. Jay Heizer and Barry Render. Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN# 13 9780073294735.
Management Simulations, Inc. Foundation® Simulation. (This must be purchased online for approximately $45 and is not available through the WKU book store).
Grading
Group project = 10%
Chapter tests = 50%
Production/operations simulation = 25%
Final exam = 15%
A = 90 – 100
B = 80 – 89.9
C = 70 – 79.9
D = 60 – 69.9
F = Less than 60
Project
Special thanks to Professor Joe Hall of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College for the following project ideas.
The purpose of this group project is to allow you to express some creativity by, for example, working on a real-world problem or studying an industry that is of interest to you. The deliverables for the project are a summary document of 4-6 pages of text (excluding attached exhibits, spreadsheets, etc. if necessary) and a class presentation. The presentation should be approximately 10 minutes with an additional 5 minutes for questions and answers.
Project grading has two parts—the summary document and the presentation. Each part makes up 50% of the course project grade.
The summary document grade is based on quality and depth (in-depth analyses receive higher grades; superficial analyses receive lower grades).
Presentation grades are based on (1) the degree to which the presentation exposes the class to operations topics that are not covered in the text amd (2) you're ability to answer questions during the question and answer session. Students reading substantial portions of their presentation will receive a maximum of 70% for the presentation portion of the project grade.
You must complete these assignments by they due date announced in class; there is a 5% final course grade reduction for late assignments regardless of the reason for the lateness.
Projects can deal with a wide variety of subjects. However, the projects are like Olympic diving or figure skating. If you select an easier project, you really have to nail it to get above a "C." If you take a risk and attempt something more difficult (the "quadruple axle"), you have some leeway with imperfections. Grading is competitive: only the very best project receive and “A” or “B.”
The following list illustrates some general categories of project types but you are not limited to these.
Industry/Company Profile. This would involve describing an industry with an emphasis on key economic or marketing issues that impact operations, key operational issues, and how firms manage these issues. Please provide both a strategic-level and operational-level view showing how operations decisions link back to strategies. Alternatively, the report could focus on a single firm, describing its service concept, competitive position, main operations characteristics, key operational decisions, etc.
Specific Operations Issue for an Industry. This would focus on one operational problem in a given industry. Examples include crew scheduling in the airline industry, service delivery via information technology in financial services, etc.
E-commerce Enablers for Service Operations. Discuss a specific e-commerce software package or a generic area of e-commerce that directly impacts service operations. Discuss both what the package does and its impact on operations.
New Business Operations Plan. If you feel like an entrepreneur, this is your project. Describe the business and operations plan with strong supporting analysis.
Methodological Study. If you want to delve deeper into a particular operations tool not covered in class, this might be a good topic for you. Examples include a review of yield management techniques, service recovery strategies, or methods for reducing the psychological impact of congestion and delay.
Operations Diagnosis. This would involve solving an operations problem that you have encountered. For example, you could use model emergency room waiting at a local hospital or quality control improvement efforts at a local manufacture.
Case Study. This would involve studying a particular manufacturing or service operation setting and developing a case that presents an interesting managerial problem within an operations context.
Simulation
We will use the Capstone Foundation® simulation to apply course concepts. Three broad metrics related to successful operations management—profits, forecasting, and productivity—contribute to your simulation grade. Several operations concepts are evaluated within these broad measures such as (but not limited to) inventory management, production scheduling, capacity planning, resource utilization, variable cost management, and others. Each of the three broad measures is weighted equally.
An “analyst report” tracks your cumulative points on these metrics. The team with the highest cumulative score on these metrics receives a 100% for the simulation grade, the second place team receives 93%, the third place team receives 86%, the fourth place team receives 79%, the fifth place team receives 72%, and the sixth place team receives 65%.
These scores are adjusted for individual team members based on attendance at simulation sessions: the first simulation session absence does not count against your grade, but each subsequent absent (regardless of the reason for the absence) reduces your final simulation grade by 3%.
Chapter Quizzes
Chapter quiz dates will be announced in class. You may take chapter quizzes early by giving a minimum of 48 hours advance notice. If you miss a chapter quiz, you may make it up but no later than one week after the original due date. There's a 10% late penalty regardless of the reason you missed the quiz. After one week, the quiz grade becomes a permanent 0.
Final Exam
The final exam may not be made up after the university-scheduled exam date. Absence from the final exam results in a gra