M&IS 44065 Strategy in Production and

This course serves as the capstone course for Operations Management majors and as such applies concepts from all prior coursework.   Course lectures and readings will cover the area of continuous improvement and manufacturing excellence with an emphasis on all manufacturing strategies, including lean production.  The student will learn core concepts and be given the opportunity to apply the material through projects and cases.  In addition the student will learn to present solutions in a structured manner through reports, visual aids, and presentations.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Students are expected to attend every class and every Akron APICS meeting as set forth on the following schedule.  The classroom lectures and discussions are an integral part of the course.  You are expected to read all assigned reading before class.  Most reading assignments will come from the text Manufacturing Planning and Control for Supply Chain Management, however some additional readings may be assigned.  Preparation of all readings will enable you to be an active participant in classroom activities and discussions.  If you are unable to attend the APICS meetings, you will required to prepare a paper on the topic presented at the meeting or a similar topic.

TEXT:

Manufacturing Planning and Control for Supply Chain Management, 5^th edition. Thomas Vollman, 2005.

PROJECTS:

There will be two projects this semester.  For the first project you will be matched with a professional in the field of Operations Management to learn about their company, job, and application of OM tools and prepare a report and a brief classroom presentation.

The second project will be to investigate an advanced topic in the field of Operations Management.  This project could be topical where you utilize several resources or it may be based on a single book.  I can recommend some good ones.  You will be required to provide both a written an oral report.  Ideally, this project will be an extension of your personal interviews with an APICS member. Hopefully, you will consider entering these papers in the APICS sponsored Donald W. ogarty International Student Paper Competition. More information will follow.

HOMEWORK :

Homework will be problems from the text and possibly some casework.

GRADING:

Your grade will be determined by your test scores, the quality of your written and oral presentations and your attendance/participation in class.  I will be using a standard 90, 80, 70, 60 grading scale.

As I hope to be incorporating speakers as part of the class, the schedule may be modified.

The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course

A.     Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being deregistered from the class.

B.    Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Web for Students) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Friday, January 27, 2006 to correct the error with your advising office.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

C.    Academic Honesty:  Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade (0 points) for the work or course.  Repeat offenses may result in dismissal from the University.

D.    For Spring 2006, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, January 29, 2006.    Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

E.     Students with disabilities:  University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access equal access course content.  If you have documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments.  Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through the Student Disability Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sds for more information on registration procedures).