KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

UNDERGRADUATE M&IS 34060

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

3.0 CREDIT HOURS

SPRING 2009

I. TO THE STUDENT:

The main objective of this course plan, the syllabus, is to assist you, the student, in preparing yourself before coming to a class presentation, in being able to follow a lecture and participate in class, and in doing the adequate work after class. You are going to participate in informal, un-graded assignments in and out of the classroom that allow you to understand the basic theory behind operations management and the quantitative skill used to make decisions in operations. These assignments will prepare for formal, graded assignments where students are evaluated on their mastery of these skills.

That is the reason, that your instructor has prepared this syllabus with as much detail as possible. It is actually a tool that will enable you to get the most out of this course.

II. RATIONALE:

As we are in the midst of the new millennium, the need for organizations to improve all levels of their operations has never been more important. The effective use of their production resources, the focus in continuous quality improvement, and decision-making could be vital for the success of any organization. The operations function is at the core of a business, because here lays responsibility for most of the labor, materials, equipment, information, energy, and capital used to produce goods and services.

Knowledge of operations management prepares managers to face the competitive challenge of effectively managing organizational resources. Operations management merges topics from accounting, marketing, industrial engineering, human factors, management science, and statistics into a blend of analytical tools and strategic issues.

The main objective of this course is to enable students to become better managers, particularly if they find themselves working in operations management. A sizable part of the U.S. and international work force is employed in operations related jobs. These jobs are important and challenging, and they can lead to rewarding and successful careers. To achieve this objective, several goals were established and are presented in part III.

 
III. GOALS:

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

Cognitive Domain:

1. Understand what operations managers do in a manufacturing and service firms, and become familiar with the tools and techniques that operations managers use in making operating decisions.

2. Identify weaknesses and strengths of the operation function within a firm and be able to communicate at different levels of the organization with the objective of optimizing results of the operations function.

3. Apply theoretical concepts and analytical techniques learned in this course for the effective operation of manufacturing and service systems.

4. Compare different quality measures and costs, and show how they can be used to translate quality issues into the language of management--money.

5. Propose the importance of participates’ problem-solving approaches and the application of analytical techniques for the evaluation of production processes.

Affective Domain:

6. Evaluate the numerous managerial factors that contribute to the successful implementations of operations management concepts.

IV. DETAILED COURSE SYLLABUS:

A.    COURSE/INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:

COURSE TITLE:   M&IS 34060

INSTRUCTOR:        Alan D. Smith, Ph.D,

                                    University Professor of Operations Management

                        Office: BSA   Cell Phone:    330-206-3557

                        e-mail: smitha@rmu.edu

OFFICE HOURS: Wednesday: 2:00 to 3:00, 5:00 to 5:45 PM

                        Other hours by appointment.

TEXTBOOK:

            Stevenson, W.J. (2007). Operations Management, 9th edition. McGraw-Hill:      New York.

            Software: Excel-Template (in student DVD ROM bundled with the text           book)

PREREQUISITES: It is assumed that all students have successfully passed M&IS 24056, Fundamental of Business Statistics.  Students who have not successfully completed the course prerequisite must withdraw from this class. You risk deregistration if you have not completed the course prerequisite.  I do not assume total knowledge of the statistics course, but you should know concepts of sampling distributions, z and t-test statistics, and some competency with interpreting the results of hypothesis-testing procedures.

B. OVERALL COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1. To develop an understanding of the strategic importance of operations and how operations can provide a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

2. To understand the relationship between operations and other business functions, such as Marketing, Finance, Accounting, and Human Resources.

3. To develop knowledge of the issues related to designing and managing operations and the methodologies to do so.

C. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND MEANS:

The student's performance in the course will be evaluated in both course theoretical concepts and analytical techniques by means of two exams, one intermediate exam given during the seventh week of classes, and a final exam given in the last week of classes.  These exams will consist primarily of general operations management theory and principles, or problems formulated to be solved, analyzed and interpreted using various analytical techniques discussed in the course. They may include questions requiring definitions, short essay responses, true/false questions, and/or multiple-choice questions.  The students must demonstrate their practical understanding of theory, mathematical algorithms and other concepts related to the course. In addition to in class tests, instructors may incorporate other criteria to evaluate students.  Periodically unannounced quizzes may be given at the beginning of a class or selected homework assignments may be collected.  At least two literature reviews are required to acquaint students to referred articles in their discipline that uses OM techniques.  Each review must be typed and have a photocopy of the original article attached to your final report, which will consist of the following major headings: 

a. Citation

b. Research classification

c. Statement of problem

d. Types of operations management/decision science techniques

e. Evaluation of the usefulness of the above operations management/decision science techniques

f. Personal evaluation.

Also, computer assignments on each major analytical technique and/or quantitative topic are suggested to achieve the outcomes of the course. Computer assignments must have written evaluations along with attached computer printouts. Suggested software packages include, but not limited to, MS-Excel, OM Excel, QSB⁺, MANAGEMENT SCIENTIST, and/or LINDO.

The following is the weighing scheme for the above-mentioned activities:
 

Numeric Grade Letter Grade Numeric Grade Letter Grade

Please note that timely submission of work is required.  With the exception of emergency situations, which will need to be verified, homework assignments, research projects or presentations must be done by the assigned date.

D. SPECIFIC CLASS POLICIES: 

1. Lecture. Attending every lecture is important for your better understanding of the material covered and will help you see the big picture as well as details in every chapter discussed.

2. Homework. There will be a number of homework assignments assigned and graded, including Excel-based quantitative assignments, given throughout the semester.  They are to be done using only the Excel templates in the student DVD ROM—no handwritten or regular Excel spreadsheet printout will be accepted.  Turn in the printed copy of the Excel Template spreadsheet.  The problems and their due dates are given in class.  In general, no late homework will be accepted.  The homework will be worth 50 points (10 points each).

3. SOLUTIONS. Solutions to problems appeared in the text book are given in the lecture notes.

4. TESTS. There will be two (2) closed-book tests, with the final exam comprehensive in nature.  During all examinations, you are allowed an 8.5” by 11” sheet (front and back) containing information of your choice.  In general, there is no make up for missing tests.  In the extreme case that a documented reason is allowed for a make-up, you must take the exam within one week of the original test date, still resulting in a 5% reduction in the total possible score.  If you reschedule the exam before the established date for the in-class exam, there will be no 5% reduction in the total possible score.

5. Note that there is NO extra credit for this class; so please do not ask – I have heard of every possible reason for such as policy!

6. For Spring 2008 the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, April, 2008.  Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

1. There are no makeup exams in this class for any reason. In emergency situations, which needs to be properly documented (i.e. doctor or employer's excuse-note); you must take the exam within one week of the original test date, still resulting in a 5% reduction in the total possible score.  If you reschedule the exam before the established date for the in-class exam, there will be no 5% reduction in the total possible score.  There will be no exceptions to this policy; so please do not ask.

2. There are no excused absences, late arrivals, or early departures, but I appreciate notice if you know you will be missing class, arriving late or departing early.

3. Cheating in any form will result in an automatic grade of F for the course. Talking to neighbor in class will result in student being assigned a permanent seat away from a neighbor.

4. Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools/Flashfast) 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 30, 2009 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.

5. During all examinations, you are allowed an 8.5” by 11” sheet (front and back) containing information of your choice.  The tests will consist of definitions, essays, and problems.  Examination will typically last 75 minutes.

6. Students will need a calculator for all examinations. Your calculator must have a statistics mode to allow for the quick calculation of means, standard deviations and variances.

Academic Integrity:

We will follow the University Policy on Academic Integrity.  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.   In addition, it is considered to cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation.  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 for the work or course.  Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

Course Withdrawal:

For Spring 2008 the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, March 30, 2008.  Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported. Monday, May 11 through Friday, May 15, 2009.

Students with disabilities:

1. University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access course content.  If you have a 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 Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sas for more information on registration procedures).

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