You are on page 1of 3

Management of Operations: OM 711 Winter 2007 Course Information

Instructor: Uday Rao, http://www.business.uc.edu/Uday-Rao; E-mail: uday.rao@uc.edu


Office: Lindner 528, Phone: 556-7138, Fax: 556-5499, Office Hours: TBA
Text: Optional, but highly recommended Operations Management: Processes and Value
Chains, 8th edition, 2007, by Krajewski, Ritzman, Malhotra, Pearson Prentice Hall Publishers.
Readings: Included via http://blackboard.uc.edu or distributed in class.
Class Times: Section 901, Tuesdays 6:00-8:40 PM, Lindner 109.

Course Description: The main objective of the course is to provide you with the tools, concepts, and insights
for managing modern operations in manufacturing and service organizations. This course provides:
1. A systematic introduction to issues and trade-offs in production operations management;
2. A managerial perspective of process, supply chain, plant, shop floor, and logistics management;
3. A grounding in basic quantitative models and analyses for operations implementations & control;
4. A flavor of current business operations language, strategies, issues, approaches, and innovations.
We consider several problem domains (such as pharmaceutical, retail, automotive, healthcare) and explore the
OM spectrum from fact-based quantitative decisions to intuition-based qualitative strategies. Key topics include
operations strategy, product / process design and analysis, capacity management, production & inventory
control, resource planning, supply chain logistics, lean systems, and other related topics such as project, quality,
revenue, and service operations management. We discuss several emerging cross-functional practices.
Instruction will be through a mix of lectures, cases, problem sets, and exercises. A team-based course project
customizes and complements the lecture material.

Assessment: All assignments must be done in groups of four or fewer; the final will be an individual exam;
there is no mid-quarter exam. You do not need to use the same team for all assignments. The UC student code
http://www.uc.edu/ucinfo/conduct.html will apply (acknowledge all relevant sources in any submitted work).
Assignments: Two quantitative homework assignments (25%) and two case reports (25%). You are
expected to speed-read all cases before the discussion date listed in the course schedule. Select two cases for
submission; case reports will be due in class on the day the case is to be discussed (weeks 3, 5, 7).
Assignment 1 will be due in week 4; Assignment 2 will be due in week 8. Project presentations will be on
week 9 (last class).
Project: Projects are an excellent means to explore topics of special interest to you. Each group may study
a case / topic / problem / company from an OM perspective. For your chosen environment, research the
main issues faced by the operations function, investigate key managerial challenges, and implementation
issues. The main deliverable is a team-based PowerPoint presentation (~25 minutes including at least 5
minutes for Q&A, accounting for 20% of overall score). In order to facilitate the process of selecting project
topics, I have listed a set of HBS cases at the end of this document; you may pick one of these cases for your
project. In your presentation, you will need to briefly introduce the class to a synopsis of the case, describe
the key problem to be resolved, and present your recommendations / analysis. You must e-mail me your
team composition by the end of week 2 along with an indication of your teams interests (or your top two
preferences for cases from the ones listed). If none of the cases fits your interest, I can suggest other specific
articles / cases to explore and provide your project team as much assistance as possible. All project topics
must be finalized by the end of January; e-mail me a draft project PowerPoint file around week 6, so I can
provide you timely feedback to improve the entire class experience during your project presentation.
Exams: There is no mid-quarter exam. One comprehensive final exam will account for 25% of course
grade; this individual exam will likely be take-home, open-book / notes details TBA.
Class/Section Participation1: Based on class attendance and involvement (insightful remarks or clarifying
questions). 5% of course grade just enough to affect your final course grade.

1
Criteria: 1. Willing to participate? 2. Good listener? 3. Evidence of analysis of cases and readings? 4. Make well thought
out statements that are relevant to the discussion and linked to others comments identify overlooked points or clarify,
Tentative Syllabus & Schedule: Chapter #s below are for Krajewski-Ritzman book
Week Lecture Materials Readings, Cases, HWs
#1: Jan 9 Introduction, OM History & Innovations, Chapter 1 (Krajewski et al),
Illustrative OM Modeling Goldratts PQ PQ Exercise Debrief (on bboard)
problem, Operations Strategy Chapter 2
#2: Jan 16 Product / Process / Technology Management, Skim thru Chapters 2 & 3,
Process Capacity (Seagate minicase?) Chapter 6
#3: Jan 23 Quantitative Waiting Line Models, LE PETIT CHEF CASE
Intro to Supply Chains (if time permits) Supplement C, Bboard Spreadsheets

#4: Jan 30 Supply Chain Management, Chapters 9, 15


Inventory Modeling, Newsvendor Model. ASSIGNMENT 1
#5: Feb 6 Inventory EOQ, Continuous & Periodic Chapter 15, Distribution Game
Review (Parts Emporium minicase?). SPORT OBERMEYER CASE
#6: Feb 13 Resource Planning (MRP / ERP), SAP demo Chapter 16, DRAFT PROJECT
PRESENTATION PPT FILE DUE.
#7: Feb 20 Lean / JIT Systems Chapter 11, Toyota Georgetown tour?
TOYOTA MOTOR MFG. CASE
#8: Feb 27 Project / Quality / Revenue Management / ASSIGNMENT 2
Service Operations, Guest Speaker? (TBA)
#9: Mar 6 Course Review; Project Presentations COURSE PROJECT
TBA Final Exam FINAL

Miscellaneous Readings: Will be listed on Blackboard and made available, whenever permitted by copyright
(e.g., using UC Libraries Business Databases).

How to prepare a case: Speed-read to identify what the case is about and what types of information is provided
for analysis. Read the case again carefully to understand key facts and basic problems to be resolved. Put
yourself in the shoes of the main protagonist (become managers involved in case issues). Discuss the case with
your team members. Sort out the relevant considerations for each problem area. Develop a set of
recommendations supported by your analyses of case data.
Case reports: 4-5 pages with concise2 logical modules containing the following sections: 1. Executive
Summary (of report, not case) 2. Analyses main issues, list of options considered, recommendations with
qualitative justification / quantitative analyses, 3. Implementation; Limitations / Risks and Contingencies. Some
questions, specific to each case, to help guide your thinking are listed below. (Do not adopt a direct question and
answer format in your report. Avoid simply regurgitating case facts; assume that the report reader knows the
case data well, use relevant case facts to support your analysis and conclusions.)

Le Petit Chef: Brigitte Gagne, Le Petit Chefs new director of Microwave R&D, is in the process of deciding the
product development agenda for the next year. She has a pressing deadline to meet the executive board
meeting in Paris tomorrow to review her choices. 1. Comment on the product development and project

highlight, and synthesize important aspects of earlier comments leading to a clearer understanding of the concepts or to new
insights. 5. Be willing to test new ideas leading to a creative discussion, rather than only safe comments.
2
Please try to adhere to the following guidelines  Be concise and well-structured: Key recommendations should be
summarized; detailed exhibits should be put in an appendix.  Be to the point: Know that you write to someone who knows
the facts of the case; focus on your explaining and making a clear case for your recommendations.  Be punctual: Late
submissions will be penalized by a drop of at least one grade (which is still to be preferable to no credit). Refrain from
consultant speak. For example, avoid statements such as, Company X should use better forecasting. In fact, every
company can use better forecasting. If you want to recommend better forecasting, demonstrate how to do the better
forecasting, e.g., what model should be used with what data, and then perform the analysis.
2
execution processes at Le Petit Chef. 2. What should Gagne do? Specifically, which projects should she fund
and why? How should she handle to executive meeting? 3. What factors explain Le Petits poor performance?
What actions would you recommend to remedy the situation?

Sport Obermeyer Ltd.: 1. Using the sample data given in Exhibit 10 make a recommendation for how many
units of each style Wally Obermeyer should order during the initial phase of production. Assume that all ten
styles in the sample problem are made in Hong Kong and that Obermeyer's initial production commitment must
be at least 10000 units. (Ignore price differences among styles in your initial analysis.) 2. What operational
changes would you recommend to Wally to improve performance? 3. How should Obermeyer management
think (both short-term and long-term) about sourcing in Hong Kong versus China? FYR, related HBR Article is
Making Supply Meet Demand in an Uncertain World, HBR May 1994

Toyota Motor Manufacturing: 1. As Doug Friesen, what would you do to address the seat problem? Where
would you focus your attention? 2. What options exist? What solutions would you recommend? Why? 3. Where,
if at all, does the current routine for handling defective seats deviate from the principles of the Toyota
Production System? 4. What is the real problem facing Doug Friesen? FYR, related HBR Article (applicable to
service organizations too) is Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System, HBR Sep 1999

Technical Assignments: Problems will be made available on the course web site. Solution may take time,
please work regularly (keep up with lecture materials; work on problems as early as possible).
Assignment 1: P&Q Problem, Capacity Planning, Waiting Lines.
Assignment 2: Supply Chains, Inventory Systems, Resource Planning, JIT/Lean.

List of interesting cases for Team Project FYR:

You may research these further at www.hbsp.harvard.edu (Harvard Business Online) or click on the case link; I
can post a document on blackboard summarizing the cases listed below. Pick one or two that you are interested
in and I will buy the case for your team project. When you tell me your final case of interest, I will try to provide
you additional relevant resources (such as HBR articles). Feel free to go beyond this list and pick either an OM
problem from your current work experience or another good case from your own research.

1. Alden Products, Inc.: European 24. Manzana Insurance: Fruitvale Branch


Manufacturing (Abridged)
2. American Connector Co. (A) 25. Measure of Delight: The Pursuit of Quality
3. Leadership Online (A): Barnes & Noble vs. at AT&T Universal Card Services (A)
Amazon.com 26. Microsoft in 2005
4. Applichem (A) or Applichem (A) 27. Monster.com: Success Beyond the Bubble
(Abridged) 28. Moore Medical Corp.
5. Bank of America (A) 29. National Cranberry Cooperative (Abridged)
6. Barilla SpA (A) 30. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
7. Benetton (A) 31. Owens & Minor, Inc. (A)
8. BMW: The 7-Series Project (A) or 32. Product Development at Dell Computer
Launching the BMW Z3 Roadster Corp.
9. Business Intelligence Software at SYSCO 33. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co.
10. Copeland Corp.: Evolution of a 34. RFID at the METRO Group
Manufacturing Strategy--1975-82 (A) 35. Shouldice Hospital Ltd.
11. Cisco Systems, Inc.: Implementing ERP 36. Siemens AG: Global Development Strategy
12. Deaconess-Glover Hospital (A) (A)
13. Donner Co. 37. Southwest Airlines in Baltimore
14. Eli Lilly and Co.: The Flexible Facility 38. Starbucks
Decision--1993 39. Supplier Management at Sun Microsystems
15. Exel plc--Supply Chain Management at (A): Managing the Supplier Relationship
Haus Mart 40. Vandelay Industries, Inc.
16. Ford Motor Co.: Supply Chain Strategy 41. Wal-Mart, 2005
17. Google, Inc. 42. Wriston Manufacturing Corp.
18. Hank Kolb, Director, Quality Assurance and 43. Zara: IT for Fast Fashion
Extensions Greasex, Inc.
19. Innovation at 3M Corp. (A)
20. Intel Corp.--1968-2003
21. The ITC eChoupal Initiative
22. Kristen's Cookie Co. (A)
23. Li & Fung: Internet Issues (A)

You might also like