BUSN 260
Operations Management
Instructor: Alex Korogodsky, MBA
Purpose of this Course
Operations Management (OM) is concerned with the management of resources and activities that produce and deliver goods and services for customers. Efficient and effective operations can provide an organization with major competitive advantages since the ability to respond to customer and market requirements quickly, at a low cost, and with high quality, is vital to attaining profitability and growth through increased market share. As competition becomes fiercer in an increasingly open and global marketplace, a company's survival and growth become greatly contingent on its ability to run its operations efficiently and to exploit its resources productively.
The course focuses on the basic concepts, issues, and techniques for efficient and effective operations. Special emphasis is placed on process improvement and supply chain management.
Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, students should:
¨ Develop international employability by commitment to operations management
¨ Understand the key aspects of international company operations
¨ Understand the strategic role of operations management in creating and enhancing a firm's competitive advantages
¨ Understand key concepts and issues of OM in both manufacturing and service organizations
¨ Understand the interdependence of the operations function with the other key functional areas of a firm
Course Materials
¨ Jacobs, Chase, and Aquilano, Operations & Supply Management, 12th ed., 2009.
¨ Case Study Booklet
Grading
Students should attend at every class and participate in the class. Be advised that lectures will be supplemented with materials that are not mentioned in the textbooks. These materials will be tested in exams. Students are expected to research the Internet and industry press and magazines and focus on business impact. You may get definitions from websites such as www.webopedia.com and whatis.techtarget.com.
Individual Cases: Each student will be assigned 2 (two) individual cases due according to the class schedule. The cases will be 5-page write-up following the GAP Analysis Methodology presented in class + 7 PowerPoint Slides.
Team Cases: Students will be split in teams and team cases will be assigned to each team to be presented according to the class schedule.
Final Case: Each student will choose a topic for his/her final case study, due on the last day of class.
The course will be graded in accordance with the following schedule:
Class participation / 10%Individual Cases / 30%
Team Cases / 20%
Final Case / 40%
Total / 100%
Course Topics
1. Operations strategy
2. Product and service design
3. Process design and analysis
4. Capacity planning
5. Lean production systems
6. Materials and inventory management
7. Quality management and Six Sigma
8. Project management
9. Supply chain management
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