COURSE: MAN 3504: Operations Management

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Arup Mukherjee

REQUIRED TEXT:

Principles of Operations Management; Pearson Custom Business Resources; Custom text for College of Business, University of West Florida for MAN 3504
Pearson Custom Publishing; 2011;

BRING THE TEXT TO CLASS.
BRING THE TEXT TO CLASS.

OTHER MATERIALS:

Typically you would need the usual accessories and a calculator; You need to bring the calculator regularly to class. The instructor may choose to provide a calculator for use during midterm/final. Cell phones are not permitted in the class during the midterm/ final.

ABOUT THE COURSE

There are three basic functions of any organization: Operations, Marketing, and Finance. Operations Management [OM] is the function that pertains to creation of goods and services. Activities pertaining to creation of products or services take place in all firms. In some situations, like automobiles, radios, or aircrafts, it is easy to see what the firm produces. In other situations where a visible product is not being produced, it may be difficult to see the Operations function. While it may be hidden from customers, it is usually a set of complex tasks being carried out to ensure that the customer gets the service in a timely, cost effective and reliable manner. For example, consider the case of UPS. This firm delivers packages to destinations requested by the customer. There are a multitude of tasks that need to be performed in a timely and accurate manner to make sure that the package goes to its desired destination. These tasks include pickups, loading on trucks/ aircrafts, routing the trucks/aircrafts, unloading and loading at intermediate points, arranging for final delivery and so on. Or, consider the example of a hospital that needs to perform surgical operations. The patients need to be admitted on time, prepared appropriately for the operation, the nurses, and surgeons have to be scheduled, the operation theater has to be scheduled, the tools have to made ready, and the supplies have to be made ready. Successful completion of these tasks requires careful operational planning at several different levels of the organization.

There are three important reasons why a business student needs to study the field of Operations Management. First, they need to understand the process for creating products and services and the important managerial issues that need to be addressed in this important functional area. Second, they need to understand what operational managers do so that they may develop the skills that would enable them to explore the high paying career opportunities in this functional area. Third, they need to understand operations management because a very high percentage of revenue is spent in the operations management function. As a consequence operations management provides one of the best opportunities to improve the profitability of the firm.

In summary, the study of OM helps us attain a clear understanding of what organizations do and how they do it. We gain an understanding of how goods and services are produced. We gain a deep insight about factors that are important to an effective and efficient management of operations. We learn about the costs that impact our ability to provide service and produce goods at desired volumes of operations. We learn about the important need to produce products and services of desirable qualities and practical approaches to attain such levels of quality. We gain insight about managing people, inventory and projects.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Students who complete this course will be able to:

1. Calculate productivity measures and describe changes thereto.
2. Discuss important quality management tools like 'total quality management'; Develop charts useful in implementing 'statistical process control'.
3. Develop models useful in forecasting future levels of activity.
4. Describe product strategy approaches.
5. Perform analysis to determine capacity.
6. Describe strategies for supply chain management.
7. Apply quantitative techniques for management of projects.

1. Lecture: This is primarily a lecture oriented course. Non-trivial discussion of material covered in class is encouraged.
2. Class work: There may be some work assigned for completion during a class period. This work may or may not be graded. Missed class work can't be made up.
3. Quizzes: Quizzes will be held regularly to ensure that students keep up with the material being discussed in class.
4. Practice problems: Some problems from the text will be assigned for home practice. These will not be graded. However, you are responsible for them on quizzes/ tests.

GRADING SCALE:

		A	94 - 100	A-	90 - 93.9
B+	87 - 89.9	B	84 - 86.9	B-	80 - 83.9
C+	77 - 79.9	C	74 - 76.9	C-	70 - 73.9
D+	67 - 69.9	D	60 - 66.9	F	below 60

QUIZZES:

1. Quizzes may be announced or unannounced.
2. If you can convince the instructor about your reasons for not taking a quiz along with the rest of the class, you may make up a maximum of two quizzes. Requests for make up quizzes must be in writing. Supporting documentation must be provided.
3. The instructor would usually not permit a student to make up a quiz that has been graded and returned to the class.
4. Quizzes are not dropped.

CLASS EXERCISE:
1. Class exercises are an integral part of the learning experience of this course. They are designed to make it easy for students to learn difficult concepts/ techniques. Some of these exercises include discussions after the exercise. Other exercises include practice on important techniques learned during the class. Hence, if you are not in class during a class exercise, you will earn a zero on that exercise.

TESTS [MIDTERM/ FINAL/ QUIZZES]

1. The best way to prepare for tests is to come to class regularly and take good notes. Problems will be solved on a regular basis and students will be allowed opportunity to clarify their difficulties during the lecture. The form in which a test question might appear from a specific part of the lecture material will also be discussed from time to time. The form in which answers are to be provided will also be discussed. The "final" exam will be non-comprehensive.

2. Your responsibility on a test would include:
(a) material presented and discussed in class (text + non-text)
(b) All practice problems

3. The test would usually have two types of questions. The first would be 'problem solving'. The second would be based on theory covered in class. This latter category may include 'short answer', 'matching', 'fill-up-the-blanks', 'one word answer', 'multiple choice' or any other format that is considered by the instructor to be suitable for a particular kind of material.

4. The "final" exam will be non-comprehensive.

5. Make-up policy for tests:
(a) To be fair to all, the tests (midterm or final) must be taken at the scheduled time and place along with other students.
(b) If, under extra-ordinary circumstances, you need to schedule a make-up test, you must first convince the instructor why you deserve an exemption from the policy of taking the tests along with other students.
(c) If the instructor agrees to give you a make up test, you must then submit (i) a written request detailing circumstances why the make-up is needed and (ii) attach relevant, necessary and adequate documentation that helps to substantiate your case.

PENALTIES

(a) Risk Penalty: In order to be fair to all students, exams are expected to be taken along with the class. If exams are taken at times other than the scheduled time for the class, a ‘risk’ penalty may be assessed. If the exam is taken later, there is a risk that the student has come to know what was on the exam. If the exam is taken earlier, there is a risk that the exam will leak out. The actual risk penalty assessed will be at the discretion of the instructor and will depend on the circumstances of each case. For quizzes, the risk penalty is expected to be up to 50% of the maximum points for that quiz. For tests (midterm and final), the risk penalty is expected to be up to 30% of the maximum points for that test.

(b) Disruption penalty: In order to be fair to all students and enable the course instructor to achieve course objectives, it is necessary for all students to behave in a manner that is conducive to maintaining a professional environment in the class room. Hence, the instructor reserves the right to apply a penalty in calculating the final course grade of students who engage in disruptive behaviors. This includes behaviors such as, but not limited to, talking, eating, leaving class during lecture, entering class during lecture, etc. The penalty may be up to 10 points out of 100 points in the final course grade

TOPICS TO BE COVERED
1. Operations and Productivity
2. Managing Quality
3. Statistical Process Control
4. Design of Goods and Services
5. Forecasting
6. Project Management
7. Capacity Planning
8. Supply Chain Management

Note:

1. The above is a very ambitious list of topics. If the need arises, adjustments may be made to the above list.
2. The order in which the chapters/ topics will be covered may differ from the order in which they are presented above.
3. If time permits, other chapters may also be covered.

SPECIAL NEEDS
Students with special needs must inform the instructor within the first week of the course term of any personal circumstances that may require special consideration in meeting course requirements or adhering to course policies. Students with special needs who require specific examination-related or other course-related accommodations should contact The Director of Student Disability Resource Center, SDRC@uwf.edu, (850) 474-2387. Student Disability Resource Center will provide the student with a letter for the instructor that will specify any recommended accommodations.

EXPECTATIONS FOR ACADEMIC CONDUCT/ PLAGIARISM POLICY
As members of the University of West Florida, we commit ourselves to honesty. As we strive for excellence in performance, integrity – both personal and institutional – is our most precious asset. Honesty in our academic work is vital, and we will not knowingly act in ways to erode that integrity. Accordingly, we pledge not to cheat, nor to tolerate cheating, nor to plagiarize the work of others. We pledge to share community resources in ways that are responsible and that comply with established policies of fairness. Cooperation and competition are means to high achievement and are encouraged. Indeed, cooperation is expected unless our directive is to individual performance. We will compete constructively and professionally for the purpose of stimulating high performance standards. Finally, we accept adherence to this set of expectations for academic conduct as a condition of membership in the UWF academic community.