Winter 2020 Department of Accounting, Operations, and Information Systems Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta
Date of this draft: 1 January 2020.
Operations Management 352 Course Outline
Office Email Lecture Instructors:
Section B1: Armann Ingolfsson, PhD, CAP 4-30K [email protected] Section B2: Sam Ito, BCom [email protected]
Lab Instructors:
Sam Ito, BCom [email protected]
Matthew Ryan, BCom [email protected]
Grading Manager: Chan Lee, BCom [email protected] Tech Manager: Adnan El-Ferekh [email protected]
Course web: eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/portal/. Office hours for all of the above: See Contacts on eClass.
Lectures and Labs:
First lecture:
Tuesday 7 January
Lecture section Time Room B1 TR 11:00 – 12:20 TL 11
Tuesday 7 January B2 TR 3:30 – 4:50 TL B1
First lab:
Friday 10 January
Lab section Time Room Lab instructor H01 F 8:00 – 8:50 B24 & 28 Sam Ito H02 F 9:00 – 9:50 B24 & 28 Sam Ito H03 F 10:00 – 10:50 B24 & 28 Sam Ito H04 F 11:00 – 11:50 B24 & 28 Matthew Ryan H05 F 12:00 – 12:50 B24 & 28 Matthew Ryan H06 F 1:00 – 1:50 B24 & 28 Matthew Ryan H07 F 2:00 – 2:50 B24 & 28 Matthew Ryan
The coverage will be the same in the two lecture sections and the seven lab sections. Students are
permitted to attend other sections if there is room. If the room is full, then students that are not registered in the section must leave.
Students must take the lab quizzes in the lab section they are registered in. Students must take the final exam with the lecture section they are registered in. See Evaluation, below, for dates.
Help Sessions: Time Room
M 5 – 7:50 PM Business B18 & B24 The help sessions are staffed by TAs, during weeks when assignments are due.
T 5 – 7:50 PM Tory B39
W 5 – 8:50 PM Business B24 & 28
Course package: A required 200-page course package will be available in PDF format on eClass. This package can also be purchased in printed form for $25 (cash only) from the Operations Management Club, after the first lab and at other times that will be announced on eClass. After the second week of classes, contact the OM Club ([email protected]) to purchase the course package. The course package includes readings, case studies, and reference material.
Optional textbook: Practical Management Science, by W.L. Winston and S.C. Albright (South-Western, 2019, 6th Edition). This is an optional text. It is suggested for those who learn better from reading or who want additional examples with exact instructions on how to build certain models. The 4th and 5th Editions have instructions for Excel 2010. The 6th Edition has instructions for Excel 2016. The U of A Bookstore will sell the 6th Edition.
Winter 2020 Department of Accounting, Operations, and Information Systems Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta
Objectives: To acquire knowledge of and improve your skills in:
• The principles of operations management
• Analytical approaches to problem solving
• Spreadsheet modeling
Student Learning Outcomes: This course incorporates the following learning goals of the BCom
program: Critical thinking and Quantitative skills. At the conclusion of this course, you should be able to:
• Remember key operations management terms
• Explain key operations management issues
• Apply spreadsheet models of various operations to forecast and simulate the future and optimize measures of performance (typically profit or cost.)
• Translate the output of a spreadsheet model into real-world implications
• Troubleshoot spreadsheet models created by yourself or others
• Create appropriate and correct spreadsheet models of various operations Topics:
• Introduction, Modeling
• Forecasting
• Monte Carlo Simulation
• Aggregate Planning
• Distribution Planning
• Predictive Analytics
• Inventory Management
• Congestion Management Evaluation:
• Assignments: 25%
o 9 assignments, due dates announced when assigned.
o Your worst assignment mark will be dropped; therefore this component will be determined by your best 8 out of 9 assignment marks.
• Three in-lab quizzes (Dates: 31 January, 6 March, 3 April): 25%
o Worst quiz mark: 5%, other two: 10% each
o If you miss a quiz with a valid excuse then 5% will be transferred to the final exam. The other two quizzes will count 10% each.
• Final exam: 50% (3-hr. in-lab exam) o Date and time:
Lecture section B1: Monday 20 April from 2 to 5 PM in labs across campus.
Lecture section B2: Wednesday 15 April from 9 AM to 12 noon in labs across campus.
o The final exam will not be administered early to anyone.
o A very small number of students doing exceptionally well on the first two in-lab quizzes and on assignments may be offered an alternative to the final exam.
• All of the above will test your critical thinking and quantitative analysis skills. The remember, explain, and translate learning outcomes will be tested primarily through multiple choice and short answer questions. The apply, troubleshoot, and create learning outcomes will be tested through questions that require you to perform these actions using MS Excel. The focus on the higher-level troubleshoot and create learning outcomes will increase gradually during the term.
• Note: To pass the course, you need
o At least an average of 55% on the final exam and the in-lab quizzes combined o At least an average of 40% on the assignments
Winter 2020 Department of Accounting, Operations, and Information Systems Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta
• Your grade will be determined primarily by your relative standing in the course. The grade distribution will be similar to the historical grade distribution for 3rd year courses at the University of Alberta, with an average of approximately B (or 3.00).
• Marks on exams (the quizzes and the final exam) will be normalized so that the mean for each exam is 80. This makes results easier to interpret and ensures that exams with different means are handled in a fair and equitable manner. (It also means the highest score on an exam may not equal 100).
• See Frequently Asked Questions (on eClass) for more information about grading in this course
• Samples of past exams will be available from eClass a few days before each exam There will be no lectures and no labs during the week of February 17–21 (Reading Week).
Students who require accommodations in this course due to a disability affecting mobility, vision, hearing, learning, or mental or physical health are advised to discuss their needs with Accessibility Resources, 1-80 Students’ Union Building, [email protected], www.uab.ca/accessibility, 780-492-3381.
Policy about course outlines can be found in §23.4(2) of the University Calendar.
The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (www.governance.ualberta.ca) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.
Academic dishonesty in this course will be prosecuted severely. See the Frequently Asked Questions (on eClass) for guidelines on what we consider acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.
Audio or video recording of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a part of an approved accommodation plan. Recorded material is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the instructor.
