Department of Accounting, Operations and Information Systems OM502 Operations Management
Summer 2019
Lectures: Tory B39, Monday and Wednesday 6:30 PM – 9:25 PM
Instructor: Prof. ILBIN LEE, PhD Email: [email protected] Office: 2-29B Office hours: Friday 2:30–3:30 PM or by appointment
Required Textbook:
1. Managing Business Process Flows, 3rd Ed. by Anupindi, Chopra, Deshmukh, Van Mieghem, and Zemel, Prentice Hall, 2012,
2. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, 30th Anniversary Edition by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, North River Press, 2012,
3. Course Package: A link to the course package containing the cases will be provided in the first week.
Lecture notes are placed on the course web site prior to topics being discussed in class. Note that the lecture notes are not an adequate substitute for class attendance.
Course Description:
Businesses use processes to produce and deliver goods and services to customers. This course is about the conceptual and quantitative analysis of business processes. The emphasis is on strategic and tactical decision making about operations so as to create competitive advantage for the organization. The topics covered include process flow analysis, capacity management, inventory management, queueing, quality, and lean operations. The topics will be illustrated through discussion and analysis of several case studies.
The topics and techniques selected for this course are applicable to a wide variety of industries.
Student Learning Outcomes:
This course is designed to develop an understanding of the following key areas and their inter- relationships:
The core concepts in operations management,
The key drivers of the process performance,
Analytic methodologies for operations management analysis.
This course incorporates the Learning Goals of the MBA Program, in particular: business fundamentals, critical thinking and problem solving, communication skills, and quantitative and information processing skills. For complete descriptions of the Learning Goals of the MBA program, see:
http://business.ualberta.ca/programs/the-alberta-mba/curriculum/learning-goals
Course Components:
This course will be driven by both the textbook and the cases. Therefore, attendance and participation are important. We will follow the textbook reasonably closely so the chapters in the book will give you a rough roadmap for the semester. Week by week, course materials will be posted on the eClass website. We will use this website extensively, so make sure you check it frequently.
Case Studies: We will discuss the cases in the course pack during our lectures. Students must come to class prepared for the case discussions. A detailed course schedule containing the tentative dates and titles of case study discussions is provided at the end of this syllabus. The dates are subject to change but such changes will be announced in advance. Homework and the final exam may contain questions based on our case study discussions.
The Goal: This is a textbook disguised as a novel. As a novel, it is not going to win any prizes. As a textbook it is quite effective. Each week you will be required to read four chapters from this book and answer a few multiple choice questions and/or short essays, testing whether you read the book or not.
These tests will be web-based quizzes to be answered out-of-class.
Final Exam: There will be a final exam at the end of the semester. It will be an open book, 3-hour exam. The exam is scheduled to be on August 16, 2019, Friday, between 6:30-9:30 PM. Please note that the final exam schedule is determined by the Office of the Registrar and therefore, I will not be able to change its date and time.
Evaluation:
Assessment Weight Comments Class participation 10% Lectures 1-11
Web quizzes 15% 3% each. 5 web quizzes based on The Goal Assignments 35% 5 assignments
Final exam 40% 3-hour, open book exam
Total 100%
Assignments and web quizzes are due 11pm on the corresponding day. No late submission will be accepted.
Office Hours:
Office hours are on Friday 2:30–3:30 PM, or by appointment. To make an appointment, please send me an email with a very brief description of the topic and list at least three alternative times that works for you.
Asking Questions and Email:
If you have any question about the course, please post it on the Q&A section of eClass. When you post a question or write an email to me, you should allow at least 24 hours to get an answer. If you ask a question about the course by email, I may post the question and my answer to the Q&A section of eClass so that other students also benefit from the answer.
Software (available in the lab computers):
Microsoft Excel
Course Absence Policy:
If a student is absent and is unable to complete the group project/exam within the given guidelines due to illness, the following procedures shall apply. If the final exam is missed, then the student must apply to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research for permission to write the deferred exam. Permission to write the exam is not automatic – the FGSR policy is to consult with the instructor to obtain information regarding the student when making a determination. If a deferred examination is granted, the deferred examination will be on August 23, 2019, Friday, between 2:00-5:00 PM. If permission is not granted or the deferred examination is not written on the appointed date, then a mark of 0 shall be entered for the final exam.
Recording:
Recording is permitted only with the prior written consent of the professor or if recording is part of an approved accommodation plan.
Web Site General Information:
The address of the web site is https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/
You can access the course web site with your CCID and password. Please contact IST (780-492-9400) or the [email protected] for assistance if you do not have your CCID or password.
Accommodating Disabilities:
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 Specialized Support and Disability Services, 2-800 Students' Union Building, 492-3381 (phone) or 492-7269 (TTY) and to contact me as soon as possible so that we can discuss appropriate arrangements.
Academic misconduct:
Students who commit any act of plagiarism, cheating, or misrepresentation in this course will be penalized. All assignments (except for the group project) are to be completed individually. However, I recognize the value of studying together and comparing notes when working on assignments. To help you judge what I consider acceptable and non-acceptable collaboration, consider the following.
Do:
Discuss the course material with other students
Ask classmates for help when you are stumped
Offer help to other students
Do your own work.
Don’t:
Discuss numerical answers with other students
Use someone else's words without proper attribution
o The best way to avoid using another student's words is to never look at another student's written answers to an assignment
o If you cite an article, book, web page, or any other source in your project report, then you must include complete information about that source
Copy another student's spreadsheet file, SQL file, or any other computer file
o There are no exceptions to this rule. Copying another student's file for an assignment (or another group's work, for the group project) is not acceptable, under any circumstances. It is irrelevant whether the copying is done electronically or manually
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 (online at https://www.ualberta.ca/governance/resources/policies- standards-and-codes-of-conduct/code-of-student-behaviour) 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 course web) for some guidelines on what we consider acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.
Policy about course outlines can be found in §23.4(2) of the University Calendar.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Note: This is a general guideline for the semester. To accommodate student interests we may find it necessary to make alterations to the schedule as the semester progresses. Topics will be covered in sequence; however, it may be necessary to go faster or slower than indicated. Assignments and web quizzes are due 11pm on the corresponding day.
Lecture Date Textbook Chapter
Case Discussion
Assignment Due
1 7/8 1,2 – Intro
3 – Process Flow
2 7/10 3 – Process Flow Oz TV
3 7/15 4 – Flow Time Web Quiz – The Goal Ch 1-8 (Sunday, 7/14)
Homework 1 (Sunday 7/14) 4 7/17 5 – Capacity Kristen’s Cookie
Co.
5 7/22 6 – Inventory Web Quiz – The Goal Ch 9-16 (Sunday, 7/21)
6 7/24 7 – Safety Stock
Homework 2 (Tuesday 7/23) 7 7/29 7 – Safety Stock National
Cranberry Co.
Web Quiz – The Goal Ch 17-24 (Sunday, 7/28)
8 7/31 8 – Queueing Homework 3 (Tuesday 7/30)
8/5 Holiday
9 8/7 8 – Queueing Pancho’s
Burritos
Web Quiz – The Goal Ch 25-32 (Tuesday, 8/6) Homework 4 (Tuesday, 8/6)
10 8/12 9 – Process Control
Web Quiz – The Goal Ch 33-40 (Sunday, 8/11)
11 8/14 10 – Lean Operations
Kaiser
Permanente Homework 5 (Tuesday 8/13) 8/16 Final Exam
