Mgmt 160 - Planning and Control of Operations

Course Description:

Advanced study in the management of operations in service and manufacturing organizations.  Emphasis is on techniques for the continuous improvement of quality and productivity.  Includes coverage of process mapping, cause-and-effect analysis, pareto analysis, benchmarking, quality function deployment, production scheduling, theory of constraints, workforce scheduling, and ethical issues in operations.  Prereq: Mgmt 120, IS 40.
 

Course Objectives:

1. To extend the student's knowledge of the operations function (introduced in Mgmt 120), in particular addressing scheduling of production and inventory control, scheduling of employees, process analysis and improvement, and the impact of the global economy on the operations function.
2. To teach the student techniques for improving operations in both service and manufacturing industries.
3. To explain and critique the philosophy of various continuous improvement movements and their effect on operations management.
4. To further the student's ability to use computer tools for the analysis of operations questions.
 

Course Procedures

1. Material for study comes from the course required text(s), from lectures, and from cases.
2. Class time activities include lectures, discussions, simulation exercises, and a tour of a local production or service facility.
3. Student performance will be evaluated on the basis of application projects, essays, and journal entries.  Assignments will include writing components, computer work, analytical problem solving, and critical thinking.
 

Performance Outcomes

Students having successfully completed Mgmt 160 will be able to :
1. Describe the significance of the operations function both in an organization and in respect to the standard of living of nations.
2. Explain the relationship between character and ethics and list both active and passive tests of character that are common to operations managers.
3. Explain the concepts of Total Quality Management and their relevance to the management of operations.
4. Explain the philosophy of continuous improvement and delineate the components of a continuous improvement cycle.
5. Explain the significance of constraints in production systems and describe how to identify, exploit, and change them.
6. Describe the relationship between production scheduling, setup time, inventory, and leadtime, and be able to point out the advantages and concerns of reducing inventories.
7. Describe Time-based competition, Kaizen, and Poka .
8. Apply the concepts of Poka Yoke to reduce or remove the likelihood of defects occuring in a process.
9. Apply cause-and-effect analysis and Pareto analysis to identify significant problems in a process.
10. Apply analytical thinkning to solve problems of facility layout, facility location, and line balancing.
11. Explain the processes of benchmarking and quality function deployment and their impact on the operations function.
12. Discuss the impact of the global economy on the operations function.
13. Describe the connection between business strategy and operations and be able to propose operations changes necessary for a company to better compete in a given market.
 

Course Policies

This is a second level course in operations management designed to help prepare a student to work in operations or to interact with ones in this area.  The first course in operations management, Management 120, must be taken before this course.  The student is also expected to have familiarity in the use of the computer and computerized spreadsheets (Excel)and with statistical concepts including sampling, normal distributions, and control charts.
 

Course Grade:

Course grade will be determined based on the percentage of points the student earns out of the points possible.  The grading scale is as follows:
 90% to 100% => A
 80% to < 90% => B
 70% to < 80% => C
 60% to < 70% => D
 under 60%    => F

There will be approximately 200 points possible in class, all arising from assignments that will become part of your portfolio.
 

Late work policy:

Work is expected to be handed in at the beginning of class on the day for which it is due.  The assignment sheet provides due dates with ample lead time that the conscientious student can schedule his or her workload appropriately.  Late work will be penalized 10% and will only be accepted up to 24 hours after the assignment is due.  There are three reasons for this policy.
1.  Grading papers involves two kinds of "costs".  Like many kinds of processes, there is a setup cost and a per paper cost to grade assignments.  If I have the papers for the entire class all together when the grading process starts, the setup cost is only incurred one time.  If I have only a portion of the class, then the setup cost must be incurred again when I work on the second and/or third set of papers from the class.  Cost, in this context, mainly refers to my time.  When I spend extra time for setup, then that pulls from time that could be spent in other ways to improve the educational process.  Thus, this first reason is basically a productivity/efficiency reason.
2.  The papers in this class often contain a subjective element.  That is, instead of problem sets with right and wrong answers, this class asks you to think, reflect, be creative, analyze, and write.  To determine how good of a grade you earn, I will compare what you have done with what others have done.  Here again, it is important for me to have the papers of all students in the class at the same time.  As I read the papers and comment on them, much of this information lodges in my short term memory.  I can fairly compare the papers, and give equitable grades.  When a paper comes in late, it ends up being graded in a much shallower context.  I don't have the other papers in front of me to compare to, and I don't have my short term memory saturated with the work of the entire class.  On one day, I made grade a late paper with a lower standard than the rest of the class.  On another day, I may be much more critical of a paper that comes in late, not because it came in late, but because I am no longer engrossed in the grading of the assignment.  Thus, to allow for fairness in grading, I cannot accept late papers.  This second reason is one of equity.
3.  My experience has shown me that students generally live up to the standards that are expected of them.  If I require papers on time, my students will hand them in on time.  If I am too free with allowing late work to be accepted, then I get late work, and many times, the amount of late work keeps growing over the course of the semester.  It is a more admirable quality for a person to turn things in on time than for a person to be habitually late.  Thus, it is in the best interest of the students to require work turned in on time.  This third reason in one of character:  I want my students to evidence good character.
To allow a little breathing room I am allowing a 24 hour late paper grace period.
 

Academic Dishonesty:

This class has two kinds of graded work: individual and group.  For individual work, it is expected that each person in class turn in assignments that fairly represent his or her own understanding and capabilities.  If it is apparent from a comparison of student papers that one student simply copied the work from another, the students involved may be asked to resubmit separate alternate assignments.  In cases of blatant or repetitive dishonesty,  or in cases of copying during exams, the students will be reprimanded according to the university policies.
For group assignments, all students in the group are expected to participate.  It is recommended that the group recognize the various strengths and weaknesses of the individual members and divide the work load in such a way as to make the best use of each member's talents.   Of course, every member in the group should understand the entire assignment and whatever concepts were used in performing the assignment.

Special Needs

Drake University strives to provide equal access to educational opportunities to all peoples regardless of sex, race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, age, or disability.  Those students with visible or non-visible handicaps are encouraged to contact me as soon as possible regarding any special accommodations that may be appropriate.