BA 302: Business Process Management – Summer 2009

Course Syllabus

 

INSTRUCTOR:        Dr. V.T. Raja 

OFFICE:                     Bexell 405

PHONE:                     541-737-6058 

E-MAIL:                     Raja@bus.oregonstate.edu

 

OFFICE HOURS:      By Appointment

 

CLASS TIMING/VENUE: 

Section 2: CRN#: 73205: MW 10:30 – 12:50 p.m. in Bexell 415

 

PREREQUISITES: MTH 245 and Sophomore Standing. 

 

INTRODUCTION

BA302 integrates core concepts from Operations Management (OM) with those of Management Information System (MIS).  The course introduces a process-oriented view of the flows of materials, information, products and services through and across organizational functions.  All organizations must carefully analyze, document, and continuously assess the efficiency and effectiveness of their business processes to minimize cost and maximize value creation.  The course helps students to: identify information-bearing events and actors, model and analyze business processes, assess and improve process efficiency, recognize probabilistic components of business processes and understand the interactions between human behavior and process design.  Hands-on, case-based assignments allow practicing some of the principles addressed. 

 

PEDAGOGY

The course is delivered as a set of lectures, in-class and homework exercises, quizzes and exams.  The lectures discuss concepts whereas the exercises, quizzes and homework illustrate the application of those concepts in business situations and environments. 

 

Whereas the textbook chapters typically have an OM or MIS emphasis, students will be routinely asked to compare and contrast the materials read and discussed from the 'other' discipline's viewpoint and priorities.  Emphasis is on reflection, critical discussion and review.


 

EMAIL

Some announcements for this class may be made via ONID e-mail.  Note that it is YOUR responsibility to view your ONID e-mails at least once every day.  You should also ensure that your ONID e-mail storage space is not full at any time during the quarter.  If you do not use your ONID e-mail account regularly, then it is your responsibility to set up your ONID email systems so that your ONID e-mails are automatically forwarded to the e-mail account you use (e.g., gmail, yahoo, comcast) on a regular basis. 

 

HANDOUTS

If PowerPoint or other lecture handouts are used in class, they will be posted on Blackboard. 

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students who successfully complete BA302 can:

o    Conceptualize business operations as processes. 

o    Model simple business processes in terms of: the actors and activity sequences involved, the data flowing through those sequences and the dependencies between data and business activities. 

o    Recognize probabilistic components of business processes and can assign distributions to these components. 

o    Characterize business processes in terms of their key operations characteristics; e.g., productivity, efficiency, service quality, sustainability, time and costs associated with waiting, and new service development. 

o    Formulate improvements to observed processes and estimate the effects of these improvements with the help of simulation. 

o    Identify the role of information systems in business processes; e.g., data flow and activity diagrams; ERP, etc. 

o    Recognize the interdependencies of business processes within and across organizational boundaries. 

 

TEXTBOOK & READINGS

1.      Authors: Fitzsimmons, James and Fitzsimmons, Mona (2008)

Text: Service Management: Operations, Strategy, Information Technology

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Irwin, Sixth Edition

ISBN-13: 978-0-07-337783-4; ISBN-10: 0-07-337783-X. 

This book is on a 2-hour reserve at the Valley Library under Call # VR 165. 

A photograph of the cover of this text is provided next. 

Fitzsimmons.jpg

 

Note:

·         Hardcopy of this book is available at the OSU Bookstore. 

·         E-copy of this book is available from http://www.coursesmart.com/.  If you wish to purchase an e-copy of this book, use your browser and type the above URL.  Then, do a search after typing the name of the authors on this website and you should eventually reach the link: http://www.coursesmart.com/0077282949

·         Some quizzes, in class exercises and perhaps an exam may be open book/open notes.  If you purchase an e-copy of this book you may want to purchase a downloadable version as opposed to an online version.  Since not all chapters of this book will be covered in this class, you may want to print only some pages or selected chapters of the book.  You may have a restriction on the number of pages you can print from the downloadable version.  Usually this limit is the number of pages on the book. 

·         EBooks may be available only for a certain period of time (e.g., 180 day subscription). 

·         You may be unable to re-sell eBooks at the end of the term. 

 

1.      Authors:    Baltzan, Phillips, and Haag

Text:          Chapters 12 and Business Plug-In 13 from:

Business Driven Technology, Third Edition

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Primis Edition (2008).

ISBN-10: 0-390-187534; ISBN-13: 978-0-39-018750-5. 

Note:

·         This is a custom book created by BA302 Professors of OSU especially for OSU’s BA302 students.  

·         Hardcopy of this special edition book is available at the OSU Bookstore. 

·         E-copy is available from https://ebooks.primisonline.com/eBookstore/index.jsp.  If you wish to purchase an e-copy of this custom book, use your browser and type the above URL.  Then, click on “Locate the custom eBook created by your professor” link and follow the steps indicated on the webpage.  Eventually you should see the following link: https://ebooks.primisonline.com/cgi/showebook.cgi?bookType=unselected&isbn=0390187534&x=53&y=15

·         Some quizzes, in class exercises and perhaps an exam may be open book/open notes.  If you purchase an e-copy of this custom book you may want to purchase a downloadable version as opposed to an online version.  You may have a restriction on the number of pages you can print from the downloadable version.  Usually this limit is the number of pages in the book. 

·         EBooks may be available only for a certain period of time (e.g., 180-day subscription). 

·         You may be unable to re-sell eBooks at the end of the term. 

 

2.      Supplementary readings in the form of web links, handouts posted on Blackboard, or in the form of material available at the Valley Library may be assigned for some topics. 

 

GRADING POLICY

Individual grades will be based on a ‘weighted’ average as follows:

Exam 1                                                30%

Exam 2                                                35%

Miscellaneous                                      35%

                                                            ------

Total                                                    100%

                                                            -------

Individual grades will be assigned as follows:

A:        score >= 93%

A-:       90% <=  score  < 93%

B+:      87% <=  score  < 90%

B:        83% <= score  <  87%

B-:       80% <= score  <  83%

C+:      77% <= score  <  80%

C:        73% <= score  <  77%

C-:       70% <= score  <  73%

D+:      67% <= score  <  70%

D:        63% <= score  <  67%

F:         score < 63%

 

MISCELLANEOUS category may include attendance, punctuality, professional behavior, student conduct (as per OSU and College of Business regulations), quizzes, in-class exercises, assignments etc.  Most miscellaneous exercises will be administered as pop-quizzes or unannounced exercises based on material covered in the lectures and assigned readings.  It is important that you attend classes regularly, completely, and are punctual so as to not miss any activities in the miscellaneous category.  There may be more than one activity in the same lecture.  These activities may not be weighted equally.  Some activities may be worth more points than other activities.  For example, assignments may be worth more points than quizzes, and quizzes may be worth more points than discussion exercises.  The grading of the assignments and quizzes may be stricter than the grading of discussion exercises.  Assignments may be administered in such a way that students are required to work on the assignment in groups during class time in one lecture and then are required to submit an e-copy and a typed printout of their assignment answers on a specified due date.  When required assignments should be typed and must be of a professional quality (e.g., spell check, grammar, use of non-sexist language wherever appropriate).  A computer/printer crash or a problem saving/retrieving a file is not an acceptable excuse for late submissions.  Late assignments will not be accepted.  Even in the case of an instructor approved late submission of an assignment, expect a 10% penalty for each day the homework is late.  For some assignments, the requirement may be to complete the assignment and submit written answers by the end of a class.  If a student misses a miscellaneous activity that was completed in class, such an activity cannot be typically made up.  Miscellaneous activities are mainly administered to promote in-class group discussions.  Completing miscellaneous activities individually outside class does not serve the purpose of promoting in-class group discussions. 

 

EXAMS: Exam dates are announced on lecture schedule.  Alternate exam dates are typically unavailable.  Exam 1 is an open book/open notes exam.  Final exam is comprehensive and is a closed book/closed notes exam.  Typically no makeup exams will be given if the instructor does not approve an excused absence for the student in advance.  Even in the case of an instructor approval, make up exam has to be taken before exam feedback is provided to the rest of the class.  In case of illness, appropriate medical documentation has to be provided to the instructor.  The student is responsible for scheduling make up exams. 

 

GRADE APPEALS: If you are not satisfied with a grade you have received for an exam, or assignment, you are welcome to discuss it with the instructor outside class hours.  The instructor reserves the right to ask the student to provide a written grade appeal.  In such cases, written grade appeals with appropriate justification have to be made within one week from the time the grades are given out by the instructor.  Incomplete grades will be given only under circumstances deemed unusual by the instructor, and will require appropriate documentation. 

 

ABSENCE:  It is expected that students will notify instructor via e-mail at least one day in advance of missing any class.  Please note that missing part of a class may also be considered as an absence.  Typically, no make-ups are given in this class. 

 

DISABILITY ACCESS SERVICES: OSU is committed to providing equal opportunity to higher education for academically qualified students without regard to a disability. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact Disability Access Services (http://ssd.oregonstate.edu/) to learn more about their rights and responsibilities.  Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, who have any emergency medical information the instructor should be aware of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible, and no later than the first week of the term. 

 

ACADEMIC HONESTY

Students are expected to uphold the OSU standard of conduct for students relating to academic honesty. Academic dishonesty is defined as an intentional act of deception in which a student seeks to claim credit for the work or effort of another person or uses unauthorized materials or fabricated information in any academic work.  Assisting in dishonesty is also considered to be academic dishonesty. 

The penalty for academic dishonesty is severe.  Any student guilty of academic dishonesty may be subject to receive a failing grade for the exam, assignment, quiz, class participation exercise or the course as deemed appropriate by the instructor.  Any student guilty of academic dishonesty could be subject to receive a failing grade for the course and can expect to be reported to the appropriate officials in COB and appropriate University Officials.  If a student is unclear about whether a particular situation may constitute academic dishonesty, the student should meet with the instructor to discuss the situation, prior to engaging in such situations.

Students assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work they submit.  The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work, examinations, reports, and projects must be that student's own work for individual assignments, and the group's own work for group assignments/projects.  Students are guilty of academic dishonesty if they:

·         Use or obtain unauthorized materials or assistance in any academic work; i.e., cheating.

·         Falsify or invent any information regarded as cheating by the instructor; i.e., fabrication.

·         Give unauthorized assistance to other students; i.e., assisting in dishonesty.

·         Represent the work of others as their own; i.e., plagiarism.

·         Modify, without instructor approval, an examination, paper, record or report for the purpose of obtaining additional credit; i.e., tampering.

Students are expected to uphold the OSU standard of student conduct.  Please refer to: http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/regs.htm http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/oars.htm#acdis

for details on student conduct and academic dishonesty.  Ensure that you talk to the instructor if you have any questions about the above two important issues. 


BA302 – Summer 2009 – Tentative Schedule of Lectures: June 22 – July 17, 2009

Date

Lecture Topics

Week # 1 (June 22 - June 25)

 Lecture # 1 (June 22)

 

Syllabus; Course Overview; Services in the Economy

(Refer to Chapters 1 and 2 – Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons)

Lecture # 2 (June 23)

 

Systems, Processes and Models; Business Model – Part 1

(Refer to Chapter 3– Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons)

Lecture # 3 (June 24)

Business Model – Part 2

Lecture # 4 (June 25)

Process Analysis and Modeling – Part 1

 

Week # 2 (June 29 – July 2)

Lecture # 5 (June 29)

Process Analysis and Modeling – Part 2

Lecture # 6 (June 30)

Process Analysis and Modeling – Part 3

Lecture # 7 (July 1)

 

Process Improvement and Service Quality – Part 1

Refer to Chapters 6 and 7 –Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons

Brief review for Exam 1

Lecture # 8 (July 2)

Exam 1

 

Week # 3 (July 6 – July 9)

Lecture # 9 (July 6)

 

Process Improvement and Quality – Part 2:

Variability, Six Sigma and SPC - Continued

Lecture # 10 (July 7)

 

Streamlining Business Operations: Enterprise Resource Planning

Refer to Chapter 12 – Baltzan, Phillips, Haag

Lecture # 11 (July 8)

 

Business Process Outsourcing

Refer to Business Plug-In 13 – Baltzan, Phillips, Haag

Lecture # 12 (July 9)

No Lecture – Feel free to use lecture time to work on Assignment 2

 

Week # 4 (July 13-July 16)

Lecture # 13 (July 13)

 

Review of some probability concepts; Simulation

Lecture # 14 (July 14)

Queues (waiting lines); Refer to Chapter 12 – Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons and also some aspects of chapter 16

Lecture # 15 (July 15)

Sustainability; Course Wrap up; Brief comments about final

Lecture # 16 (July 16)

Exam 2

This is a tentative schedule – and is subject to change at instructor’s discretion.