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College of Business

 

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SYLLABUS: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT BA 357, Fall 2008

Revision Date: 9/27/09

 

Section 3: Mon/Wed, 8:00 AM to 9:50 AM, Bexell 102, CRN 13756

 

Prerequisites:  BA 275 and ability to use internet browser

 

REQUIRED TEXT:

Operations Management, Processes and Value Chains, Eighth Edition, Krajeswski, Ritzman, & Malhotra, Pearson/Prentice-Hall, 2007.

 

OTHER MATERIALS AND References:

Lecture notes, homework solutions, grade point status, and other supplemental material will be provided through BA 357, Spring 2008, Section 003, on Blackboard at http://my.oregonstate.edu.

 

Instructor: Kenneth Shaw, PhD

Office: 341 Bexell Hall

Office Phone: 737-2717 (E-mail encouraged instead of Voice Mail)

Office Fax: 737-4890

E-mail: shawk@bus.oregonstate.edu

Office Hours:           Monday: Open door 1:00 to 2:00 PM

                                    Wednesday: Open door 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Other times by appointment.
Feel free to e-mail me anytime, but do not expect an answer after 6:00 PM.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Operations are the processes and systems by which an organization transforms inputs (e.g., labor, material, and knowledge) into outputs (products and/or services) desired by its customers. Operations managers and personnel are responsible for selecting, designing, running, and improving the processes and systems to accomplish this production or service efficiently for their organization. This course begins with basic concepts and tools used in operations. This is then followed by how these can best be applied to provide an organization a competitive advantage in terms of either operations strategy, process design, quality, supply chain and inventory management, or resource scheduling and use.

 

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE:

This course introduces the student to the different operations management functions and associated methodologies within an organization. Operations usually refer to the part of the company where the primary creation of value for a customer occurs. No matter what occupation or business functional area you choose to work in, it is essential that you acquire a basic understanding of how your organization produces its products and/or services for its external and internal customers. The concepts and tools introduced in this course and how to select the best combination of them for application to a particular business situation can directly affect how successful you are in your future business career.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students completing BA 357 should be able to:

1.     Express an understanding of the main concepts of Operations Management.

2.     Apply key tools and strategies used by operations managers and know how they interact with and affect other functions in an organization such as accounting, marketing, research and design, sales, and upper management.

3.     Understand how to select which these tools and concepts to use, taking into account the affects of cost, quality level, product life cycle stage, and other organizational and external constraints

4.     Use computer skills (especially spreadsheets) and written and oral communication skills to apply the above knowledge to do assignments.

5.     Select and execute the most appropriate operations management solution for a given business situation.

 

CLASS PROCEDURES AND PROTOCOL:

All interactions in the classroom will be professional and with mutual respect. Generally, this implies that only one person talks at any time. Turning off audible cell phone and beeper notifications during class is part of this respect. Because the lecture period is long, there will normally be a short break for five minutes at the end of the first hour.

 

Lecture Content: The lectures are designed to supplement the material in the text and will include topics not covered by the text. Lectures will be posted in the Course Documents folder in Blackboard. There will be occasional blackboard examples, video clips, and some demonstration exercises. Participation during the lectures is expected and strongly encouraged. The instructor reserves the right to call on students selectively or randomly to facilitate discussions when needed. From time to time we may work on a problem from the textbook or an external assignment during class, so it will be wise to bring your text to class. Students who do not attend lectures should not expect to do well in the course.

 

Reading Assignments: Not all of the reading assignment content or homework problems will be discussed in class, but they will be covered on the exams and quizzes. Such content or homework should be self explanatory; but if you are having difficulty understanding the material or solving a homework problem, be sure to ask for clarification in class, by seeing me in my office, or asking questions via e-mail.

 

Homework: You are expected to try and do the homework associated with the reading assignment before coming to class so that you can gain the most benefit from the lecture material. Each homework assignment ranges from easy to challenging problems. The final answers to each problem will be posted in Blackboard in the Course Assignments folder after we discuss the material in class. The homework is designed to prepare students for the quiz and exam problems. Students who do not do the homework should not expect to do well in the course.

 

Work in business operations is inherently a social and collaborative effort with each person depending on the contribution of others. To this end it is expected that students will work with each other, other more advanced students, or their professor when they get stuck on homework assignments. However, each student must ultimately be responsible for their education and try first to do the homework themselves. As a general guideline, if you work unsuccessfully on a problem for more than 20 minutes, it would be wise to stop and seek some help.

           

COURSE GRADING:

All students are expected to abide by the university rules on academic honesty, which forbid cheating or plagiarism.  Failure to do so will result in failing the class per the process in Academic Regulations AR15. The instructor will report all violations to the University. 

 

Exams:

There will be two non-cumulative exams, a midterm (100 points) and a final (150 points). Each exam will take about an hour and fifty minutes. Exams will cover the lecture material, the reading assignments and homework, and any other material and exercises covered in class. Exams may allow the use of selected open notes and/or the textbook. The midterm and final exams will be retained by the instructor and students are welcome to examine their results during normal office hours. The mid-term exam will be given during normal class time and the final exam will be given in a group situation at a separate location and time during finals week.

 

Full-credit make-up exams are allowed in emergency situations, provided notice to, and permission by the instructor is given at least five days before the scheduled exam or with a university-approved absence for a last-minute situation.

Quizzes:

There will be seven quizzes during the term normally worth 20 points each. Students will be expected to take at least five of these quizzes. Quizzes given in class will include material covered in class up until the day of the quiz since the previous quiz and will normally allow the use of one 8.5-by-11 sheet of notes, but not always. Some of the quizzes may be conducted on Blackboard and will be available until the start of the next class meeting. Any missed quizzes will receive a zero, unless you have a university-approved absence and arrange to take a make-up quiz.

 

Class Assignment:

There will be a three-part business analysis during the term that will be worth 150 points overall. These three 50-point assignments will draw upon the methods and strategies you learn as the term progresses and each will be graded in two parts. The first part will be completed in class and the second part will be a take-home exercise where students may collaborate with their classmates as long as there is sufficient evidence of individual contribution in each student’s submission. Take-home parts handed in late after the class period when they are due will be penalized 5 points, submissions handed in more than 48 hours late will not be accepted.

 

Homework:

Homework will not be graded, but you will be expected to be able to discuss this homework in class as part of your learning experience and problems selected from the homework are occasionally included as part of the quizzes and exams with their data slightly altered.

 

Accuracy, Organization, and Participation:

Students are expected to check their work for numerical accuracy. This is easier if students take a neat and organized approach in solving problems. It is critical for operations decisions that the data used in making them is accurate. In the business world, managers expect that their employees will check their work. Therefore, grading of the quizzes and exams will take off points for incorrect math even though the approach used is correct.

 

You are expected to participate in class (see comments for homework above). 

 

There is no formal grade for class attendance, participation, or neatness and good organization, but the instructor reserves the right to increase a student’s final grade point total by up to 2% for adding to the value of the class and being neat and well organized in their performance on quizzes and exams. The instructor also reserves the right to deduct up to 5% from a student’s grade point total for disruptive or other behavior that detracts from the learning experience for the other students in class.

 

Extra Credit:

Students always ask about extra credit opportunities. To be fair to everyone in the class, such opportunities must be available for everyone. One way to earn extra credit is to participate in class and be prepared to answer questions or do problems on the board. In addition, there is an opportunity to earn up to 40 additional points during the term as indicated below by taking all of the quizzes and doing some supplemental work on the assignments.

 

Final grades will be based on the following distribution:

            Quizzes                                                 100 points

            Take home assignments:                       150 points

            Midterm exam                                       100 points

            Final exam                                            150 points

 

Grades will be assigned based on the following scale using your total points divided by 500 (total earned points will be capped at 500 for those earning extra credit):

 

A                      > 92%                            C                     72 - 78%

A minus             90 - 92%                      C minus           70 - 72%

B plus              88 - 90%                       D plus             68 - 70%

B                      82 - 88%                       D                     62 - 68%

B minus            80 - 82%                       D minus           60 - 62%

C plus               78 - 80%                       F                     < 60%

Grading:

During the course your progress will be reported based on your points earned to date against the total points possible at that time. After the final grades are posted, no requests for grade changes will be accepted per current university policy.

 

STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS:

If you have any special needs or emergency medical information that need to be addressed, please contact the instructor during the first week of class. Students seeking special accommodations must register with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities.

 

NOTES:
This syllabus, as well as the schedule posted separately, is subject to change. Every effort will be made to adhere to these documents – however, things can change. While major changes will be announced in class, it is the student’s responsibility to be aware of these changes by checking the syllabus and schedule during the term.