- Information
- AI Chat
2020 MBA 703 Syllabus - Course outline for the course with details
Operations (MBA 703)
Preview text
Professor Sunar, 20 20
MBA 703: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Kenan-Flagler Business School
2020 Syllabus
Instructor: Professor Nur Sunar Office: McColl 4710 Email: Nur_Sunar@kenan-flagler Phone: 919-962-
Course Structure: As in all core courses, 7 class sessions will be live in Zoom. We will also have asynchronous class sessions. Several of these async sessions aim to prepare you for the live sessions and/or associated online case assignments. Zoom links for the live sessions are posted on Canvas.
Office Hours & Review Sessions: I will hold weekly office hours and review sessions in Zoom. Starting on Nov 4, office hours will be at 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm on Wednesdays, and starting on Nov 10, weekly review sessions will be at 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm on Tuesdays. Zoom links for office hours and review sessions are posted on Canvas. I’m also happy to meet and chat at other times by appointment.
Course Materials: Course Webpage: On Canvas, accessible through kenan-flagler. Required Text: Course pack 2020 MBA 703 Operations Management Available at the UNC Bookstore. Optional Textbook: The course pack and the materials posted on Canvas (e., course slides, async materials) include all information you need for our course. However, in case you might be interested in additional readings, the course website includes voluntary readings from “Matching Supply with Demand: An Introduction to Operations Management,” by Cachon and Terwiesch, (3rd Edition, ISBN: 978-0-07- 352520-4). Suggested textbook readings are not mandatory. Specific page numbers for voluntary readings are included in the session descriptions on Canvas calendar.
Course Description: Whether you end up in consulting, finance, marketing, operations, accounting, or any other field, you will have opportunities to consider and systematically improve the way you do things. Operations management provides tools, techniques, and strategies for making organizations work more effectively and efficiently and can make you a better manager regardless of the career path you choose. Operations management can be defined as the design,
Professor Sunar, 20 20
operation, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver the firm's primary products and services. This course provides an understanding of the operations management function and its relationship to other functional areas within the firm. In this course, we will develop frameworks to analyze the strengths and weakness of a firm's operations and to develop viable alternatives in pursuing its goals and objectives. We will examine the tradeoffs that managers face in emphasizing one goal (such as high capacity utilization) as compared to another goal (such as customer service). We will compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of different strategies considered in practice.
Course Objectives:
- Provide an understanding of the operations management function, and its relationship to other functional areas within the firm.
- Develop an understanding of the managerial implications of alternative operations policies and techniques for organizations.
- Develop a framework whereby the strengths and weaknesses of a firm’s operations can be analyzed so that the firm can develop innovative and viable operation management strategies in pursuing its goals and objectives.
- Examine the tradeoffs managers face in emphasizing one goal (such as high capacity utilization) as compared to another goal (such as minimum throughput time) in managing/designing business processes.
- Develop competence with specific tools and techniques used by operations professionals in managing operations and setting operations policy.
- Familiarize students with the business vocabulary used within the operations management field.
Our approach in this course is twofold. First, in each topic, we will cover some basic theory. Second, we will look at a variety of cases that show applications (good and bad) of the theory.
We won’t go into a lot of detail (or depth) in theory, so some of you may want to explore more by taking operations management electives. We will solve some problems to cement your understanding of the theory and there will be homework assignments on some of the theoretical material. The cases will be like those you have had and will have in other MBA courses. There will be a variety of settings and problems to solve.
Professor Sunar, 20 20
Group Assignments Due Date Due Time #1 (Process Analysis - I) Nov 19, Thurs 11:59 pm #2 (Process Analysis - II & Inventory) Dec 3, Thurs 11:59 pm #3 Managing Variability Dec 16, Wed 11:59 pm
The final solution turned in must reflect work done by students whose names are on the submission. It is good practice to first do the work individually and then work with your group members to perfect the work. We may solicit peer feedback on team member contribution/performance at the end of the mod, and team feedback may impact the final grade. Finally , please submit your assignment by the given due date as solutions will be posted shortly after the due date.
Live Sessions - Participation & Individual Online Class Preparation Questions:
Students are expected to come to class having completed the readings and having prepared the case. On several days, there will be required questions for each student to answer on the course webpage. The due dates of online questions, which are individual assignments, are as follows.
Your answers to these questions will be graded based on completeness rather than accuracy. Answering these online questions by the due date will help you participate in class discussions. Class participation is a great opportunity to improve your ability to convince your peers of the correctness of your approach and of your ability to achieve the desired results through the use of that approach.
Due Dates of Online Class Preparation Questions (Individual Assignments)
Content Sections 1, 2, 3 (Monday Sections)
Sections 4, 5, 6 (Tuesday Sections) Executive Shirt Nov 9, by the beginning of the registered section
Nov 10, by the beginning of the registered section Shouldice Hospital (Abridged)
Nov 16, by the beginning of the registered section
Nov 17, by the beginning of the registered section Supply Chain Simulation Game Prep Questions
Nov 23, by the beginning of the registered section
Nov 24, by the beginning of the registered section
Amazon Nov 30, by the beginning of the registered section
Dec 1, by the beginning of the registered section Global Financial Corporation
Dec 7, by the beginning of the registered section
Dec 8, by the beginning of the registered section
Professor Sunar, 20 20
Some criteria for assessing effective class participation are: (a) Is the participant a good listener? (b) Are points that are made relevant to the discussion and linked to the comments of others? (c) Do the comments show evidence of analysis of the case? (d) Is there a willingness to participate in a constructive way? (e) Is there a willingness to test new ideas or share new perspectives, or are all comments “safe?” (f) Do comments clarify and highlight the important aspects of earlier comments and lead to a clearer statement of the concepts being covered?
Because the participation is graded, please use “raise your hand” feature in Zoom when you would like to speak, and please wait to be acknowledged by the professor. This will ensure that everybody (who is willing) gets a fair chance to talk; this will also make it easier to identify and give credit to each contributor. You may be asked to assist in the assessment of the class participation grade for your colleagues.
Asynchronous Sessions – Individual Online Participation Questions:
There are individual participation questions included in each asynchronous session. These questions aim to provide an engaging learning experience for you. Your answers to these questions will be graded based on the completeness rather than the accuracy of your answers. Answering these questions will count toward your participation score for the async sessions. Students are expected to submit their answers for all participation questions. However, to give you some flexibility, in the final async participation score calculation, we will drop the score of your individual async assignment among Async 2 (Polyface) , Async 5 (Managing Variability) and Async 7 (Lean Operations) on which you lost the most points.
Please see Canvas calendar for any updates.
Participation Questions for Async Sessions Sections (Sections 1, 2, 3)Due Date for Monday Sections (Sections 4, 5, 6)Due Date for Tuesday Async 1: Fundamantals of Process Analysis Nov 8, Sun, 11:59 pm Nov 9, Mon, 11:59 pm *Async 2: Sustainable Operations (Polyface) Nov 15, Sun, 11:59 pm Nov 16, Mon, 11:59 pm Async 3: Multi-Period Inventory Management Strategies Nov 22, Sun, 11:59 pm Nov 23, Mon, 11:59 pm Async 4: Newsvendor Model: Revenue Management Nov 29, Sun, 11:59 pm Nov 30, Mon, 11:59 pm *Async 5: Managing Variability in Service Dec 6, Sun, 11:59 pm Dec 7, Mon, 11:59 pm Async 6: Quality & Statistical Process Control (SPC) Dec 13, Sun, 11:59 pm Dec 14, Mon, 11:59 pm
*Async 7: Lean Operations (Toyota)
Dec 14, Mon, by the beginning of the registered section
Dec 15, Tue, by the beginning of the registered section
Professor Sunar, 20 20 Date Time Nov 10, Tue 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Nov 17, Tue 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Nov 24, Tue 12:45 pm – 1:45 pm Dec 1, Tue 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Dec 8, Tue 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Dec 15, Tue 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Because you will have an accounting midterm review session at 2 pm – 5 pm on Nov 24, I will hold an extra office hour at 12:45 pm – 1:45 pm on Nov 24 (instead of holding a review session at our regular time that week).
Updates: The professor reserves the right to update or modify this syllabus during the course of the semester. The specific readings and study questions for each class session should be obtained from the course web page.
Honor Code: All students must abide by the Honor Code. No discussion, sharing of materials or consultation of any form is allowed between students on the exam. Exams must be turned in promptly at the end of the designated time. For homework, discussion with other students outside your homework team should be limited to issues regarding the interpretation of the assignment. Specifically, solution approaches should not be shared across teams. For case study preparation, you should feel free to work in a group if you prefer. Each student, however, should be prepared to defend his/her position. Web questions should be answered individually, and your answer does not need to be the same as the group’s consensus. It is not allowed to use materials obtained from students who took this course in previous years or similar courses elsewhere. This syllabus cannot identify all possible situations which represent honor code violations, and is not meant to be comprehensive in that regard. Students are expected to abide by the intent and letter of the honor code, and expected to report any honor code violations that are observed.
Kenan-Flagler Core Values: My and Your Responsibilities:
Kenan-Flagler has six core values – Excellence, Leadership, Teamwork, Inclusion, Integrity, and Community – that provide a guiding framework for the norms and standards we uphold as a community. Although these values should govern our objectives and behavior across programs and contexts, below we outline the application of these values to conduct in this course.
Professor Sunar, 20 20
Core Value My Responsibilities Your Responsibilities Excellence • To provide rigorous, meaningful, and relevant course content and deliverables.
To adhere to KFBS grading standards for evaluating performance.
To seek out and incorporate feedback from students, faculty, and staff regarding course improvements.
To deliver timely feedback on assignments
To prepare thoroughly for each class session.
To participate actively and constructively in class discussions.
Leadership • To communicate the goals of the course and the relevance of these goals to your business education.
To call on students other than just volunteers to contribute to class discussions.
To challenge students to push themselves by thinking critically about the course content.
To challenge your peers during class discussions and study team meetings to think critically, question assumptions, and develop analytical thinking skills.
Teamwork • To set explicit standards for class attendance and consequences for absences.
To provide opportunities for team assignments, where appropriate, but to assign no more than 40% of graded class work to teams.
To make myself available to you for questions or discussions outside of class time.
To attend each class session – if you’re absent, you can neither teach, nor learn.
To self-police, rather than rely on faculty-policing, of attendance – if you’re absent, inform the faculty member. Failure to do so is considered a violation of the honor code.
To contribute constructively to all group assignments.
To come to my office hours or contact me if you have concerns or questions about the course material. Inclusion • To create a classroom with an inclusive environment, where diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are honored and celebrated.
To provide students with equal access to all materials and opportunities.
To treat every student respectfully.
To make each and every student feel welcomed, valued, and that they belong, regardless of their identities.
To support a classroom climate of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging among all your peers.
To support equal opportunity access and seek it from me, when needed.
To be responsible in treating all of your peers with respect and make sure they feel that they belong (in live classes, in Canvas, in breakout rooms, and in group work).
When you hear opinions and perspectives that you disagree with,
Professor Sunar, 20 20 MBA 703 COURSE OUTLINE – Please see Canvas for any updates.
# Date & Format Concept Topic Content 1 Live Nov 2, Nov 3 Analysis of Business Processes
Introduction to Operations Benihana 2 Async Fundamentals of Process Analysis 3 Live Nov 9, Nov 10 Mass Customization Executive Shirt 4 Async Sustainable Operations Polyface 5 Live Nov 16, Nov 17 Healthcare Operations Shouldice 6 Async Managing Supply Chains & Inventory
Managing Inventory I Multi-Period Inventory Management Strategies 7 Live Nov 23, Nov 24 Supply Chain Management I Supply Chain Simulation Game & Debrief 8 Async Managing Inventory II Newsvendor Model: Revenue Management 9 Live Nov 30, Dec 1 Supply Chain Management II E-commerce: Amazon 10 Async Improving Operations
Managing Variability I Managing Variability in Service 11 Live Dec 7, Dec 8 Managing Variability II Global Financial Corporation 12 Async Managing Variability III Quality & Statistical Process Control (SPC) 13 Async Lean Operations Toyota 14 Live Dec 14, Dec 15
Course Wrap-up
Final Exam: December 22, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. Due dates of group and other individual assignments are included on pages 3 - 6 of this syllabus. Due dates related to the simulation game: (a) The supply chain simulation game sign-up form is due 11:30 pm on Nov 10, Tue ; (b) For Sections 1, 2 and 3, individual online registration is due 11:59 pm on Nov 19; for Sections 4, 5 and 6, individual online registration is due 11:59 pm on Nov 20.
2020 MBA 703 Syllabus - Course outline for the course with details
Course: Operations (MBA 703)
University: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Discover more from: