Course Description: A survey of relevant quantitative techniques and decision support models for use in managerial decision support systems, all within the context of a total quality management and supply chain operations environment. Topic presentations range from broad based descriptions of models and quantitative techniques to actual applications and manipulations of various quantitative models with the computer. Prerequisites include college algebra, statistics, and basic management.

Required Texts:

Goldratt, Eliyahu M., and Jeff Cox, THE GOAL: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, Second Revised Edition, (Great Barrington, MA: The North River Press Publishing Corporation) 1992 ISBN 0-88427-061-0 (G&C)

Hartvigsen, David, SimQuick: Process Simulation with Excel -Updated Version, 1/e, (Upper Saddle River N.J, 07458:Prentice-Hall, Inc.) 2001 ISBN 0-13-065148-6

Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell, The Holt Handbook, 5th Ed., (Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers) 1999 ISBN 0-15-507904-2 (HOLT)

Russell, Roberta S., and Bernard W. Taylor III, Operations Management: Multimedia Version, 3rd Edition, with POM Decision Support Software  (Upper Saddle River N.J.:Prentice-Hall, Inc.) 2000 ISBN  0-13-016050-4 (R&T)

The Wall Street Journal Semester Subscription - available through a class sign-up sheet (WSJ)

Suggested Texts:

Brocka, Bruce and M. Suzanne Brocka, Essentials of Quality Management, (Boston, MA: Richard D. Irwin, Inc.) 1993 (B&B)

Costin, Harry, Readings in Total Quality Management, (Fort Worth: The Dryden Press, Harcourt Brace College Publishers) 1994 (COSTIN)

Dobyns, Lloyd, and Clare Crawford-Mason, Quality or Else: The Revolution in World Business, (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company) 1991 (D&C)

SPC EXpert Software User's Manual: Quality Assurance and Quality Control Software, (Kettering, OH: Quality Software Designs, Inc.) March, 1993 (SPCEX) (availability TBA)

Various Handouts and Web Documents as Assigned

Course Objectives:

1. describe the basic purpose of the operations management process and the modern contexts within which the process takes place;
    - TOC and EVA
    - Ongoing Process Management
    - Supply Chain Management

2. list and describe the quantitative techniques and models, and their advantages, shortcomings, and assumptions which are used to gather and analyze information about various operations process alternatives;

3. use computer hardware and software in Decision Support Systems (DSS) and Simulation applications to analyze and solve Operations Management problems;

4. use computer hardware and software and the internet in the preparation, analysis, and presentation of complex operations processes and reports.

Course Format:

This course will be held during the morning floater time slot, 8:00 AM Tuesday, 9:00 AM Wednesday, and 11 AM - 1 PM Thursday. Initially, the focus of the class will be the presentation and class discussion of an operations management context within which this class will be offered. I have scheduled guest speakers early in the semester. I have also assigned a considerable load of early reading to help set the context and environment of Operations Management and to prepare for the guest speakers. Subsequent topics of study will be assigned with input from the class participants through classroom discussion and participation on the class listserve. After the topics are developed and the class agrees upon them, we will determine the manner in which these topics will be presented. Assigned homework will be discussed in class. Students will be responsible for completing homework in a timely manner.

We also have available to us an E-mail Listserve which we will use to enhance our discussions.  You may send a message to the entire class by addressing your e-mail to <ba333a@snc.edu (eliminate the brackets). This is an open, unmoderated listserve, so anything you send to it will be distributed to the entire list. It is meant to foster discussion, answer questions, provide assignments and clarifications, and generally stimulate the discussion of operations management issues among the class participants. Please be sure to access your e-mail regularly, even if you normally use another e-mail server (i.e. hotmail or AOL). If you do use another mail server, you must arrange to forward your snc e-mail to that e-mail address. Also, you will not be able to address any comments to the listserve unless you post them from your college e-mail account, as the automatic class list will only accept comments from the college e-mail addresses. So you should plan on participating in the class listserve from your SNC e-mail account regularly.  You should access this e-mail group as often as one or more times a day depending on the volume of messages the list experiences.  I will illustrate the use of the mail list early in the semester.

One use of e-mail that we will institute this semester is to turn in assignments. I will assign specific due dates for homework assignments in class and on the class list. We will also hold discussions regarding the assignments made through the web affiliation of the book, or of questions I ask you or questions asked by you or your classmates on the listserve. Address your comments to the listserve <ba333a@snc.edu to share your entries with everyone on the list (remember, you must be sending those messages from your SNC e-mail address, not from another mail server with a different e-mail address for you). This discussion should focus on the questions asked, and provide your perspectives, which you can document with references to the course resources or other items you wish to include as documentation. Your opinions are appropriate, but you need to reference the resources that helped you form those opinions. Your active participation in these discussions will contribute to your class participation grade.

Finally, we will determine what, how and when students, in teams, will prepare and present to the class information about a relevant operations management process. You will select a specific topic from a list provided by the instructor, and prepare an appropriate presentation for the class. This presentation will include an approved list of activities that you and the instructor will agree upon before the presentation is prepared. The objective of this presentation is to share with the entire class the information about a topic which will enable each of them to be able to conduct a proper analysis themselves of an appropriate and relevant operations management situation. Resources for this presentation may include handouts for the class, web pages, software availability on the internet or through your own resources, and other relevant items that are approved by the instructor. A more detailed assignment for this project will be distributed through the class listserve.

Grading:

The grade in this course will be determined by both individual and group activities. Likewise,  your peers, yourselves, and your instructor will have an opportunity to provide input to the grading activities for the course. Individual components of the grade consist of a participation grade (which will be the instructor's judgement of each student's class attendance and involvement, contributions to the class listserve, and other interaction with the class), graded homework turned in on time, a midterm exam (with both a take home and in class component) and a final exam on Friday, May 9, 2003 at 8:00 am (again with both a take home and in class component), and class peer reviews. A group grade will also be assigned to each student based on the performance of each team project. All these inputs will be weighted as listed in the table below, and aggregated into a final grade (see the grading scale in the table below).
 

The grading philosophy of this instructor is as follows. Most graded assignments and exercises are worthy of a whole letter grade (i.e. A, B, C, D, or F). Only in rare instances will I judge an assignment to be worthy of an intermediate grade (i.e. AB, BC, or CD). When the various components of the overall course grade are aggregated at the end of the semester, I will assign course grades as a weighted combination of the separate grades earned during the semester. When a whole letter grade is not appropriate, intermediate grades may be awarded for the course to those who are not definitively worthy of a whole grade.

It may be instructive to review my perceptions of the performance levels necessary for you to earn each of the whole grades. A grade of "A" is due the student who consistently accomplishes superior work in all aspects of graded assignments. Only a small number of students typically perform at this level on a constant basis. "B" students consistently provide quality work for their assignments, are nearly always correct in their responses, but usually could be more elegant and precise in their work. Those worthy of the "C" grade are occasionally incorrect in their responses and often overlook important aspects of the assignment or are unable to elaborate well on a topic. "D" students often provide inaccurate or incomplete work, usually overlook important aspects of the assignment, and generally manifest a sloppy demeanor toward their work. Students who are incorrect or haphazard about their work, and make no attempt to demonstrate an understanding of the course material will earn an "F" for their efforts. When the separate grades for all the course assignments are aggregated into a course grade, each will be weighted as listed above, and the overall average will be awarded to the student.

Teaching Philosophy:

At the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) Forum during the summer of 1993, Ted Marchese, then the AAHE Vice President, presented a model of the traditional bargain between students and teachers in the classroom. It was described as one in which students agree to behave reasonably well in the classroom, to give reasonable teacher evaluations, and to comply with reasonable course assignments by the teacher IF the teacher sticks to the text in lectures, keeps the homework simple and straight forward, and writes tests that stick to the material covered in class. This is the model that students have experienced from kindergarten on. He commented that it works adequately in those situations where the primary purpose of the teaching effort is to transfer knowledge and facts between teacher and students. It is successful for transmitting information bits.

Marchese judged it to be a poor model for learning in depth or for learning higher order skills, such as integration, synthesis, and evaluation. Nor does it effectively provide for personal growth of students. Other, more participative learning strategies, which actively involve students, are necessary to address such goals. If you refer to the objectives presented for this course at the beginning of this syllabus, you will note that I am interested in much more than just providing information bits for you. That being the case, I am reluctant to implement the traditional model presented above. Rather, I am interested in actively involving students in class learning opportunities. This requires initiative, creativity, independence and participation by students in my classes. The various activities I assign are designed to provide for the students an opportunity to become more actively involved in the learning process. Please reflect on this approach and its implications for you regarding your performance in this class. For you to benefit as much as possible, you will have to modify your traditional classroom behavior. Plan to actively participate in the learning activities I assign. Feel free to explore unassigned resources, those in the library and others that are available elsewhere. Spend time interacting with your classmates outside of class. Visit with me in my office or anywhere else we might meet on campus. Seek out your peers and me to discuss the issues of management as they apply to assignments, and as they apply to your personal life. Those who actively give of themselves in the pursuit of the goals in this course will be far more successful attaining them than those who embrace the traditional model designed only to trade information bits. Good luck and I look forward to your active participation in this class.

Academic Honor Code:

It is expected that students will abide by the prescriptions of the St. Norbert College Academic Honor Code. The instructor will make clear for all assignments the types of resources that are authorized or restricted. In all cases it is incumbent upon the student to reference appropriately those sources drawn on for all work presented. If you have any questions at all about the appropriateness of a particular situation, please ask me to clarify my perspective for you. It is far more appropriate to receive prior approval than to argue your case subsequent to a possible violation. You will find that I am fairly liberal in allowing you as much freedom as possible to satisfy the responsibilities of my assignments, and meet the learning objectives of the course.

Course Schedule: The TBA's on the schedules will be replaced by appropriate assignments as the course develops and topics are defined.
 

This syllabus will be placed on the Class Web Page as http://www.snc.edu/socsci/chair/333/333syl03.html
as the dynamic and up-to-date document governing the conduct of the course. I will notify you through the class listserve of changes to this document as they occur.

To contact the St. Norbert College Web Administrator, send e-mail to: webmaster@snc.edu.
 

This page approved by St. Norbert College. URL of this page: http://www.snc.edu/socsci/chair/333/333syl03.html  Last modified: March 26, 2003