At a fundamental level, any business or organization is concerned with delivering value to its customers or clients. The ‘operations’ of a company are the direct processes that a company uses to create value: they involve transforming inputs of some sort into outputs. Operations management is the task of managing these processes. Each company or organization will have a unique set of operations however this course addresses the fundamental tools and frameworks that apply across contexts including both service industries and manufacturing.

1. Customers – value to the customers is the ultimate aim
2. Systems – the operations of a company are treated like a system with various interconnecting elements
3. Variability – processes are often unpredictable

Knowledge

1. Analyze different types of operations processes, calculate the capacity of operations systems and predict customer waiting times
2. Develop and use strategies for improving the performance and quality of operations
3. Determine appropriate levels of inventory within a supply chain and diagnose reasons for poor service and excessive inventory
4. Plan activities in a project environment and analyze the effect of variability

Skills

1. Engagement with scholarship
2. Team-based skills
3. Critical and analytical thinking
4. Decision-making and problem-solving
5. An ability to manage change

Assessment Guidelines for assigning main letter grades: A, B, C,D, and F.

A:  Work of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensiveknowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.

B:  This is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.

There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.

C:  This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.

D:  This level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.

Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.

F: This work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

A demonstrably regulated attendance policy is required both by Italian immigration law and by our accreditation bodies. Instructors will record attendance on official registers, once the class list has been finalized after Add/Drop week (see the relevant page of the catalog). Attendance is also of key pedagogical importance. Successful progress towards a degree depends on the full cooperation of both students and faculty members. Most courses utilize lectures and classroom discussions, which means that regular attendance and active participation in classes are essential parts of the educational process. No excuse for absence will exempt a student from the completion of all required work in a course. The student is responsible for requesting assistance from faculty members for making up any missed work.

In courses which meet twice per week, students may not have more than three absences.

Students are expected to be in class on time.

Module 1

Processes – while there is immense variety, there are some fundamental and important ideas that traverse contexts

1. Operations: The different ways of organizing operations, the connection between these choices and the aim of delivering value to the customer and competitive priorities.
2. Process analysis: The nature of operations as transformations. Using the flow diagram as a tool for understanding processes and key concepts including cycle-time, capacity and lead-time.
3. Queues in service operations. What determines capacity of an interacting set of activities and how can we design a balanced system to maximize process output. Analysing queues with random arrivals and Little’s Law.

Module 2

Achieving excellence – What is a high quality operation and how can it be achieved? Central to answering this question is going beyond quality issues and looking at how lean operations eliminate waste

1. Managing for quality: The continual process of monitoring and improvement, using various tools to achieve high quality (e.g. TQM). Employee empowerment, particular front line employees, is also a key issue.
2. Statistical quality control: The types of variability and the use of control charts to track process performance, measuring and monitoring to achieve long-term improvement through averaging over a sample and data involving counts.
3. Lean operations: JIT management and the evolution from ‘batch and queue’ to low inventory and small batches. How control is achieved using ‘pull’ mechanisms that require close relationships with suppliers who need to deliver small batches on demand. The case of lean operations at Toyota.

Module 3

Supply chain – The movement of materials via control of inventory and coordination between supply chain partners

1. Introduction to supply chains and inventory management: How the value chain operates and the role of inventory in supply chains. Firm ownership and coordination in the supply chain. Reasons for holding inventories and associated costs (e.g. holding costs, fixed order costs, shortage costs), giving specific attention to cycle inventory and Economic Order Quantity.
2. Inventory with uncertain demand: Understanding the nature of the variability of demand and the relevant inventory control methods including buffer inventory, inventory ordering policies and risk pooling.
3. Improving supply chain performance: Examining the broader supply chain context to ensure that the contract structure and mechanisms is designed appropriately. Mapping the supply chain for coordination and focusing on buyer-supplier relationships.

Module 4

Project – while operations are repeated frequently, there are also unique and individual processes which presents a different set of challenges and involves careful planning of inter-related activities

1. Managing projects: The key techniques of project management and how they can be used in practice such as project scheduling and critical paths. The role of the project manager and the project set-up process. The use of network methods for scheduling project activities.
2. Project risks: Tracking project progress and the various types of risk. The use of Monte Carlo techniques to assess the impact of uncertainty in activity duration on the project as a whole and monitoring through earned value.