The University of Texas at Dallas

Global Leadership Executive MBA Program

OPRE 6302: Operations Management

Fall 2006: September 11 – November 19, 2006

Professor Contact Information

Nozar Hassanzadeh Phone: (972) 529-5612 Fax: (972) 883.6164
noha@purelyonline.com

Carolyn Reichert Phone: (972) 883.2726 (W) Fax: (972) 883.6164

Course Manager (972) 867.7088 (H)
E-Mail: Use Blackboard e-mail
Office Location: SM 1.506
Office Hours: By appointment

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

Operations Management 6301 is a pre-requisite for this class.

Course Description

The objective of this course is to introduce students to operations management. Operations

management involves systematic planning, design, operation, control and improvement of
business processes. We will establish a fundamental understanding of how every organization
uses processes to transform inputs into goods and services and of the importance of careful
design, operation, and improvement of business processes. We will also examine the challenges
of operations management and the competitive potential of sound operations management.
Students are introduced to operations research and its successful applications. The class will also
examine how quantitative analysis techniques can be applied to enhance the decision making
process and achieve improved/optimum results.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

• Explain how every organization uses processes to transform inputs into goods and
services.
• Identify the challenges and competitive potential of operations management decisions.
• Use project management and quantitative analysis to enhance decision making.

Text: Operations Management

William Stevenson, McGraw-Hill, 2004, 8th edition

Readings: The Goal

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GLEMBA OPRE 6260 Spring 2004

Eli Goldratt, The North River Press, 1992.

Software: LINDO software will be used for solving linear programming optimization problems.

Other: Notes and case studies are discussed in the audios, slides and the textbook.

Schedule of Assignments

Retreat
Assignment: Read Chapters 1 and 2 in the text.
Listen to audio and slides on Productivity

Retreat: Introduction and Orientation

Introduction to Production/Operations Management
Productivity, Competitiveness and Strategy
Retreat Dates: May 12
________________________________________________________________
Week 1: Productivity, Competitiveness and Strategy
Dates: September 11 – September 17
Lecture: Productivity, Completeness and Strategy
Readings: Chapters 1 and 2 in the text

Plan ahead: Individual Written Assignment #1 due October 8.

_________________________________________________________________
Week 2: Forecasting
Dates: September 18 – September 24
Lecture: Forecasting
Readings: Chapter 3 in the text

Plan ahead: Individual Written Assignment #1 due October 8.

________________________________________________________________
Week 3: Product and Service Design
Strategic Capacity Planning for Products and Services
Dates: September 25 – October 1
Lecture: PS Design and Capacity
Readings: Chapters 4 and 5 in the text

Plan ahead: Individual Written Assignment #1 due October 8.

________________________________________________________________
Week 4: Process Selection and Facilities Layout
Design of Work Systems
Location Planning and Analysis
Dates: October 2 – October 8
Lecture: Facilities Layout, DWS and Location
Readings: Chapters 6, 7 and 8 in the text

Assignment: Individual Assignment #1

Due date: Individual assignment #1 posted to Digital Drop Box by October 8 midnight
CST
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Web conference: Discuss Week 1, 2 and 3 material

Web conference Date: Sunday, October 8: 3:00 – 5:00 PM CST
________________________________________________________________
Week 5: Quality Management
Dates: October 9 – October 15
Lecture: Quality Management
Readings: Chapters 9 and 10 in the text

Plan ahead: Individual Written Assignment #2 due October 29

________________________________________________________________
Week 6: Inventory Management
Aggregate Planning
Dates: October 16 – October 22
Lecture: Inventory Mgmt and Aggregate Planning
Readings: Chapters 11 and 12 in the text

Plan ahead: Individual Written Assignment #2 due October 29

Web conference: Discuss Week 4, 5 and 6 material

Web conference Date: Sunday, October 22: 3:00 – 5:00 PM CST
_____________________________________________________________

Week 7: Supply Chain Management

Material Requirement Planning
Dates: October 23 – October 29
Lecture: Supply Chain Mgmt and MRP
Readings: Chapters 13 and 16 in the text

Assignment: Individual Assignment #2

Due date: Individual assignment #2 posted to Digital Drop Box by October 29 midnight
CST
________________________________________________________________

Week 8: Project Management

Dates: October 30 – November 5
Lecture: Project Management
Readings: Chapter 17

Plan ahead: Individual Written Assignment #3 due November 19

________________________________________________________________

Week 9: Linear Programming & Transportation Models

Dates: November 6 – November 12
Lecture: Introduction to Linear Programming and Transportation Models
Readings: Supplement to Chapter 6.

Web conference: Discuss Week 7, 8 and 9 material

Web conference Date: Sunday, November 12: 3:00 – 5:00 PM CST.

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Plan ahead: Individual Written Assignment #3 due November 19

_______________________________________________________________

Week 10: Queuing Theory and Waiting Lines

Dates: November 13 – November 19
Lecture: Queuing Theory and Waiting Lines
Readings: Chapter 18 in the text.

Assignment: Individual Assignment #3

Due date: Individual assignment #3 posted to Digital Drop Box by November 19
midnight CST

Evaluations: Course Evaluations due November 19

Grading Policy and Evaluation

Grading Formula

Individually Written Assignments (three assignments) 85 %

Web conference Discussions 15 %

What’s important is in the notes and the syllabus, including chapters of the textbook referenced in
the notes for review or as reading assignment. The textbook is an excellent reference -- for use
during the course & in the future.

For case studies and assignments, we will use short & focused cases. This course involves a lot of
reading and work outside of the class. It is one of the most important and most valuable courses
you will take in an MBA program. Most of what you learn is very likely to be the kind of knowledge
most managers need to have to do their jobs and/or to intelligently interact with other managers in
the organization. Contact me when you need to … I am available to help.

There are three individually written assignments. Each assignment will be posted on Blackboard
and due on the due date by the appropriate time. The problem sets are open book, open notes.
The material will focus on the topics covered over a two to three week period. We will NOT spend
much time on teaching how to use Lindo. I will provide sample formulations for the software, but
learning how to use the software is primarily the students’ responsibility.

Assignments serve two purposes: (1) they are a learning/teaching tool to help establish a
fundamental understanding of the concepts, and (2) measure the students’ grasp of the subjects.
The focus is on the substance of learning … not hung up on formats, cosmetics, formalities, etc.
That does not mean willingness to settle for low quality work.

The focus is on application of theory and science to real-life professional environments … not on
the theory itself, i.e. I want you to take what you learn and apply it to your work, not learn a lot of
theory that has little application outside of the academia.

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Feedback on the assignments will be sent to the students on a feedback form. The course grade
will be based on an average of the assignment grades (85%) and participation in the
teleconferences (15%). Individual assignment grades will be in the form of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C,
C- or F. The course grade will be in the form of A, B, C or F.

Evaluation of the assignments will be based on organization and quality as well as the actual
problem solution. Problems should be neatly laid out with the answers highlighted. For incorrect
solutions, the number of points lost depends on the number of points for the problem and the
severity of the mistake.

• A ---Excellent: Minor computational or analytical errors; understanding of all key issues; no

important omissions; concise, very well written and organized, makes appropriate use of
charts and tables. Examples of minor errors: mathematical errors, minor formula mistakes,
minor errors in applying the formula
• B---Good: Medium computational or analytical errors; understanding of most issues; well-
written and well-organized, makes appropriate use of charts and tables. Examples of
medium errors: combinations of minor errors, errors in formula choice or application,
omission of parts of a problem.
• C---Adequate: Major computational or analytical errors; understanding some issues, but
not all important aspects covered; poorly written or organized, makes inappropriate use of
charts and table. Examples of major errors: combinations of medium errors, serious errors
in formula choice or application, omission of problems.

Web Conference Discussions

The purpose of the web conferences is to discuss class material. Participation in the web
conferences will assist you in completing the assignments. Participation will be evaluated using
the following criteria:
• A --- Excellent comments: answers questions appropriately; understands all key issues;
often develops discussion by building on or integrating others’ comments
• B --- Good comments: answers most questions appropriately; understands most key
issues; introduces some new issues or adds to others’ comments
• C --- Adequate comments: answers few questions appropriately; understands some
issues, but not all important aspects; introduces issues without reference to prior
discussion or repeats previous points.

Course & Instructor Policies

Format for Written Assignments

Written assignments should be Word documents or Excel files (no html formats).
• Submit one workbook or document per assignment. List the problems in order.
• Word documents:
o Double-spaced, 12 pt. Arial or Times New Roman font
o Citations properly formatted in MLA style
• For Excel files, each problem should have one worksheet.
o All answers should be highlighted in yellow or with blue font.
o Type your comments into the worksheet.
• Every assignment needs to have the individual name on the first page of the assignment
AND as part of the filename. The filename should be in the form of OM_Last Name_First
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GLEMBA OPRE 6260 Spring 2004

Name_Assignment# i.e. OM_Smith_John_Assignment1.doc.

Submission
Assignments should be posted on Blackboard (Bb) within the course area by the due date.
Assignments are submitted to the Digital Drop Box under Tools tab. Be sure to use the SEND
command to submit to the Drop Box. Do not use ADD command to post.

Late Assignments
If you need to miss an assignment deadline, you must pre-notify the instructor and course manager
before the deadline. You should provide the reason for missing the deadline and an alternative
date for submitting the assignment. The instructor and course manager must approve the
extension and the new deadline. If you do not pre-notify the instructor, the instructor may
determine the appropriate grade deduction for the assignment.

Retreats: Attendance at the retreat is a course requirement. Missing the retreat may be grade
affecting at the discretion of the instructor.

Course Evaluation
The completion of a course evaluation is a course requirement. Students need to complete a
course evaluation form which is an electronic document whose link is located on Blackboard (Bb)
in the course area under the Information button. Students who do not submit a course evaluation
by the due date will receive an incomplete grade for the course.

UTD Policy on Cheating:

Students are expected to be above reproach in all scholastic activities. Students who engage in
scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the
course and dismissal from the university. "Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to
cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are
attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act
designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts." Regents'
Rules and Regulations, Part One, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22.
Professors randomly use “Turnitin.com” to screen papers against other published works on the
web to insure against plagiarism.