6K100 Syllabus

Course Information

Catalog Description

Strategic, tactical, operational issues that arise in management of production and service operations; product and process design, facilities planning, quality management, materials management, operations planning and scheduling, emerging technologies in production and service management.

Course Objectives

The course objectives are:

1. To understand production and service systems: inputs, conversion systems, and outputs for both manufacturing and services.

2. To gain an insight into the role of the production and service functions in a variety of organizations and their relationships with other business functions such as marketing, accounting, finance, and human resource management.

3. To develop the ability to recognize, formulate, and analyze operations management decisions, and to use various modeling tools to help make decisions.

4. To understand the operations managers' job: the way they approach problems, the terminology they use, the challenges that they face, and their perspectives.

Course Format

This is an 16-week course. It will be offered in "online" format.

You will receive a "Welcome" email from me about a week before class that will provide access to all course materials and explain how the course is conducted. Watch for this email!

All course materials will be available from the instructor's website system, Moodle. There is a link in the ICON course to Moodle. The course materials will be delivered asynchronously, meaning that you do not have to be behind your computer at any specified time (you can work when you are most productive).

This course makes intensive use of lecture videos that I have created. These videos are provided in "Flash" format and as podcasts (on iTunesU).

Texts

"Operations Management," by Jay Heizer and Barry Render, 10th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2011. Available at Iowa Book & Supply store and IMU Book Store.

Additional Course Resources

This course assumes that the student has some computer skills and understands how to use products such as email, browsers, word processing, and spreadsheets.

Hardware: You will need a computer and high-speed access (such as DSL or cable) to the Internet for playing course videos. Some software works only on Windows-based computers. Macintosh users can: 1) Use the Virtual Desktop (for Excel 2010), 2) Install a Windows emulator, such as Parallels, 3) Work from a lab that has a Windows PC. All software that we will use is available in any College of Business computer lab.

Mobile devices, such as iPods or Android phones are handy for playing videos "on the go." For iPad and other tablet users, consider using MS Excel on the UIowa Virtual Desktop (see videos).

Other Software: You will need a browser with Flash installed, Adobe PDF Reader, Microsoft Office 2010 (recommended), MS Visio, MS Project, and iTunes (optional). UIowa students can get free copies of MS Visio and MS Project from the MSDN Academic Alliance website (see videos). Office 2010 can be purchased on campus at a discount.

Microsoft Excel Special Note: Some of the models do not work on Macintosh versions of Office.

Basis of Grade

>= 99: A+, 94-99: A, 90-94: A-, 87 - 90: B+, 83 - 87: B, 80-83: B-, 77 - 80: C+, 73 - 77: C, 70 - 73: C-, 67-70: D+, 63-67: D, 60-63: D-, below 60: F.

The Tippie College of Business guidelines suggest that an appropriate grade distribution would approximately consist 20% of the students in the A range, 40% of the students in the B range, 30% of the students in the C range, and 10% of the students with a grade of D or lower. Note that the exact grade distribution will depend on the class’s performance. The instructor reserves the right to adjust the grade distribution as appropriate.

Participation: Participation is required. Nearly every week, there will be required discussions for each weekly topic. You must make a minimum of four (4) posts. Two of these must address the discussion topics, and two of these must be "replies" to other students' posts. You will get one point for each post, as long as it meets quality expectations.

Self-Assessments (Concept Questions): For every chapter, you must complete self-assessments to see how well you understand the assigned readings. These self-assessments are on Moodle, and they must be completed by the due date -- no exceptions. If you do not like your grade, you can redo your homework and your highest grade is what counts. Since you can redo your homework, I encourage you to begin early and complete at least one attempt so that you hopefully will not end up with a zero. Some of these questions will be used in-class for participation points via clickers.

Homework (Problem Questions): Weekly projects will be assigned using various quantitative computer models. These projects must be completed by the due date, and you can redo project homework only two times.

Exams: There will be two exams, equally weighted.

Administrative Items

Make Up Exams: Make up exams will only be given for extreme situations.

Rectifying Scores: During the semester, I will post all your scores on Moodle for you to view. After you get your homework or exam grade, you have a week to complain about your score. Beyond this period, I will not entertain any complaints.

Accommodations: If you have a disability that may require some modification of seating, testing, or any other class requirement, please let me know as soon as possible so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Similarly if you have any emergency medical information about which I should know, or if you need special arrangements in the event the building must be evacuated, please let me know. Please see me after class hours or during my scheduled office hours or schedule an appointment. I would also remind you that the Office of Student Disability Services is available to assist you.

Academic Misconduct: It is my sincere hope that no student in this class submits work which is not his or her own. However, it seems prudent to clarify in advance the policy on cheating. If I determine that any assignment was not completed solely by the student whose identification number appears on the project, the student will receive a zero (0) for the assignment and may receive an "F" for the class. All incidents of cheating will be reported to the Senior Associate Dean of the Tippie College of Business and the student may be placed on disciplinary probation for the remainder of his or her undergraduate work at the University of Iowa. In general, the decision of the Professor may be appealed to a Judicial Board, then to the appropriate Associate Dean. The Honor Code for the Tippie College of Business will determine the appropriate appeal process.

Classroom Etiquette: In online discussions, a courteous tone and politeness is expected.

Harassment: The Tippie College of Business and the University of Iowa are committed to providing students with an environment free from sexual harassment. If you feel that you are being or have been harassed or you are not sure what constitutes sexual harassment, we encourage you to visit the University website, http://www.sexualharassment.uiowa.edu/index.php, and to seek assistance from department chairs, the Dean's Office, the University Ombuds Office, or the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity.

Grievance Policy: Student concerns regarding this course should first be discussed with me. If we can't resolve the complaint, you may contact the DEO of Management Sciences, Kurt Anstreicher at 335-0890 or kurt-anstreicher@uiowa.edu. If you cannot resolve the complaint by speaking with the DEO, you may contact the Associate Dean of the Undergraduate Program, Lon Moeller, 335-1038, lon-moeller@uiowa.edu.