MBA670 Syllabus

Course Information

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:00PM - 9:00PM
(see Assignments for specifice dates)

Course Description

Course Objectives

To provide a conceptual understanding of managing the operations of a business that produces a product or provides a service, and to gain insight on how organizations actually operate.

To describe necessary improvements in the organization's operations in order to be competitive in the changing "world" markets.

Course Format

The tentative plan is that this course will span six continuous weeks, and will include both in-class and on-line meetings. We will meet in-class four times, each for three hours, on the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 11th meeting. The other meetings will be on-line. We will review this plan this first evening to make sure it is acceptable.

Texts

Additional Course Resources

Basis of Grade

A:93-100, A-:90-93, B+87-90, B:83-87, B-:80-83, C:70-79, F: Below 70.

Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Participation and Attendance: Attendance and participation in discussions in class and on Moodle are an important class component, especially since we meet only half the time face-to-face. Participation will help you obtain the full course benefits. You are encouraged to provide personal experiences, logical opinions and discussion of subject material. Unlike some courses in which all the learning is of factual nature, this course deals with a variety of approaches, some are more applicable in certain environments than others.

Assignments/Self-Assessments: You should read the assigned chapters before each class. For each chapter, you must complete "self-assessments" on Moodle to assess your learning. You may take these assessments prior to lectures, or shortly after the lecture. If you do not do as well as you wanted on the assessment, you may retake it. The questions may change from your first attempt, however, your highest score counts.

Exams: There will be three 40 question exams. The exams will contain questions from the self-assessments that you may or may not have already seen. Review your notes and assessments to prepare for each exam. Exams are not comprehensive. You must complete all three.

Project: Prepare a written report on how Operations Management activities are accomplished in an organization (often the company you are employed in), which you select. Written reports should be 2000-2500 words and should include an introduction, main body, and summary. Where appropriate, graphics and tables can be included. Topics must be approved by the instructor prior to the 5th meeting. Reports should have a 1.5 line spacing, 1 inch margins, and 12 point font. The project must be completed in addition to all three exams.

Approximately five students can present their reports in a eight-minute maximum presentation during the last week in class for extra credit. Let the instructor know if you want to present.

Here are two examples of papers that previous students have submitted with instructor comments. Paper1 - Excellent, Paper2 - Very Good, Paper3 - Good.