UIC
BUSINESS
Course Overview
IDS 532
Instructor: Selva Nadarajah
Course Contacts
UIC
BUSINESS
• Instructor
Selvaprabu (Selva) Nadarajah
Associate Professor, Operations Management
Information and Decision Sciences
Email: selvan@uic.edu Web: http://selvan.people.uic.edu
• Teaching Assistant
Eren Ozbay
PhD Student, Information and Decision Sciences
Email: eozbay3@uic.edu
Selva Nadarajah
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UIC
BUSINESS
About me
Undergrad in
Aerospace engineering
Research in energy operations,
sustainable supply chains, and datadriven optimization and reinforcement
learning. Consult with energy, retail,
and high-tech companies
Masters in Operations Research
– research on collaborative
logistics and large-scale
optimization
Optimization and modeling
consultant: helped setup
optimization team at Canadian
tire and worked on OM problems
PhD in Operations Research:
research and consulting on
dynamic stochastic optimization
problems in the energy sector
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UIC
BUSINESS
Course Overview
Process analysis and improvement
Introduction and OM strategy
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Process analysis and Little’s law
Labor costs and process capacity
Variability and impact on performance
Quality and six sigma
Process coordination using inventory
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7.
Inventory management with setup times
no demand uncertainty
Inventory management with demand
uncertainty
Selva Nadarajah
Strategic operations
8.
9.
Finance-operations interface
Operational hedging
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Required Material
UIC
BUSINESS
• Textbook on Amazon: new, used, or rent
• Cases: Purchase course packet from Harvard Business Publishing
Selva Nadarajah
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UIC
BUSINESS
Grading
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Selva Nadarajah
Class participation
Assignments (four)
Group cases (three)
Midterm
Final
Total
10%
40%
30%
10%
10%
100%
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Mode of instruction: In person
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UIC
BUSINESS
The course will be in person unless otherwise communicated by the instructor
UIC COVID guidelines will need to be followed (e.g., masking and reporting)
Students attending in person classes online need to get approval from the instructor
The in-person and online experiences will not be the same (please see syllabus)
The course has been designed to reduce disruptions in case there is a move online
Selva Nadarajah
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Office Hours
UIC
BUSINESS
• The TA and I are here to help!
• Instructor office hours: Mondays 5-6 pm
• TA office hours: Wednesdays 5-6 pm (tentative)
• Policy: I will not answer questions from students about assignments and cases after 6
pm on the day that precedes the due date.
Selva Nadarajah
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Class Operations
UIC
BUSINESS
• Modes of communication:
1. Acadly for pre-class activities and discussions
2. Blackboard for assignments, case materials, and related submissions
3. Zoom for office hours
• What is the goal of the case studies?
1. Apply what we learn in a realistic setting
2. Practice developing an operations narrative
Selva Nadarajah
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Expectations
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UIC
BUSINESS
Read the syllabus
Check Acadly for pre-class activities
Read all course emails carefully
Be on time for the start of class
Submit assignments and case answers on time
Follow CBA honor code and classroom ethics
Come prepared for case discussions
Laugh at my jokes (this is a joke)
Give feedback: Let me know if you have any issues or suggestions for improvement
Class theme: Work hard, learn, and be happy!
Selva Nadarajah
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Pre-requisites
UIC
BUSINESS
• There are no formal prerequisites for the course other than the background required to
enter all graduate programs in CBA
• I will post slides on Blackboard covering some basic mathematics that we will need
later in the course (Appendix A of the textbook is another source)
Selva Nadarajah
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General Advice (from past students)
UIC
BUSINESS
• The course is structured so that there is continuous evaluation
• Operations requires being able to apply similar concepts in seemingly different
situations -- questions and cases may feel unstructured
• The course tends to be front loaded
• Choose your assignment and case partners carefully (i.e. check their schedule and
availability to meet)
• Study groups can be useful to understand material
• Peer evaluations are important
• Raise your hand if you want to answer a question
Selva Nadarajah
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Let’s look out for each other!
UIC
BUSINESS
• It is important to acknowledge that we are operating in a strange environment
• We will need to be more responsible and adaptive than usual to reach our learning
goals as a team
• Take care of yourself and try to maintain a healthy lifestyle, despite the disruptions
(e.g., lack of childcare, furloughs, …)
• All of us benefit from support during times of struggle. You are not alone. Please see
UIC resources link in syllabus for support
• I am also available to talk
Selva Nadarajah
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