Operations Strategy/Advanced Operations Strategy The 1st Semester in 2011/2012
Graduate School of Business Administration
Kobe University
Operations Strategy/Advanced Operations Strategy
Instructor
Tomoaki Shimada, Associate Professor of Operations Management
Office Hours: After class or by appointment
Email: shimada@b.kobe-u.ac.jp
Course Description
Operations strategy was established primarily by a group of Harvard Business School professors. From the 1960s through the 1970s, Wickham Skinner investigated how business strategy could transform manufacturing to a source of competitive advantage. In the late 1970s, Robert Hayes and Steven
Wheelwright examined how a manufacturing company should adapt to a changing environment to sustain its competitive advantage, using two key dimensions of operations ( i.e.
, products and processes).
Operations strategy is not based on Michael Porter's frameworks, but it shares some fundamental notions with Porter's "competitive advantage."
In this course, you will study how efficient operations can be a competitive weapon in service industries as well as manufacturing sectors. The topics include performance measurement in operations, capacity management, supply network, environmental sustainability, service management, process technology, etc .
Thus, the course is not only for an operations manager but also for a general manager who needs to revamp a company's operations to establish competitive advantage. Although the course syllabus was originally created for part-time MBA students, undergraduate students as well as graduate students who are interested in operations strategy are welcome to take the course. The course is open to any student in
Kobe University including exchange or part-time students.
This course will be conducted in English. As a course methodology, I will deliver some lectures and conduct interactive discussions using some cases and articles. I will also show a few videos to supplement some topics about operations strategy. You are expected to read assigned readings before class and to participate in class discussions. Quantitative skills are not required for this course but advanced Englishspeaking capabilities are required.
Course Materials
Required Textbook :
The handouts should be sufficient to understand the foundation of operations strategy. However, since the first half of the course is based on the following textbook, the book will be helpful to deeply understand the topics.
1.
(OS) Nigel Slack and Michael Lewis, "Operations Strategy (2nd Edition)", Financial Times/Prentice
Hall, 2008.
Reference Books :
The following five books are for reference only, and not required for the course. The first three books on operations management complement some topics in the required textbook. The fourth book is written by professors of Harvard Business School, where the basic theory of operations strategy was formulated. The last book is related to Session 11.
1.
William J. Stevenson, "Operations Management (10th Edition)", McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2009.
2.
William J. Stevenson and Sum Chee Chuong, "Operations Management: An Asian Perspective",
McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2010.
3.
Roger G. Schroeder, Susan Meyer Goldstein, and M. Johnny Rungtusanatham, "Operations
Management: Contemporary Concepts and Cases (5th Edition)", McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2010.
4.
Robert Hayes, Gary Pisano, David Upton, and Steven Wheelwright, "Operations, Strategy, and
Technology: Pursuing the Competitive Edge", John Wiley & Sons, 2005.
5.
W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, "Blue Ocean Strategy", Harvard Business School, 2005.
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Operations Strategy/Advanced Operations Strategy The 1st Semester in 2011/2012
Lecture Notes :
Lecture notes are available at http://www.b.kobe-u.ac.jp/users/shimada/local/AOS . This web site is accessible only on campus. You need to use Kobe University VPN (Virtual Private Network) if you would like to access the website off campus. You are responsible for downloading and printing course materials on your own.
Grading Scheme
We have different grading schemes for "Undergraduate Regular Students" and "Graduate Regular
Students and Graduate/Undergraduate Exchange Students." This is because undergraduate students except exchange students are required to take a final exam according to the rule set by Kobe University. Thus, the course grade for "Undergraduate Regular Students" will be based on a weighted evaluation as follows:
Class Attendance/Contribution
Group Project
20 points
20 points
Final Examination 60 points
Total 100 points
The course grade for "Graduate Regular Students and Graduate/Undergraduate Exchange Students" will be based on a weighted evaluation as follows:
Class Attendance/Contribution
Group Project
20 points
20 points
Individual Final Project 60 points
Total 100 points
Class Attendance/Contribution
You are expected to attend almost all the classes and contribute to class discussions. I will check the attendance in every session. Although I will NOT practice cold calling, you should be well prepared for class participation. Otherwise, you will not have fun in this course.
Group Project
You are to form your own group which consists of 3 or 4 students. Please inform me of your group composition by Session 2 . The article for the group presentation is "Recycling Activities in the Electrical and Electronics Industry of Japan." The questions which you are required to analyze are provided on the last page of the article. Each group is required to prepare (1) MS-Powerpoint slides for your group presentation and (2) a group write-up of the analysis consisting of 3 pages in a free format ( e.g.
, font size, line space, etc .). The presentation slides as well as the write-up must be handed in by email (to shimada@b.kobe-u.ac.jp
) by the beginning of Session 11 . The group presentation is scheduled for
Session 12 . You have 20 minutes for your presentation, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session. Only a few persons or all the members in your group will present the article analysis. It is up to your group to decide how the tasks are divided among the group members. The presentation including the slides will be graded on a group basis.
Final Examination (only for "Undergraduate Regular Students")
The final exam covering Session 1 to 11 contains multiple-choice questions only. It will take place during the regular exam week. The duration of the final exam will be 90 minutes. The exam is open-book/notes, and an electronic or paper-based dictionary is permitted. However, the following items are not allowed to use during the exam: A notebook PC, a mobile phone, or any other electronic/communication device. Sharing/discussing answers during the exam are strictly prohibited. Sharing your belongings ( e.g.
, notes or books) during the exam is also prohibited because it is possible to share the answers accidentally.
Individual Final Project (only for "Graduate Regular Students and Graduate/Undergraduate
Exchange Students")
The individual final project consists of (1) an individual presentation and (2) an individual case writing.
Based on your experiences in case analysis through this course or other courses, you will be able to develop a teaching case. You do not need special training to write a case. If the quality of the case is
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Operations Strategy/Advanced Operations Strategy The 1st Semester in 2011/2012 sufficiently good with minor revision, it will be published and used in a classroom as a case of Kobe
University. I will distribute some sample cases for your reference.
You can choose a topic of the case, but it has to be related to the course. One of my proposed topics is corporate social responsibility (CSR), which can be used as business strategy. You can write the case on a specific company/organization or a specific sector/industry. You are required to submit (1) the case in
MS-Word with (2) MS-Powerpoint presentation slides by email (to shimada@b.kobe-u.ac.jp
) by the beginning of Session 11 . The case should consist of AT LEAST 10 pages in a free format ( e.g.
, font size, line space, etc .) You can write the case based on public information ( e.g.
, newspaper articles) or field research ( e.g.
, interviews with companies). However, please be careful about plagiarism. You cannot simply copy any information or articles without citations. The individual presentation for the developed case is scheduled for Session 13 . You have 20 minutes for your presentation, followed by a 5-minute
Q&A session.
Guest Speaker
The guest speaker has not been confirmed yet. The detailed information about the guest speaker will be provided later. The guest speaker's talk is tentatively scheduled for Session 9, but it will depend on his or her schedule.
Class Schedule:
We will have a class from 8:50 to 10:20 every Thursday.
Session 1: (April 14, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: Introduction to Operations Strategy
Course Overview
Operations Management and Operations Strategy
Operations Resources and Market Requirements
Readings : (OS) Chapter 1
Session 2: (April 21, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: Basic Concepts of Operations Strategy
Performance Measurement in Operations
Trade-offs
Focus
Readings : (OS) Chapter 2
Session 3: (April 28, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: Capacity Management
Capacity Configuration
Capacity Strategy
Capacity Dynamics
Readings : (OS) Chapter 3
Session 4: (May 12, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: Supply Network Relationships
Basic Concepts of Supply Chain Management
Buyer-Supplier Relationships
Buy/Make Decision
Readings : (OS) 1st half of Chapter 4
Joan Magretta, "The Power of Virtual Integration: An Interview with Dell Computer's Michael
Dell"
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Operations Strategy/Advanced Operations Strategy The 1st Semester in 2011/2012
Session 5: (May 19, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: Supply Network Behavior
Bullwhip Effect (Beer Game)
Supply Chain Collaboration
Vendor Managed Inventory
Readings : (OS) 2nd half of Chapter 4
Hau L. Lee, V. Padmanabhan, and Seungjin Whang, "The Bullwhip Effect in Supply Chains"
Session 6: (May 26, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: IT and e-Business Issues for Supply Network
Electronic Data Interchange
Push-Pull System
80:20 Rule and the Long Tail
Readings : (OS) Case Studies: Inditex: Zara and Beyond
Session 7: (June 2, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: Environmental Sustainability
Home Appliance Recycling
PC Recycling
Mobile Phone Recycling
Session 8: (June 9, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: Introduction to Service Management
Products and Services
Strategic Service Classification
Competitive Service Strategies
Session 9: (June 16, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: Guest Speaker's Talk
Guest Speaker's Talk
Session 10: (June 23, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: Process Technology
Product/Process Innovation
Product/Process Flexibility
Product-Process Matrix
Readings : (OS) Chapter 5
Session 11: (June 30, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: Different Views on Operations Strategy
Product Development
Structuralist and Resource-Based View
Blue Ocean Strategy
Readings : (OS) Chapter 7
W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, "Blue Ocean Strategy"
Session 12: (July 7, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: Group Presentation
Group Presentation of Article Analysis
Session 13: (July 14, Thursday: 8:50-10:20)
Topic: Individual Final Presentation
Individual Presentation of Case Development by "Graduate Regular Students and Graduate/
Undergraduate Exchange Students"
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