NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
School of Business
Department of Decision Sciences
DSC2006 Operations Management
Lecturer
:
A/P James SK Ang (Course Coordinator)
Session
:
Semester II, 2007/2008
Course Description
Operations Management is a classic functional area of management that deals with the
problems of production in all kinds of enterprises. It focuses on the production system of the
enterprise, which we define as the means by which resource inputs are transformed into
useful outputs of goods and services.
While Operations Management is a traditional functional field, and while this course will
follow an outline built around the traditional foundational topics of operations management,
we will nevertheless attempt to highlight some of the more current issues. In view of this, the
course will consider issues pertaining to both manufacturing and services-oriented systems,
highlight the strategic aspects of operations, evaluate the significance and implications of
advanced process technologies, like robotics and flexible manufacturing systems, and
explain the strategic significance of practices such as those of Japanese manufacturing
techniques and philosophies like Just-in-Time.
The primary objectives of the course are to provide students with an introduction to, and an
understanding of, the substantive knowledge which has developed over the years in the field
of Operations Management, and to highlight the current relevance and strategic significance
of the operations function in any given enterprise.
Basic Text
William J. Stevenson, Operations Management, 9th Edition, McGraw Hill.
Reference Text
Richard B. Chase, Nicholas J. Aquilano and F. Robert Jacobs, Operations Management for
Competitive Advantage, 9th Edition, 2001, McGraw Hill.
Assessment Methods
Final Exam (Close Book)
Quizzes/Assignments
Group Project/Presentation
Class Participation
Group Project/Presentation
50%
20%
20%
10%
Each student will form/join a group (four members in each group). The group will select a
current topic, work on it and write a 15 page report. The group will also present their work to
the class. The presentation should take not more than 15 minutes, followed by a 10 min Q &
A session. Each member of the group should be given a chance to either present, or to
answer questions or make relevant comments. The group presentations will be scheduled
over the last three tutorial sessions.
Course Schedule & Contents
Session
1
Lecture Topic
(with Chapter Readings from
Stevenson)
Introduction to Operations Management:
Definitions; Importance; Decisions
(Chapter 1; also page 147 on Services
versus Products)
Tutorial Topic
No Tutorial
2
Operations Processes and Technologies
(Chapter 6)
No Tutorial
3
Inventory Management I
(Chapter 11)
Inventory Management II
(Chapter 11)
Inventory Management/Aggregate
Planning
(Chapter 12)
MRP
(Chapter 13)
Break
Quiz 1 (a one hour quiz covering
materials from lectures 1 to 7)
Tutorial 1: Introduction to
Operations Management
Tutorial 2: Operations Processes &
Technologies
Tutorial 3: Inventory Management I
4
5
6
7
8
Tutorial 4: Inventory Management II
Tutorial 5: Aggregate Planning
Operations Scheduling (Chapter 15)
9
Operations Scheduling (Chapter 15)
(continued from Lecture 8)
Tutorial 6: Material Requirements
Planning
Just-In-Time Systems/Supply Chain
Management (Chapters 14 and 16)
10
Strategic Operations (Chapter 2)
Tutorial 7: Operations Scheduling
11
Quality Management (Chapter 9)
Tutorial 8: JIT Systems/SCM
12
Quiz 2 (a one hour quiz covering
materials from Lectures 8 to 11)
Tutorial 9: Group Presentation
13
Review
Tutorial 10: Group Presentation; and
Discussion on Quality, TOC,
Strategic Operations & SCM
Note: 1) Above is only a tentative schedule. 2) Results from each quiz will be released the
week after the quiz. No marks will be deducted for wrong answers. Students can then track
their own progress.