Industrial and Systems Engineering
Syllabus – ISE 517: The Modern Enterprise System
Spring 2010, Monday 6:30pm – 9:10pm
Instructor
Erich Kreidler
Phone
949.278.7001 (appointment required)
Office
GER 205
E-mail
Erich.kreidler@usc.edu
Office Hours
Monday 4:30pm – 5:30pm or by
appointment
TA
Cenk Karahan
Phone
TBA
Office
GER309
E-mail
karahan@usc.edu
Office Hours
TBA
Course Description:
The lighting-fast advancement in technology has transformed the way our World conducts business in ways that
would have been part of science fiction book only a few decades ago. Enterprises are becoming more
elaborate, complex and interconnected than ever before. Therefore, only understanding the technical details of
a particular system is not enough; in order to be truly effective you must be able to know the business, execute
the business and visualize the future of the business.
Objectives

Set the foundation for engineering students to think beyond the technical aspects of the trade and begin the
journey to expand their business acumen, strengthen their execution capabilities as well as place them in the
context of the Enterprise of the 21st Century.

Provide engineering students with relevant, world-class overview of critical skills required to grow their career

Create foundation for beginning to build an executive mind and presence

Present and discuss proven frameworks for thriving in small, medium and large enterprises

Identify key macro tendencies that will be part of the professional life of professional leaders
The course will be divided into three main areas:
1.
Building your business acumen. Key topics that will be covered are margins, cash, velocity, growth and
customers.
2.
Develop execution capabilities. We will explore frameworks for ensuring proper delivery of key initiatives of an
enterprise. Main areas covered:
i.
ii.
iii.
3.
Building blocks of execution
o
Leader’s behaviors
o
Create a framework for cultural change
o
Having the right people in the right place
Three core processes of execution
o
People process
o
Strategy process (linking people to operations)
o
Operations process
Process Management and Control
Identify and discuss macro-trends, such as innovation, corporate social responsibility, globalization, etc.
Syllabus ISE 517
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Industrial and Systems Engineering
The subject matter will be covered using lectures, but mostly in the context of case studies, class discussions, text
reading, individual research as well as through the aid of guest lecturers (industry leaders in each of their areas).
This class will be delivered using techniques not typically used in an engineering discipline. A typical class day will
include:

Discussion of the key points of the reading assignment(s) due that day.

Review and discussion of the assigned homework due that day (e.g. case studies, etc).

Lecture on topic of the day.

Overview of the homework and reading assignments for the following week.
Course Materials:
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan and Charles Burck. Publisher:
Crown Business; 1 edition (June 15, 2002). ISBN-13: 978-0609610572
What the CEO Wants You to Know : How Your Company Really Works (mandatory, by Ram Charan. Publisher:
Crown Business; 1 edition (February 13, 2001). ISBN-13: 978-0609608395
Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos, by Donald J. Wheeler. Publisher: SPC PRESS (Statistical
Process Control); 2 Revised edition (September 4, 2000). ISBN-13: 978-0945320531
ISE 517 Class Reader: Available in the bookstore.
Recommended reading: Earning Serendipity: 4 Skills for Creating and Sustaining Good Fortune in Your Work, by
Glenn Llopis. Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press; 1 edition (May 1, 2009). ISBN-13: 978-1929774913
Blackboard (Online access to materials):
The assignments, handouts, lecture notes, team rosters and other class information will be posted in
http://den.usc.edu. All students are expected to be able to access information from here.
Quality Expectations:
Professional deliverables are expected at all times, both for content and presentation. This means that all the
homework, project, papers and other artifacts must be well-written with proper analysis and conclusions at levels
comparable to high industry standards. In addition, your deliverables must be prepared using a word processor,
spreadsheet or any other relevant computer software. Make sure all documents have at a minimum:

Your name and/or your team member names

No spelling mistakes

Date and document title

Professional analysis, conclusions and/or recommendations
All assignments must be turned in at the specified due date or via DEN prior to the beginning of class. No late
assignments will be accepted.
Grading
Case Studies: 40%. Groups will be set up within first two weeks of class. Once the groups are formed, you will
remain as a team for the remainder of the semester. Case studies will be graded based on the depth of the
analysis, relevance to the topic covered and ability to provide a forward-thinking assessment.
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Industrial and Systems Engineering
Participation: 40%. This includes class participation (in person or via Webex/phone). DEN students’ participation
will be also graded based email interaction with the instructor, TA and other students as well as the discussion
forum. Particular attention will be placed on attendance and participation during guest lectures.
Midterm: 10%. The midterm will cover all the materials covered until 2/22/10 (inclusive). This date will mark the
end of the first part of the course.
Final Exam: 10%. The final exam will be comprehensive of all the course materials, with an emphasis on the
second part of the course and guest lectures. The university schedules the final exam date and time (5/10/10).
Please do not request an alternate date, as none can be accommodated.
Attendance:
Regular class attendance is strongly encouraged and recommended, but not mandatory. While formal
attendance is not graded directly, students should understand that regularly attending class and participating in
discussions will maximize their learning. In addition, since group work is encouraged, missing classes will not only
affect your personal experience but your fellow classmates’ experience as well. But, if you do miss a class, it is
your sole responsibility to find out what materials were covered, what assignments were made, and what
handouts you missed. Do not ask either the professor or the TA to “bring you up to speed”.
Note: Attendance will be taken for the first two weeks of class. If a student fails to attend during this period, the
student will be dropped from the class without further contact.
Academic Integrity:
The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering adheres to the University’s policies and procedures
governing academic integrity as described in SCampus. Students are expected to be aware of and to observe
these academic integrity standards as they will be strictly enforced throughout the semester.
Disability Services and Programs:
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability
Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be
obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me or to the TA as early in the semester as possible.
DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30am – 5:00pm Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is
213.740.0776.
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Industrial and Systems Engineering
Course Schedule:
Date
Milestones
Topic
Reading
1/11/10
Classes begin
1/18/10
Martin Luther King’s Birthday – holiday
1/25/10
Cash, margins, growth, velocity and margins
Read “What the CEO Wants
You to Know”
2/1/10
Case Study 1 due
2/8/10
Case Study 2 due
Class discussion: Case study 1
Building your business acumen
Class discussion: Case study 2
Google’s innovation
Innovation
machine
Guest lecture
Accidental innovation
2/15/10
President’s day
2/22/10
Leadership, Prosperity and The New Normal
Earning Serendipity
Guest lecture
3/01/10
Midterm Exam
3/8/10
Execution: The Three Building Blocks

Leader’s behaviors

Create framework for cultural change

The right people in the right place
3/15/10
Spring recess
3/22/10
Execution: The three core processes
3/29/10
Case Study 3 due

People

Strategy

Operations
Class discussion: Case study 3
Read “Execution”
How managers create or
destroy company strategy
Processes to Strategy
Case study: Dell in 2009
4/5/10
4/12/10
Process control
Case Study 4 due

Understanding data

Analyzing data

Predicting data
Managing Chaos
Decoding DNA at Toyota
Class discussion: Case study 4
Evidence-based
Six Sigma for Managers
Management
4/19/10
Guest lecture – topic: TBD
4/26/10
Class review, preparation for final exam
The Home Depot, Inc.
Case study TBD.
5/3/10
5/10/10
Study day
Final Exam
Note: This syllabus is subject to change as announced in class.
Syllabus ISE 517
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