Operations Management: Learning Objectives
Expectations, in terms of what the students should be able to do, are listed beneath each topic.
1.
Operations Strategy
A. Define operations and operations management and identify specific activities central to the
function.
B. Define operations strategy and describe it in the context of a firm's strategic objectives. In other
words, describe how the operations function will serve as a dominant competitive force within the
firm and how the operations strategy, when executed, will help the firm realize its broader
strategic objectives. Identify the major priorities associated with operations strategy.
C. Describe the "Value Equation" including how each element in the numerator is a source of value,
and be able to provide examples.
D. Define the terms "Order Qualifier" and "Order Winner" and explain the significance in regard to
operations strategy.
E. Define single-factor and multi-factor productivity. Be able to quantify, analyze, and compare
productivity from given data. Relate productivity to the "denominator", i.e. cost, in the Value
Equation.
2.
Product and Service Design
A. Discuss the importance of product and service design, including trends and design processes,
objectives and methodologies.
B. Describe "concurrent engineering" and explain how it may offer value to the firm.
C. Relate operations objectives to the stages of the product life cycle
D. Define "Quality Function Deployment."
E. Explain the various concepts of product and service design in regard to operations. These include,
among others, standardization, modular design, and design for manufacturability.
F. Describe the contributions of R & D to product and service design, and distinguish between basic
research, applied research, and development
G. Define reliability, suggest ways or improving reliability, and calculate the reliability of processes
and systems of various configurations
3.
Process Design
A. Explain the importance of process selection and how process selection relates to product and
service design.
B. Describe the different process flow structures and layouts. Be able to provide appropriate
examples for process flow structures and process layouts.
C. Describe automated approaches to processing.
D. Explain the need of management of technology
E. Describe the critical elements of process design for services.
F. Explain service blueprinting and failsafing.
G. Construct, analyze and optimize a service blueprint.
H. Explain job design, especially decisions and considerations.
4.
Capacity
A. Define capacity and identify the fundamental questions and decisions with which operations
managers must deal.
B. Describe measures that are used in rating capacity, and distinguish between those that are typical
of service businesses and those of manufacturing businesses.
C. Define and contrast "design capacity" and "effective capacity." Explain the determinants of
"effective capacity" and relate to productivity
D. Define "utilization" and "efficiency, and be able to quantify each from given data.
E. Analyze capacity decisions using breakeven analyis, including finding the "point of indifference."
5.
Location
A. Describe the importance of location decisions to the operations function and to the entire firm.
B. Explain location options, including those that involve multiple plant strategies
C. Discuss the general procedure of making location decisions.
D. Evaluate location decisions from given data using cost-volume-profit analysis and factor rating.
6.
Layout
A. List some common reasons for redesigning layouts
B. Describe, compare, and contrast the three main layout types.
C. Discuss the main advantages and disadvantages or product and process layouts.
D. Describe cellular manufacturing, group technology, and flexible manufacturing systems (FMS),
and explain the ways in which they are related.
E. Discuss the main objectives and trends in the design of layouts for different types of facilities:
retail, office, and manufacturing, for example.
7.
Project Management
A. Describe the defining characteristics of a "project," i.e. an endeavor suitable for management and
control using project management methods. Provide examples from non-manufacturing as well as
manufacturing businesses.
B. List the main objectives of Project Management and contrast project flow structure and layout to
product and process flows and layouts.
C. Explain CPM and PERT.
D. Construct a project network from given data and calculate activity early start and finish times, late
start and finish times, and slack time. Identify and define the critical path.
E. Optimize (crash) a project using network analysis and given time and cost data.
F. Calculate probabilities of certain project completion times using time estimates as they are used in
PERT.
8.
Aggregate Planning
A. Clearly define aggregate planning, including time horizon, goals, and focus.
B. Identify essential inputs to the aggregate plan.
C. Describe the various operating strategies that determine the decisions and results of the aggregate
plan.
D. Complete and aggregate plan using "pure" strategies or combinations of basic strategies.
E. Produce an aggregate plan from given inputs and strategy constraints and calculate the total cost.
F. Analyze aggregate plans quantitatively and qualitatively, and present recommendations based on
the analysis.
G. Construct a Master Production Schedule, including "available-to-promise" calculations.
H. Discuss the differences and similarities (process, constraints, decisions, for example) in aggregate
planning for service businesses and for manufacturing businesses.
9.
Inventory Management
A. Explain the functions of inventory and the chief objectives of inventory decisions and policies.
B. Identify general and specific costs associated with stocking decisions.
C. Distinguish between independent and dependent demand inventories.
D. Identify types and functions of inventory.
E. Analyze inventory using the "ABC" approach.
F. Explain the manner in which the EOQ approach to lot sizing seeks to optimize stocking costs.
G. Calculate lot sizes using the basic EOQ formula and its variants (incremental replenishment and
quantity discounts)
H. Determine appropriate reorder points using given data for demand, lead time, and variation.
I. Calculate safety stock given a desired service level, demand, lead time, and variation.
J. Calculate service level given Reorder point, demand, lead time, and variation.
K. Calculate stocking costs from lot size, carrying cost, order cost, and safety stock data.
L. Identify and explain ways in which inventory and its associated costs can be reduced while
maintaining service.
10. Material Requirements Planning
A. Define dependent (derived) demand.
B. Explain the chief objectives, benefits, and requirements of MRP.
C. Identify and describe the required inputs and the primary and secondary outputs of a Material
Requirements plan.
D. Construct and interpret a product structure tree.
E. Explain and use low-level coding.
F. Using given inputs, produce a Material Requirements Plan, that is, the quantity and timing of
order releases and order receipts.
G. Explain capacity requirements planning, including its intended objectives and its connection with
MRP.
H. Define MRP II, and compare and contrast it with MRP.
I. Define Enterprise Resource Planning and relate it to MRP and MRP II.
J. Identify key issues, obstacles, and challenges faced when implementing an MRP, MRP II, and/or
an ERP system and describe ways in which these can be successfully managed.
11. Quality Management
A. Compare and contrast traditional (inspection-based) with contemporary (process control) quality
management approaches.
B. For inspection-based systems, explain how decisions relating to how much to inspect, how often
to inspect, and at what points in the process to inspect, are made.
C. Define statistical process control.
D. Define, compare, and contrast "assignable cause" and random variation.
E. Explain the difference between control charts for variables and control charts for attributes and
provide examples of each.
F. Construct and interpret X-bar charts and "p" charts.
G. Identify, define, and demonstrate the use of each of the "seven tools" of quality management.
H. Define process capability and analyze the capability of processes from given data.
I. Relate process capability to the use of statistical process control.
J. Apply all of the above to service as well as manufacturing environments
K. Summarize Deming's 14 points in terms of content and the results he expected for firms that based
their quality initiatives on these principles.
12. JIT
A. Define JIT. Describe what is meant when it is referred to as a "management philosophy."
B. Identify and explain the primary goals of JIT.
C. Describe the changes and improvements that are necessary for the successful conversion to a JIT
system.
D. Define "pull" system and contrast it to "push" systems.
E. Define "kanban" and describe what is meant by the term "visual system."
F. Calculate the appropriate number of kanban cards that should be used in a process, from given
data.
G. Calculate the appropriate number of daily production cycles from given data.
H. Discuss the chief organizational issues associated with conversion to a JIT system.