The University of Texas at Dallas

Executive MBA Program

Operations Management
05-29-09

Professor Contact Information

Nick Hassan Phone: (972) 529-5612 noha1@att.net

Course Description

The objective of this course is to introduce students to operations management.

Operations management involves systematic planning, design, operation, control and
improvement of business processes. We will establish a fundamental understanding of
how every organization uses processes to transform inputs into goods and services and of
the importance of careful design, operation, and improvement of business processes. We
will also examine the challenges of operations management and the competitive potential
of sound operations management. Students are introduced to operations research and its
successful applications. The class will also examine how quantitative analysis techniques
can be applied to enhance the decision making process and achieve improved/optimum
results.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

• Explain how every organization uses processes to transform inputs into goods and
services.
• Identify the challenges and competitive potential of operations management decisions.
• Use project management and quantitative analysis to enhance decision making.

Text: Operations Management

William Stevenson, McGraw-Hill, 2004, 10th edition

Readings: The Goal

Eli Goldratt, The North River Press, 1992.

Class Attendance, Format, and Preparation:

• You may miss only one class session without penalty, given proper justification. Late
arrivals and early departures are considered as missing a session. Any additional
missed sessions will result in a 1-letter-grade deduction on the course grade. The

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GLEMBA OPRE 6260 Spring 2004

reason for this policy is that much of the learning for this course comes from the class
discussions. Your participation in the class discussions is essential in serving this
purpose.

• Students are required to read the assigned chapters, including the “Case Studies”,
“Operations Tours”, and “Readings”, prior to the class meeting. Students are expected
to attend class fully-prepared to discuss questions noted in the textbook for these case
studies.

Evaluation and Grading

• There are two types of assignments in this class: one is assignments associated with
class sessions; and other is the OM team project. These assignments serve two
purposes: (1) they are a learning/teaching tool to help establish a fundamental
understanding of the concepts, and (2) measure the students’ grasp of the subjects.

• Grades will be in the form of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, P, F, or I.

• The operations management course grade will be based on:

o Session assignments: 50%
o OM Team Project: 30%
o Participation in class discussions: 20%

o In the first class session, we will discuss the Session Assignments, the OM
Team Project, and class participation in further detail.

Format for Presentations and Reports

• Reports should be MS Word or Excel documents (no html formats). Please
save/submit your files in Office 2007 format, i.e. in .doc or .xls format, not .docx or .xlsx.
o Double-spaced, 12 pt. Arial or Times New Roman font
o Citations properly formatted in MLA style

• Presentations should be MS PowerPoint documents. Please save/submit your files in

Office 2007 format, i.e. in .ppt format, not .pptx.

Course Evaluation
The completion of a course evaluation is a course requirement.

UTD Policy on Cheating:

Students are expected to be above reproach in all scholastic activities. Students who
engage in scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the
possibility of failure in the course and dismissal from the university. "Scholastic dishonesty
includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of
any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an
examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or
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GLEMBA OPRE 6260 Spring 2004

the attempt to commit such acts." Regents' Rules and Regulations, Part One, Chapter VI,
Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22. Professors randomly use “Turnitin.com” to
screen papers against other published works on the web to insure against plagiarism.

Schedule
________________________________________________________________

Session 1: Introduction to Production / Operations Management

Productivity, Competitiveness and Strategy

Date: Saturday, May 30

Readings: Chapters 1 and 2 in the textbook, and the Goal.

_________________________________________________________________

Session 2: Forecasting

Date: Friday, June 12

Readings: Chapter 3 in the textbook, and the Goal.

________________________________________________________________

Session 3: Product and Service Design

Capacity Planning

Date: Saturday, June 27

Readings: Chapters 4 and 5 in the textbook, and the Goal

________________________________________________________________

Session 4: Process Selection and Facilities Layout

Design of Work Systems
Location Planning and Analysis

Date: Friday, July 10

Readings: Chapters 6, 7 and 8 in the textbook

________________________________________________________________

Session 5: Supply Chain Management

Inventory Management
Aggregate Planning

Date: Saturday, July 11

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GLEMBA OPRE 6260 Spring 2004

Readings: Chapters 11, 12, and 13 in the textbook

________________________________________________________________

Session 6: Quality Management

Project Management

Date: Saturday, July 25

Readings: Chapters 9, 10, 17 in the textbook

________________________________________________________________

Session 7: Presentation and Review of OM Team Projects

Date: Saturday, August 8

________________________________________________________________

Session 8: Presentation and Review of OM Team Projects

Date: Saturday, August 8

________________________________________________________________