Management 306

Operations Management
Summer 2014
Instructor:
Office:
Office Hours:
Email:

Dr. Tony Vercillo

Simpson Tower 510
College of Business and Economics
California State University, Los Angeles
Thursdays, 10-11:30am
tvercil@calstatela.edu

Course Description
Management 306 is a survey course concerned with the management of operations. Operations
is one of the most mature and well-developed fields in business. Within an organization, it is in
the operational domain where products are developed and manufactured and services are
delivered. Operations entails a wide range of problems and utilizes many methods of analysis.
Problems may be behavioral, organizational, or technical in nature and tactical or strategic in
scope. Solutions to these problems are analyzed using results from applied psychology to
applied mathematics.
Course Learning Objectives
1. To learn how operations strategy is used to support the business strategy and to obtain a
sustainable competitive advantage.
2. To learn the basic role of the operations function in business organizations.
3. To learn how to design, evaluate, and improve business processes.
4. To understand the managerial issues involved in process design and improvement, job
design, facilities planning, capacity planning and management, inventory planning and
control, production planning and control, and quality assurance and control.
5. To learn the basic quantitative tools used in the analysis of business processes and operations,
including forecasting, statistical process control, linear programming, simulation, queuing
theory, project management, and decision analysis.
Required Materials
1. Management 306 Text, Using your Supply Chain as a Competitive Weapon (ebook or text)
found at www.supplychainbook.com.
Note: Profits will be donated to cancer research.

Course Resources
1. Management 306 Moodle page. The PowerPoint presentations will be posted on Moodle.
Course Prerequisites:
1. Course prerequisites include an understanding of elementary statistics and probability
including normal probabilities, sampling distributions, and confidence intervals (ECON 209).
Linear regression (ECON 309) and calculus (MATH 242) aid understanding, but are not
required.
2. An NIS account and password are required to use Moodle.
Course Etiquette
1. Arrive to class on time so that you do not disturb your fellow students.
2. Turn off all cell phones during class.
3. Raise your hand and let me call on you before speaking in class (so that I can manage class
participation).
Grading Policy
The following weights will be applied to obtain final grades:
Exams (2)
Group Project (oral and written):
Participation:
Individual paper:

30%
35% (15% oral, 20% written)
25%
10%

In addition, final letter grades may be increased by 1/3 of a letter grade (e.g., from B+ to A-) for
superior class participation or decreased by 1/3 of a letter grade (e.g., B- to C+) for inferior class
participation.
The midterm and final examinations are closed book and cover the material and cases
discussed in class and in the assigned readings.
Careful preparation for each class (including preparation of case discussion questions),
active class participation (active learning), and perfect attendance are generally required to excel
on the examinations.
Course grades are NOT curved. The following distribution can be used as a rough
approximation: over 80% (A); 70-80% (B); 55-69% (C); 50-54% (C-); 40-49% (D); below 40%
(F).

Course Policies
1. There are no make-up or early exams. Check your schedule to make sure you will be able to
attend the midterm and final exam.
2. Incomplete grades are given only in the case of medical emergencies.

Schedule
(Readings are given on the day they are covered.)
Week 1
Lecture: Introduction
Review syllabus and assignments
Assign groups
First group exercise (going global)

Week 2
Forecasting & Demand Planning
Week 3
Inventory Control
Week 4
Freight and Logistics
Week 5
Order Processing
Week 6
Customer Service
Week 7
Oral Presentations
Week 8
Oral Presentations
Week 9
Pulling it all together
Operations Strategic Plan
Week 10
Future of Operations Management
FINALS DUE