MBA 533

Advanced Operations Management

Summer, 2011

Instructor: Phil Fry Website: http://blackboard.boisestate.edu

Office: B308 Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 4:30-

5:30 and by appointment.

Office Phone: 426-4276 Email: pfry@boisestate.edu

Prerequisites: Admission to the MBA program, completion of MBA 527, or permission of

instructor.

Course Objectives: Matching supply with demand is an enormous challenge for both service

and manufacturing firms. This course examines how the operations function can help companies

better match supply with demand in order to keep costs low while maximizing customer service

and increasing company profits. The course seeks to provide the tactical knowledge and high-

level insights needed by general managers and management consultants for evaluating business

operations. The course will discuss how to evaluate business processes, how to measure key

process parameters, and how to implement process improvement strategies to better balance

supply and demand.

Textbooks :

Cachon, G. P. & Terwiesch, C. Matching supply with demand: An introduction to

operations management. 2nd

edition. New York, NY. McGraw Hill Irwin, 2009.

Custom Business Resource Coursepack published by Prentice-Hall.

MBA Program Objectives: This class supports the following MBA program objectives: (1)

build student skills in the business discipline-specific area of operations; (2) enhance student

personal growth in critical thinking and problem solving; and (3) strengthen student interaction

skills in teamwork and written communication. The following outcomes will be evaluated using

the criteria listed:

MBA Objective Learning Objective Assessment

1-d. Operations Measuring process performance.

Relationship among inventory,

throughput rate and flow time.

Applying Littles Law to process

analysis.

Problem Sets, Cases & Examination.

1-d. Operations Developing process flow diagrams.

Bottleneck analysis. Improving

capacity using line balancing.

Problem Sets, Cases, & Examination.

1-d. Operations Developing & applying inventory

models.

Problem Sets, Cases, & Examination.

mailto:pfry@boisestate.edu

1-d. Operations Revenue Management Problem Sets & Examination.

1-d. Operations Understanding the effects of

variability on process performance.

Problem Set & Examination.

1-d. Operations Understanding the basic principles

of the Toyota Product System

Examination

1-d. Operations Causes, consequences, and

mitigating strategies for the bullwhip

effect.

Examination.

2-a & 2-b Critical Thinking & Problem

Solving

Model building. Problem Sets.

3-b & 3-d Teamwork & Written

Communication

Cases

Grading: The following grading scale will be used to determine your semester grade:

Semester Points Final Grade Semester Points Final Grade

365 or higher A 300-311 C+

356-364 A- 276-299 C

348-355 B+ 268-275 C-

328-347 B 229-267 D

312-327 B- 228 or less F

Problem Sets, Cases, & Examinations:

Assignment Value

Problems 2.4 & 2.5 20

Kristins Cookie Case Assignment 1 15

Problem 4.4 & 4.5 20

Case: National Cranberry Cooperative 30

Problems 6.6 & 6.7 20

Problems 11.6 & 11.7 20

Case: LL Bean, Inc. 30

Examination I 50

Problems 7.2 & 7.5 20

Problem 13.8 10

Case: Sports Obermeyer, Ltd. 30

Problem 14.7 10

Case: Hewlett-Packard Company: Deskjet Printer (A) & (B) 30

Problem 15.6 10

Revenue Management Pricing Problem Set 15

Final Examination 70

Total 400

Course Outline: The following is a tentative schedule.

Date Topic Readings Learning Objectives Assignment

Due

6/06

Introduction & Overview.

The Process View of the

Organization. Evaluating

Process Capacity. Process

Analysis and Littles Law.

Improving Process

Capacity.

Chapters 1-3.

Case: Kristens

Cookie Co. Case

(A). Executive

Shirt Co, Inc.

Case Reading.

Measures of Process

Performance: Inventory,

Throughput Rate, Flow

Time. Littles Law.

Inventory Turns & Costs.

6/08

Improving Process

Capacity. Process

Analysis with Batching.

Estimating & Reducing

Labor Costs. Process

Flow & Bottleneck

Analysis.

Chapter 4

National

Cranberry

Cooperative Case

Drawing a Process Flow

Diagram. Bottleneck

Analysis & Process

Capacity.

Increasing Capacity by

Line Balancing.

Computing the Cost of

Direct Labor

Problems 2.4

& 2.5.

Kristens

Cookie Case

Assignment 1

6/13

Basic Inventory Models.

Dealing with Uncertain

DemandThe

Newsvendor Model.

Chapter 6 &

Chapter 11

The Economic Order

Quantity Model.

Developing a Demand

Distribution Using

Forecast Errors.

Performance Measures &

Model Building

Problems 4.4

& 4.5

& National

Cranberry

Cooperative

Company

Case

6/15 Quick Response With

Reactive Capacity. Chapter 12

How to Calculate &

Minimize the Newsvendor

Mismatch Costs

Problems 6.6

& 6.7

Problems 11.6

& 11.7

6/20

Quick Response With

Reactive Capacity. The

Order-Up-To- Inventory

Model & Risk Pooling

Strategies.

Examination I

Chapters 13 & 14

Reactive Capacity

Strategies. Model

Building.

Developing the Order-up-

to Inventory Model

LL Bean Case

6/22

The Order-Up-To-

Inventory Model. & Risk

Pooling Strategies.

Variability & Process

Performance

Chapters 13, 14,

& 7

Calculating Performance

Measures. Model

Building.

Determine the Effects of

Location Pooling, Product

Pooling & Delayed

Differentiation on

Inventory.

Problems 7.2

& 7.5

6/27

Variability & Process

Performance. Lean

Operations & the Toyota

Production System.

Supply Chain

Coordination

Chapters 7 & 10

Chapter 16

How to Model & Measure

the Effects of Variability

on Process Performance.

Understanding Service

Levels & Economic

Implications.

Problem 13.8

&

Sports

Obermeyer,

Ltd. Case

Understanding the TPS

Framework, Identifying

Sources of Waste.

Explain Causes &

Consequences of the

Bullwhip Effect.

6/29 Revenue Management Chapter 15

Margin Arithmetic.

Understanding Protection

Levels & Booking Limits.

Calculating the Optimal

Quantity to Overbook.

Allocating Capacity to a

Market Segment Under

Uncertainty.

Problem 14.7

H-P Co.

Deskjet

Printer Supply

Chain

Management

Case (A & B)

7/04 No ClassJuly 4th Holiday

7/06

Final Examination

Problem 15.6 &

Revenue Management Dynamic Pricing

Problem.

Course Schedule: This is a tentative course schedule. Changes may be necessary to

accommodate the needs of the class. Please check the Blackboard site frequently for updates and

modifications.