Management Sciences Courses
Course Descriptions
330 — Decision Sciences: Statistical Techniques
The overall objective of the course is to familiarize you with the use of statistical procedures for the purpose of generating decision making information from data. The following ideas will be discussed. (A) Problem identification and formulation. (B) Model selection and use. The Normal and Binomial models will be stressed because of their general applicability. They will be used for assessing the probability of specified events, setting confidence intervals, and conducting hypothesis tests. (C) Interpretation of the results of a statistical analysis. Proper selection of the model, accurate measurement, and a correct analysis are necessary but not sufficient for the solution of management problems. The final, and most important step, is the interpretation of the results of the analysis. What should the manager do given the statistical results? What kinds of mistakes might result from this course of action?
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331 — Introduction to Management Sciences
Management Science is the application of mathematical modeling to management decision making. A more descriptive name is Decision Modeling. Because of the widespread use of computers in this field, it could also be called Decision Technology. The emphasis in this course is not on the mathematical theory of the techniques, but rather on what a manager needs to know about decision problems, modeling and decision technology. Stated another way, we will be concerned with “managerial modeling” or “what a manager can gain from modeling without necessarily becoming a technical expert”.
This course is designed to provide:
- An understanding of the ways in which significant business problems are frequently solved, and the advantages decision modeling provides;
- An ability to recognize situations in which these modeling methods may be effectively applied;
- An understanding of the assumptions and limitations of modeling and of the solutions obtained; and
- An ability to understand and critically review the work of management science specialists.
430 — Fundamentals of Operations Management
The objective of this course is to introduce how operations contribute to the health of an organization. Some of the specific objectives include:
- Understand the role of operations management in the overall business strategy of the firm — strategic approach.
- Understand the interdependence of operations functions with other, key functional areas of the firm — tactical approach.
- Review several of the tools available to evaluate operations techniques.
630 — Introduction to Operations Management
Operations management is an effective competitive weapon that when used in conjunction with well-conceived marketing and financial plans creates value for customers. The core competency of many world-class organizations such as Federal Express, General Electric, Ritz-Carlton, and Wal-Mart is their superior operations and logistics management. This course is designed to address the key operations and logistical issues in service and manufacturing organizations that have strategic as well as tactical implications. The specific objectives include:
- To understand the role of operations management in the overall business strategy of the firm.
- To understand the interdependence of the operating system with other key functional areas of the firm.
- To identify and evaluate the key factors and the interdependence of these factors in the design of effective operating processes and systems.
- To identify and evaluate a range of tools appropriate for analysis of operating systems of the firm.
- To identify and evaluate comparative approaches to operations management in an international context.
- To understand the application of operations management policies and techniques to service sector as well as manufacturing firms.
The sessions are designed to promote student participation through the discussion of current events in the business world as they relate to operations management and in-class case analysis.
698H02 — Honors Emerging Markets Field Study
Global trade is an important contributor to national wealth with the United States looming as its largest player with 2003 imports and exports totaling in excess of $2.5 trillion. In the second half of the 20th century, American commercial and geopolitical interests converged in the fundamental belief that increasing global trade is like the rising tide that raises all ships. The challenge comes in the recognition that not all nations participate and benefit equally.
As companies seek competitive advantage in the global marketplace, they are forced to develop strategies to deal with Emerging Markets. This course examines the conditions for these strategies — HOW do Emerging Markets differ and what blend of flexibility, innovation and commitment is appropriate? Also, how do free trade agreements such as NAFTA contribute to the increase of trade and leveling the playing field for all participants?
From this starting point of general understanding, our focus will shift to Mexico and its unique relationship with the United States. Three target companies will be studied in detail — a combination of multinational and/or local competitor — to examine in practical detail how they succeed or fail in responding to market dynamics in an Emerging Market. This Case Method, bringing business examples into the classroom, culminates with the site visit at the end of the quarter to our focus companies.
710 — Six Sigma Principles & Methods
This course is designed to familiarize students with the Six Sigma process improvement methodology and to provide them an opportunity to practice using Six Sigma Green Belt tools. A Six Sigma Green Belt is an individual who is skilled in applying basic and advanced process improvement and project management methods in order to complete projects that will result in significant, sustainable improvements within an organization. Originally developed by Motorola to improve quality in manufacturing processes, Six Sigma has been adopted by companies throughout the world to improve all types of processes.
711 — Six Sigma Projects
This course is allows teams of students to apply six sigma principles and concepts. The course builds on the material in BUS-MGT 710, which is a prerequisite or co-requisite for Bus Mgt 711.
731 - Total Quality Management/Quality Planning and Control
This course provides the student with a managerial view of the design, planning, and control of Quality Systems. The course covers an introduction to quality as well as a description of the application of Total Quality Management in a variety of organizations. Various quality philosophies and frameworks will be discussed. The role of quality with respect to customers, leadership, strategic planning, process management, and performance measurement is included. The principles and application of Six Sigma and process improvement tools are discussed.
732 — Operations Planning and Control
This course focuses on production and control decisions in manufacturing firms. These decisions are studied at two levels of complexity. During the early part of the course, the problems of forecasting independent demand and controlling inventory levels are studied separately. Next, these same decisions are studied in an integrative fashion in the context of multi-stage manufacturing systems with Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) used as the manufacturing planning and control system. Emphasis is also placed on master scheduling and capacity planning, and demand planning aspects of MRP systems. Finally, project management control will be studied.
This course is excellent preparation for the Certified Production and Inventory Control Manager (CPIM) program sponsored by the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS). These graduation certifications will increase the marketability and compensation of OM majors pursuing jobs in this area.
This course has several objectives. These include: (1) introducing the student to the materials management problems in the manufacturing environment, (2) describing analytical and computer techniques for planning and controlling the flow of materials in manufacturing systems using videos and problem exercises, (3) developing the students’ analytical skills through the use of business cases.
733 — Information Systems in Operations Management
In any organization, the use of information technology and information systems cuts across all functional areas. The primary objective of this course is to study the general concepts of information technology and examine specific relationships and applications in operations management. To better understand the function and role of information technology in the business enterprise and in particular in the operations function, students are first introduced to the structural and conceptual foundations of information technology. This course will also build your skills in two critical computer-based tools of the operations manager (or any manager), namely spreadsheets and database management systems.
735 — Purchasing and Materials Management
This course is designed to explore the industrial-institutional purchasing cycle for operating supplies, raw materials, components and capital equipment within the context of the Materials Management Organization Concept. Specifically, we will learn the basic principles, policies, and procedures involved in:
- the requirement determination
- the procurement decision process
- the purchasing function in general and for particular types of “BUYS”
- the Materials Management Concept, organization and philosophy
We will focus on the interrelationships of purchasing with the rest of the functional and system areas of the organization with particular emphasis on the interface with marketing, logistics and operations management. While we will concentrate on manufacturing examples, applications for hospitals, banks, educational and government entities will be included. Retail buying for straight resale is excluded in this course.
At the conclusion of the course, the student should be able to competently buy a product or service for profit and nonprofit organizations. In addition, the student will be able to view how purchases affect the entire operation of the organization and how this activity fits within the Operations, Logistics Management (OLM) field.
This course is excelled preparation for the Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM) program sponsored by the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) and certain segments of the certification program sponsored by the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).
If you are a marketing major, this course is a fine opportunity to gain empathy for the buyer and to learn “how they buy”. If you are an operations major, the material in this course is critical as the average firm spends over 50 percent of the cost of goods on purchased material from outside vendors. Finance and accounting majors will also benefit as the high cost of materials directly affects ROI and ROA. Finally, with today’s emphasis on material shortage and the significant role of purchasing, this course will be a very useful general management preparation.
736 — Purchasing Strategy
This course will introduce to you a framework for making long-term strategic supply management decisions. A service or manufacturing organization must integrate its supply management strategy with its overall strategy. This can be a competitive differentiator if done right. We’ll focus on key strategic supply management tools and how to integrate them into the business strategy.
Specific teaching objectives are:
- Provide students with an understanding of key supply management issues and tools to aid in analysis and decision making.
- Assist students in developing a framework for relating strategic materials management and purchasing issues to other functional areas of the organization, to the business itself, and to the relevant product/market environments.
- Provide students the opportunity to interact and evaluate a firm that produces a product.
More general objectives include:
- Gaining an understanding of today’s global competitive environment.
- Developing essential oral and written communications and relationship skills.
737 — International Operations Management
The battle cry for today’s corporate executives is “Think globally”. Companies are aggressively expanding beyond national boundaries and seeking to develop products and services that appeal to customers from different countries. Managing manufacturing and service operations across political boundaries is a challenge for companies seeking a global presence. As companies shift their manufacturing facilities around the globe, it is important that students appreciate the potential advantages and pitfalls of manufacturing outside the U.S. Conducting business overseas requires responding to the vicissitudes of foreign markets such as cultural, language, economic, and political differences.
Companies are also realizing that to better meet customer needs, they must develop an effective linkage among the various functions in business strategic planning. This linkage is directed toward enabling operations to support the marketing efforts more effectively than the firm’s competitors, thereby creating a competitive advantage in the global market place. In addition, successful companies have to continuously adapt, innovate, and take risks in forging a global operations strategy. Long-term commitment, steady investment, and flexibility are other ingredients for success. The impact of free trade agreements such as GATT, APEC, and NAFTA on an organization’s strategy for managing operations globally will also be discussed. In today’s global market, companies are realizing the need to become world-class competitors. Multinational manufacturers that are able to coordinate and balance their global resources and facilities will become stronger, more responsive companies, better able to reduce costs and serve their customers in the global arena.
739 — Process Analysis and Improvement
This course will present a management perspective on the analysis and improvement of processes in both manufacturing and service operations. The improvement of processes to reduce cost and time is a critical activity in business today in order to be competitive in the marketplace. U.S. firms are under severe pressure to be competitive against world-wide competitors who have much lower cost structures, and well educated workforces.
This course will provide tools for the analysis and improvement of operations processes. In particular, it will emphasize understanding the application of these tools in the operations environment faced by companies in both manufacturing and service operations. Many of these tools are applied in the context of Lean Manufacturing. Increasingly, companies are adopting Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma approaches in the continuous improvement of their operations. It is, therefore, important for managers to understand this critical area in
management.
810 — Six Sigma Principles and Methods
This course is designed to familiarize students with the Six Sigma process improvement methodology and to provide them an opportunity to practice using Six Sigma Black Belt tools. A Six Sigma Black Belt is an individual who is skilled in applying basic and advanced process improvement and project management methods in order to complete projects that will result in significant, sustainable improvements within an organization. Originally developed by Motorola to improve quality in their manufacturing processes, Six Sigma has been adopted to companies throughout the world to improve all types of processes
When applied in business environments, Six Sigma programs have been used to dramatically increase an organization’s ability to improve quality and customer satisfaction while reducing overall costs. Companies such as AlliedSignal and General Electric have used Six Sigma to significantly increase productivity, operating income and cash flow.
In this course, students will gain an understanding of the strategy and deployment of Six Sigma Black Belt methods. The classroom sessions will combine lectures with group discussions and hands-on exercises.
To compliment the Thursday evening sessions, students will be required to complete online coursework and other assignments during non-classroom hours. Students who successfully complete MGT 810 and go on to apply their knowledge to complete multiple projects (one of which can be done by enrolling in MGT811) can then sit for the ASQ Black Belt Certification exam.
811 — Six Sigma Projects
This course allows teams of students to apply Six Sigma principles and concepts. The course builds on the material in Bus Mgt. 810, which is a prerequisite. Each team of students will undertake a substantive project in a company that uses Six Sigma methods to reduce variation and achieve measurable benefits for the sponsoring company. The bare structure of the project will be arranged with sponsoring companies but the team is responsible for developing a project plan and managing that plan to completion. Each team will be assigned an experience Six Sigma coach to support the team’s efforts.
MBA 814 - The Business of Healthcare
This course focuses on the evolving and competitive issues facing the healthcare industry today. As a student, you will develop business and decision-making skills that will enable you to excel under demanding circumstances and to advance in the changing and competitive health care environment.
820 - Project Management
This course examines the management of complex projects and the tools that are available to assist managers with such projects. Some of the specific topics we will discuss include project selection, project teams and organizational issues, project monitoring and control, project risk management, project resource management, and managing multiple projects. Both “traditional” applications of project management (such as engineering or construction projects) and “modern” applications (such as information technology projects or c hange management) will be studied.
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830 — Service/Quality Management
We are in the Service and Information Age where information, entertainment, and service content are increasingly dominating or complementing goods content. Service industries account for 80% of athe jobs in the U.S. economy. Goods-producing industries (manufacturing, construction, fishing, forestry, mining, and agriculture) account for the remaining 20% but 50% of those jobs are also in service processes. Therefore, 90% of the jobs in the U.S. economy involve designing and managing service, information, or entertainment-intensive processes. Other course titles applicable to this course include: Consulting in Services or Achieving Service Excellence.
The objectives for this course are:
- To understand the philosophy, principles, paradigms, tools and ideas of service management especially as they apply to services and service processes. Service management is the study of how marketing and operations come together through technology and people to plan, create, and deliver consumer benefit packages and their associated service encounters. For some people, this is a paradigm shift of the highest order.
- To recognize and understand (a) how service and information technology support the sale of physical goods, (b) how services and goods are bundled together to be successful in the marketplace, and (c) how all organizational resources must support service encounter execution.
- To learn how to apply the procedure of (a) demand analysis, (b) set standards of performance, (c) determine capacity levels, and (d) develop detailed resource schedules to maximize customer satisfaction and minimize costs for service processes.
- To learn by team study and develop your skills of analysis (paradigms, techniques, and final recommendations) and communication (class discussion, presentation and writing). We accomplish this objective by your active participation in class discussions, team case write-ups, and/or a service related project on your company.
832 — Matching Supply With Demand
Matching supply with demand is an enormous challenge for firms: excess supply is too costly, inadequate supply irritates customers. Matching supply and demand is particularly challenging when supply must be chosen before observing demand. In this course we will explore how firms can better organize their operations so that they more effectively align their supply with the demand for their products and services. Throughout this course we illustrate mathematical analysis applied to real operational challenges. Such quantitative analysis can help us truly understand issues or make complex business decisions. The course covers a range of operations management topics that all impact managing supply, managing demand, or both. The emphasis is on managing uncertain demand, both within the firm and across the supply chain. We cover a variety of topics that apply to both manufacturing and/or services. These topics include mass customization, quick response with reactive capacity, double marginalization, risk pooling, revenue management which includes protection levels and booking limits, supply chain coordination strategies such as buy back contracts, return policies and quantity discounts.
834 — Operations Strategy
This course focuses on creating strategic advantage by building distinctive capabilities in operations. Capability building of this kind requires a lot from managers. Specifically, managers need to develop a keen awareness of what their current and potential customers value; they must possess the analytic ability to devise appropriate systems; and they must have the organizational skills to meld people and technology into a system that excels routinely.
In recent years many firms have discovered manufacturing and operations as a potential source of strategic advantage. In general, these firms have sought to develop capabilities in operations which provide a sustainable edge in the marketplace. In addition, successful firms have developed processes for understanding the cross-functional implications of product and process choices. In this course we will seek to understand the circumstances under which particular operating capabilities are most beneficial and how such capabilities are most beneficial and how such capabilities can be developed so that operations can be exploited for competitive advantage. In particular, we focus on the competitive advantage resulting from the alignment of strategies, technology, and people in operations.
835 — Operations Planning Control
This course addresses techniques of managing the flow of materials in a manufacturing facility. We focus on the manufacturing process within the production facility; a subsequent course in supply-chain management deals with issues outside the factory.
Operations planning and control is an integrative function in a business that is critical in linking the planning activities in many areas of the business. In particular, this course will emphasize the overall structure of the planning and control function in managing operations, how this function coordinates activities within the operations area, and how operations planning and control decisions relate to other functional areas in the business.
Decisions regarding the design of operations planning and control systems involve a consideration of both the nature of the production process and the way in which the company competes in the market. We will pay close attention and study how approaches such as Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP), Just-In-Time Manufacturing, and Theory of Constraints can be used to support a firm’s competitive position in the market.
836 — Customer Driven Manufacturing in the Global Marketplace
This course is concerned with the problem of developing effective linkages between the manufacturing and marketing functions in strategic planning for a business. In many firms a strong functional culture, company reward systems. And the educational background and professional experience of the managers in each of these functions operate to limit their focus in strategy formulation, precluding the development of a broad strategic perspective on the business.
Only recently have basic concepts, a framework for analysis, and methods that can be used to broaden the strategic debate to incorporate marketing and manufacturing perspectives been developed. These involve developing a description of the markets targeted by a company, selecting a sample of representative customer orders in each market, developing order winning criteria for the orders in each market, segmenting the markets according to the order winning criteria, measuring operations performance against each order winning criteria, determining the degree of match (or mis-match) between market requirements and operations capabilities, and preparing an analysis of the marketing and manufacturing strategy of the company.
This course is directed toward the application of these methods to case studies involving U.S. and overseas companies in order to develop skills in improving the linkage between the strategic planning efforts in marketing and manufacturing. It is directed toward enabling manufacturing to support the marketing efforts more effectively than the firm’s competitors; thereby creating a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
837 - Global Sourcing
This course focuses on the managment of services and/or products sourced from outside of the firm, with an international focus. We begin by looking at the "make-buy," or outsourcing decision--it is this decision that fundamentally determines waht is "sourced" from outside and what is produced/managed in-house. We then focus on the management of services or products that are sourced from other companies. While examining sourcing, we discuss both general characteristics of sourcing relationships and the challenges inherent in global sourcing relationships.
840 — Lean Enterprise Leadership I
Lean Enterprise Leadership represents a partnership between Ford’s Lean Resource Center and Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business. Although lean manufacturing is widely accepted as a new industrial model, little university curriculum exists, at Ohio State or elsewhere, that addresses managing lean processes. Lean Enterprise Leadership addresses this gap by delivering customized lean enterprise curriculum developed by industrial leaders. A number of internationally recognized experts will share their knowledge and experience with MBA students.
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MBA 850 — Operations Management
Operations represents a critical area for both manufacturing and service industry firms in today’s competitive marketplace. The management of this business function can provide major competitive advantage along dimensions that include: cost, delivery speed and reliability, quality and quick response in product design. Because of the competitive importance of operations activities, this function is undergoing rapid change and re-structuring in many companies involving efforts such as:
- Cross-functional integration
- Continuous improvement of business processes
- Service and product quality improvement
- Supply chain management
- Time-based competition
The need for achieving improved competitive advantage through operations has created important opportunities for MBA students entering both general management and operations management positions.
This course presents a general management perspective on the operations function in a business. It is concerned with how operations activities can best be designed and managed to support the strategic objectives of a business. It covers the basic areas of managerial decision-making in operations, including operations strategy, process and quality improvement, and then management of supply chain operations. The course is designed to place the management of operations in a strategic business context, and to support the increasingly competitive business environment faced by operations managers today.
855 — Simulation, Risk Analysis, and Decision Making
There are a number of tools and methodologies to help managers analyze decisions. Optimization methods such as linear programming are the most powerful because they can sift through often innumerable alternatives and help identify the ones that offer the best performance for a chosen objective such as profit or cost. Unfortunately, these techniques require certain simplifying assumptions such as using mathematical relationships that are linear and data values that are known with certainty. In many situations, however, these assumptions cannot realistically be made. Delivery times of raw materials vary from one order to the next. Forecasts of future demand are uncertain. Interest rates or exchange rates may vary greatly. Plant productivity falls as throughput reaches capacity. Synergies among advertising media can interact to increase demand more than either one alone. For these and many other business decisions, inherent randomness and/or complexity necessitate the use of other modeling tools. The purpose of this course is to examine, understand, and learn how to use these tools.
This is a team-taught course that will focus on analyzing management decisions that involve uncertainty, risk and complexity. There will be a strong emphasis on applications and on the use of appropriate decision analysis techniques and software tools. The analytical methods to be studied will include Systems Simulation, Monte Carlo Simulation, and Decision Trees. Applications will be from the areas of Finance, Logistics, Marketing, and Operations. In analyzing decision problems in these areas, we will learn several commercial software packages: EXTEND, @RISK, BESTFIT, and PRECISION TREE.
MBA 870 — Business Statistics
The overall objective of the course is to familiarize you with the use of statistical procedures for the purpose of generating decision-making information. Understanding the conceptual basis of the methods will be emphasized, which enables students to identify the appropriate statistical procedure to the decision problem. The main topics will be: Probability theory which describes the behavior of a system over the long run, Distribution theory and its application to decision making, Inferences, Regression and finally Time series analysis. The following ideas will be discussed throughout the course:
- Problem identification and formulation
- Model selection and use in context of real data analysis
- Interpretation of the results of a statistical analysis
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MBA 871 — Modeling for Decision Making
Decision making is a major activity of managers and executives. Decisions are obviously opportunity specific. Who should be hired or promoted; which products should we produce, where, when; how much inventory should we hold, where should it be stored, how should it be transported; should we increase capacity or services; how should we finance expansion; how should we allocate costs; how much should we charge for a product or service; which markets should we serve? The list is endless.
Decision making is one activity that every member of every firm has performed no matter how large or small the firm. Every member of this class has made many decisions: Some good, some bad, some important, some forgotten. The success of a decision often depends upon “luck”. However, some decision makers are “luckier” than others. The overall objective of this course is to increase your probability of being “lucky”. However, even good decisions do not necessarily yield good results. Problems are not solved and opportunities are not realized until decisions are implemented. Consequently, we will emphasize the importance of planning for implementation.
In this course, we will look at some of the causes of poor decision making, strategies to overcome them, and techniques to improve decision making. Numerous quantitative techniques have been developed and refined over the past 45 years to help decision makers make better decisions. We will look at six of these: Decision Analysis with Uncertainty, Linear Programming, Integer Programming, Heuristic Algorithms, Queuing Models, and Simulation Modeling.
929 — Seminar in Operations Management
Coverage will include both content (the specifics of what is decided) and process (how decisions are made). In addition, the strategic linkages between manufacturing and other managerial concerns will be explored. Specifically, these linkages include the relationship among operations, strategy, and structure.
In the course of this seminar, students will develop a familiarity with the literature base and research paradigm(s) in manufacturing strategy. In addition, students will continue to develop the skills to write a publishable research paper.
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930 — Special Topics in Operations Management
This seminar seeks to better acquaint the PhD. Student with current thinking and research in the academic discipline of operations management through an examination of the most recent literature. This process provides the candidate an opportunity to acquire greater knowledge, develop critical evaluation and assessment of the work of others, and gain exposure to a broad spectrum of research opportunities in production and operations management.
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931 — Seminar in Operations Management
This seminar provides a critical review of the literature in the field of operations management; in odd-numbered years, the review covers the process design, location and layout areas while the production planning and control topics are covered in even-numbered years.
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