MGT 305
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MGT 305
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MV9
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News & Info (Updated 01/05/2009 07:28 PM)Welcome to MGT 305, Operations Management in Business. This is a core course designed to familiarize students with managerial decisions for effectively converting inputs into outputs (a.k.a. 'value creation'). Visit this site often for info on assignments, study notes, extra credit opportunities, and other. Glad to have you aboard this semester! Study notes for week 1 have been posted. Study notes are meant to supplement, not replace, classroom attendance. In our first week, we'll tour some historical events that have shaped the field of operations management (OM). We'll also position OM on the typical organization chart. Here's a copy of the course syllabus. You may want to print and bring to class as we'll be discussing it on day one. Check out the MGT 305 Wall of Achievement. Could be a worthy goal this semester... Spring 2009 potpourri (archives). A brief picture history of railroads in the US...Burlington Northern and other railroad companies are making a comeback. Baffled by how to calculate the percentage difference between two values? You'll need to learn how to be a better manager. Click here for a tutorial. Here's the Fortune subscription info. Looks like the student rate is $10/yr. Could be a worthy investment... One problem with going 'textbook free' is that students may be in need of books for citations, help on problems, etc. Check out the Book Borrow. These are some textbooks and other reference materials you might find useful. Dates on some books are older but they can still serve as perfectly good references for memos, problems, projects. Stop by my office if you'd like to borrow one of these... Interested in learning more about financial markets? Check out Minyanville (it's free!). Minyanville was founded by my Wall Street friend Todd Harrison to help people learn more about markets so that better financial decisions can be made. You can sign up for The Exchange, Minyanville's social network for finance. You can create a personal profile and blog. There is also an Education section designed to help newcomers learn about financial markets while remaining connected to the current flow (important for learning). Minyanville also features animated entertainment about business and markets at MVTV. Hope to see you and your friends at the 'Ville. Due dates for upcoming assignments appear below. Assignments must be submitted in memo format and stapled. No late work will be accepted.
Looking to get involved in a business-related student group? Need some line items for the 'Activities and Affiliations' category of your resume? Consider NKU's Phi Beta Lambda student organization. PBL (Professional Business Leaders) seeks to develop leadership skills in students from all majors. This is an excellent student organization with a nationwide footprint and alumni network. The group meets every other Thursday during the Fall and Spring terms. Activities are a blend of guest speakers, networking events, and service projects. The capstone event is the annual spring state leadership conference (SLC) where PBL groups from across the state compete in demonstrating knowledge and skill for solving organizational problems. Many problems are situational/case-based, and focus on various b-school disciplines (e.g., human resources, finance, strategy, marketing, etc.). Folks who place at the state conference (NKU PBL did well at the '08 SLC see p.7) are invited to the June national conference (in Anaheim in '09!). We're currently revising the NKU PBL website, so if you want more info, please contact club president Christen Gebka (gebkac1@nku.edu), vice president Bridgett Saylor (saylorb@nku.edu), or simply email pbl@nku.edu for more info. I'm the faculty advisor for the PBL group so you can hit me up for more info as well. In case you're interested, here's a useful site for tracking commodity prices (something that operating managers involved in supply chain mgt routinely do). Commodities are broken into various categories including energy (e.g., crude oil, natural gas, heating oil, unleaded gasoline), grains (e.g., corn, soybeans, wheat), softs (e.g., sugar, cotton, coffee), industrial metals (e.g., copper, aluminum), and precious metals (e.g., gold, silver). There is also the Commodities Research Bureau Index (CRB). What has been the overall direction in commodity prices over the past few years? For those thinking about the end-of-term project option, here are some thoughts on content and format. I've also posted a couple example projects that earned high marks (I also have plenty of hardcopy examples in my office that you can look at). If you're wondering about whether a particular organization would be appropriate, come see me. As a general rule, any organization (for profit/not for profit, big/small, public/private sector) works. The challenge for some is narrowing the scope to something manageable. For example, analyzing the operations of all of Procter & Gamble would be very difficult, while assessing the operations of P&G's customer service division in downtown Cincy is a much more doable scope. Should you do the project, it's due the final day of class. This and That...
Our Vision The Haile/US Bank College of Business at Northern Kentucky University will be the preferred choice of students, faculty and organizations in our region, known for excellence in practical instruction, applied research, and public engagement.Our Mission Our primary mission is to prepare our students to contribute positively to their organizations and communities. We educate future leaders to perform effectively and ethically in a global environment as professionals in business, public, and social enterprises. Our programs are strengthened by diversity among our students and faculty. Our faculty and students actively engage in scholarship that is relevant to our academic programs and to the business community. We value all types of rigorous scholarship, with a primary focus on applied and pedagogical intellectual contributions. We leverage partnerships between students, faculty and the community to continuously improve the educational experience and to enhance the integration of scholarship and public engagement to classroom learning. Our public engagement efforts are designed to enrich our communities. Assurance of Learning The College of Business has established learning outcomes for all its majors. All business majors share some learning outcomes, and some learning outcomes are specific to the majors. MGT 305 is designed so that graduating business majors can demonstrate achievement of the following learning objectives:
Course Objectives This is a “survey” course, designed to introduce the student to the concept of operations management (OM) and how it fits into business. Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
Catalog Description 3 credit hours. Concepts of operations in production and service organizations; application of quantitative and qualitative techniques to quality, human resources, forecasting, inventory, and process improvement problems. Prerequisites: MAT 111, MAT 212; junior standing Text (Optional) Stevenson, W.J. (2009). Operations management, 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. (older versions ok) Course Policies a) Grading Components and Determination
Exams. A combination of short answer, essay, and problems. You’ll have some choice. Bring bluebooks. Project. Alternative to final. Strategic assessment of an operation. Choose an organization. Define and classify the organization’s operating processes. Identify key operating decisions made by management. Assess the effectiveness of these decisions in supporting the business’s ability to compete. Will coalesce as the term unfolds. A way to demonstrate connection with classroom concepts (a good thing). Assignments. Choose 3 of the assignments posted during the term (selection criteria to be discussed). Memo format (to be discussed). Some choice permits selection of topics that interest you. You’ll also get feedback on business writing style. Work in groups if you wish—up to 3 in a group. Professionalism. This portion of your grade is my assessment of your engagement in class. It is termed 'professionalism' since it is meant to evaluate mannerisms that you should exhibit as an effective manager. Extra Credit. Will be possible as term unfolds. More later. b) Attendance Attendance will not be formally taken. However, your attendance and participation will impact your professionalism mark. Moreover, due to the nature of our class discussions, you WILL struggle if you miss a lot of class. c) Student Rights and Responsibilities The maintenance of academic standards and integrity includes the obligation not to cheat or plagiarize. A student who uses a dishonest or deceitful means to obtain a grade is guilty of cheating; a student who submits another’s work as one’s own without adequate attribution is guilty of plagiarism. Identical work will earn a grade of zero. Students are fully responsible for learning the course content and material disseminated in the class. Absences do not release you from this responsibility. Please see the NKU Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities at www.nku.edu/~deanstudents. The College of Business has in addition its own Code of Student Conduct, created by student organizations. Please visit the College website at http://www.nku.edu/~cob/CodeConduct.htm . For cheaters, I will enforce this policy to the fullest extent possible.d) Syllabus Changes and Current Information: Class Website Dates and assignments documented in this syllabus are subject to change at my discretion, meaning that this paper version of the syllabus will become outdated as the term progresses. While I’ll try to announce significant changes to our syllabus during class meetings, the electronic version of the syllabus posted on the class website will be constantly updated and provides a definitive reference. Indeed, our class website is your best source for current course information. Refer to it often… e) Guiding Policies/Principles
Schedule
Spring 2009 potpourri (archives).
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