This document provides information about an Operations Management course taught by Professor Prakash Mathure. The 3 credit course is part of a post-graduate diploma program for working professionals from 2012-2014. The course description outlines the topics to be covered including operations strategy, forecasting, facility location, inventory management, and case study presentations by students. Professor Mathure's expectations for preparation and participation are also summarized.

1. Post Graduate Diploma for Working Professional in Management
Batch : 2012-2014
Faculty Prof Prakash Mathure Term Term-3
Course Operations Management - I Credits 3 credits (20 Hours)
About the Instructor:
mathure.p@greatlakes.edu.in
Dr. Mathure is an Engineering Graduate both in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and a Post
Graduate in Advanced Manufacturing Technology from University of Melbourne, Australia. He has
done his MBA in Finance & MBA in Marketing from Melbourne Business School, University of
Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Mathure has completed his doctoral & post-doctoral in International
Business from prestigious Harvard Business School. He was a visiting / adjunct faculty for a
numbers of years in various Universities / Institutes in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, and
Europe (UK, Germany, Netherland and Iceland) for various management courses in the areas of
Finance, Marketing, Operations, Quantitative, General and Strategic Management, and
Engineering. He has successfully supervised / guided three candidates for their doctoral (Ph.Ds.).
Dr. Mathure has three decades of work experience of which approximately two decades was in
the Fortune 100 companies at senior echelons in USA, Australia and India. Last one decade he is
into full-time academics. Dr. Mathure is a registered and practicing Chartered Financial Analyst
(CFA) in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK and few states in USA.
Course Description
Introduction to major managerial problems and decision processes of Operations
Management; Design of Operations, Planning, Scheduling, Quality Control, Resource
Allocation, Materials Requirement Planning; Integration of Operations Management with the
other functional areas.
Course Overview
The goal of this course is to present what every Executive MBA should know about the
Operations function of a firm. Operations Management is the management of business
processes that encompasses the recurring activities of a firm. The Operations function
comprises all activities involved in the actual production and delivery of goods and services.
This is one of the central functions of every business, profit and non-profit organization alike.
Along with Marketing and Finance, Operations is one of three critical functions of a firm. At
the danger of being simplistic, one may say that Marketing induces the demand for products
(goods and services), finance provides the capital, and Operations produce the product. The
Operations function spans the entire organization where COOs are in charge of Design /
Engineering, R & D, Production Operations, Marketing, Sales, Customer Support and Service.
The aim of this course is to:
1. Familiarize you with the problems and issues confronting operations managers, and
2. Provide you with language, concepts, insights and tools to deal with such issues in order
to gain a competitive advantage through operations.
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2. Post Graduate Diploma for Working Professional in Management
Batch : 2012-2014
Faculty Prof Prakash Mathure Term Term-3
Course Operations Management - I Credits 3 credits (20 Hours)
Sound and creative Operations Management is a major competitive advantage. It is not
hard to find industries where some firms are growing and prospering while others have
filed for bankruptcy. Many differences can separate the winners from the losers, but
usually the way operations are managed is one of the critical pieces of the puzzle. Indeed,
it's rare to find a successful firm that is not managing its operations to provide a high
quality product or service at a reasonable cost. This effective management is a key
ingredient for success and an understanding of it is essential and critical for all managers.
This Course should be of particular interest to people aspiring a career in designing and
managing business processes, either directly (President/ V.P. of Operations, COO) or
indirectly (e.g., Management Consulting). The Course should also be of interest to people
who manage interfaces between Operations and other business functions such as
Marketing, Finance, Human Resources and Accounting.
Course Objectives
Class will be a mix of Lectures and Case Discussion. Problem-solving is also an integral part of
Operations Management. However the same shall be discussed in the Class provided time
permits. The Course Objectives are to:
• Understand the role of the Operations function and significance in different kinds of
organizations. To recognize the tradeoffs and alternatives that operations manager’s
face and the impact their decisions have on the abilities and success of the
organization.
• Develop sound quantitative reasoning skills: the ability to critically assess material,
summarize the problem, and propose solutions.
Learning Objectives Content:
Learn about issues in the design and control of manufacturing and service processes.
♦ Introduction to Production / Operations Management
♦ Services Operations Management
♦ Facility Location and Layout Issues
♦ Forecasting Methods
♦ Project Management Techniques
♦ Discuss Some of the Recent Advances and Issues In Operations Management.
♦ Inventory Models
♦ MRP, ERP, JIT etc. etc.
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3. Post Graduate Diploma for Working Professional in Management
Batch : 2012-2014
Faculty Prof Prakash Mathure Term Term-3
Course Operations Management - I Credits 3 credits (20 Hours)
Skill Pre-requisites:
1. Quantitative Analysis.
Assorted quantitative tools (e.g., SPC, Scheduling) will be presented throughout
the course. Primary emphasis is on selecting and applying the appropriate tools.
In-class and homework problems will make tool concepts and their application
more tangible and, therefore, more understandable.
2. Conceptualization
A good part of this course involves understanding fundamental operations business
principles. The text will introduce you to these principles, and case analysis will
a. make the text principles more concrete, and
b. give you practice in using the principles in novel ways to make better decisions. The
second benefit of case analysis is particularly important in business; students don't
acquire this skill at predictable times. Business situations are a mess; therefore, making
good decisions involves iterating between careful analysis and deep reflection. If you
work hard at improving your case analyses throughout the semester and keep trying to
improve in your other case-oriented business courses, your chances of being strong in
novel applications are maximized.
c. Communication
Case write-ups will be graded in part on clarity. The ability to take a chaotic situation
and explain it in clear terms is crucial in business. Also, your short essay responses in
quizzes will also be graded in part on clarity. Being able to respond lucidly in short order
to complex queries is an important skill. As with conceptual skills, communication skills
are generally not easy to develop.
All topics that we cover in class will fall under three important decision areas:
♦ Introduction to Operations Management
♦ Design of Operations Management
♦ Planning & Control of Operations Management
My Expectations of Students
Due to severe time constraint (20 hrs.) and given the fact that this packed Course will indeed
be fast-tracked one – even with the overview of each chapter. It is therefore very strongly
recommended that students:
1. Will pre-read the designated chapters - even if the students do not understand
the chapter in totality, PRE-READ IS ABSOLUTELY A „MUST’
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4. Post Graduate Diploma for Working Professional in Management
Batch : 2012-2014
Faculty Prof Prakash Mathure Term Term-3
Course Operations Management - I Credits 3 credits (20 Hours)
2. Will remain present in the class-room – both physically and mentally as well.
Thereby students do not have to study separately for the examination.
3. Remember: “Reading” of PPTs is not a substitute for pre-read of the text.
I expect everyone to keep up with assigned readings. I do not lecture straight from the book
as you have demonstrated the ability to read and comprehend textbook materials. You would
not be here otherwise. I encourage and expect everyone to participate in class discussions.
Although I may not agree with your point of view or you may not agree with mine, we can
learn from the expression of such ideas. Your agreement or lack of will in no way affect your
grade for this class. So feel free to express your ideas.
I have assigned materials that I feel are important to this class and eliminated others. I
expect any and all assignments to be turned in when due. No late assignments are accepted
unless I have been notified prior to the due date.
My Promise to You
I will put forth every effort to make this class a rewarding experience. I further promise to
make the assessment of your performance as fair as I can. Although grades are sometimes
given too much weight by students and faculty, remember that you are in this program
to learn and take-away something that you can use in the future. I have no
preconceived ideas of a proper grade distribution. I will give as many A's as earned as well as
B's, C's or others.
Expectations for Class Preparation
I highly recommend, but do not require, that you form study groups of three to five members
and that you meet with your study group each day to prepare for class discussion. I find that
this approach increases learning, develops a sense of teamwork and encourages good
preparation for class discussion.
Development of Verbal and Quantitative Skills Is Given A High Priority In This
Course.
The classroom should be considered a laboratory in which you can test your ability to present
your analyses and recommendations clearly, to convince your peers of the correctness of your
approach to complex problems, and to illustrate your ability to achieve the desired results
through the implementation of that approach.
Some of the criteria that I will use to judge effective class participation for grading purposes
include:
• Is the participant a good listener?
• Are points made relevant to the current discussion? Are they linked to the comments of
other?
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5. Post Graduate Diploma for Working Professional in Management
Batch : 2012-2014
Faculty Prof Prakash Mathure Term Term-3
Course Operations Management - I Credits 3 credits (20 Hours)
• Do the comments show clear evidence of appropriate and insightful analysis of the case
data?
• Is there a willingness to participate?
If you are unable to attend a class session, it is your responsibility to obtain notes from a
classmate.
Recommended Book:
Operations Management (Pearson Publication) by Heizer & Render (Latest Edition) -
(Henceforth shall be referred to as OM-HR)
PPTs shall be shared with the students which will give the scope and overview
of each chapter that students will learn.
________________________
1. EVALUATION COMPONENTS :
Percentage
Components of Evaluation for the Course Distribution for the
Component
Class Participation 20
Quizzes (please mention the number of quizzes that you
Nil
wish to do and scores for each quiz)
Case Assignments 30
Project Nil
Mid Term Examination Nil
End Term Examination / Quiz 50
Other Nil
Total 100
3. DETAIL SESSION OUTLINE (Chapter Numbers are based on 10th Edition. If you have newer edition
and if chapter numbers are different then, kindly check the Title of the Chapter instead of Chapter Numbers)
DAY 1: Part I - Introduction to Operations Management
1. Operations, Productivity(Ch. #1 of HR)
2. Operations Strategy (Ch. #2 of HR)
3. Service Operations Management - NA in HR
4. Forecasting - Ch. #4 of HR
DAY 2: Part II - Designing Operations
1. Location Strategies – Ch. # 8 of HR
2. Layout Strategies - Ch. # 9 of HR
3. Project Management – Ch. 3 of HR
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6. Post Graduate Diploma for Working Professional in Management
Batch : 2012-2014
Faculty Prof Prakash Mathure Term Term-3
Course Operations Management - I Credits 3 credits (20 Hours)
DAY 3: Part III - Managing & Controlling Operations System
1. Inventory Management - Ch#12 of HR
2. Aggregate Planning – Ch.#13 of HR
3. Material Requirements Planning – Ch.#14 of HR
4. Enterprise Resource Planning System – Ch. # 14 of HR
5. Just-in-Time, Lean Operations – Ch.#16 of HR
6. Short-term Scheduling (Production Planning & Control) - Ch. #15 of HR
DAY 4: Case Study Presentation by Students
Comprehensive Case Studies covering above topics shall be provided to students (soft copies).
Group of students are expected to make presentation. Modalities shall be discussed in the Class.
_______________________
MID-TERM & END TERM EXAMINATION DETAILS:
MCQ &/or True-False &/or Fill-in the Gaps &/or Combination thereof or Essay-type
Questions &/or Caselet & combination of all above will be a part of the Exam.
CLASS PARTICIPATION
Max. Marks: 20.
GROUP CASE STUDY PRESENTATION
Max. Marks: 30.
Duration: 30 min. (max) per Group (Comprehensive Case Studies shall be provided)
________________
Following chapters do not form the part of Course (Chapter #)
6, 6S, 7, 7S, 10, 11, 11S, & Part IV
However, it is desirable, but not essential, if students read the following chapters (Chapter #):
5, 6, 6S, 7S,
Time Dependent: Ch. #6 & Ch. #6S shall be discussed.
TIME DEPENDENT
If, and only if, time permits, number of case studies (chapter-wise) will be discussed
Wherever absolutely essential short-duration video clips will be shown
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