This document provides the syllabus and assignments for a course on operations management. It includes 7 weeks of content covering topics such as productivity, quality management, forecasting, capacity, inventory control, and scheduling. For each week there are 2 discussion questions and 1 written assignment related to case studies. The final paper involves analyzing operations at a furniture manufacturing company and providing recommendations.

1. BUS 644 Entire Course *Operations
Management* NEW SYLLABUS 2013
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Week 1
DQ 1
Ethical Issues and Operations. Ethical behavior is a corporate issue that affects the
company’s bottom line. How do ethical issues impact organizations and operations?
Include an example seen in the workplace, in the news, etc. that relates to real-life
situations. Your initial post should be at least 200-250 words.
DQ 2
Business Processes. Why are the following business processes important? Which
process do you feel is most important? Explain your reasoning.
a. Strategy development
b. Product development
c. Systems to produce goods and services
d. Order fulfillment
Your initial post should include real life situations and be at least 200-250 words.
Week 1 Assignment

2. Midas. Read the “Midas” case study in Chapter 2 of your text. Answer questions
1through 4 in a two- to- four page paper in accordance with APA guidelines as outlined
in the Ashford Writing Center. Your paper should be in paragraph form (avoid the use of
bullet points), and supported with the concepts outlined in your text. Provide at least two
scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library or other external sources,
excluding the textbook. Do not include the original questions of the assignment in the
paper.
a. What are the anticipated impacts upon operating efficiency? How would you attempt
to minimize the negative impacts?
b. Should some operating practices be changed to accommodate the tune-ups?
c. Should input be gathered from the shop owners? If so, what?
d. If Midas decides to launch this new program, how should it begin?
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your
assignment.
Week 2
DQ 1
Productivity. Many times trade-offs are necessary to increase productivity. What are
important trades-offs involving the inputs to productivity? Your initial post should include
real life situations and be at least 200-250 words.
DQ 2
Product Design and Quality. What important organizational activities enable a firm to
build quality into its products? Explain each of these along with its benefits. Your initial
post should include examples and be at least 200-250 words.
Week 2 Assignment
Memorial Hospital. Read the “Memorial Hospital” case study in Chapter 4 of your text.
Answer questions 1- 4 in a two- to- four (2-4) page paper in accordance with APA

3. guidelines as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Your paper should be in paragraph
form (avoid the use of bullet points), and supported with the concepts outlined in your
text. Provide at least two scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library or other
external sources, excluding the textbook. Do not include the original questions of the
assignment in the paper.
a. Discuss some ways that a hospital might measure quality.
b. What are the potential costs of quality for Memorial Hospital? How could the value of
a human life be included?
c. Are there any ideas or techniques from TQM that Janice could use to help Memorial
focus on providing quality health care?
d. What measures could Memorial use to assess the quality of health care it is
providing?
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your
assignment
Week 3
DQ 1
Suppliers. Should a firm attempt to have fewer or more suppliers? What are the
advantages and disadvantages of each approach? Your initial post should be 200-250
words.
DQ 2
Forecasting Methods. Read Problem 6 in Chapter 6 of your textbook. Calculate and
answer parts a through d. Include all calculations and spreadsheets in your post.
Explain why the moving average method was used instead of another forecasting
method. What might be another forecasting method that could prove to be just as
useful? Your initial post should be 200-250 words.
Week 3 Assignment

4. Outsourcing. Outsourcing, especially to low labor-cost countries, has grown
substantially. What are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing? Include and
describe a product or service of a specific low labor-cost country as an example. Include
a recommendation/conclusion based on the research. Answer the question in a two to
four (2-4) page in accordance with APA guidelines as outlined in the Ashford Writing
Center. Provide at least two (2) scholarly sources from the Ashford Library or other
external sources, excluding the textbook. Your paper should be in paragraph form
(avoid the use of bullet points), and supported with the concepts outlined in your text.
Do not include the original questions of the assignment in the paper.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your
assignment.
Week 4
DQ 1
Process Selection: Product Design and Capacity. How is process selection related
to product design and capacity determination? Your initial post should be 200-250
words.
DQ 2
Monique Food Processing Company and Capacity. Read Problem 6: The “Monique
Food Processing Company” in Chapter 8 of your text.
Monique Food Processing Company produces light snacks that can be heated in a
microwave. The following steps are included in the process: Steps
Description
Capacity (Units/Hour)
1
Prepare food
200

5. 2
Measure and place in plastic pouch
175
3
Prepare cardboard box
200
4
Insert pouch into box
300
5
Shrink-wrap box
200
Week 4 Assignment
Beck Manufacturing and Plant Capacity. Read the “Beck Manufacturing” case study
in Chapter 8 of your text. Answer questions one through three in a two- to- four page
paper in accordance with APA guidelines as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
a. Calculate the capacity of each machine center and the capacity of the system.
b. If Beck wants to expand capacity, where should he focus the company’s efforts? How
much extra capacity can he get without causing another operation to become the
bottleneck?
c. How may Mr. Beck expand capacity without purchasing new equipment? Be specific.

6. Your paper should be in paragraph form (avoid the use of bullet points), and supported
with any formulas, calculations, and concepts outlined in your text. Do not include the
original questions of the assignment in the paper.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your
assignment.
Week 5
DQ 1
Materials Requirements (MRP) Inventory and Customer Service. Explain how MRP
can decrease a company’s inventory while improving its customer service level. Include
a real-life example. Your initial post should be 200-250 words.
DQ 2
Perpetual versus Periodic Inventory Systems. Describe the perpetual and the
periodic inventory systems. How are they different? Are there circumstances in which
one system is better than the other? Include real-life examples. Your initial post should
be 200-250 words.
Week 5 Assignment
Alliance Supermarket and Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems. Read the “Alliance
Supermarket” case study in Chapter 10 of your text. In a two- to- four page paper,
answer questions 1 & 2 in accordance with APA guidelines as outlined in the Ashford
Writing Center.
Alliance Supermarkets
Alliance Supermarkets has been using a point-of-sale (POS) system for some time to
track its inventory. The system uses a laser scanner to read the universal product code
(UPC) on each item at the checkout container. The UPC is a number that uniquely
identifies the product on which it appears. Currently, Alliance is using the UPC
information to update inventory records for each item. Although the system has greatly
improved the company’s ability to replenish inventory promptly, the company still has
some problems. For example, sudden changes in demand for a particular item can

7. catch the company by surprise as it bases inventory replenishment on historical
demand patterns. Further, demand patterns and preferences may vary from one store
to another depending on the customers served by each, but the inventory system
groups all demand information together and treat each store equally. Finally, the
manufacturers that make the products stocked by Alliance Supermarkets are always
pressuring Alliance to help them target appropriate customers for special promotions
and sales.
The chief information officer (CIO) of Alliance realizes that much more could probably
be done with the data collected from its POS system. For example, the company could
analyze the relationship between each product’s sales and weather patterns. It is even
possible to analyze an individual customer’s buying habits and identify instances when
a customer may be persuaded to try a different brand of a certain product.
Suppose you have been asked to study this situation and suggest possible new and
innovative uses for the information generated by the POS system. Ideally, these ideas
should help Alliance better serve its customers by ensuring that adequate quantities of
each item are available, that costs are kept low, and that customers are made aware of
new products that may interest them.
a. What information may help Alliance reduce costs while providing better service?
b. If purchase information can be obtained on individual customers, what new approach
could be used by Alliance?
Your paper should be in paragraph form (avoid the use of bullet points), and supported
with the concepts outlined in your text. Do not include the original questions of the
assignment in the paper.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your
assignment.
Week 6
DQ 1

8. Just-in-Time (JIT) Inventories. Choose companies or industries for which JIT would
be totally inappropriate? Explain your reasoning with examples in 200-250 words.
DQ 2
Scheduling Procedures. Categorize different scheduling procedures for various types
of service operations, such as restaurants, hospitals, and airlines. Your initial post
should include explanations and examples and be 200-250 words.
Week 6 Final Paper
Focus of the Final Paper
Read the “Space Age Furniture Company” case study in Chapter 9 of your text. Answer
the following questions: and include any MRP calculations.
1. What options are open to Coral to address this problem?
2. How would reducing the minimum quantity of subassemblies help?
3. What are the costs of carrying excess items in inventory at each stage?
4. What is the trade-off between overtime costs and inventory costs?
5. Which type(s) of production processing – job shop, batch, repetitive, or continuous –
is the primary mode of operation? Explain.
6. In what ways could management keep track of job status and location during
production?
7. Can you suggest any changes that might be beneficial to the company or add value
for the customer? What are they?
The purpose of the Final Case is for you to culminate the learning achieved in the
course by describing your understanding and application of knowledge in the field of
operations management. The paper should integrate Readings and Resources and
class discussions into work and life experiences. It may include explanation and
examples from previous events as well as implications for future applications.

9. Guidelines for Writing the Final Paper
Readdress the concept and the experience with critical thought. That is, what is your
response to the content, either positive or negative, and then defend your position. If
multiple options/alternatives/positions are present and are being rejected you must also
defend the reasons for rejecting an option.