68840 - Production Management

Course contents

Course contents

The course will introduce concepts and techniques for operations analysis and design of manufacturing and service operations within the context of operations strategy. The course will provide basic definitions of operations management terms, tools and techniques for analysing operations, and strategic context for making sound operational decisions:

The history and evolution of the most important production and logistics systems (Mass Production, JIT and Toyota Production System, TQC and Six Sigma); 

Dynamics of production strategy; key performance measures of production (i.e. productivity, quality and lead time); 

Logistics and work flow systems ('pull' and 'push' systems, MRP, JIT); 

Key principles and production/logistics tools (5S, SMED, Kanban, Heijunka, Raw Materials and WIP inventory control, JIT purchasing, Kaizen events); 

Quality Management and Control (ISO 9001 certification).

Readings/Bibliography

Readings

Students attending the course

As directed by the lecturer in class

Students not attending the course

The HBR case studies that have been assigned throughout the course.

+

Kumar, S. A., & Suresh, N. (2006). Production and operations management. New Age International.

OR

Slack, Nigel, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston. Operations management. Prentice Hall, 2010.

 

Teaching methods

Teaching methods

The course attempts to reach its learning objectives by offering you a balanced mix of lectures, case-studies, discussions, and project work including regular feedback sessions. Throughout the course, you will be asked to:

• Prepare cases, readings and exercises for class discussion.
• Complete in-class activities to practice the tools learned.
• Prepare written analyses of a case study.

Students are expected to synthesize and integrate knowledge acquired in other courses and put it into practice. They will be also challenged to extensively engage in independent research and critical thinking.

Satisfactory completion of this module will contribute to the development of the following key skills:

• Focused enquiry
• Synthesize existing research
• Apply analytical models, frameworks, tools and techniques relevant to operations management
• Critical evaluation of operations strategy
• Present complex ideas to peers and experts in the field

Assessment methods

Assessment methods

For those students not attending the course there is a final written individual exam, worth 100% of the final mark.

For those students attending the course there is a final written individual exam (40%) plus assessment of the case-study presentation (group assessment, 30%). The final output of the team effort will be a written case report (group assessment, 30%). At the beginning of the course you will organize yourself into groups. Each group will be assigned a case study. The case studies will be negotiated with the lecturer at the beginning of the course and will be assigned according to your expressed interest. You will be required to prepare the assigned case study for a group presentation (30% of the final mark) to be delivered during the course to the lecturer and your course colleagues. The presentation should demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the case context and content and an understanding of the case in the broader context of production management. Each group presentation should last 2 hours and will be followed by a Q&A session. It is imperative that you make your presentation to the highest professional standard. Presentations will be assessed on the basis of their content and your performance as a group. Copies of the presentations should be emailed to the lecturer at least 24 hours before the presentation is due. It is important that you attend, and contribute via the Q&A after each presentation, to these sessions. The final output of the team effort will be a written case report of 3000 words (group assessment, 30%) to be submitted two weeks after the presentation (by November 15^th 2015).

Office hours

See the website of Alessandra Vecchi

See the website of Antonio Benzi