An Introduction to Operations Management Syllabus @ FIX University Cultural Campus

An Introduction to Operations Management

Christian Terwiesch

This course will teach you how to analyze and improve business processes, be it in services or in manufacturing. You will learn how to improve productivity, how to provide more choice to customers, how to reduce response times, and how to improve quality.

Syllabus

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Course Objectives

You will learn how to improve productivity, increase responsiveness, provide more choice to the customer, and deliver higher quality standards. In short, you will learn how to analyze business processes and how to improve them. Along the way, you will learn about topics such as Lean Operations, Six Sigma, and the Toyota production system, you will hear about bottlenecks, flows rates, and inventory levels. And, much, much more.

Course Outline

The best way for you to access the current lectures is to click on the "Week x" tab on the left tool-bar.

Under the "Week x" tab, I will also link current practice problems and homework assignments.

Module	Key concepts / Learning Goals	Release time
Introduction	Four dimensions of performance Efficient frontier Overview of the course	Week 1
1: Process Analysis	Find a bottleneck Compute throughput Apply Little’s Law Compute inventory turns Deal with multiple flow units	First half: Week 1 Second half: Week 2
2: Productivity	Understand the sources of waste Balance a line and compute Takt time Conduct an OEE analysis Build a KPI tree	Week 3
3: Variety	Determine the impact of set-ups on capacity Analyze set-ups, SMED Strategies to deal with variety Limitations to variety	Week 4
4: Responsiveness	Waiting time analysis Map out the customer journey Predict customer loss rates	Week 5
5: Quality	Analyze processes with yield losses and rework Toyota production system Six Sigma Statistical Process Control	Week 6
Conclusion	Operations and Business Models	Week 6
Final exam		Due November 11

Textbook

All content is summarized in the textbook by Cachon and Terwiesch. The book also includes over 100 practice problems as well as other modules on topics including Supply Chain Management, Risk Management, Business Model Innovation, and Sustainability in Operations:

Cachon, G. P. & Terwiesch, C. Matching supply with demand: An introduction to operations management 3nd Ed. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.

Amazon link to the book

Grading Policy

Each student's final numerical score for this course is based on the following items and weights:

-              Homework assignments (5 home work assignments with 10 points each). Homework assignments exist for each of the five modules . They are posted as a PDF file under the “Homework assignment” tab. You can also reach them via the “Week x” tab. You will use the “Homework submission” tab to submit your answers. Homework assignments are graded automatically. Students are allowed and even encouraged to take the homework assignments multiple times should they not obtain a perfect score in the first submission. Each question carries an equal weight.

-              Final exam (50 points). There exists one final exam for the course. Posting and submission for the final exam are identical to the homework assignments. However, you can only submit the answers for the final exam ONCE.

I will add up the points from these grading ingredients to compute a total score. According to the scores you achieved, you qualify for the following badges of achievement:

What is it called	How it is earned	What you get
Course completed	Obtain 50% or more on each homework as well as the final exam	Statement of accomplishment
Operations expert	Obtain 90% or more on each homework as well as the final exam	Statement of accomplishment Name posted on post-program web-site
Operations Excellence Award	Top 1% in total score	Name and score posted on post-program web-site Potential invitation to collaborate on future course development

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Created Mon 25 Jun 2012 10:48:56 AM PDT
Last Modified Fri 21 Sep 2012 10:50:10 AM PDT

PREOCUPACIÓN POR MUERTE DE BALLENAS / VI COLOQUIO INTERNACIONAL SOBRE POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS / @ FIX University Cultural Campus newsRus.com

PREOCUPACIÓN POR MUERTE DE BALLENAS Una preocupante denuncia han hecho pescadores quienes han avistado una ballena y su ballenato enredados en mallas de pesca dentro del área del Parque nacional natural Uramba bahía Málaga. Funcionarios del parque que trataron de ubicar infructuosamente al animal están alarmados por número de ballenas que han muerto en esta temporada de avistamiento.

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An Introduction to Operations Management @ FIX University Campus

An Introduction to Operations Management

Christian Terwiesch

This course will teach you how to analyze and improve business processes, be it in services or in manufacturing. You will learn how to improve productivity, how to provide more choice to customers, how to reduce response times, and how to improve quality.

Dear Class,

As we are in the middle of Week 2 of the course, please allow me to make the following announcements:
- Updated slides: I have uploaded the powerpoint slides of the Introduction and Module 1 (Process Analysis); previously, I had tried to organize the slides by week, but I have to admit that this was confusing / incomplete
- You notice that the last lecture of Module 1 talks about processes with attrition loss. Our course provides an interesting application of this effect: we have about 77,000 registered users. 38,000 watched at least some videos. The big question is: how many will submit the homework? Hang on in there!!!
- I have also uploaded some links to interesting stories about process analysis from the New York Times (see "Week 2" in the Navigation bar). I very much encourage you to share stories / youtube links / media references in the forum. 77,000 pairs of eyes throughout the world will just see the world much better than we can do sitting in the ivory tower.
- If you did not have a chance to do so, please fill out the pre-course survey.

With those announcements given, let’s get to work. If you have not already done so, please follow the link “Week 2” on the Navigation bar. Follow the instructions there, which will take you through the lectures, practice problems, and homework assignments.

Enjoy the second week of the course

Best

Christian

OCTUBRE 2012 Agenda Cultural @ FIX University / Fabiola Osorio

MIÉRCOLES 24 DE OCTUBRE DE 2012

DÍA MUNDIAL DE LA INFORMACIÓN SOBRE EL DESARROLLO

Para llamar la atención de la opinión pública mundial sobre los problemas y las necesidades de desarrollo, a fin de fortalecer la cooperación internacional con miras a resolverlos.

DEL 24 AL 30: SEMANA DEL DESARME

DÍA DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS

CLASES: “Yoga al despertar”. 7:15 a 8:30 a.m. / CLASES: “Yoga esencial”. 7 a 8:30 p.m. El Hilo del Corazón. Confirmar asistencia.

TALLER: “Dibujo manga”, a cargo de José Arley Moreno. 4 p.m. Sala infantil y juvenil. Entrada libre /TALLER: “Inventiva”. Taller dirigido a jóvenes de 12 a 18 años. 4 a 6 p. m. Sala 2 y Observatorio. Inversión: $30.000 (incluye materiales). Biblioteca Departamental.

NOCHE DE BOLERO: “Reyes del Bolero”. 7 p.m. Salsa Museo. Valor: $15.000. Incluye clases.

POESÍA: “Al viento”. Espacio abierto para la lectura de poesía y prosa literaria. 7 a 9 p.m. Plazoleta Central Parque Artesanal Loma de La Cruz.

CONCIERTO: “Beethoven 7.30”. 7:30 p.m. Sala Beethoven. Bellas Artes. Entrada libre.

VI FORO DE COMPETITIVIDAD DE LAS AMÉRICAS: “Innovación para la competitividad”. Evento que tendrá lugar en Cali, del 24 al 26 de octubre de 2012 y tendrá como anfitrión al Gobierno de Panamá.

I CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE INGENIERÍA MECATRÓNICA Y AUTOMATIZACIÓN: Se realizará del 24 al 26 de octubre. Todo el día. Universidad Autónoma de Occidente.

An Introduction to Operations Management @ FIX University Campus

Minor in Digital Media Production @ FIX University

An Introduction to Operations Management

Christian Terwiesch

This course will teach you how to analyze and improve business processes, be it in services or in manufacturing. You will learn how to improve productivity, how to provide more choice to customers, how to reduce response times, and how to improve quality.

Week 1

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Welcome to the first week of the course!

Please make sure to watch the three introduction videos. The first two have academic content in them. The third introduction session is logistical in nature and talks about the format of the course, the book, prerequisites, and other items from the course syllabus:

Introduction: Lectures

• Session 1: Four dimensions of operational performance
• Session 2: Trade-offs and the efficient frontier
• Session 3: Course logistics

Following the introduction, week 1 also includes the first three lectures of Module 1: Process Analysis. The other lectures for Module 1 are in the second week. Hence, there is no homework assignment for week 1.

Module 1: Lectures (Part 1)

• Session 1: Flow rate, inventory, and flow time
• Session 2: Finding the bottleneck
• Session 3: Labor cost and labor utilization

There are no homework assignments for this first week. The rest of Module 1 will be released in week 2. The first homework assignment will also be made available at that time and is then due on October 15.

After (and I emphasize "after") you have done all the work, treat yourself to a fun desert by clicking on the following video

I Love Lucy Assembly Line 

Week 2

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Ready for the second week of class?

Please follow the links to the remaining videos of Module 1 (Process Analysis). The lectures cover the following topics:

• Session 4: Little’s Law
• Session 5: Inventory Turns
• Session 6: Make to Stock vs Make to Order / Reasons for Inventory
• Session 7: Dealing with multiple flow units
• Review of Module 1: Getting ready for the first homework

After you have completed all lectures, please click on the “Practice Problems” link and take a look at the questions posted there. Please note that the answers for the practice problems are also posted there, just in a separate pdf file. I strongly discourage you to look at the solutions too quickly – spend at least 10 minutes per questions instead of rushing to the solution immediately.

Then, you are ready for the first homework. Click on Homework Assignment. There, you will be able to download a pdf outlining the problems for Homework 1. Answer these questions and write down the solutions (probably best to use paper and pencil). Then, click on Homework Submission to submit your answers. This homework (as all others) is worth 10 points. Each question has an equal weight in a homework.

Please note that you have multiple attempts to submit the homework assignments. Business questions are typically not as concise as Math questions and so we might differ in our interpretation of the question and/or assumptions we make. We will provide some hints if you get a question wrong. The purpose of the homework assignments is to reinforce learning, not to separate between good students and bad students.

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Created Fri 28 Sep 2012 9:09:23 AM PDT
Last Modified Fri 28 Sep 2012 9:38:33 AM PDT

Announcements

Welcome to Week 2

Dear Class,

We are entering the second week of our course. The course web-site is updated and you will now see “Week 2” on the Navigation bar. Please follow the link and work through the lectures, practice problems, and homework assignments. You will find the practice problems and the solutions under "Practice Problems" on the navigation bar and you will find the homework assignments under "Homework Assignments". Note that you will have to go to "Homework Submission" to submit your answers.

Please only attempt the practice problems and the homework assignments after you are done with the new video lectures posted this week (i.e., all video lectures of Week 1 and Week 2). The material of Week 1 alone will only be enough to get you through the first homework question.

Also, please allow me to respond to a couple of questions / suggestions that we encountered on the forum:
- Downloading of videos: we have now made it easier to download videos, as opposed to just streaming them (go to “Download Lectures” on the navigation bar)
- Subtitles / caption: All videos now have sub-titles (please note that you have to activate them by clicking on “cc” to the lower right of the video stream)
- Downloading of course materials: you will now find links to the Powerpoint and the Excel files that I used to generate the lectures (go to “Course Materials” on the navigation bar)
- Book: some folks have complained about the high price of the text-book. Please note that (a) the course is fully self-contained and the book is only needed if you want to go beyond what we do in class (b) you can rent the book at Amazon for $50 and you can get it used for around $30-$50

Finally, let me encourage you to take the pre-course survey by clicking on “Pre-Course Survey” on the navigation bar. This should not take more than two minutes and will provide us with a better sense of our community.

With those announcements made, we are now ready for week 2 of the course.

Best

Christian

Fri 28 Sep 2012 12:56:00 PM PDT

Official Launch of "An Introduction to Operations Management"

Dear Class

This message officially launches our Coursera course “An Introduction to Operations Management”. Welcome! We have a lot of work ahead of us and so let’s roll up the sleeves and get to work.

Here is what you should get done this week:
- Click on "Week 1" (in the navigation bar on the left). There, you can find with detailed instructions for what to do in the first week of class.
- Make yourself familiar with the site – we are just a couple of hours after launch, so many more things will be coming up. Since there is no homework this week, you can ignore the "Homework Assignments" and "Homework Submission" in the navigation bar for now. Over the next days, I will upload some practice problems, the slides for the first module, excel files, and other content.
- Feel free to come to the Discussion Forum. Meet fellow students and get engaged in class. In the prelaunch time (Friday until today), the forum had brought some technical issues with the video lectures to our attention. These are fixed now.

I hope you have a great time in this course! Let’s get started.

Best

Christian

Mon 24 Sep 2012 3:42:00 AM PDT

Site is Live

Dear Class

This is the moment we have been waiting for. I am happy to let you know that our course “An Introduction to Operations Management” is now LIVE on Coursera! We are still three days from the official launch of class (Monday, September 24). We put the site live today, so that you have some extra time to look around the site, meet some of your fellow students in the discussion forum, check out the syllabus, and maybe even watch a lecture.

More specifically, here are some things you might want to do when you get to the site:
- Click on "Week 1" (in the navigation bar on the left). There, you can find with detailed instructions for what to do in the first week of class (which, by the way, has no homework!!). I will follow this process for the subsequent five weeks of class as well.
- Since there is no homework this week, you can ignore the "Homework Assignments" and "Homework Submission" in the navigation bar for now. Also, I have not yet uploaded the first set of practice problems.
- Feel free to come to the Discussion Forum. I have seen in other Coursera courses that the first days of the course tend to be pretty actively used to form study groups and to meet fellow students.
- You will also find the official course syllabus in the navigation bar on the left.

I will send out an official launch email on Monday. I hope you have a great time in this course!

Best

Christian

Fri 21 Sep 2012 11:44:00 AM PDT

Welcome to Class

Welcome to my Coursera Course “An Introduction to Operations Management”. We are still a couple of days away from our first day of class (Monday, September 24), but we might as well get used to the thought that the course will start soon.

So, here are a couple of administrative announcements:
- The course has five modules, a short introduction, and a short conclusion. This content will be made available to you over the next six weeks. At the end of each module, there is a mandatory homework assignment.
- The textbook “Matching Supply with Demand, An Introduction to Operations Management” that I wrote together with my colleague Gerard Cachon is useful, yet entirely optional. All content of the course will be available online.
- We currently have close to 60,000 students enrolled in this course. Please forgive me that I cannot respond to email questions or comments (this would make for a fun homework assignment: “imagine that 1% of the students send in an email each day and that it takes 2 minutes per email to write a response”…)
- The course will go live, as planned, on Monday next week

I look forward to the start of the course.

Christian

Tue 18 Sep 2012 7:14:00 AM PDT