Distance MSc in Operational Research - Operations Management

Credit Value: 6
Tutors: Robert van der Meer and Farhad Shafti

Class Aims

Students should understand the principles of Operations Management as a management function and as a set of management decisions concerning the design, planning and control, and improvement of operating systems in both manufacturing and service organisations. They should understand the key concepts of Operations Management and be able to apply relevant analytical tools, models and quantitative methods.

Learning outcomes

1 Subject specific knowledge and skills

Students should be able to:

1. Describe the design, planning and control, and improvement decisions to be taken in the Operations Management function, and explain the link between operations strategy and business strategy;
2. Analyse and explain the interrelationships between the performance objectives in Operations Management and the design of an operating system, for any given manufacturing or service organisation;
3. Identify the main aspects of process and layout design, and evaluate the trade-offs between these aspects, and use relevant quantitative methods in support of layout design;
4. Explain key concepts in inventory planning and control, and evaluate the trade-offs between performance objectives in this area, and apply independent-demand inventory control systems to minimise inventory costs;
5. Use appropriate network planning methods for effective project planning and control;
6. Understand the differences between service operations and manufacturing operations, critically review the service classification models and their use, critically examine and analyse a number of conceptual and instrumental models for service operations, discuss the applicability of some of the common traditional concepts of operations management in services and describe the use of IT in the services;
7. Explain key concepts in quality planning and control, and statistical process control and acceptance sampling to effectively manage quality costs.

2 Cognitive abilities and non-subject specific skills

1. Present a reasoned argument in writing based on a thorough knowledge and understanding of the relevant academic literature and supported, where required, by analytical discussion and/or appropriate quantitative analysis.

Content/Structure of class

• General introduction.
• Process design and work organisation, inventory planning and control, project planning and control, quality planning and control.
• Service operations management.

Reading List

The following may be of use but are not required:

• Operations Management N. Slack, S. Chambers and R. Johnston Fourth edition, Harlow (Essex, UK): Pearson Education Ltd, 2004 (ISBN: 0-273-67906-6) Available from Amazon (UK)
• Service Management: Operations, Strategy, and Information Technology Fitzsimmons J.A., Fitzsimmons J.F. (2001), McGraw-Hill, Inc. Available from Amazon (UK)

(For the service operations part, apart from the above title, chapters from some of the relevant books and a number of papers will also be introduced as references.)

Assessment

Two-hour written examination consisting of four questions in two sections, as follows:

Section A (general introduction, process design and work organisation, inventory planning and control, project planning and control, quality planning and control): two questions;

Section B (service operations management): two questions.

Student will be required to answer one question from each section (that is, two questions in all).

management science DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE Graham Hills BUILDING 40 GEORGE STREET G1 1QE
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contact-mansci@strath.ac.uk