Operations Management Syllabus

Contact Details:

Anita Tucker, Sachar 215,

Email: (best way to contact me)

Office phone: 781-736-8542 (best way to call me), cellphone 617-417-4282

skype id: anita.tucker3

Office hours: Monday and Wednesday 4pm – 5pm EST, and by appointment

Course Description:

Operations Management is the scientific study of work systems. Our goal is to develop deep understanding of key principles from operations management that are essential for improving the quality and efficiency of care delivered on your clinical services. First, we conduct system analysis of service business to learn how to calculate capacity of a system, identify bottlenecks, and develop smart strategies for increasing capacity in a cost-effective manner. We extend the discussion by examining how process design decisions, such as batch size and pooling of resources, impacts throughput time and “inventory,” which may be the number of people waiting for services. Third, we dissect the philosophy and design principles of the Toyota Production System (TPS) that have enabled them to simultaneously have the highest quality and lowest costs in their industry. We study a hospital’s implementation of TPS to find and eliminate waste. Fourth, we develop different approaches to manage capacity, such as forecasting of demand, flexibility, revenue management, and queuing theory. In particular, we illuminate drivers of waiting time in service systems, and identify levers for improving patient flow and reducing wait time. Fifth, we analyze service businesses to identify how successful service organizations align their structure and processes to achieve their key strategic goal, while trading off performance on non-key performance dimensions. Finally, we investigate IDEO’s techniques for innovation, with an emphasis user-centered design.

Course Outcomes:

  • CO1: Apply principles from operations managementto manage patient flow and resource utilization [CORE3a]
  • CO2: Design the organization’s service system to achieve key performance objectives; identify tradeoffs that need to be made to achieve the key objectives [CORE3b]
  • CO3: Calculate the capacity of a system, identify bottlenecks, and develop strategies for improving system performance [CORE3c]
  • CO4: Quantify the impact of process design decisions, such as batching and pooling, on performance measures, such as lead time and inventory levels [CORE3c]
  • CO5: Analyze work and system design principles that enable process excellence [CORE3a, CORE3c]
  • CO6: Develop expertise in using foundational tools of quality management[CORE3c]

Course Project:

The project will be to identify an opportunity for improvement in your hospital’s supply chain for equipment, medication, or disposable supplies. Ideally, the project will involve an item that is impacted by physician decision making, such as equipment used for surgery or a procedure, or medications ordered for patients. There are two deliverables for the project. First, you will create an A3 problem solving document. Second, will be a presentation of your project. Participants should be prepared to share their work by breaking down their A3 into five PowerPoint slides, one for each of the five sections of the A3 diagram. Please plan on a five minute presentation. Your presentation will be graded based on the clarity of your slides and your commentary. For more details, see the Project Description Document.

Class Participation:

Class participation is determined by your preparation and active engagement during class, both in person and online. Attendance is required. For the in-person sessions, please be courteous to your fellow students by arriving on time and refraining from leaving in the middle of class. If you are unable to attend class, please let me know in advance, if possible. You will not be penalized for one absence, but absences beyond that reduce your participation score in a nonlinear fashion.

For case discussions both in-person and online, you are expected to actively listen, respond to questions, express your viewpoints, and respond to comments from your fellow students. I will keep a record of class participation for each student and assign a grade based on the quality of your comments. One or two high quality comments is preferred over frequent, low-quality participation. Participation is necessary, as attendance without participation will result in a C participation grade (assuming there are no more than the allowed number of absences). High quality (e.g., contributing analysis, synthesis) participation for most classes will be an A. Consistent, although not always breakthrough participation will be a B.

Assignments:

There are two assignments for the course: an inventory exercise and a simulation. Assignments graded and points assigned based on showing your work, effort, and the correctness of that work. The inventory assignment will be handed in through Latte. Your submission must be your own, but you may work with other students to discuss the assignments. The simulation assignment is automatically recorded when you run through the exercise on the simulation website.

Grade Distribution:

Assignment Category / Number of Graded Items / Point Value per Item / Total Points/Percentages
Participation / 12 / 4 / 48/ 27%
Assignments / 2 / 15 / 30/ 17%
Final Project and Presentation / 1 / 100 / 100/ 56%
Total Course Points/Percentage: / 178/ 100%

Topic Assignment Schedule:

Date / Topic / Assignments
Sat 16 Jan
13:30 – 18:00
Babson Exec Ed / Topic One: Process Analysis I (Residency Sessions #1-2) / 1-1 Read: MSWD 3rd edition2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6
1-2 Read: Pediatric Orthopedic Clinic (IVEY 808D01)
1-3 Answer: Discussion Questions
1-4 Attend: Residency Sessions 1-2
Tues 19 Jan
13:30 – 18:00
Babson Exec Ed / Topic Two: Process Analysis II (Residency Sessions #3-4) / 2-1 Read: MSWD 4.1, 5.1, 5.2
2-2 Read: Donner Co. 602-040.
2-3 Answer: Discussion Questions
2-4 Attend: Residency Sessions 3-4.
Thurs 21 Jan
08:00 – 12:30
Babson Exec Ed / Topic Three: Toyota Production System (Residency Sessions #5-6) / 3-1 Read: MSWD 8.8, 8.9
3-2 Read: Virginia Medical Center, 606044
3-3 Read: Spear and Bowen 1999
3-4 Answer: Discussion Questions
3-5 Read: Jimmerson 2007, Chapter 4
3-6 Read: Jimmerson 2005, Chapters 1,4, 5, 6
3-7 Attend: Residency Sessions 5-6
Fri 22 Jan
13:30 – 18:00
Babson Exec Ed / Topic Four: Managing Variability (Residency Sessions #7-8) / 4-1Read: MSWD 6.5, 6.6, 6.9
4-2 Complete: Simulation
4-3 Read: Patient Flow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 9608171
4-4 Answer: Discussion Questions
4-5 Attend: Residency Sessions 7-8
Thurs 11 Feb
19:00 – 21:00
Online / Topic Five: Supply Chain Management (Online, Session #9) / 5-1 Read: Fitzsimmons et al. Chapter 9 (pages 247-250) and Chapter 15 (427-435)
5-2 Read: Crane and Noon, Chapter 5
5-3 Complete: Background Data Collection
5-4 Attend: Webinar
Sat 5 Mar
08:00 – 10:00
Online / Topic Six: Quality Management (Online, Session #10) / 6-1 Read: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center 9-609-109
6-2 Watch: Video
6-3 Answer: Discussion Questions
6-4 Create: Value Stream Map
6-5 Attend: Webinar
Tues 15 Mar
19:00 – 21:00
Online / Topic Seven: Innovation (Online, Session #11) / 7-1 Watch: Video
7-2 Read: IDEO. 600143
7-3 Answer: Discussion Questions
7-4 Interview: Inventory Employees
7-5 Attend: Webinar
Sat 19 Mar
14:00 – 16:00
Online / Topic Eight: Operations Strategy (Online, Session #12) / 8-1 Read: Commerce Bank 9603080
8-2 Read: Frei 2008
8-3 Answer: Discussion Questions
8-4 Attend: Webinar

*Please refer to the topics in Latte for specific information regarding topic date spans and assignment deadlines.

Academic Integrity:Violations of University policies on academic integrity, described in Section 3 of Rights and Responsibilities, may result in failure in the cours2 e or on the assignment, and could end in suspension from the University. If you are in doubt about the instructions for any assignment in this course, you must ask for
clarification.
Notice: If you have a documented disability and require any accommodations, please bring them to my attention prior to the second meeting of the class. If you have any questions about learning or other disabilities, contact Mary Brooks, Disabilities Coordinator for the Heller School at , room 124 or at x62816.