Learning Objectives
Module 4 – Operations and Process Management
(13 Sessions)
1. Introduction to Operations and Transformation Systems
- Introduction to Operations and Transformation Systems
- To describe the major activities of operations management, and operations as a transformation process/system.
- Explain the concepts "product-process matrix" and "service-system design matrix."
- Identify elements of transformation processes in your organization.
2. Capacity, Process Flow and Bottlenecks I
- Process Fundamentals
- Understand the role of bottlenecks in determining system capacity.
- Understand the relationships between capacity, process flow, bottlenecks, and inventory in systems.
- Do straightforward calculations concerning capacity, cycle time, throughput time, and inventory levels.
- Explain the relationship between capacity and cycle time.
- Explain the difference between unit capacity and effective capacity, and between unit cycle and effective cycle.
- Explain the relationship between throughput time, cycle time, and work-in-process system.
- National Cranberry Cooperative Case
3. Capacity, Process Flow and Bottlenecks II
- Quinte MRI Case
- Synchronous Operations
- Understand the key role of bottlenecks in determining the capacity of a system.
- Understand the interaction between capacity, process flow, and bottlenecks – in light of various other considerations such as variability and lead time requirements.
- Analyze systems of humans and machines and suggest improvements, using the lessons about bottlenecks as guides.
- Explain Goldratt’s theory concerning the management of bottlenecks as an effective way to manage the overall system.
4. Quality I
- Hank Colb Case
- Describe a number of important considerations concerning the implementation of quality systems in existing operations.
- Appreciate that improving quality is not simply a quick fix or a one-time program, but rather requires ongoing effort by many people in an organization.
- Explain the concept of six-sigma quality.
- Appreciate the requirements for operations to be configured to meet strategic operational goals.
- Dabbawallahs of Mumbai (A) Case
5. Quality II
- Deutsche Allgemeinversicherung Case
- Explain the underlying concepts behind statistical process control (SPC), including the notion of common versus assignable causes and the use of control limits and other signals from charting processes.
- Discuss the extent to which techniques like SPC are applicable in a services environment.
- Calculate the midpoint and control limits, given some initial diagnostic data.
- Explain the concept of being in statistical control.
- Explain the concept of capability in relation to quality control charts and customer specifications.
- Quality Improvement Tools Exercise
- Use raw complaints (or problem) data to determine a reasonable course of action to address quality issues via the use of a package of tools (check sheets, Pareto diagrams and fishbone diagrams).
6. Lean/JIT/Toyota Production System
- Lean Philosophy
- Discuss the elements of lean production and explain how it fits into the overall system.
- Suggest how lean approaches may or may not apply to your workplace.
- Toyota Production System/Just-in-Time (JIT)
- Relate the various lean production systems to the increase in value-added activity and the elimination of waste in the system.
7. Project Management
- Project Planning & Management
- To describe the process of planning a project
- Develop a useable statement of a project in terms of required activities, estimated times, and precedence relationships – suitable for entering into project management software.
- Explain the managerial importance of the critical path of a project.
- Explain the differences in desired management approaches to critical vs. non-critical activities.
- Explain when it makes sense to spend extra money to speed up certain project activities and how to determine the most cost effective way of doing so.
- Draw a network diagram, given a set of activities, estimated times, and precedence
- relationships.
- Determine the critical path of a network by calculating early and late start and finish times and the associated slack times. Determine the probability of completing a certain project by certain time, given information on the probabilities of completion times for the various activities.
- Determine how to "crash" a project in the most cost effective way, given crash costs and time
- HMS Pinafore Case
8. New Product Development
- The Product/Service Development Process
- Explain the innovation process, especially how to manage the balance between innovation and project completion.
- Explain the testing and prototyping phases of bring a new product or service from concept to full-scale operation.
- Explain the rationale behind "enlightened experimentation.
- Apply the various concepts concerning innovation to your workplace.
- IDEO Product Development Case
- Explain why innovative firms like IDEO are structured and organized as they are
- (opposed to say, an assembly line or a government department).
9. Operations Strategy I
- Operations Strategy
- Explain the ways in which operations can be configured to help gain competitive advantage.
- Outline the differences among three philosophies of operations: mass production, lean production, and contingency theory.
- List and discuss the "operations strategy decision categories."
- Explain, with reference to performance frontiers, how to resolve the apparent. contradiction between having to make trade-offs at times in operations and being able to improve in multiple directions at other times.
- Explain how operational capabilities may be used to attack and/or defend competitive positions.
- Operations Strategy Exercise
10. Operations Strategy II
- Developing Operational Capabilities
- Explain the strategic implications of various types of cost differences between competitors.
- Demonstrate, using performance frontiers, the trade-offs between cost and various other performance measures,
- Explain the strategic implications of being cost effective.
- Explain the importance of considering the sources of cost differences when benchmarking a competitor's product.
- Make reasonable recommendations for improving an organization's competitive position
- American Connector Company (A) Case
- Developing Capabilities Exercise
11. Operations Strategy III
- Capacity Strategy
- Outline and explain various options for expanding capacity, both in the short term and the long term.
- Explain the operational and capacity considerations connected with various positions for various products on the product-process matrix.
- Outline the preferred ways to establish and utilize capacity in developing economies vs. developed economies.
- Present arguments for and against various ways of expanding capacity given certain contexts such as labour rates and availability, competitor characteristics, economic situation, and existing facilities, to name a few.
- Appreciate that many seemingly tactical decisions concerning operations are in fact strategic decisions.
- Unicorn Concrete Products (H.K) Case
- Capacity Strategy Exercise
11. Operations Strategy IV
- Operations Improvement
- Understand and explain the role and limitations of operations improvement in increasing capacity.
- Explain the logic behind a number of models of operations improvement, especially the notion of continuous improvement leading to step changes.
- Explain the differences in "infrastructural" and "structural" approaches to operations improvement.
- Discuss the development and exploitation of operational capabilities.
- Make informed suggestions for dealing with uncertainty and variability in operations.
- Daewoo Shipbuilding and Heavy Machinery Case