Description of individual course units

Course title: Operations Management

Course code:
Type of course compulsory
Level of course: 1
Year of study: 3
Semester/trimester: Semester
Number of ects (workload based): 6
Name of lecturer: Cesaltina Pires
Objective of the course (expected learning
outcomes and competences to be
acquired):
By the end of this course the students should
understand the core concepts and decisions in
operations management and should be able to analyse
in a critical manner the performance of an operating
system. The general objectives of this course are:
Understand the role of the operation function within
the firm or organization, understand its strategic role
and its contribution for the firm competitiveness;
Understand the core decisions in operations
management;
Know how to use the concepts, methods and tools in
the analysis of real world problems, both in the
industry and the service sector;
Know how to use software useful in operations
managements (Spreadsheets, Microsoft Project, MRP,
Excel OM).
Prerequisites: -
Course contents:
Introduction to Operations Management
What is operations management?
Operations Strategy
Design, analysis and improvement of the operating
system
Quality management and statistical quality
control
Product/service design
Processs design and tecnhology choice
Operations system management
Supply chain management
Independent demand stocks management
Aggregated production planning
Resources planning: MRP, CRP and ERP
Production Scheduling
Lean production systems and Just in time
Recommended reading:
Russell and Taylor, 2006, Operations Management,
John Wiley& Sons, 5
th
edition.
Chase, R.B., Jacobs, F.R. and N.J. Aquilano, 2004,
Operations Management for Competitive Advantage,
New York, McGraw-Hill, 10
th
edition.
Heizer, J. and B. Render, 2004, Operations
Management, Prentice Hall, 7
th
edition.
Teaching methods:
Sessions are theoretical - practical, combining the
teaching of concepts with their application to particular
cases. The sessions include the resolution of practical
exercises and case studies. In the sessions where
operations management software is used, classes take
place in the computer lab. In many sessions short
movies are shown to illustrate the use of operations
management tools and concepts in real work
companies. The students are also encouraged to solve
additional practical exercises by themselves, in order
to develop autonomy.
The students, who choose the continuous evaluation
regime, have to realize two group projects. In the
group projects each group plays de role of a consulting
firm whose task is to solve a certain operations
management problem. The group has to write a report
including the analysis of the problem and a set of
recommendations. In this project the students have to
use the appropriate operations management software.
This group projects have several objectives, including:
(i) face students with problems of larger dimension
and complexity than the ones traditionally covered in
class; (ii) develop the analytical capabilities and critical
thinking, (iii) develop the communication skills.
The e-learning platform moodle is used to facilitate the
contact between students and teachers. All course
material is available there; in addition it is used for
students to send their projects.
Assessment methods:
The students can choose among two regimes: final
examination and continuous evaluation. In the first
case the grade is based exclusively in the final
examination. In the continuous evaluation regime the
grade is based on class participation (10%), on two
group projects (10% each) and the grade obtained in
two tests. The weight of the first test is 30% and the
weight of the second test is 40%. The minimum grade
in each component in 7; in addition, to pass the course
the weighted average has equal or greater than 9.5.
The last test of the course covers all the material,
which explains why this test has a higher weight than
the first one. The objective of this procedure is to give
incentives for the student to have an integrated
perspective and to relate the various topics covered in
the course.
Language of instruction:
Portuguese or English