MBA 612 - Supply Chain Management

Overview

Course Description
This course concerns analytical methods and tools to support business decisions, with emphasis on logistics and supply chain management. It provides in-depth coverage of fundamental analytical tools that are invaluable to managers and entrepreneurs who are confronted with the design, planning, and operational decisions within the supply chains.

Course Objectives
Successful supply chain management requires many decisions relating to the flow of information, product, and funds. Logistics and supply chain management today represents a great challenge as well as a tremendous opportunity for most firms. By using models to analyze the supply chain, it is possible to quickly and effectively find ways to optimize supply chain performance. This course will discuss both descriptive models for analyzing supply chain data and prescriptive (or normative) models for optimizing supply chain decisions.

Teaching Method

Course delivery
This course is delivered completely online. (Please check our catalog for details.)

Case Problems
There will be four (4) case write-ups due during the term. Each case write up is due in groups. Groups will be formed in alphabetic order of last name and will be posted online. Details of the cases will be given at the appropriate time. A private group discussion board will be established, in which members of the group must collaborate to co-author and submit a paper. It is extremely important and part of the honor code that each member of a group contributes to the case project by the group. If any individual has not contributed for a particular case, she/he should not append her/his name to the case report. It will also be the group's responsibility to ensure that this happens. Only one written report will be due per group.

Exams
There will be two (2) non-cumulative exams. The exams will consist of a series of conceptual questions and problems. All exams in this course will have a two-hour time limit and will be proctored. You must take your exam on the scheduled dates and at the times made available by the University Testing Lab. Further details concerning exams schedule and procedures are provided in the syllabus under Course Policy and Instructions.

Interactive Discussions

Welcome Aboard
This is the forum for each of you to introduce yourself to the rest of the class and to me.

Course Questions
This is the forum for questions concerning the course in general. Post any questions concerning anything about the syllabus, assignments, deadlines, grades, etc. Technical questions concerning class material should not be posted here.

Technical Discussion
Post any technical question concerning the material discussed in the course. I will monitor this periodically and expect that you will assist your classmates with answers to their questions. I'll then comment on your answers if necessary. This forum is also used for me to post technical questions deemed relevant for discussion. This thread will not be graded but contributions to the discussions may be used for possible grade adjustments at the end of the term if appropriate.

Class Participation (Class Discussion)
A discussion forum will be created for each Module in one Unit. It involves the whole class and is used to assess individual participation in the discussion of the material assigned for the week or unit. More details concerning discussion requirements and grading rubrics are provided in the syllabus.

Case Participation (Group Discussion)
This forum is for your communications with your group while working on a case assignment. This will allow me to follow the development of the work of your group and finally assess who has participated and who may have not. Your contribution to the discussions in this forum is expected to be consistent with the confidential peer evaluations that will be submitted to me by peers in your group. Details on peer evaluations are provided in the grading policy section of course syllabus.

Grading Policy

The grade for the course will be based on the scores obtained in the case assignments, class participation, and exams. The final grade is calcuated using the weighted average given in the syllabus.

Class Participation
Class participation will take into account the required number of posts per module, their pertinence to topics under discussion and quality of exposition. Meaningful participation means that you are submitting well thought out responses to questions and are posting discussions that show you are grappling with the material at hand. Comments that connect concepts discussed in the unit with your personal experience are particularly welcome. In order to assess the relevance of your own posts you may ask yourself the following questions: Are my posts supported by meaningful examples? Are they telling anything interesting such as a personal story related to the topics discussed in the module? Are they telling a personal successful or unsuccessful modeling experience? Are they reporting technical knowledge relevant to the subject matter? Are they giving an opinion supported by technical or personal experiences? Are they addressing the questions being asked? Are they well written and free of grammatical errors? Do my posts show good effort to engage other classmates in discussions? Do my posts include information learned in the unit?
I'm obviously not expecting every post to include all of those aspects; however, they certainly should include some of them and they all must be relevant and free of grammatical errors. More details concerning grading criterion are provided in the syllabus.

Case Assignments
Case Assignments will be graded based on the quality of the reports submitted by the group and the individual contribution assessed by peers of the same group. Peer evaluations are confidential and will be given as a percentage score reflecting an individual's contribution to the Case project. More details are given in the syllabus.

Discussion Schedule

Unit 1

Module 1: Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management.

Module 2: Fundamentals of Optimization Models and Tools.

Case 1.

Unit 2

Module 3: Optimization Models for Supply Chain Planning

Module 4: Design of Supply Chain Networks.

Case 2.

Unit 3

Exam 1: Covers Modules 1 to 4

Module 5: Demand Forecasting in a Supply Chain.

Module 6: Aggregate Planning in a Supply Chain.

Case 3.

Unit 4

Module 7: Managing Economies of Scale in a Supply Chain

Module 8: Managing Uncertainty in a Supply Chain.

Case 4.

Exam 2: Covers Modules 5 to 8.