Today’s Guest Post is from Phillip Flamm, who teaches OM in the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University. For details, feel free to email him at p.flamm@ttu.edu.
When I first began teaching Introduction to Operations Management 8 years ago the course was designed as a highly quantitative, large section (250 students), lecture-only format. This was a nightmare to teach from a lot of different angles which gave me plenty of motivation to “find a better way.” I split the course into one 1 ½ hour lecture session and one 1 ½ lab session per week. The lab focus is a semester long project where the students go through the complete planning cycle for the start up of a manufacturing company (corporate/business strategy, market analysis, customer requirements, product design phases, demand forecasting, break even analysis, capacity planning, location analysis, supply chain strategy, layout and facility design, and JIT concept utilization).
Students (in teams of three) present the project in two parts, with a verbal presentation and written requirement for each part. They address the audience as if they were potential investors and the audience is required to ask questions to gauge the presenters’ ability to think on their feet. Lecture topics are presented along the same timeline as the development of the project in the lab. Lab instructors are PhD students who may be teaching for the 1st time. The course design is such that the lab instructors don’t have to do much other than learn the material and help the project groups, which is perfect for 1st time instructors.
Recruiters from Fortune 500 companies consistently have the following requirements at the top of their wish lists for college grads:
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Possess an entrepreneurial spirit
- Strong problem solving and analytical skills
- Must thrive and work well in a team environment.
The lab/lecture approach to teaching OM gives the students practice and training in all these areas. In addition, students report utilizing discussion of this project to be very effective during the interviewing process to exemplify the skill level of the student as a potential job candidate.
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