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Guest Post: Great Homework Problems for Software

Today’s guest post is by Prof. Howard Weiss at the Fox School of Business, Temple University. Howard is also Director of the Fox EMBA program. You can view Howard’s syllabus by clicking here.

As the developer of POM for Windows and Excel OM, I am naturally biased about the use of software in an OM class. I believe that students should not be bogged down in the mechanics of computations but rather should understand concepts, inputs and outputs. While 90% of the homework problems in the Heizer/Render text can be solved with my two programs, I see four types of categories of problems that are strong candidates for assigning students using the software.

(1) Large problems, such as project management are good example of models with simple but tedious computations. There is no reason to ask students to solve CPM models with more than 8 activities by hand.  In forecasting, I want students to understand the meaning and use of the trend and the error measures rather than spending time computing the intercept and slope. For control charts, if a student has computed results for 5 samples by hand or with Excel does it really make sense to ask the student to calculate the results by hand for 30 samples?

(2) Iterative Models, such as LP, assignment, and transportation, should focus on the formulation of the problems and the interpretation of the results.

(3) Models with multiple methods, where it is useful for students to compare the results of these different methods without having to try every method by hand themselves. Models that come to mind are time-series analysis, assembly line balancing and one-machine scheduling. In addition, it is much easier to change the number of servers in a waiting line model in POM or Excel OM than by hand.

(4) Models for which the software goes a step further than the text, such as: machine scheduling, where Moore’s method is available to minimize the number of late jobs; Wagner-Whitin for lot-sizing; LP for a ranging analysis.

OM Syllabi: George Washington U., U.of Miami, Shippensburg U., Florida International U.

Here is this month’s selection of sample OM syllabi from four more schools using our texts. To see the 16 we have featured in prior months, just click on OM Syllabi in the right hand Categories column. This month, we feature George Washington University, University of Miami, Shippensburg  University, and Florida International University.

George Washington U., MBA 223, Dr. Ted Glickman. Ted teaches both a traditional MBA OM course and a health-care oriented course using our book. This syllabus is for the latter, which is an on-line , 6 week compressed format. Note the use of ethical dilemmas and hospital-related cases.

U. of Miami, MGT 303, Dr. Vaidy Jayaraman. Note the use of videos and case studies in Vaidy’s undergraduate course.

Shippensburg U., SCM 330, Dr. Ian Langella. Ian’s course includes a special project which is detailed at the end of his syllabus.

Florida International U., MAN4504, Dr. George Kyparisis. George runs this section as a fully on-line course, using MyOMLab for homework, quizzes, and the final exam. His students are encouraged to also use Excel and Excel OM.

OM Syllabi: U.of Dayton, U.of Southern Maine, Arkansas State U., Framingham State U.

Here is another chance to see how your colleagues teach their OM courses from our texts. In prior months we have featured: DePaul, Tennessee, Southern Illinois, and Montclair State (in March,2011) ; Alabama, Rhode Island, Florida State, and Northern Michigan (in Feb.); Temple, Washington State,Texas Tech, and Rollins (in Jan., 2011). To view these, just click on the OM Syllabi category on the right.

This month we present: Arkansas State University, University of Dayton, University of Southern Maine, and Framingham State University.

Arkansas State U., CT 3523, Dr. Ahmad Syamil. Ahmad integrates Littlefield Technologies, a web-based factory simulation into his course and sequences the chapter topics around it. He also uses MyOMLab.

U. of Dayton, OPS 301, Dr. Steven Harrod. Steven teaches his classes with MyOMLab and also uses the Beer Game.

U. of Southern Maine, BUS 375, Dr. Amarpreet Kohl. Amarpreet uses MyOMLab in his class.

Framingham State U., BADM 372, Prof. Alfonso Sanchez-Penalver. Alfonso’s course is Operations and Project Management.

Our 6 Month Blog Anniversary

I remember our editors at Prentice Hall/Pearson saying, six months ago, “We hope you don’t get bored after a few months of blogging about  OM”. It turned out to be just the opposite. Jay and I have enjoyed the process tremendously! It not only keeps us in touch with instructors teaching from our texts, but has provided us with lots of information we will incorporate into the upcoming edition.

On this, our 6 month anniversary of Jay & Barry’s OM Blog, we just passed our 11,000th visitor. Of  the 169 blogs we have posted, I thought I would share with you the ones that have been the most “clicked on”.

1.Teaching tip: Location,Location, Louisville? (Ch.8)

2. OM in the News: Waiting Lines at the Doctor’s Office (Mod.D)

3.OM in the News: The Nintendo Product Life Cycle (Ch.5)

4. Teaching Tip: Fun Class Exercise in TQM (Ch.6)

5. OM in the News: Layout and Hiring Tales at Uni-Solar (Ch.9, 10)

6. OM in the News: The (Gentler) Chicken Killing Assembly Line (Ch. 7,9)

7. OM in the News: Product and Layout Changes Drive McDonald’s (Ch.5,9)

8. OM in the News: Planes, Trains, and Drones–China’s Reverse Engineering Controversy (Ch.7)

9. OM in the News: Hi, I’m iPad–May I Take Your Order? (Ch.7)

10. OM in the News: GE’s Dangerous Game in China (Ch.2, 5)

Good OM Reading: Lean Culture… The Leader’s Guide

For those faculty with some background in management theory, leadership, and organization behavior, Larry Miller’s new book, Lean Culture, The Leader’s Guide, is an excellent refresher in a very applied way…. that is, how to build lean organizations. For faculty (and students) with limited exposure to these topics, it is a great survey book.  The strong applied nature of the book makes it good supplemental reading regardless of background.  Miller has done a great job of tying management literature to lean literature. One can tell from the presentation that Miller has fought the culture wars necessary to bring about organizational change.  And successful implementation of lean often means fighting those wars. Miller, has indeed, provided the ‘leader’s guide’ for the battle.

The book is an easy read and full of great figures, many of which focus on lean topics, while others deal with management and behavioral issues.  The lean topics of his text are excellent reinforcement of material covered in the Heizer/Render text. Supplementing your course by adding the structure and applied approach of Lean Culture, either as outside reading or via lectures, may help students identify  what is to be done and how to do it. There is no way to be an effective manager or a change agent as we seek lean organizations without understanding leadership, organization culture, and the tools of lean. Here is the plan.

I think you will find that the book really is  The Leader’s Guide  for implementing lean and that it will help you and your students make lean work.

OM Syllabi: DePaul U., U. Tennessee, Southern Illinois U., Montclair State U.

In this month’s display of OM syllabi at another 4 schools using our texts, we highlight DePaul, Tennessee, Southern Illinois, and Montclair State Universities:

DePaul University, MGT 301, Dr. Lori Cook. Lori teaches from the Principles of OM 8/e text and uses MyOMLab and i-Clickers in class.

University of Tennessee, BA 341, Dr. Bogdan Bichescu. Bogdan uses OM 10/e and MyOMLab. He integrates The Goal and extensive lean operations into his course.

Southern Illinois University, MGMT 318, Dr. John Goodale. John teaches a large section, using MyOMLab and i-Clickers with OM 10/e.

Montclair State University, INFO 375, Dr. Mark Berenson. Mark made a custom version of the text called Operations Analysis.

To take a look at February’s schools, which were : University of Alabama, University of Rhode Island, Florida State University, and Northern Michigan University, just click here.

And January’s highlighted schools were Temple University, Washington State University, Texas Tech University, and Rollins College (which was my own course). Click here to review these four OM syllabi.

OM Syllabi: U. Alabama, U. Rhode Island, Florida State U., Northern Michigan U.

It was just a month ago that we posted the OM syllabi used at four schools: Temple U., Texas Tech, Rollins, and Washington State U.  This was such a popular blog that we are adding another four colleges today. I think many of us enjoy seeing details of how our colleagues teach their OM courses.

University of Alabama : taught as an undergraduate class, OM 300, by Bill Petty, Chuck Schmidt, David Miller, and John Mittenthal. This course uses MyOMLab and a custom version of our text.

University of Rhode Island: an undergraduate course, Bus 355, taught by Prof. Yuwen Chen.

Florida State University: an on-line MBA course, MAN 5501, taught by Dr. Jeff Smith. This syllabus illustrates the details needed to handle  a course where your students are not only scattered around the US, but all over the world.

University of Northern Michigan: an undergraduate course, MGT 325, taught by Dr. Gary Stark. Gary is a leader in the use of  “group examinations” and pre- and post-chapter quizzes.

If you would like to share your OM syllabus, just email me at brender@cfl.rr.com.

Most Popular Blogs in Our 1st Four Months

It’s amazing how quickly the 4 months have passed since Jay and I started our OM blog. We have posted 113 topics and seen almost 6,000 visitors. Here is a listing of the topics have been most popular with our readers:

Top Teaching Tips Postings:

1. Location, Location,  Louisville? (Ch.8)

2. Fun Class Exercise in TQM (Ch.6)

3. OM Syllabi at Temple, Washington State,Texas Tech, and Rollins

4. Do Your Students Really Want an E-Book?

5. Fun Class Exercise in Work Measurement (Ch.10)

Top OM in the News Posts:

1. Waiting Lines at Doctor’s Offices (Mod. D)

2. Planes, Trains, and Drones: China’s Reverse Engineering Controversy (Ch.7)

3. The (Gentler) Chicken-Killing Assembly Line (Ch.9)

4. Starbucks’ Lean Teams Slowing Down (Ch.16)

5. Some Good News for American Manufacturing (Ch.1)

Top Video Tips Posts:

1. Capacity Planning at Arnold Palmer Hospital (Supp.7)

2. Arnold Palmer Hospital’s Culture of Quality (Ch.6)

3. Flowcharting at Arnold Palmer Hospital (Ch.7)

4. Green Manufacturing and Sustainability at Frito-Lay (Ch.7)

5. Assembly Lines at Wheeled Coach (Ch.9)

OM in the News: How OR/MS Morphed into Business Analytics

My interest in OR/MS isn’t just because the last 6 chapters of our hardcover OM book are quantitative topics. It goes back to my days at the U. of Cincinnati, when I first received an MS in Operations Research (from the Math dept.), followed by a Ph.D in Quantitative Analysis (from the B School).The first text I wrote used that QA title , and the second was Intro. to Management Science. Then later, at George Mason U., I chaired the Decision Sciences Dept. And finally, one of my more recent books is called Managerial Decision Modeling . Now you can understand why so many CEOs in this country are confused about  what  OR/MS/QA/DS/MDM  does for them!  At least in OM, Finance, Accounting, etc., one term is used to explain what a manager does for a living.

All this is backdrop to my point today. INFORMS (as we see in OR/MS Today) is making a brave new rebranding move from OR/MS to Business Analytics. (The group’s previous marketing approach as “The Science of  Better” obviously didn’t take off). And it just changed the name of its Spring meeting to INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics and OR.

Ironically this push for clarity is heavily weighted by IBM’s entry into what it  is branding as Business Analytics. The company spent over $14 billion in the past 4 years to acquire 24 software companies in the field, including  iLog, Neteezza, and SPSS.  IBM, reports  The Wall Street Journal (Jan.18,2011),  intends to boost its business analytics revenue from $9 billion in 2009 to $15 billion in 2015. And it is facing pressure from Oracle, SAP, and even Microsoft for the analytics market.

All of this may turn out to be good news for profs and colleges that are willing to risk rebranding their own dominions. IBM will spend serious money to encourage schools to add/modify courses to fit under this analytics wording. This is just one step it is taking to convince CEOs that they need the software.

OM Syllabi: Temple U., Washington State U., Texas Tech U. and Rollins College

Jay and I never cease to be impressed by the variety of ways our colleagues teach OM at their schools.  Some profs spend 2 weeks on LP, others focus on quality and process strategy, while others actually cover all 17 chapters in sequence! We thought you might be interested in how different schools using our text face that challenge. So today we share 4 OM syllabi with you from a wide variety of  schools. Here they are:

Temple University, taught by Howard Weiss, as an undergrad course. MSOM 3101 syllabus. You might note Howard’s use of Excel OM, POM, and MyOMLab in homework assignments.

Texas Tech University, taught by Phillip Flamm, as a large section undergrad course.  ISQS 3344 syllabus. Phillip makes extensive use of “clickers” in his classes, as he noted in his Guest Blog last week.

Washington State University, taught by Chuck Munson, as an undergrad course. Mgt Op 340 syllabus. Note how Chuck integrates The Goal and MyOMLab into his course.

Rollins College, taught by Barry Render, as an MBA core course. POM 503 syllabus. You will notice that I have a lot of guest speakers. I use MyOMLab  for pre-class quizzes, homework, and tests. Because it is a graduate class, there are cases assigned every week.

We invite you to share your OM syllabus with us as well. Just send  it as a Word file or as an internet link to brender@cfl.rr.com.

Today is Our 3 Month Blog Anniversary!

Today’s blog is just to thank you all for your interest and support of this OM Blog that Jay and I started just 3 months ago. And, by coincidence, this morning we had our 3,000 th visitor to the site!

We hope the idea is one you are enjoying and that ideas that you see here help in your teaching OM. Please let us know what features you would like to see added or expanded. Just email Jay at jheizer@omniglobal.net or me at brender@cfl.rr.com.

We also want to publicly thank everyone who contributed Guest Posts and Comments these past 12 weeks. Here are the Guest Posters:

Howard Weiss (Temple U.,Oct.6)  How We Use Software at Temple U.

Bill Petty (U. Alabama,Oct.18)  Using MyOMLab at UA

Alistair Brandon Jones (U. Bath, Nov.9) Supply Risk–Why Kenya Can’t Stand Iceland

Phillip Flamm (Texas Tech U.,Nov.18) Teaching OM in Large Sections at TTU

Kevin Watson (Iowa State U., Nov.27)  Continuous Process Improvement Tools

Bill Quain (Stockton College, Nov.30) Teaching QC with Olive Garden Breadsticks

We also want to thanks everyone who submitted Comments (which are always very welcome): Bill Quain, Chuck Munson,Yuwen Chen,Ronnie Brannon, Pete Abilla, Henrique Correa, Howard Weiss, Jim Gilbert, Mark Graban, Phillip Flamm, and Kevin Watson.

Teaching Tip: Dealing With Cheating in Your OM Class

Today’s front pages headlines here in Orlando have centered on a sensitive topic, but one we must address nonetheless–cheating in our classes. The story concerns a B-School prof at U.of Central Florida (UCF), which is now the 2nd largest college in the US, with 56,000 students. This, of course, means large classes–often shown on closed circuit TV. In a class of 600 Strategic Management seniors, the instructor used a 300 question Test Bank (which he thought to be secure) to create the midterm of 55 multiple-choice questions.  Unusually high grades led to 206 students admitting they had studied from the Test Bank.

Nationally, about 21% of students admit to cheating, with more problems on large campuses and in large lecture classes. As the DSI Meeting takes place at this moment in San Diego, maybe this is a good time to raise the issue.

Yes, Test Banks are more and more available on-line, despite threats and suits by publishers. Our own publisher has taken legal action against people using our copyright material. But some schools using our OM text actually buy copies of the Solutions Manual and Test Bank and sell them as study tools to their students. So it is a fair assumption that some “ambitious” students will try to get an edge gradewise by whatever tool is on the market.

Jay and I have discussed the problem many, many times and have tried to foolproof our system to this extent: (1) we have a massive Test Bank, with well over 2,000 questions, and a text with over 900 problems. This gives the ability to keep from repeating the same questions from semester to semester; and (2), we created MyOMLab with a goal of making it as integrity-driven as humanly possible. The key is the algorithmic nature of the on-line problems that come from the text. You can assign them “bookmatch” (ie, identical to text), or “algorithmic” (ie, where each student gets her own data).

Randomizing questions from large Test Banks, using new assignments each year, and MyOMLab are just 3 ways to deal with this visible issue. Please share your comments.

OM in the News: Where Should Starbucks Open More Stores?

Under pressure to increase sales and share prices,  Starbucks needs to add new stores in the right locations. The trouble is, the US market is saturated. So far, Starbucks has done very well in a handful of overseas markets. About 55% of its sales are in Canada, Japan, the UK, and China. But now even the UK and Canada are near capacity.  Toronto, Vancouver, and London already have more Starbucks per person than NY or Philadelphia.

So the title of The Wall Street Journal article (Nov.4,2010) on the subject tells it all: “Starbucks Must Open More Stores–Overseas“. The Journal suggests Starbucks follows the McDonald’s international expansion. Where will the growth be? Germany and France are two prime candidates, as Starbucks has relatively few locations in each.

While McDonald’s draws about half its operating profit from overseas, Starbucks gets only 15% abroad. The Journal concludes: “Whether dry or wet, tall or grande, Starbucks needs to find a  combination for similar overseas success”.

Discussion questions:

1. Why was McDonald’s so successful in its expansion abroad, and why will it be harder for Starbucks?

2. How can Starbucks increase profits without going overseas?