Operations Management (5 cr)

Evaluation scale

0-5

Content scheduling

The scheduling of the course content is determined by the dates of the contact days.

Objective

Knowledge of operations management provides the ability to work in management tasks related to the management, control and development of a business enterprise. Knowledge, selection and application skills of mathematical methods are the basis for effective problem solving in operational activities.

You will learn to control and develop the company's operations with the help of mathematical calculations. You will learn calculation models that focus on the design of a company’s processes, supply chains, and strategies.

Your skills will be developed through the understanding of ERP (Enterprise resource planning) calculation models for the selection of suitable problem-solving methods and finally for their practical applications. After completing the course, you will learn to control activities from a broader perspective and to produce computational information to support decision-making related to management.

Knowledge and understanding:
You have knowledge and understanding of the methods of analysis, design, research and development suitable for business and their limitations. You can apply mathematics in a variety of ways in solving problems related to operations management.

Engineering practice:
You have the ability to identify and solve problems of operations management by choosing appropriate, well-established, analytical and computational methods. You can combine theory and practice to solve development problems.

Multidisciplinary competence:
You will have an awareness of financial, organizational and managerial aspects (such as project management and the management of change and risk) in an industrial context and business context. You will have the ability to manage complex technical or professional tasks or projects while taking responsibility for decision making.

Content

Operational strategy and management of change, process selection and design, the planning and controlling of supply chains, project production.

Materials

Lecture material.
Chase R.B., Jacobs F.R. ja Aquilano N.J. 2005. Operation Management for Competitive Advantage,. ISBN 9780072983944.

Teaching methods

Lectures and calculation excercises introducing various aspects of operations management, as well as learning assignments based on information retrieval and application. Learning assignments are done and returned both individually and in groups.
In the middle of the course, free form anonymous feedback is collected for the development of the course.

The implementation of the course is based on both in-class contact teaching and IT distance learning. Each contact session covers a topic related to operations management. During the study period, students do three assessed learning tasks as small group work, which are submitted in written form. In addition, independent calculation exercises are complete, which are returned to the online learning environment.

The responsible and transparent use of AI applications is encouraged in this course. Instructions for using artificial intelligence can be found in chapter 3.2 (https://help.jamk.fi/raportointiohje/fi/3-kirjoittamisprosessi/tekoalyn-kaytto-oppimistehtavissa-ja-opinnaytetyossa/) of the thesis reporting instructions. If necessary, the instructions for each learning assignment contain more detailed information on how to use it in that particular task.

The detailed implementation method will be specified at the beginning of the course. The student must confirm his/her participation in the course within 3 weeks of the start of the course. If a student has not attended the lectures during the first week and fails to submit Assignment 1 by the deadline, the student will be removed from the study course, and after that can no longer participate in this implementation of the course.

The course uses the Moodle learning environment.

Exam schedules

The course does not include an exam.
In multimodal implementation, the exam has been replaced by assessed calculation exercises.

International connections

The teaching material is partly in English.

Completion alternatives

The admission procedures are described in the degree rule and the study guide. The teacher of the course will give you more information on possible specific course practices.

Student workload

In multimodal implementation:
lectures 19 h,
learning assignments 86 h,
independent work 30 h.
A total of 135 h of learning work.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

The overall assessment consists of 70% of the learning assignments and 30% of the exam. The examinations are organized three times in accordance with the degree rules.
In multidisciplinary implementation, the overall assessment consists of 70% of learning assignments and 30% of exercise assignments.

Adequate (1): You recognize terminology and the calculations models of operations management, but you have significant gaps in their understanding. You can solve simple problems with the help of examples.

Satisfactory (2): You recognize terminology and the calculations models of operations management, but you have deficiency in understanding them. You will be able to solve simple problems using calculation models, but you will have difficulties deciphering their results.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Good (3): You master the main things of the course:
- you know the different functions of operations management
- you know the most common calculation models of operations management
- you can produce results with calculation models and analyze them with justification
- you are able to draw conclusions that guide your actions based on the results and present them in an illustrative way.

Very good (4): You know the most common calculation models of operations management and results analysis methods. You will be able to apply what you have learned critically and innovatively in the design and management tasks of companies in various fields.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Excellent (5): You are familiar with the most common calculation models of operations management and results analysis methods. You can apply them critically and innovatively in complex design and development tasks. You have excellent control over the cause-and-effect relationships of things and are able to make a synthesis of issues.

Qualifications

The student masters the basics of production technology and industrial economics and tentatively masters the use of the excel computer program.

Further information

Continuous developmental feedback in learning tasks.

The overall assessment is made up of 100% based on the learning assignments and calculation excercises.