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COURSE DESCRIPTION, REQUIREMENTS & SYLLABUS

MGT 3121: Services Operations Management Fall 2020

Semester Fall 2020

Course MGT 3121, Service Operations Management
Section ETA
Class Days/Times/Room Tue, 2:30-3:45 PM, Zoom meeting
Department Narendra Paul Loomba Department of Management
Instructor Professor Shan Li
Email Shan.Li@baruch.cuny.edu
Office Hours By appointment
Course Website https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/2287938

COURSE OVERVIEW

This is an introductory course intended to provide the student with a mix of theoretical and practical
knowledge about managing service operations in businesses such as financial services, retail
hospitality, healthcare, transportation, and small business. This course is organized around principles
including the strategic role of operations for competitiveness and sustainability, and the design of
processes, service offerings, and supply chains. Students will learn the use of tools and techniques for
planning, control, and continuous improvement of service delivery processes.

Prerequisite: Completion of math requirement for the BBA degree.

COURSE LEARNING GOALS

Upon completing MGT 3121, a student will be able to do the following:

1. Explain the principles of managing business operations and how operations executes a firm’s
strategy and interacts with marketing, finance, information technology, and accounting.
2. Apply business process analysis skills to manage business operations, in particular map
processes, break them into individual steps, quantify financial flows, identify value, manage
variability, and match capacity with demand.
3. Employ project management fundamentals to map projects, analyze and identify critical
tasks, and allocate resources correctly to deliver on specifications, under cost, and under time.
4. Understand and use business process improvement tools such as Lean to remove waste and
variability from processes, identify defects, and continuously improve quality operations.
5. Manage inventory and supply chains, including using tools and techniques for handling
perishable and nonperishable inventories, and being able to make strategic and tactical supply
chain decisions.
6. Build analytical forecasting models to predict operational demand, understand the role of the
forecasting function, and assess the likely accuracy of forecasts.

BBA Program Learning Goals Addressed in this Class

The faculty of the Zicklin School of Business has adopted seven “Learning Goals” for BBA students.
The purpose of these goals is to create a common understanding between students, faculty and

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potential employers of the core objectives for a business education. The goals, together with
assessment criteria, can be viewed at:

http://zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/zk/resources/teaching/aol/undergraduate/bba

The goals specifically addressed in this course are as follows:

• Analytical Skills: Students will possess the analytical and critical thinking skills to evaluate issues
faced in business and professional careers.
• Technological Skills: Students will possess the necessary technological skills to analyze problems,
develop solutions and convey information.
• Civic Awareness and Ethical Decision-making: Students will have the knowledge base and
analytical skill to guide them when faced with ethical dilemmas in business. Students will have an
awareness of political, civic and public policy issues affecting business.
• Global Awareness: Students will know how differences in perspectives and cultures affect business
practices around the world.

COURSE MATERIALS

• Strongly Recommended: Operations Management with Connect Access Card by G. Cachon

and C. Terweisch, McGraw Hill, 2020. Loose leaf paper (ISBN 9781264300846, Net Price $87,
available from
https://shop.mheducation.com/mhshop/productDetails?isbn=1264300840).

Need access to the book while you wait for your copy to arrive in the mail? Follow these steps to
get 2-week free/courtesy access to the eBook.

a. Go to: https://connect.mheducation.com/class/s-li-mgt-3121-eta-fall-2020
b. Click "Register Now" (lower right corner).
c. Follow instructions to register (if you've used Connect in a prior class, it will remember that
email and password).
d. Click "Start courtesy access" (lower right corner).

• Required: Littlefield Labs access code by Responsive Learning Technologies

($18 per student, more details will be posted later)
• Required: Handouts and lecture slides (posted on Canvas).

OPTIONAL READ

• The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by E. Goldratt. North River Press, 30th Anniversary
Edition, 2014, ISBN 978-0884271956 (or similar book).

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The course requires students to prepare the following materials and deliverables. For more
information, see “Assurance of Learning” at the end.

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Case Study (Group): In these assignments students will work in groups (of size 5 or 6)
to analyze the case using the tools they learn in class. Each group is expected to submit a
write-up.

“Littlefield Labs” Computer Simulation and Report (Group): “Littlefield Labs” is a

management simulation that allows teams to compete on their formulation of an operations
strategy and their execution of that strategy in a service industry. It forces students to
understand the interrelationships among key course topics (including capacity planning,
inventory management, forecasting, waiting time management, and customer responsiveness) in
ways that are not easily replicated in case studies or lectures. Students are required to purchase
an access code (see above), play the simulation with their group members, and submit a group
write-up about lessons learned.

Homework (Individual): Students will do 4-6 online homework. Each homework corresponds
to a major topic covered in class, and is designed to enhance students on their understanding of
the topic.

Exams (Individual): The course further assesses student learning using a midterm exam and a
final exam. Dates and exam format are posted in advance by the instructor.

GRADING POLICY
The course requirements are weighted as follows.

Type Weight
Homework Individual 15%
2 "Little Field" Simulation Group 10%
2 Case Study Group 10%
Excel SAM Individual 5%
Midterm Exam Individual 20%
Final Exam Individual 40%
TOTAL 100%

Accumulated points will be calculated as a percentage and reported as a letter grade using
the following scale.
% of Points Letter GPA
Earned Grade Value
93.0–100.0 A 4.0
90.0–92.999 A- 3.7
87.0–89.999 B+ 3.3
83.0–86.999 B 3.0
80.0–82.999 B- 2.7
77.0–79.999 C+ 2.3
73.0–76.999 C 2.0
70.0–72.999 C- 1.7
67.0–69.999 D+ 1.3
60.0–66.999 D 1.0
Below 60.0 F 0.0
WU/WN 0.0
PEN 0.0
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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
I fully support Baruch College's policy on Academic Honesty, which states, in part:

“Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating, forgery, plagiarism and
collusion in dishonest acts undermine the college's educational mission and the students' personal and
intellectual growth. Baruch students are expected to bear individual responsibility for their work, to
learn the rules and definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity, and to uphold its ideals.
Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them. Any student who attempts to
compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned.”

Academic sanctions in this class will range from an F on the assignment to an F in this course. A report
of suspected academic dishonesty will be sent to the Office of the Dean of Students. Additional
information and definitions can be found at

http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html

WITHDRAWALS

Withdrawals must be done in accordance with Baruch College policies. Please visit
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/registrar/due_dates.htm for important due dates.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Students with disabilities may be eligible for a reasonable accommodation to enable them to participate
fully in courses at Baruch. If you feel you may be in need of an accommodation, please contact the
staff at the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities, Newman Vertical Campus, Room 2-271,
in person or by phone at (646) 312-4590;

http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/studentaffairs/ossd/disabilityServices.htm.

RECORDING OF REMOTE CLASSES

Students who participate in this class with their camera on or use a profile image are agreeing to have
their video or image recorded solely for the purpose of creating a record for students enrolled in the
class to refer to, including those enrolled students who are unable to attend live. If you are unwilling to
consent to have your profile or video image recorded, be sure to keep your camera off and do not use a
profile image. Likewise, students who un-mute during class and participate orally are agreeing to have
their voices recorded. If you are not willing to consent to have your voice recorded during class, you
will need to keep your mute button activated and communicate exclusively using the "chat" feature,
which allows students to type questions and comments live.

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TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE & TOPICS

Class/Date Class topic Details (Material covered in class) Corresponding Book

(Tentative) Chapters

9/1 Introduction to • Course syllabus Chapter 1

Operations • Introduction to managing business operations
Management, and key operational decisions a firm needs to
Operations Strategy make to match supply with demand
• Connection between a firm’s strategy and
operational levers available to deliver that
strategy

9/8 Introduction to • Introduction to processes Chapter 2

Processes, • Process flow diagram
Process flow • Defining and understanding key process flow
metrics metrics of throughput rate, flow time and
inventory
• Linking process flows with financial flows
(Start Rent-A- Dress case)

9/15 Little’s law, Linking • Little’s law to related process flow metrics Chapter 3
financial flows with • Applications of Little’s law
Process flows • Linking process flow metrics and financial
flow (Conclude Rent-A-Dress case)

9/22 Capacity analysis • Defining and evaluating capacity of multi-step Chapter 3 & 4
processes, bottleneck analysis
• Improving capacity of process
• Managing capacity with seasonality in
demand

10/6 Project • Challenges in managing projects Chapter 19

Management • Work breakdown structure
• PERT
• Critical path method to evaluate project
duration

10/13 Lean Operations • Lean thinking: 7 waste embedded in Chapter 8

& Mid-term review Operations
• Tools for waste reduction and synchronization
of demand and capacity
• Mid-term Review

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10/20 In Class Midterm Exam

10/27 Managing • Impact of variability on process Chapter 16

Capacities in performance
Service Systems; • Drivers of waiting times in service
Managing Waiting processes
Times
11/3 Designing Service • Economies of scale and benefits of Chapter 16
Systems pooling in queues
• Behavioral measures to adopt when
designing service systems

11/10 Quality Management • Quality of process: Process capability Chapter 9

and Statistical Process • Normal vs. assignable causes of variation:
Control (SPC) Statistical Process Control

11/17 Supply Chain • Introduction to supply chain Chapter 10 (Skim through) and
Management, management Chapter 12
Managing Inventory • Roles and reasons for holding
for Long Life Cycle inventories in supply chains
Product (Economic • Managing batching inventories through
Order Quantity) choosing right quantity
• When to order inventory: Reorder
Points (ROP)

11/24 Managing Inventory • Ordering decision when facing uncertain Chapter 13

for Short Life Cycle demand: Newsvendor model
Product (Newsvendor • Other applications of Newsvendor model
Model), • Benefits of pooling inventory: The
Benefits of Pooling rationale for electronic retailing
inventories

12/1 Forecasting • Forecasting framework Chapter 15

• Measuring Forecast quality
• Forecasting methods: Naïve method,
Moving averages, Exponential
Smoothing

12/8 Final exam review • Integrating various decisions in a service

operations context.
• Using operations to accelerate revenue v.s.
minimizing operational costs.
• Final-exam Review

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Course Learning Goals

The course requirements align with the learning goals as follows.

Course Requirement Course Learning Goals BBA Learning Goals

Homework & • Apply business process analysis skills • Analytical Skills
Case Study • Use business process improvement • Technological Skills
tools • Written Communication
• Manage inventory and supply chains • Proficiency in a Single
• Build analytical forecasting models Discipline
• Employ project management
fundamentals
• Strengthen quantitative reasoning
skills
“Littlefield Labs” • Apply business process analysis skills • Analytical Skills
Computer Simulation & • Manage inventory and supply chains • Technological Skills
Report • Build analytical forecasting models • Oral Communication
• Strengthen quantitative reasoning • Written Communication
skills
Midterm & • Understand the principles of managing • Analytical Skills
Final Exams business operations • Written Communication
• Apply business process analysis skills • Global Awareness
• Use business process improvement • Proficiency in a Single
tools Discipline
• Manage inventory and supply chains
• Build analytical forecasting models
• Employ project management
fundamentals
Attendance & • Understand the principles of managing • Analytical Skills
Participation business operations • Oral Communication
in Lectures • Apply business process analysis skills • Civic Awareness & Ethical
• Use business process improvement Decision-making
tools • Global Awareness
• Manage inventory and supply chains • Proficiency in a Single
• Employ project management Discipline
fundamentals
• Strengthen quantitative reasoning
skills
SAM MS-Excel • Strengthen quantitative reasoning • Technological Skills
Exercises skills

This course emphasizes the BBA learning goals as follows.

Significant Moderate Minimal Not

Part of Part of Part of Part of
BBA Learning Goal Course Course Course Course
Analytical Skills X
Technological Skills X
Oral Communication X
Written Communication X
Civic Awareness & Ethical Decision-making X
Global Awareness X
Proficiency in a Single Discipline X

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DO NOT CONTACT YOUR PROFESSOR OR RECITATION INSTRUCTOR FOR
ASSISTANCE OF ANY KIND RELATED TO EXCEL PROJECTS – DIRECT YOUR
QUESTIONS TO THE EXCEL HELPDESK (http://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/excelhelp)

The Excel Project

Please read this document carefully and completely as it contains important details and changes in
SAM that will affect your SAM grades.

The Excel Project consists of 3 projects to be completed via the SAM online platform. These projects are
intended to improve your Excel skills and familiarize you with business spreadsheet applications.

Grading Rules: Successful completion of the 3 projects will constitute 5% of your final MGT 3121
grade. The projects are self-graded and you’ll have 3 trials to complete each one of them. Only the best
attempt of the three will count towards the grade. Assignments submitted of 80% and above will receive
full credit for the assignment (i.e. 100/100 points). On-time assignments that score less than 80% will
receive the exact credit earned (i.e. a score of 75% on an assignment submitted on time will be recorded
as 75/100 points). Late submissions are now allowed; students will lose 1 point per day that the
assignment is late. Also, late assignments will receive the exact credit earned if adjusted total falls below
80% (i.e. a late assignment with a score of 84% and 5 days late will be recorded as [79=84-5]/100
points).

ATTENTION: Windows Excel 2016 is the best version to work on all the SAM assignments as we are
using SAM 2016, which was developed around Windows Excel 2016. If you use Mac or other Windows
Excel versions (i.e. not 2016), we will not be responsible for the possible grading errors. You can find
Windows Excel 2016 on all PCs in Baruch students’ labs.

ATTENTION: When creating your SAM account (instructions below), use your Baruch email address
or you risk NOT receiving credit for your hard work!

ATTENTION: Due dates. Late Submissions are allowed, with points deducted accordingly as
explained in Grading Rules. The last submission date for ALL projects is December 2, 2020. No
extension will be given after December 2, 2020. By this date, grades will be finalized and submitted
to your professors. NO exceptions will be made.

Assignment Schedule date Due date

Project 1: Creating and formatting charts First day of classes September 18, 2020
Project 2: Macros First day of classes October 9, 2020
Project 3: Solver First day of classes November 6, 2020

Pricing. You need to purchase access to the SAM platform in order to complete the projects. The cost is
$40. Once purchased, your SAM account will be active until you graduate and you’ll be able to access
Excel projects in other classes in the future. If you have a SAM account from a previous class, simply
login to SAM at and join your new class (see instructions below).

Obtaining access to SAM if you already have a SAM Login:

1. Go to http://sam.cengage.com.

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2. Enter your username and password, and then click “Log In”. (If you have forgotten your
password, click “Forgot your password?” and enter your username. You will be asked to answer your
secret security question and a reset password link will be sent to your email address).
3. A video and PowerPoint presentation explaining the login procedure are posted on your Excelhelp
course on Blackboard. Please, go to the “Content” section and click on the “Registering_for_SAM”
folder.

Obtaining access to SAM if you are a NEW USER:

1. Go to http://www.cengage.com/micro/7340MC to purchase your access code.
2. Once you have obtained your access code, go to http://sam.cengage.com and click the New User
button.
3. Enter your Institution Key. The Institution Key for Baruch College is T2031850.
4. Insert your SAM Access Code that you purchased in Step #1.
5. Create your Profile. Please use your Baruch email address and official roster name when you
create your profile! (Not using your Baruch email address may lead to issues when merging your
SAM grade into your final grade.) Enter a secret question and answer that will be used for security
purposes should you forget your password. Confirm your profile information and accept the License
Agreement.
6. If the Username you enter exists in CengageBrain, a prompt displays so you can enter your
CengageBrain password. If you cannot retrieve your password using the Forgot your password? link,
you can create a new SAM account with a different Username.

Once you have access to SAM (for NEW or EXISTING USERS):

1. Join a Section. If not already enrolled in a section, click the “Sections” tab at the top of the screen.
Click “Join a Section”, and locate your section (MGT 3121) and term (Fall 2020), then click the blue
arrow icon in the “Join Section” column on the right. You MUST join the section to see your
assignments.
2. Access your Assignments. Click on Activity List on the top navigation bar to retrieve the
assignments (“Projects”) scheduled for your section. You can access the Excel Tutorials (“Training”)
for help in completing the assignments. You also have access to 21 voluntary projects with no
deadlines. (“Projects”).
3. You must have the latest Flash Player installed to see assignments. If necessary go here to download
and install: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/.
4. You must have pop-up windows ENABLED for the SAM site in order to see your assignments.

Viewing the SAM tutorials before doing the projects increases your chances of a successful and
quicker project completion. Completing the voluntary projects will significantly improve your
Excel skills which are invaluable both in your future academic and professional career.

Academic Integrity. SAM detects files shared with other students and generates a report
for the instructors with the names of plagiarizing students and all parties involved. Students caught
cheating will be reported to the Office of the Dean of Students for disciplinary action.

Troubleshooting. Several resources are available to you should you encounter any problems:

Blackboard. As a student enrolled in this class, you also have an access to the Excel Project’s
dedicated Blackboard Fall 2020 Excel Module for MGT 3121 (Baruch). This website contains
additional materials and links that will help you navigate the SAM website and complete your
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projects. We will also post the answers to students’ questions there and remind you about the
assignment deadlines.

SAM Help Desk. Students with questions about SAM can access the help desk either of two ways:
through Blackboard (content: "Excelhelp") or at http://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/excelhelp. The help
desk is supported by PhD students familiar with SAM and the SAM projects. Emails will be
answered daily, Monday-Friday. If many inquiries arise about a common issue, then responses will
be posted on Blackboard.

Technical Support. For any problems accessing or using SAM contact Technical Support at:
Phone: 1-800-354-9706 (Mon-Thurs, 8:30am to 9:00pm EST & Friday, 8:30am to 6:00pm EST) or
Chat (24/7) or E-mail (24/7): http://www.cengage.com/support/

Excel tutors. Student Academic Consulting Center (SACC) will provide tutors who are trained in
your assigned SAM projects and can help you learn how to use Excel. To schedule an appointment
visit https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/sacc. To sign up for a tutoring session, enter your SACC login
information if you have already created an account otherwise follow the step to register with
SACC. Select the SAM Software Projects Tutoring.

Walk-in workshops. The SACC tutoring center will offer online workshops on using Excel with
SAM the week BEFORE every project is due. We will send reminders as to the date, time and place
of each workshop via Blackboard. To sign up for a workshop, go to
https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/sacc. Enter your SACC login information if you have already created
an account; otherwise follow the steps to register with SACC. Select the SAM Software Projects
Workshop from the drop-down list and choose the session that you would like to sign up for from
the calendar.

Internet browsers. It is recommended that you use Chrome, Safari or Firefox with SAM. Avoid Internet
Explorer.

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