Academic management

Production Management is a core subject that belongs to the topic “Production” within the module “Organization and Management” in the bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Production or operations management involves the integration of numerous activities and processes to produce products and services in a highly competitive global environment. Many companies have experienced a decline in market share as a result of their inability to compete on the basis of product design, cost or quality. World class performance in operations, i.e., in product design, manufacturing, engineering and distribution, is essential for competitive success and long term survival. Therefore, the aim of this course is to offer the student a strategic overview of the most important aspects of the strategy to manage firms' production of products or services, so that at the end of the course students have a fair understanding of the role Production/Operations Management plays in business processes. Emphasis is given both to familiarization of various production processes and systems, and to strategic analysis of relevant decisions concerning the firms' production strategy related to: new product development, capacity, location, value chain management, inventory and material planning and control systems, and quality management.

The content of this course is related to "Introduction to Business", which is a core subject during the first year offering an overall understanding of the firm and its functional areas. Besides, within the topic of "Production", Production Management is integrated with "Innovation and Technology Management" an elective course focused on analyzing how effective technology management can be as a source of sustainable competitive advantage.

Although specific prerequisites have not been established to follow this subject, it is convenient for students to have passed the course "Introduction to Business", which is a core subject during the first year. Besides, in order to fully contribute to class discussion and follow the practical content of the course, students are expected to have basic computer skills to search for additional material for work assignments.

General Competencies:

• CG1- Capacity for analysis and synthesis
• CG2- Learning capability
• CG5- Skill at searching for and analyzing information in the working environment.
• CG7- Capability for working independently.
• CG8- Teamwork skills
• CG11- Capacity for decision making
• CG12- Capability for putting knowledge into practice.
• CG13- Creativity to find new ideas and solutions
• CG19- Concern for quality and good work.
• CG20- Values and ethics.
• CG22- Integrate gender equality principles in the working environment
• CG23- Integrate equality principles in the working environment for disabled people

Specific Competencies

• CE10- Firms’ strategic planning.
• CE20-Transfer information, ideas, problems and solutions in the area of business management to a specialized or non-specialized audience.
• CE21-Write reports make assessments of particular situations faced by firms and markets.

Learning Results

• RA1.11- Identify the different types of production processes, as well as the strategic implications of their implementation.
• RA1.12- Design a firm's production, technological and innovation strategy, considering their integration within the overall firm's strategic planning.
• RA1.13- Identify and understand the critical decisions to be taken within a firm in relation to its production, technological, and innovation functions.

Production Management covers the most important dimensions within the firm's production strategy. Therefore, it is focused on analyzing concepts such as the production function, the different types of production processes, and the process of planning a strategy within the area. Emphasis is given to strategic analysis of critical decisions concerning the firms' production strategy, such as those related to: product design, process selection, capacity, plant location, inventory and material planning and control systems, and quality management.

Syllabus

Lesson 1. Production Function and Production Strategy.

Lesson 2. Product Design and Process technology.

Lesson 3: Capacity and location.

Lesson 4.  Lean Production.

Lesson 5: Quality Management.

Learning methodology includes both activities which require attendance and activities which do not.

In class activities.

In class activities will take place during the first semester from September to December 2022.

Lectures: Sessions aimed at introducing and developing the key ideas and concepts of each topic. They involve a presentation by the professor who will use audio–visual support, but students are also encouraged to actively participate with their opinions to class discussion. Besides, during lectures the professor can ask students to answer several theoretical or practical questions and hand-in their solutions in class. Therefore, lecture attendance is considered as a requirement in order to correctly follow and pass the course.

Seminars: They are aimed at developing practical contents within each topic. They involve interaction between the professor and the students. In the seminars two types of activities will take place:

• On the one hand, students will have to solve and discuss the assignments that will be scheduled weekly by the professor. These assignments can include: addressing some theoretical or practical questions, cases analyses, writing reports or searching and discussing press news. Students are expected to solve them each week and submit their answers via the e-Campus platform. Thus, they are expected to bring the assignments’ solution written to class for discussion during the seminars. Besides these previously scheduled assignments, students may be also requested by the professor to solve additional assignments directly in class.
• On the other hand, during seminars, the professor will also plan and check the progress of a compulsory teamwork assignment that students have to do along the course. This assignment involves a team-work activity consisting on the analysis of a firm production strategy within our environment (regional or national). The team will be made up of 4 students and they will have to choose a firm they can have direct access to and (if health conditions allow it) the possibility to visit the firm. During the last seminar sessions, each team will be required to: hand in a written report containing the case analysis, and make a presentation following the instructions given by the professor. The professor will evaluate all the process of preparing the case analysis, the presentation in class, and the written report.
• Evaluation sessions: The professor will evaluate all the assignments proposed during the course as well as supervise the learning progress of the student. Likewise, there is a final exam.

Other activities: Conferences or seminars organized by the School of Economics and Business, and/or the Business Administration Department, given by firm executives or experts in fields related to Production Management. These activities are not compulsory; however, it is advisable for students to attend in order to get a better insight of the contents analyzed in the course. Students may be asked to do some activities related to these seminars or conferences.

Distance learning activities

Individual work: It is basically related to (1) studying the contents that are presented in the lectures, and (2) preparing in advance the necessary material in order to be able to prepare the seminars.

Team work: It is related to the student (1) gathering information to prepare the firm-case analysis, (2) elaborating the written report, and (3) and making the firm-case presentation.  Materials needed to undertake all the activities correctly will be available on-line at the university’s e-Campus —teaching notes, additional materials, readings, questions… The e-Campus also offers the possibility to develop discussion forums.

Note that, on an extraordinary basis, due to health conditions other online distance activities could be proposed. Should this be the case, students would be informed about the changed made and activities required.

The tables below include relevant course information. They summarize an estimation of hours by type of learning activity. These tables are an approximation and may vary depending on the class progress.

The evaluation process will be based on:

1. Controlled assessment. Students can obtain a maximum of 4 points as a result of doing the following compulsory activities:

a. Students can obtain a maximum of 2 points as a result of individually exposition and discussion in class of the different compulsory assignments proposed each week, as well as a result of other additionally activities proposed during lectures and seminars. Please note that for a student to be allowed to solve one of the previously scheduled weekly assignments in class, the student has to had previously uploaded to e-Campus his/her solutions to the assignments being discussed. Thus, uploading the solutions of the weekly scheduled assignments via e-Campus before the seminar takes place is a requirement for the professor to take into account students’ class participation.

 b. Students will be required to do a team-work activity. In the last seminar sessions, each team will be required to: hand in a written report, and make a presentation following the instructions given by the professor. Each team member can obtain a maximum of 2 points thanks to this activity.

Once the classes are over, the student will be informed of the mark obtained as a result of the controlled assessment process. This mark will be maintained not only for the final exam taking place in January, but also for the current academic year extraordinary assessments (May and/or June).

2. Final exam. Once the semester is over, students will have to undertake a final exam with essay questions of both theoretical and practical nature. A maximum of 6 points can be obtained in this exam. The exam will not only evaluate students’ knowledge of the subject, but also the use of an appropriate technical language and correct language style.

To pass the course students must obtain a minimum of 5 points as result of adding both, the controlled assessment and the final exam. However, a minimum of 2 points is required (in the 6 point) final exam to pass the course. This means that, if a student does not reach a minimum of 2 points in the final 6-point exam, his/her final course grade will be “Fail” with the possibility of obtaining a possible maximum final mark of 4.9 points.

Note that, on an extraordinary basis, due to health conditions, online assessment methods could be used. Should this be the case, students would be informed about these changes.

Those students that had requested the possibility of following a differentiated evaluation process should inform the professor of this situation at the beginning of the course (also if the student is not sure yet whether the School is going to approve it or not). These students will have to upload to e-Campus all the cases and exercises requested during the course (meeting the rest of the class deadlines). The day of the final exam, in addition to undertaking the same 6 points exam, these students will have to undertake an additional part valued 4 points with questions related to the cases and exercises proposed during the course.

Finally, remember that students following this course are subject to the Ethical Codes of the University of Oviedo, which can be accessed in the following link:  University's Code of Ethics  

Basic billiography:

• HEIZER, J. and RENDER, B. 2014. Operations Management (11th edition) Prentice Hall.
• HEIZER, J. and RENDER, B. 2011. Principles of Operations Management (8th edition) Prentice Hall.
• SCHROEDER, R.G., GOLDSTEIN, S.M., and RUNGTUSANATHAM, M.J.  2011. "Operations Management: Contemporary Concepts and Cases, 5/e" Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
• SCHROEDER, R.G., 2004. "Operations Management: Contemporary Concepts and Cases, 2/e" Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Spanish manuals:

• FERNÁNDEZ, E.; AVELLA, L. y FERNÁNDEZ, M. (2020) Administración de la Producción. Enfoque Estratégico, Pirámide, Madrid.
• FERNÁNDEZ, E.; AVELLA, L. y FERNÁNDEZ, M. (2006): Estrategia de Producción (segunda edición), McGraw-Hill, Madrid.
• HEIZER, J. y RENDER, B. (2015a). Dirección de la producción y de operaciones. Decisiones estratégicas (12ª ed.). Pearson Educación, S.A., Madrid.
• HEIZER, J. y RENDER, B. (2015b). Dirección de la producción y de operaciones. Decisiones tácticas (12ª ed.). Pearson Educación, S.A., Madrid.

Additional bibliography:

• JACOBS, F. R. and R. B.  CHASE. Operations and Supply Chain Management, 13th edition, 2011, McGraw-Hill Irwin.
• KRAJEWSKI, L.J. and RITZMAN. 2005. Operations Management: Processes and Value Chains. (7th ed). Prentice Hall.
• RUSSELL, and TAYLOR (2005) Operations Management: Quality and Competitiveness in a Global Environment, 5th Edition. Wiley. 
• STEVENSON, W.J. 2005. Operations management. Eighth Edition. Irwin/ McGraw-Hill.
• Womack,J.P.; Jones,D.T.; Roos, D. (2007): "The Machine That Changed the World: How Lean Production Revolutionized the Global Car Wars". Simon & Schuster Ltd.

Spanish manuals:

• ARIAS ARANDA, D. y MINGUELA RATA, B.(Eds.) (2018a): Dirección de la Producción y Operaciones. Decisiones Estratégicas, Pirámide, Madrid.
• ARIAS ARANDA, D. y MINGUELA RATA, B.(Eds.) (2018b): Dirección de la Producción y Operaciones. Decisiones Operativas, Pirámide, Madrid.
• HEIZER, J. y RENDER, B. (2007): Dirección de la Producción (octava edición), Prentice Hall, Madrid.
• KRAJEWSKI, L. J.; RITZMAN, L. P. y MALHOTRA M. (2008): Administración de Operaciones. Estrategia y Análisis (octava edición), Prentice Hall, México.
• Liker, J. K. (2010): Las Claves del Éxito de Toyota. 14 Principios de Gestión del Fabricante Más Grande del Mundo, Gestión 2000, Barcelona.
• Jacobs, F. R. y Chase, R. B. (2019): Administración de Operaciones. Producción y Cadena de Suministros (decimoquinta edición), McGraw-Hill Education, México.
• MIRANDA, F. J.; RUBIO, S.; CHAMORRO, A. y BAÑEGIL, T. (2008): Manual de Dirección de Operaciones, Thomson, Madrid.
• SCHROEDER, R. G. (2011): Administración de Operaciones. Concepto y Casos Contemporáneos (quinta edición), McGraw-Hill, México.
• Womack, J. P.; Jones, D. T. y Roos, D. (2017): La Máquina que Cambió el Mundo (edición actualizada y ampliada), Profit Editorial, Barcelona.