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Course No.____ International Business Operations
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Operations management (OM) is the business function of strategic importance consisting of
planning, organizing, coordinating, and controlling the various resources needed to produce a
company’s output.
Some of today’s most successful companies, such as General Electric, Toyota, FedEx, and
Schneider Electric have achieved world-class status partly due to their strong focus on
operations management. Globalization has influenced operation management decisions
taken by multinational firms but the largest single market is still North America.
This course is aimed at introducing Operations Management (OM) of International Business
in general, show some of the major issues at stake in international operations and highlight
the important factors for companies operating in North America.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
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Gain an understanding of the various Operations Management approaches.
Understand the important factors for operations management in North America.
Gain practical experience in operations management in North America in a project.
COURSE OUTCOMES
After following this course, the student is expected to :
- Define international operations management.
- Explain the role of operations management in international business.
Aptitudes / Cognitive/Intellectual skills:
- Describe decisions that operations managers make.
- Describe the different issues of concern by operation management between various sectors
- Understand the specificities of operations management in North America.
At the end of the course, students should have the skills set to analyze an individual firm’s supply
chain, understand the main issues in operations management and compare those with other
industry/sector practices.
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REQUIRED READINGS
Optional Texts and Reprints
Operations Management, 9/E
Lee J. Krajewski, University of Notre Dame
Larry P. Ritzman, Boston College
Manoj K. Malhotra, University of South Carolina
ISBN-10: 0136065767
ISBN-13: 9780136065760
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Copyright: 2010
Software
No course-specific software required.
Course Support Slides
Course support slides and class hand-outs will be available on the Course Materials section of the
class website.
EVALUATION
DELIVERABLES
DESCRIPTION
PERCENT
Project
o
Quality, completeness and difficulty of class project.
25
Final Test
o
Performance on final exam.
50
Individual - Class
Participation
o
Quality of participation in disucssions.
25
Total
100
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
Individual Assignments:
Read the assigned material in each module and be ready to present your views on the material.
Project Assignments:
Students will be assigned a project to complete and present the results in the final class periods. This
could either be individual or a team assignment.
CLASS PARTICIPATION
It should be noted that heavy emphasis is placed on class participation.
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SCHEDULE (each module is 1.5 hours in length)
Module
Module 1.1
Topic
Introductions, class
overview, and class
procedures.
An overview of why
operations management is
important.
Pre-reading
Slides Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 8
See posted Articles and
slides
Students will understand
regional differences in North
America and why they matter
in Operations Management
Reference Book and posted
articles
Module 1.2
The North American Market
– regions (including
Canada)
- history
- regional differences
- geography matters
- weather patterns
- disasters
- legal
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2.
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9.
10.
11.
regionsmap.gif
US regions geog.gif
Us landforms.png
Map of emerging US
Megaregions.png
Topic12Megopolis.pdf
Us population by
state.xls
National-atlastimezones-2006.gif
Right to work.svg.png
Map of states by
unemployment rate.png
Canada Regions.gif
Canada population
density.gif
Module 2.1
The North American
Transportation System
(including Canada)–
- Interstate Highways
- Rivers
- Trains
- Ports
Module 2.2
Managing the global supply
chain –the importance of
location, partners and
inventory.
1. interstate highway
system report.pdf
2. key Ports Risk
Maps.ppt
3. Container ports.doc
4. Ports explanation
2007.doc
5. Transportation capacity
2006 RAND CF228.pdf
6. Class1rr.png
Slides for:
Chapter 9: Supply Chain
Design
Chapter 10: Supply Chain
Integration
Chapter 11: Facility Location
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Outcomes
Understand operations
strategy and its role as a
source of competitive
advantage in a global
marketplace. Understand
basic operations decision
making methods.
Students will understand the
different transportation
routes in North America and
why the matter in Operations
Management
Students will understand and
be able to apply the tools
and techniques for managing
the global supply chain.
Module
Topic
Pre-reading
Outcomes
Chapter 12: Inventory
Management
Supplement D: Special
Inventory Models
Module 3.1
Module 3.2
Module 4.1
and 4.2
Locating Manufacturing in
The North American
Case Examples of
Operations Management in
North America
Review and discuss class
projects
Hand outs and case study
discussion. Read boschma
proximity.pdf and “Location
Matters.doc articles.
Class Hand-outs assigned.
Read: mck sc article 2011.pdf
Students will present the results
of their class projects.
Students will understand the
manufacturing location
issues in North America
Review and discuss specific
operations management
case studies.
Teams present results of
their projects.
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/printpage/usmap2.htm
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Name: United States, or USA, or U.S.
Name: (long form) United States of America
Name Orgin: America is named after the Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci
Capital City: Washington D.C. (pop. 599,657)
Currency: U.S. Dollar (conversion rates)
All U.S. currency: (banknotes)
GDP: $14.26 trillion (2009)
GDP: (per capita) $46,000 (2009)
Languages: English 82%, Spanish 11%, others
Largest Cities: (by population) New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix,
Philadelphia
National Day: July 4
Population: 310,472,120 (October, 2010 estimate)
Religions: Protestant 52%, Catholic 24%, others
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http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/printpage/canewna.htm
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Name: Canada
Name: (long form) None
Name Orgin: The name Canada is from the Saint-Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, which
means village, settlement or land.
Capital City: Ottawa (pop. 1,200,000)
Currency: Canadian Dollar (CAD) (conversion rates)
All Canadian currency: (banknotes)
Dominion dates: (all provinces and teritories)
GDP: $1.335 trillion (2010)
GDP: (per capita) $39,600 (2010)
Languages: English (official) 59.3%;
French (official) 23.2%; other 17.5%
Largest Cities: (by population) Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa-Gatineau, Calgary,
Edmonton
National Day: July 1
Population: 33,510,962 (July, 2008 estimate)
Religions: Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (including United Church 9.5%, Anglican
6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%), other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other and unspecified
11.8%, none 16%
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Canadian Parliament in Ottowa
AllPosters.com
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