In some industries, supplying goods to customers is primarily controlled within an organization, and a classic example of this structure was the Ford plant at Highland Park. Today advances in communication and transportation have led to complex supply chains that span organizations and continents. This course will combine cases and readings to allow students to understand the operations and economics of supply chains, and how companies use supply chain management in creating a competitive advantage. This will require the development of some analytic tools for determining operating policies that effectively manage the numerous trade-offs in supply chains. We will also be careful, though, to put these decisions in the context of the overall strategy of the firm. Supply chains are a natural place to examine global operations, where links of the supply chain are located around the world in an attempt to successfully compete. Students with an interest in careers in consulting or in  operations functions are the primary target for this course. But supply chain organizations are often closely tied to marketing functions, and supply chains have on the financial structure of the firm.

This course will explore issues associated with the emerging forms of applications and services changing software ecosystems and commerce interactions.  We will involve both design and development of real apps, gizmos, and widgets.  This course will enable students to learn the design, development and distribution of the small and the many, and leave with a portfolio, not just a certificate. 

This course introduces students to the economics of online markets in general and digital products in particular.  Topics covered include network economics, pricing strategies, segmentation and versioning for digital products, impact of bundling services. Students are introduced to both analytical models as well as empirical analysis using real world data from the entertainment industry. The course will include advanced topics include concepts of standards competition, lock-in strategies, etc.  We will take a practice oriented approach where theory and case studies will be combined with a number of industry speakers.

This course covers traditional management science techniques such as linear programming, integer programming, and simulation. The emphasis of the course is on practical problem solving. All work is performed in Excel. However, little knowledge of Excel is necessary to begin the class. The particular problems of the course are slanted to attract those interested in finance and operations, but also include some marketing and HR problems. Finance oriented topics include asset allocation, arbitrage, short term cash flow planning, and balance sheet management, among others. Operations oriented topics include production planning, facility location, labor scheduling, blending, and others. The class is "hands on." It will be necessary to have a computer with you in class.

Advanced topics and tools for analysis of decision problems, focusing on modeling the real-world complications.  We address the issues of: too many alternatives (leading us to resource pricing, linear programming using optimization techniques);  aversion to risk (utility); multiple, conflicting objectives (multi-attribute decision making and value-focused thinking); and too many, complex outcomes (Monte Carlo simulation). The primary course objective is to improve managerial effectiveness through clearer thinking about complex decision issues, and through the application of powerful analytical tools to a wide variety of common management problems.

Advanced topics and tools for analysis of decision problems, focusing on the complication of multiple decision makers. The course starts with the fundamentals of game theory and develops conceptual frameworks and analytical tools for strategic thinking and action. Applications include models of competition and cooperation, strategic moves, negotiation, auctions & bidding, fair division, coalitions, voting and group decisions, and large systems of decision makers.

The course reviews how to configure an appropriate and effective operating system: one that aligns with, supports, and delivers the chosen value proposition. We also examine the complexities associated with global operating systems, including the hidden costs of outsourcing and offshoring. An important goal of this course is to frame key strategic operations issues and to provide tools to resolve them.

Service Operations Management will build on the concepts from Process and Systems Management and explore the particular challenges and strategies for managing services. We will examine the similarities and differences between services and more traditional manufacturing and supply chain management. Businesses in the service sector are very diverse and include document processing, transportation, customer support, hospitality and consulting. We will build frameworks to classify service processes and discuss the managerial challenges of different environments.

This course expands on the basic statistical tools of ISOM 350 in two major ways: [1] New methods of Modeling/Analyzing data and [2] Development of automated structures to support decisions tied to data. This course is a very "hands on" working-with-data, either data sets provided or those you are specifically interested in.

Virtually every aspect of business is instrumented for data collection & data is increasingly analyzed systematically to improve business decision-making and offer competitive advantage.This class will study the fundamental principles and techniques of data mining. We will improve our ability to approach problems "data-analytically", we will examine real-world examples that place data mining in context, and we will apply data-mining techniques while working hands-on with a data mining software.

This course reviews process analysis in detail. Process analysis is a key component of Six Sigma programs. Six Sigma is an approach for performance improvement that was made famous by GE and is currently being implemented by thousands of companies. The analytical skills you learn in this course are important to many employers and can be foundational for a career in operational performance improvement.

Introduction to the concepts, assumptions, and methods underlying managerial accounting, with an emphasis on using accounting information to plan and control a company's operations. Topics include information relevant for decision-making, cost behavior, activity-based costing, pricing, cost-volume-profit analysis, operating budgets and variance analysis, capital budgeting, and performance evaluation.

This course will help you make better business decisions by giving you the tools to analyze marketplace data and to understand how data analysis tools can be used to guide and inform corporate direction. While the course provides insight into how to actually conduct research, its focus is on providing the needed background for future managers who will be the ultimate users of the data, and who will determine the scope and direction of research conducted.

Multinational Firms examines strategy and organization of business in the global economy. The course considers international competitive forces and national/regional contexts as determinants of strategic challenges and options for managers. We employ a cross-functional approach, drawing from strategic management, microeconomics, political science, and regional studies.