Thursday 22 November 2012

Operations and Production Management

Professor Robert ShawSchool of Management

Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

Course objectives

At the completion of this course students will be able to:

1. Understand the vocabulary and key concepts in use in operations and production management.

2. Appreciate the historical development of operations and production management globally.

3. Discuss key issues in operations and production management, such as globalization and outsourcing.

4. Display research skills, including the ability to define a topic of enquiry, locate resources for an enquiry, analyze and summarize relevant material, and draw conclusions.  RESEARCH REPORT

1. Lecture:

(1) Completion from last time: Corporate Social Responsibility and

Operations Management

(2) Conducting surveys in operations management

2. Writing your paper

a. How are you doing?

b. Keep going

Today (Session 13, Lecture 11)

Thursday 22 November 2012

Course Outline (Syllabus)

Weeks 14 & 15 topics

1. Human aspects of operationsa. The advent of humanistic management in the Westb. Introduction to ethics in operations Management

Operations and corporate social responsibilitya. Definitions of corporate social responsibilityb. Impacts of operationsc. Local examplesd. Global examples

Corporate social responsibility in Operations Management

1.What is CSR?

2.Stakeholder theory

3.How CSR involves OM & PM

4.Find some examplesa. Chinab. Overseas

Surveys in Operations Management

Survey research in business

Range of situations Operations and production management Quality control Output measures

Facts about the world, not conceptual relationships (for example)

Key words

Research questions

3. Populations & samples

4. Validity

a. Construct validity

b. Face validity

5. Reliable

a. Consistency of instruments

b. Consistency of measurement situations

c. Temporal consistency

d. Sample problems in reliability

Key words

Subjects & respondents

Structure and semi-structure

a. Interviews (face-to-face, telephone, video)

b. Instruments (open? closed?)

3. Data

a. Raw

b. Derived

Key words

Some common kinds of studies

a. Perceptions

b. Public opinion

c. Others

3. Research management and the researcher

a. Interviewer training

b. Interviewer reliability

c. Incentives for interviewers

4. Types of questions

a. Open ended

b. Closed

c. Precision

Process – initial steps

Managers needs

Purpose

a. Relationship to the business / plans

b. Feedback on production

3. Stakeholders

4. Ethics of research

Process – instruments

Selection is important

Key considerations

a. Adequacy

b. Time

c. Cost

d. Your capabilities

3. Delivery mechanism and instruments

a. Telephone vs face-to-face

b. Interview vs precise questions

c. Web vs telephone

Process – instrument construction

Initial scoping

Item production

a. Research question alignment with purpose and objectives

b. Language problems

3. Pretesting

a. Vital

b. Expense considerations

4. Administration of instrument

Process – item construction

What is wrong with this question?

Process – data

Integral part of planning

Trial runs

a. Interview data

b. Statistical tests - stick to the basics

c. Packages, for example SPSSX http://www.spss.com.cn/

http://www.surveymonkey.com/

Process – data – surveymonkey

http://www.surveymonkey.com/

Process – the art of interviewing

a. Preparation

b. Arrangements

a. Formal approvals

b. Indicate use of the information

c. Appropriate people

d. Time-frame

c. In the interview

a. Set the tone

b. Recording methods

c. Professionalism

d. Indicate follow-up

Send me an email with your current draft. It must show:

i. some references in APA format

ii. the introduction

iii. the proposition you are arguing for, and

iv. some work towards the arguments (that is, some drafting of the main part of the paper.

v. At least 1000 words!

(Remember your test in two weeks!)

Task for the week