Operations and Production Management

Course Description

MAN3554 — Operations and Production Management is an upper-division (3xxx) college-credit course in Florida's Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Bachelor of Applied Science in Management, and Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering programs. The "MAN" prefix denotes Management. The course covers principles and practices of operations and production management: operations strategy; capacity planning; facility location and layout; supply chain management; inventory management; production planning and scheduling; quality management; lean operations; service operations; current operations technology and analytics.

This course is offered at Florida public colleges and universities with bachelor's-level business or management programs. The content is foundational for management careers across manufacturing, healthcare, retail, hospitality, and service industries — particularly relevant to Florida's substantial tourism, healthcare, and manufacturing economies.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

Upon successful completion of MAN3554, students will be able to:

• Apply operations strategy: competitive priorities (cost, quality, delivery, flexibility); operations capabilities; operations decisions across structural and infrastructural categories.
• Apply capacity planning: capacity measurement; capacity vs. demand; capacity decisions (lead, lag, match); capacity expansion strategies.
• Apply facility location and layout: location factors and decision methods; process layout; product layout; cellular layout; service layout; warehousing.
• Apply supply chain management: supply chain structure; bullwhip effect; SCOR framework; supplier selection and management; logistics; sustainability in supply chains.
• Apply inventory management: independent vs. dependent demand; EOQ; reorder point; safety stock; ABC analysis; inventory cost categories; service level.
• Apply production planning and scheduling: aggregate planning; master production schedule (MPS); MRP; capacity requirements planning (CRP); shop floor scheduling.
• Apply quality management: TQM; ISO 9001; SPC; Six Sigma DMAIC overview; cost of quality.
• Apply lean operations: Toyota Production System; eight wastes; value stream mapping; kanban; just-in-time.
• Apply service operations: service-product distinctions; service capacity and demand management; queuing theory introduction; service quality (SERVQUAL).
• Apply operations technology and analytics: ERP systems; warehouse management systems (WMS); IoT in operations; predictive analytics; data-driven decision-making.

Optional Outcomes

• Apply project management introductory: PMI PMBOK fundamentals; project life cycle; CPM/PERT.
• Apply sustainability in operations: environmental considerations in production decisions; circular economy.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• Operations Strategy: Competitive priorities; trade-offs; sand cone model; operations as competitive advantage; structural vs. infrastructural decisions.
• Forecasting: Time series methods; exponential smoothing; causal models; forecast error and accuracy.
• Capacity Planning: Capacity measurement (design vs. effective vs. utilization); long-term and short-term capacity decisions; capacity expansion strategies; queuing theory introduction.
• Facility Location: Factor rating methods; center of gravity; transportation method introduction; service location considerations.
• Process Design and Layout: Process types (continuous, repetitive, batch, job shop, project); product layout (assembly line balancing); process layout; cellular manufacturing; service layouts.
• Supply Chain Management: Supply chain structure and flows; SCOR framework; bullwhip effect; supplier relationships; logistics and 3PL/4PL; reverse logistics; sustainability.
• Inventory Management: EOQ derivation; reorder point with safety stock; service level and fill rate; ABC analysis; cycle counting; inventory cost categories.
• Production Planning: Aggregate planning (chase, level, mixed); master production schedule (MPS); material requirements planning (MRP); capacity requirements planning (CRP); ERP integration.
• Scheduling: Sequencing rules (FCFS, SPT, EDD, CR); Johnson's rule for two-machine; assignment problem; critical-ratio scheduling.
• Quality Management: TQM principles; ISO 9001; SPC fundamentals (control charts, capability); Six Sigma DMAIC; cost of quality.
• Lean Operations: Toyota Production System; eight wastes (DOWNTIME); value stream mapping; 5S; kanban; just-in-time; lean in services.
• Service Operations: Goods-service continuum; service capacity-demand management; service blueprinting; service quality (SERVQUAL); waiting line analysis.
• Operations Analytics: ERP overview (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite); descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics; IoT applications; AI and ML in operations.

Resources & Tools

• Industry texts: Krajewski, Malhotra, and Ritzman Operations Management: Processes and Supply Chains (Pearson); Heizer, Render, and Munson Operations Management: Sustainability and Supply Chain Management (Pearson); Stevenson Operations Management (McGraw-Hill)
• Software: Microsoft Excel for analytical exercises; introductory ERP demonstrations
• Industry resources: APICS / ASCM (Association for Supply Chain Management); CSCMP (Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals); ASQ for quality components

Career Pathways

MAN3554 supports management careers across Florida's diverse economy:

• Operations Manager at manufacturers, distributors, retailers, healthcare, and hospitality.
• Supply Chain Analyst / Manager at major Florida supply chain employers (Publix, FedEx, Amazon, Walmart, Coca-Cola).
• Production Planner / Scheduler at manufacturing facilities.
• Inventory Manager at wholesale, retail, and manufacturing organizations.
• Continuous Improvement Specialist at organizations across sectors.
• Healthcare Operations Manager at Florida hospital systems (AdventHealth, Orlando Health, BayCare, Tampa General, Memorial Healthcare).
• Hospitality/Theme Park Operations Manager at Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, hotels and resorts (Florida's substantial tourism economy).
• Continuation toward MBA and APICS / ASCM certifications (CPIM, CSCP, CLTD).

Special Information

Course Format

Typically 3 credits, 45 contact hours (lecture). Many sections offered fully online or in hybrid format.

Upper-Division Status

MAN3554 is upper-division (3xxx) and typically requires junior standing in a BBA, B.A.S. Management, or related bachelor's program.

Industry Certifications

Coursework provides foundation for APICS / ASCM credentials: Certified in Planning and Inventory Management (CPIM); Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP); Certified in Logistics, Transportation and Distribution (CLTD). Combined with quality coursework, supports preparation for ASQ Certified Six Sigma Green Belt.