BA554: Global Operations Capstone (3)

SYLLABUS
Fall 2014
PROFESSOR: Zhaohui Wu
OFFICE PHONE: 541-737-3514
E-MAIL: wuz@bus.oregonstate.edu
OFFICE N: Bexell #422C
Course Description: Analyze business cases that address global value creation and
production/delivery systems. Complete integrated business projects to identify critical operations
and supply chain management issues, apply multidisciplinary knowledge, analyze and evaluate
alternative solutions and write and present reports recommending firm strategies. International
business and cross-cultural competencies are emphasized.
PREREQ: BA551 (Global Supply and Sourcing), BA552 (Global Service Operations/
Logistics)
Class Meeting Time and Credit Hours: The class meets once per week for three hours for three
credit hours.
Measurable Student Learning Outcomes: At the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Complete an integrated business project related to sourcing, production and service operations
in the context of supply chain management and logistics that requires synthesis and application of
quantitative and qualitative methods, multidisciplinary approaches, functional business
knowledge and experiential learning.
2. Work effectively on teams to positively influence and conduct team decision-making regarding
global operations and supply chain management.
3. Demonstrate ability to manage cross-cultural challenges and the social, legal and ethical
responsibilities related to global operations and supply chain management.
4. Design effective and innovative managerial strategies related to global operations and supply
chain management.
5. Effectively communicate strategies for global operations and supply chain management
through oral presentations and in writing that demonstrates cross-cultural competencies such as
sensitivity to diversity and local business practices and customs.
Required Materials: This class requires purchasing materials for two projects and four cases.
These materials can be purchased online from Harvard Publishing or from through the campus
bookstore.
A. Projects
Project 1: Supply Chain Mapping and Supply Network Analysis (project materials will be

provided by the instructor)

Project 2: Operations Management Simulation: Benihana Restaurant. Harvard Business
Publishing Product # 7003-HTM-ENG. August 2011.
Project 3: Supply Chain Optimization at Madurai Aavin Milk Dairy. Case #: IMB341PDF-ENG. Dec 01, 2011
Alternative Project: Students may choose to substitute an alternative project for one of
the required projects that is based on having participated in the International Field Study
(BA 583). In BA 583, students prepare case analysis/reports and a presentation that
provides the context and preliminary data for the Alternative Project.
B. Cases
Case 1: Coloplast A/S - Organizational Challenges in Offshoring. Harvard Business
Publishing Product #: 908M31-PDF-ENG. July 25, 2008
Case 2: Solectron: From Contract Manufacturer to Global Supply Chain Integrator
Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Case #GS24, November 2001.
Case 3: Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand. Nanyang Tech
UniversityNTU001-PDF-ENG. May 05, 2012
Case 4: Tokyo Electron Ltd. Harvard Business Publishing Product #: 609096-PDF-ENG.
May 26, 2009.
C. Supplementary readings in the form of articles and other materials on global operations and
supply chain management will be distributed in class, available through the OSU library, and/or
on Blackboard. The weekly reading assignments are listed in the Assignments Schedule.

Note: The assigned cases, projects and supplemental readings will be revised as necessary to keep
the course current. As industry relationships are developed by the instructors and the MBA
program, consulting-oriented projects developed in conjunction with companies may be
substituted for some of the cases or projects listed above.
Office Hours: As posted. Drop-ins welcome during office hours, please make an appointment if
you would like to see me outside office hours. E-mail is encouraged.
Evaluation of Student Performance includes the following:
Reading: You are required to do the assigned reading and prepare to discuss any assigned
articles, cases/simulations or other materials before the class for which they are assigned.
Generally the assigned reading for each class includes articles and business cases/simulations that
are listed on the Assignments Schedule, which may be amended to include other assigned articles
or other materials that are posted on Blackboard, available through the library, or provided as
class handouts.
Class Participation: Class participation is an essential element of the learning experience in this
class and a portion of your grade will be based on your contribution to class discussion. Each day
your class participation will be assessed on a scale of 0-3, as follows: 0-Did not attend; 1-attended
but did not participate; 2-moderate quantity and quality of participation; 3-high quality and
quantity of participation.
Description of Cases and Projects: Students read and analyze four analytical cases as listed on
the Assignments Schedule. In addition, students complete three projects, which are described in
Exhibit A. These projects include: 1) a supply network mapping and supply network analysis; 2)
an operations management simulation, and 3) a supply chain simulation. The International Field
Study (BA 583) provides the context and preliminary data for an Alternative Project for this

capstone course. Students who have participated in BA 583 may choose to complete an
Alternative Project that is based on the reports and presentation they have prepared in BA 583.
The Alternative Project may be substituted for project 2 or 3 described above.
The projects require students to use quantitative methods and operations and supply chain
management knowledge learned in prerequisite courses as well as multidisciplinary and
functional business knowledge acquired in the program. In both the cases and projects,
international business contexts and issues and cross-cultural competencies are emphasized. It is
anticipated that consulting projects developed in conjunction with companies will be designed to
replace some of the cases or projects.
Written Deliverables and Class Presentations: Students analyze the cases and complete the
projects as a team including preparation of written reports and making a presentation to the class.
Generally, teams will be composed of four or fewer students.
Students are assigned to write three short team case reports and three project reports during the
term, as listed on the Assignments Schedule. For example, students read a management case and
work with a team of other students to prepare a written brief analyzing the case and/or to make a
presentation to the class of their recommendations based on their analysis of the case.
In addition, each team of students will make one class presentation of a case or project. Team
Assignments and presentation dates for team Case and Project presentations will be made early in
the course. If you are assigned to present a case to the class, you are not required to write a report
on that case or project. So in total you will have 6 written reports (from the 4 cases and 3
projects).
Team Presentations of Case Analysis and Projects: Based on the case and project assignments
(see Assignments Schedule), each group will be assigned to present either one Case Analysis or
one Project Report. This group will be expected to lead the class discussion about their assigned
case or project.
The Case Analysis presentation takes place on the day the case is discussed. A project
presentation takes place on the due date of the project.
There is no set time limit for discussions. You will not be graded on the amount of time you use,
but you will be expected to make good use of the classs time.
In class, your group will formally present the information with an emphasis on the analysis and
recommendations. Please do not waste a great deal of time restating the case or project or your
grade will suffer significantly. The written materials including any slides and oral presentation are
expected to be professionally done and will be judged by both the professor and your classmates.
If a project is provided by a company, a company representative will be present and also evaluate
your analysis and presentation. We will discuss the expectations for case presentations and the
preparation of written case reports and project reports in class. Criteria for the presentation of the
cases and projects include:

Identification of problem Did the group get to the core problem or did they focus on
symptoms?

Quality of analysis and recommendations Was the group thorough? Are their solutions and

recommendations succinct and easy to understand? Did they overlook anything important?
Did they do a good job integrating international operations management/supply chain
management, multidisciplinary knowledge and cross-cultural insights into the discussion?
Did they do a good job integrating theory from other functional areas (if applicable)?

Quality of presentation Did the group demonstrate effective oral and written skills including
presentation skills? Was the group professional? Did they read or talk? Were visual aids well
done and appropriate?

Degree of preparedness in answering questions Was the group able to answer questions?
Were they prepared for questions that should have been obvious?

General Requirements for Written Work: Your paper must be typed and must meet the
description of the requirements for the assignment including page length minimums and
maximums. Your paper must evidence good writing, including correct grammar and spelling,
good organization, inclusion of an introduction and a conclusion, and proper reference of source
materials. When applicable, footnotes or a bibliography (with sources indexed in the text of the
paper) must be included. When you have used the ideas or words of another author in your paper,
you must properly quote and reference the other author.
Using Your Prior Work, Referencing the Work of Others: To properly give credit to an author
for his/her ideas or words in your writing, you must either include footnotes or prepare a
bibliography of resources (internally referenced in the text) that you used to prepare the paper.
Failure to give credit to others for their ideas, including proper use of quotation marks and
references, and copy and paste from the Internet without proper attribution, are viewed as
plagiarism, may infringe copyrights and will be addressed as academic dishonesty. Turning in
prior work of your own or other students and turning in substantially the same paper in two
classes, without advance approval and appropriate disclosure, are also issues of academic
dishonesty. Your instructor may require you to turn in written work through Turnitin or another
online submission system that helps identify academic dishonesty, plagiarism and copyright
infringement. Additional explanation and instructions will be provided to you in advance of any
requirement to use Turnitin or another online submission system.
Case Reports: Your group will be responsible for preparing a short (1 page maximum) report
(brief ) for the cases you are not presenting. Briefs will be due by 8AM on the Monday of the
week the case is being discussed in class. E-mail submission is required. Late submissions will
not be accepted. Each brief will be graded on a 5 point scale. The group presenting the case to the
class does not need to prepare a brief for the case they will present. Briefs should not be written
in the form of bullet points. Each brief must detail:
a.
b.

Identification of THE problem being solved.

Your recommendation based on (a.) above.

Note- if you prefer (or if your schedule requires it) you may prepare briefs individually. You must
make your instructor aware of your decision to prepare briefs individually before the first brief is
due.
Project Reports: The format of Project Report is an executive summary. Your group will be
responsible for preparing a short (1 page maximum) summary report of the project. The report
will be due by 8AM on the Monday of the week when the project is due. E-mail submission is

required. Late submissions will not be accepted. Each report will be graded on a 5 point scale.
The group presenting the project to the class does not need to prepare a report for the case they
will present. Report should not be written in the form of bullet points. Each brief must detail:
a.
b.
c.

Identification of assumptions made in your solutions

Your solutions and essential justification of your solutions.
Your recommendation based on (a.) above.

Exam: A final exam will be given in this course. The exam is closed book. A variety of question
forms will be included in the final exam: essay, short answer, problems and multiple-choice
questions may all be used.
Grading: The final course grade will be based on the following:
1. Class Participation (10% of final grade).
2. Team Case Analysis and Project Reports (six 10 point written assignments) (60% of final
grade).
3. Team Case Analysis or Project Report Presentation (one 10 point presentation) (10% of
final grade).
4. Final Exam (20% of final grade).
Maximum Points Possible in the Course:

100

Grading Scale: You may calculate an estimate of your course grade at any time during the term
by adding up the points you have received and determining if you have at least the minimum
percentage of available points to earn the applicable grade as follows:
Letter Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CF

Percentage
93 up to 100
90 up to 93
87 up to 90
83 up to 87
80 up to 83
77 up to 80
73 up to 77
70 up to 73
less than 70

OBLIGATION TO ACT PROFESSIONALLY, ETHICALLY AND HONESTLY: The

College of Business has Academic and Professional Standards which can be found at:
http://business.oregonstate.edu/about/academic-professional-standards. The Professional
Standards obligate students and other members of the College of Business Community to:
C. treat others with honesty, respect, and courtesy
D. maintain the highest levels of academic integrity
E. act in accordance with my ethical and social responsibilities
F. strive to foster a professional learning environment
G. act in a professional manner.
You may also want to consult the Universitys Statement of Expectations for Student Conduct:
http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/achon.htm.
DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION:
Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Disability Access

Services (DAS). Students with accommodations approved through DAS are responsible for
contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term
to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who
have not yet obtained approval through DAS should contact SSD immediately at 737-4098. More
information about DAS can be found at: http://ds.oregonstate.edu/home/.
This syllabus is a guide, not a contract, and therefore may be changed as necessary. If
changes are made, your instructor will announce them in class and place them on the board
and/or post them on the Blackboard website, generally at least one class in advance of the
due date for an assignment, etc.
Fall 2014
Week/
Date
Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

ASSIGNMENTS SCHEDULE
Assigned Reading/Schedule of Exams, Case Write-ups, Projects and Presentations.
Topic: Supply Chain and Operations Strategy
Assigned Reading:
1) Stalk, G., Evans, P., & Shulman, L., Competing on Capabilities: The New Rules of Corporate
Strategy, Harvard Business Review, vol. 70(2), pp. 57-69 (March 1992).
2) Iansiti, M. & Levien, R., Strategy as Ecology, Harvard Business Review, vol. 82 (1), pp. 1-10
(March 2004).
Topic: Supply Chain Consulting and Process Analysis.
Assigned Reading:
Watson, K.J., Blackstone, J.H., & Gardiner, S.C., The Evolution of a Management Philosophy: The
Theory of Constraints, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 25 (2), pp. 387-402 (2007).
Discuss the First Project Assignment: Supply network mapping (Due in Week 4).
Topic: Global Sourcing and Strategies: Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Assigned Reading:
Gottfredson, M., Puryear, R., & Phillips, S., Strategic Sourcing From Periphery to the Core, Harvard
Business Review, vol. 83(2), pp. 132-139 (February 2005).
Topic: Global sourcing and strategies: total cost of ownership (TCO) (contd from week 3)
Assigned Reading:
Case 1: Coloplast A/S - Organizational Challenges in Offshoring. Harvard Business Publishing Product
#: 908M31-PDF-ENG. Jul 25, 2008 (Analytical skills: to evaluate the appropriateness of the choice
and mode of location of production as well as to discuss the internal organizational challenges that
follow a major offshoring decision).
Team Case 1 Report Due Today; in class presentation of Case 1 by one team today.
Project 1 Report due today; in class presentation of the project by one team today.

Week 5

Discuss the Second Project Assignment Due in Week 7: Report on Operations Management
Simulation: Benihana Restaurant. Harvard Business Publishing Product # 7003-HTM-ENG
(Analytical skill: Simulation and analysis of capacity, demand rates, cycle time, and throughput in a
service operation.).
Topic: Global Logistics and Supply Network Design.
Assigned Reading:
Case 2: Solectron: From Contract Manufacturer to Global Supply Chain Integrator Graduate School of
Business, Stanford University, Case #GS24, November 2001. (Analytical skills: make-or-buy

decisions, vertical integration decisions).

Week 6

Team Case 2 Report Due Today; in class presentation of Case 2 by one team today.
Topic: Global Logistics and Supply Network Design (continued from Week 5)
Assigned Reading: Case 3: Four Star Industries Singapore - Matching Supply with Demand.
Nanyang Tech UniversityNTU001-PDF-ENG. May 05, 2012 (Analytical skills: modularity in product
design and the application of Postponement' or Delayed Differentiation' strategy. Using inventory
models to evaluate the costs and benefits of implementing postponement.)
Team Case 3 Report Due Today; in class presentation of Case 3 by one team today.

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Discuss Third Project Assignment (Due in Week 9): Supply Chain Optimization at Madurai Aavin
Milk Dairy. Case #: IMB341-PDF-ENG. July, 2012 (Analytical skills: forecasting, mixed integer linear
programming).
Topic: Service Operations Strategy: Making Supply Meet Demand in an Uncertain World
Assigned Reading:
Allmendinger, G., Lombreglia, R., Four Strategies for the Age of Smart Services, Harvard Business
Review, vol. 83(10), pp. 131-145 (October 2005).
Project 2 Report due today; in class presentation of the project by one team today.
Topic: Service Operations Strategy: Making Supply Meet Demand in an Uncertain World
(continued from Week 7).
Assigned Reading:
Womack, J., Jones, D., Lean Consumption, Harvard Business Review, vol. 83(3), pp. 58-68 (March
2005).
Topic: Supply Chain Operations in the Pacific-Rim Countries.
Assigned Reading:
Gary, P., & Pisano, Willy Shih, Does America Really Need Manufacturing? Harvard Business
Review, vol. ___, pp. ___ (March 01, 2012).
Project 3 Report due today; in class presentation of the project by one team today
Topic: Supply Chain Operations in the Pacific-Rim Countries.
Assigned Reading: Case 4: Tokyo Electron Ltd. Harvard Business Publishing Product #: 609096PDF-ENG. May 26, 2009 (Analytical skills: modularity and supply chain structure)
Team Case 4 Report Due Today; in class presentation of Case 4 by one team today.

Week
11
Final
Exam

Final exam

Last revised: November 2, 2012

Exhibit A
Description of Integrated Business Projects
Project 1: Supply Network Mapping
The students will be introduced to social network theory, concepts, and social network analysis
tools. A set of supply network data will be provided by the instructor to the students. Students
are supposed to use the software (UCINET) to map out the social network and calculate key
network measures. Most importantly, the students are required to analyze the data and report
their findings in a report. This project uses quantitative methods including network modelling to
be covered in BA561.
Project 2: Operations Management Simulation: Benihana Restaurant. Harvard Business
Publishing Product # 7003-HTM-ENG. August 2011
In this simulation, students explore the principles of operations and service management while
working through a series of challenges set during a single evening at a busy Benihana restaurant.
Customers start in the bar area for drinks and then move into the dining room where chefs prepare
the food right at the table. Each simulation challenge examines a particular aspect of the
restaurant operation beginning with the effect of batching customers from the bar into the dining
room. Other challenges examine the effect of redesigning the bar area, reducing dining time, and
boosting demand through advertising and special promotions. The final challenge requires
students to consider the lessons learned in the previous challenges to design a strategy that
maximizes utilization, throughput, and total profit for the evening. The simulation is designed to
expand on the learning objectives of the Benihana of Tokyo case study (#673057). The second
release of this popular simulation provides students with enhanced animation tools for exploring
the challenges of running a service operation and provides faculty with streamlined tools for
conducting an effective debrief.
The primary objectives of this exercise are to learn to analyze capacity, demand rates, cycle time,
and throughput in a service operation. Understand how batching strategies improve throughput
and how increasing capacity improves bottlenecks. Optimize capacity in an operation. Minimize
or eliminate demand variability (cyclical, stochastic, batch size, and service time). Optimize
multiple variables in an operation and ensure consistency in the overall strategy. This project uses
quantitative methods including linear programming to achieve mathematical optimization to be
covered in BA 555.
Project 3: Supply Chain Optimization at Madurai Aavin Milk Dairy. Case #: IMB341-PDFENG. July, 2012
The Madurai District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Ltd. also known as Madurai Aavin Milk
Dairy (MAMD) has been one of the largest dairies in the southern part of Tamil Nadu, India. One
of the major activities in the MAMD's supply chain was the procurement of milk from the
farmers and also to provide necessary technical input facility to them. The procurement was
carried out by forming village-level milk producers' cooperative societies (MPCS). The supply of
raw milk from the farmers around Madurai to Aavin is decreasing, whereas the demand is
increasing. Several strategies are explored by Aavin to meet the demand for their main product,
"premium milk." Aavin faces two challenges: 1. forecasting the demand for premium milk; and 2.
meeting the demand in an optimal manner that would maximize their profit.

The project requires use of mathematical techniques to analyze and optimize supply chain with
perishable products. Subjects covered: demand forecasting; linear programming; preferences;
process improvement; regression analysis; supply chain management.
Through this project students learn how to: 1. forecast the future demand for a product (premium
milk in this case) using regression and forecasting techniques; 2. understand the presence of
seasonality in the data and use techniques to deseasonalize the data; 3. use mixed integer linear
programming to formulate the milk supply problem to optimize profit; and 4. analyze the impact
of changes in demand and milk procurement options. This project uses quantitative methods
including linear programming, regression analysis and forecasting to be covered in BA 555.