Presentation

This topic provides a strategic view of business operations. It offers concepts, experiences, methodologies, and tools for the development of the skills and abilities necessary for an efficient management of operations and logistics.

The student will learn about and apply methodologies for capturing, assessing and selecting ideas that will contribute to continuous improvement and create a sustainable, high-impact competitive advantage in the long term.

Specific tools and methodologies will be described with the aim of aligning the strategic objectives of the organization with operations and logistics, promoting a homogeneous and consistent management of the business.

Through this material, the student acquires the knowledge and skills necessary for directing business operations and logistics through the management of all the relevant processes in the organization, developing concepts, tools, techniques and methodologies for an outstanding management.

In addition, this topic covers, in depth, the strategic vision involved in planning the supply chain, using management tools and showing the impact of their results on business.

In general, the idea is for students to attain a critical eye about the issue of Operations Management and Logistics as a strategic field within an organization, and to offer them the most adequate techniques, tools and methodologies for solving problems within this area of work.

Basic Competences

• CB6: Possess and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity to be original in the development and / or application of ideas, often in a research context.
• CB7: That students know how to apply the knowledge acquired and their ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their area of study.
• CB8: That students are able to integrate knowledge and face the complexity of making judgments based on information that, being incomplete or limited, includes reflections on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
• CB9: That students know how to communicate their conclusions and the knowledge and the reasons behind them to specialized and non-specialized audiences in a clear and unambiguous way.
• CB10: That students have the learning skills that allow them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.

General Competences

• CG1: Master and integrate techniques, instruments and management methods necessary for the development of their professional activity.
• CG2: Increase the knowledge of the management of companies and the different areas of management.
• CG4: That students know how to communicate their conclusions, present projects, results, plans, knowledge and the reasons behind them to specialized and non-specialized audiences in a clear and unambiguous way.
• CG5: That students are able to integrate their knowledge of various functional areas of the company with generally incomplete or limited information of the company environment to make decisions and solve problems in complex and multidisciplinary situations.

Specific Competences

• CE6: Understand the differential elements in the management of companies whose field of action is rapidly changing as a result of technological changes. Technological changes that alter your market, your product or forms of production / distribution or affect any functional area, shorten the life cycle of the products, generate the need to manage self-generated funds for innovation and to perform continuous technological prospective or create technological observatories.
• CE9: Understand the differences between a functional organization and processes. Management by processes.
• CE10: Know how to define a business process.
• CE11: Know the existence, applications and limitations of Information Systems for the support and control of processes.
• CE12: Understand the functional organization of the company. Interrelations between areas. Identify and understand the factors and dimensions that are part of the company at functional level and the characteristics of its administration system
• CE13: Understand the impact of ICT in business management and the competitiveness of the company.
• CE14: Knowing the existence, applications and limitations of business information systems and their impact on decision making, competitiveness and speed of reaction.
• CE30: Understand the value of logistics and management of the supply chain in the field of operations to achieve the objectives of quality, cost and service.
• CE31: Know the tools used in the design of operations to make decisions about location, processes, capacity and quality.

Transversal Competences

• CT2: Decision-making skills in changing environments due to technology.
• CT3: Know how to use ICT technologies for management and for decision making.
• CT8: Facilitate the process of student integration to the professional business world.
• CT9: Provide students with learning skills that allow them to continue studying autonomously.

Block 1. Strategic Management

Unit 1. Innovation management and knowledge in operations

• Introduction and objectives
• The innovation process
• Knowledge management
• Business transformation
• Tools, techniques and resources for innovation management

Unit 2. Strategic management of operations. Productivity and efficiency

• Introduction and objectives
• Strategic thinking
• Designing the operations strategy. Lean Management
• Strategic plan development
• Implementation of the operations strategy

Unit 3. Methodologies and principles of operations management

• Introduction and objectives
• The universal framework for operations management
• Project management methodologies
• Selection of methodologies

Block 2. Operations management

Unit 4. Definition and design of processes

• Introduction and objectives
• Management processes
• Maturity of processes

Unit 5. Tools, techniques and models for operations management

• Introduction and objectives
• Management techniques
• Management tools

Unit 6. Tools, techniques and models for operations management II

• Introduction and objectives
• More management tools
• Quality management

Block 3. The supply chain (SC)

Unit 7. Fundamentals of supply chain logistics and management

• Introduction and objectives
• SCOR Model
• New trends in operations management and logistics

Unit 8. Tactical decisions in operations

• Introduction and objectives
• Supply chain decision areas
• Acquisitions management
• Product design and production scheduling

Unit 9. Demand management and strategic procurement

• Introduction and objectives
• Demand management
• Inventory management (Just-in-Time)

Unit 10. Management systems and new technologies applied to supply chains

• Introduction and objectives
• The ERP system
• Integration of CRM, WMS and TMS systems

The different tasks and activities programmed during the semester have been developed with the goal of adapting the learning process to the different capabilities, necessities and interests of the students.

The activities included in the subject are:

• Practical cases. Will provide the student with actual business situations that will need to analyse and, after that, make decisions, evaluate the consequences and alternatives. On the other hand, practical cases can be programmed in order that the student detects relevant situations, analyzes the complementary information, makes decisions in relation to the scenario that arises and proposes solutions or indicates how to improve the starting situation as final pedagogical objective.
  
  In the weekly program you can check when they start and when they should be submitted. On the other hand, in the virtual classroom you will find all the information necessary for its development.
  
• Participation in events. These are scheduled events, every week of the academic term, such as virtual sessions.
  

Download the program

These activities are combined with the following aspects:

• Personal Study
• Tutoring. he tutoring class can be implemented through different tools and means. During the course of the subject, the teacher-tutor plans the individual tutoring on specific days for the resolution of academic-oriented doubts through “Consultation sessions”. Supplementing these sessions, students have also available the “Ask your teacher” forum through which they can formulate questions and check the corresponding answers on general aspects of the subject. Due to the very nature of the media used, there are no fixed schedules for the students.
• Mandatory on-site final exam

The hours dedicated to each activity are detailed as follows:

TRAINING ACTIVITIES	HOURS OF SUBJECT	% PRESENCE
Virtual sessions	15 hours	100%
Master classes	4 hours	0
Personal study of basic material	60 hours	0
Reading of complimentary material	32 hours	0
Realization of practical cases and self-evaluation tests	45 hours	0
Tutoring	16 hours	10 %
Collaborative work (forums and/or discussion groups)	7 hours	0
Final on-site exam	1 hour	100%
Total	180 hours	-

You can personalize your study plan choosing the type of activity that best matches your profile. The tutor will advise you and help you elaborate your study plan. S/he will always be available to guide throughout the course.

Basic bibliography

The section Basic Bibliography is essential for the course. If any document (reading, article,…) is not available in the virtual classroom, you will have to find it by other means: UNIR bookshop, virtual library…

The necessary texts for the study of this subject have been elaborated by UNIR and are available in a digital format to consult, download or print inthe virtual classroom.

Complementary bibliography

• Duhon, B. (1998). It’s all in our heads. Inform, 12(8), 8-13.
• Kaplan, R. S. y Norton, D. P. (2008). The Execution Premium. EE. UU.: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.
• Monden, Y. (1983). Toyota Production System. Industrial Engineering and Management Press: Atlanta, G. A.
• Mulet, X. (s. f.). Los beneficios de la gestión con Valor Ganado EVM [Mensaje en un blog]. Recuperado de https://elprojectmanager.com/2016/09/30/los-beneficios-de-la-gestion-con-valor-ganado-evm/.
• PMI. (2017). Guía de los fundamentos para la dirección de proyectos (guía del PMBOK) (6ª ed.). EE. UU.: Project Management Institute.
• Townsend, R. (1970). Up the Organization. Nueva York: Knopf.
• Wester, J. (s. f.). What is Kanban? [Entrada en una página web]. Recuperado de http://www.everydaykanban.com/what-is-kanban.

The evaluation system is based on the following numerical chart:

0 - 4, 9	Suspenso	(SS)
5,0 - 6,9	Aprobado	(AP)
7,0 - 8,9	Notable	(NT)
9,0 - 10	Sobresaliente	(SB)

The grade is made up of two components:

The exam is done at the end of the four-month period and is ON-SITE and COMPULSORY. It comprises the 60% of the final grade and so that the grade obtained in this exam is added to the final grade it is obligatory to PASS it.

The continuous evaluation comprises the 40% of the final grade. This 40% of the final grade consists of the grades obtained in the different training activities carried out during the four-month period.

EVALUATION SYSTEM	WEIGHTING min - max
Student participation (sessions, forums)	0% - 40%
Study cases	0% - 40%
Self-evaluation test	0% - 40%
On-site final exam	60% - 60%

Zbigniew J. Traczyk

Academic background: He holds a master’s degree in electronics engineering, MBA from Henley Business School (U.K.) and a master certificate in project management from the George Washington University. He graduated from the PMI Leadership Institute Masters Class in 2008.

Mr. Traczyk is an IBM-certified senior professional and a PMI volunteer leader for the past 12 years. From 2007 to 2010, he served as a PMI mentor in the EMEA region. Between 2005 and 2006, he was a member of PMI Ethics Standard Development Team, contributing to the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Professional experience: Zbigniew J. Traczyk has over 25 years of experience in operations, project, program and portfolio management. He is current leading Global Technology Services delivery operations at IBM in 15 countries with team over 1000 professionals. Mr. Traczyk is a recognized operations management instructor at Warsaw Business School for past 10 years. In his professional career, Mr. Traczyk has managed many complex international projects in the financial, telecommunications and public sectors.

Research lines: Mr. Traczyk provided leadership on PMI Community Transformation Project in 2005 and 2006. He took a leadership role in strategic alignment scorecard development and contributed to the chapter-with-branches model, leading the first pilot implementation. He was a founder of the PMI Warsaw Poland Chapter and served as the chapter president, 2003–2006. During his term, the chapter was recognized in 2005 with PMI awards for chapter of the year and collaboration. In 2008 he supported PMI Research Conference. Mr. Traczyk contributed to numerous PMI Leadership Institute Meetings in EMEA and North America.

Studying online means you can organize your study as you wish, as long as you meet the due dates of the different assignments (activities, tasks and tests). In order to help you, we propose the following steps:

1. From our online platform you will have access to each of the subjects you are enrolled. Apart from this, you can access to the Aula de información general. In this section, you have available all the documents on how to use the different tools included in the virtual classroom, how a subject is organized in UNIR. Remember that you will also have the possibility to organize your study plan with the tutor.
   
2. Do not forget to check the weekly program. You will see which part of the content of the course you have to work on every week and when you should start preparing the case.
3. After knowing your work for the week, go to Units in your virtual classroom. There, you will have access to the study material (theory and practice) from the unit you need to study throughout the week.
   
4. Begin with the reading of the Key ideas of the unit, they constitute the content of the unit and the basic material of study. Check also the In deep section which contains supplementary material.
   
5. Take time to complete the Practical Practical Cases and Test. In the subject Program we will detail when you can develop them.
   
6. We strongly recommend to take part in the events of the course (On-site virtual classes). To know the exact date for each one of these events you must visit the communication media on the Virtual Classroom. Your teacher and your tutor will inform of the subjects news.
   

Please, take into account the following tips…

• Whatever you study plan is, go often to the virtual classroom so that you are always up to date about the course and you are in contact with your teacher and your tutor.
  
• Remember you are not alone: send an email to your tutor if you have any doubt. If you attend the online classes, you can also ask your teacher about the contents of the unit. Also, you can always write your doubts and questions about the contents in the Forum of each subject (Ask the teacher).
  
• And, remember, you are studying online: your effort and perseverance are the key element to obtain good results. Don’t leave everything to the last minute!!!