Graduate Program

Course Syllabus: BA640, Operations and

Technology Management

Course Description

This course will provide students with knowledge and application of business
technologies in support of key operational management areas such as planning and
execution. Learners will be exposed to key technologies such as ERP (SAP) and
latest tools and techniques for achieving increased process integration, flexibility
and agility. This course will utilize a combination of management case studies in
conjunction with hands-on and team-oriented exercises to enable learners to
employ emerging technologies to improve operational effectiveness.

Teaching Methods

Lectures are based on material covered in the two reference books (IT Strategy in
Action, McKeen/Smith and Operations Strategy, Beckman/Rosenfield). Management
case discussions will be based on articles from leading business publications such
as Harvard Business Review and latest research reports and articles published on
the web.

Course Objectives

- Analyze and evaluate latest operations and IT strategic frameworks

- Compare and contrast latest information system and operations management
practices
- Assess risk levels of various operations and IT strategic frameworks
- Identify opportunities for application of IT tools and techniques for achieving
operations excellence
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- Evaluate effectiveness of an organization’s operations and information

management practices

PREREQUISITES:
None.

Course Text and Readings

McKeen, J.D., & Smith, H.A. (2008). IT Strategy in Action. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson – Prentice Hall, ISBN 13: 978-0-13-603631-9.

Beckman, S.L., & Rosenfield, D.B. (2008). Operation Strategy: Competing in the 21st
Century. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, ISBN: 978-0-07-250078-3.

Additional, required readings accompany assignments. Required readings are so

designated because they are most closely aligned to specific tasks in the assignments.
However, you are expected to explore other readings readily available in Arcadia’s
electronic library as well as other sources. You will also receive mailings from the
instructor throughout the class

Contact Information

Office telephone = NA Cell phone = 610-291-6643

email = hejazisa@arcadia.edu Office = 610-360-9011
Office hours: call for appointment

The most direct way to contact me is via email at the above address. If you wish to
speak to me via telephone, the easiest way to arrange this is to send me an email
message and we will set up an appointment.

I will also be holding online office hours once a week via the chat service provided by
BlackBoard. The hour will be 7 p.m. eastern time each Sunday afternoon.

School Cancellation Information: KYW – Day#338, Eve#2338

Email and Blackboard

We will be using Arcadia e-mail and Blackboard (BB). Make certain your account is
active and accessible. Check it routinely for announcements, course information,
etc.
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About your Instructor:

Sara Hejazi is a process improvement specialist with a distinguished 25 year career working
for pharmaceutical, financial, manufacturing, and non-profit companies. She is a
Six Sigma black belt and currently focused on operation improvement and
project delivery. Ms. Hejazi is in process of completing her Ph.D. studies at
Nova Southeastern University. She earned her Bachelor of Science in
Management Information System from St. Joseph’s University and her Master of
Science in System Engineering from Penn State University. Ms. Hejazi is a long
time resident of Greater Philadelphia area.

Competency Assessment

You will have several opportunities to demonstrate your competence in this course. The
following describes the assignments required for completion of the course.

There are four types of assignments you will do in this course: discussion forum
contributions, analysis of a current operation management, current paper review,
and a team project with a term journal. A description of each assignment type
follows. Be sure to include a cover page that includes the title of the document,
assignment title, the student's name, e-mail address, and date of submission.

The course schedule provides specific due dates for all assignments.

Assignment: Discussion Forum Contribution

1) A total of 60 points can be earned in this assignment. Twenty (20) points

is given for each of the three (3) topics.
2) Three general discussion topic areas will be available in the BB class
area. Each discussion topic area will be open for 2 weeks; all
contributions to that discussion topic must be made during that period.
3) Points will be awarded for contributions as follows:
a) Contributing to a discussion thread based upon
1) Streng
th of insight of the contributions
2) Suppo
rt from the literature
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3) Postin
gs over time
4) You
may make as many entries to a discussion topic area as desired
during the period in which that topic area is open for
contributions.
4) Use the Reply function when replying or commenting on a specific
posting
5) All contributions must be made in the class discussion pages under the
topic Discussion 1, 2, or 3 as appropriate within the specified time the
forum is open. Postings before and after the dates above will not be
counted.
6) Do not post forum comments anywhere else except on the BB
discussion pages, they will not be counted.

At least one substantial posting per week is the standard for maximum
credit.

Discussion Topic 1: Operations strategy

Discussion Topic 2: IT planning and operational enhancements

Discussion Topic 3: Operational leadership

Discussion Schedule
Task Open Date Close Date
Discussion 1 TBD TBD
Discussion 2 TBD TBD
Discussion 3 TBD TBD

I Assignment: Company Selection and Process

This exercise is has a value of 40 points. In it a Company/Case Study will be assigned to
each student to be analyzed. An analysis of the assigned Company is to be made and the
results presented in a paper submitted to the proper BB assignment box.

II Current paper review

One (1) reviewed paper contribution constitutes a total of 40 points for the term.

Post your article review in the Assignment: Article Review.

Read through the article carefully and write a report that addresses the following contents in
the article:

1. Problem addressed:
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Introduce the reader to the area of research and explain what the main research problem is
addressed in the article. What is the problem statement? A specific statement of the
problem is necessary.

2. Prior research:
Briefly discuss the body of literature that the authors used to motivate the research.
Summarize what the authors provide as justification for their study. You will need to review
some of the key articles referenced by the authors. Identify any shortcomings in the prior
literature that the selected article addresses. Perform a literature search to determine if
there are any relevant articles that have not been cited by the authors. Remember, articles
published after or around the same time may not have been available to the authors, since
publication lag is at least a year.

3. Methodology:
Discuss the methodology used for the study. You will need to determine the type of study
that the paper is reporting on. For example is it an experimental study. If so what were the
experimental parameters and design used. Explain whether you think that the methodology
used is an appropriate one (cite references where relevant). Identify possible problems with
the methods used. For empirical work discuss the statistical models used and the sources of
data for the study. For theoretical work discuss the models and techniques used.

4. Contributions and Significance:

Summarize the significant results and contributions made by the authors.Explain why you
think that the article is significant in the field. Cite references wherever possible to establish
that there is a consensus among researchers that the problem addressed in the article is
indeed an important one.

5. Further research:
Identify possible areas in which the research can be extended. Does the article call for
further research on any specific issue? Identify limitations of the article and formulate them
as potential research questions. If relevant, you may also attach copies of any other
supporting articles.

Team Project
The fourth task for the course is to work as a team in developing a journal issue or a book
focusing on a specific topic. This task is worth 20 points.

The group will select papers from the existing literature that contribute to understanding the
area of specialization. About 8-10 papers will be sufficient unless the group feels that more
will improve the coverage of the topic, but no more than 15 in all. The group will produce the
first paper in the journal. It summarizes the topic discusses what the state of knowledge on
the topic is and how the papers included relate. It assess the current state of research in the
specific topic area and highlights areas where more research is needed.
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Term Journal
1. The Term Journal is worth 40 points for the term.

2. The journal must include the following

 Assessments of the contributions made by each of your peers to the
research team.
 A self-assessment of your contributions to the research team
 An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of this team-based
approach (what worked, what didn’t and suggestions)
 A summary of your experience
 Recommendations for future improvements
3. The paper must be submitted via the assignment submission system in BB. Acceptable
file formats for submissions are Microsoft Word.

4. As detailed in this syllabus, this assignment must be submitted no later than 11.59 PM
Philadelphia (Eastern) time on the day due.

5. Be sure to include a cover page that includes the title of the work, the student's name, e-
mail address, and date of submission.

6. As a graduate student you are expected to be proficient in the use of the English
language. Errors in grammar, spelling, or syntax will affect your grade. As your
professor, I will not provide remedial help for writing problems. If you are unable to write
clearly and correctly, I urge you to contact the program office for sources of remedial
help.
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Attendance & Participation

Active participation is required. Final grade will be based on table below.

Final Grade

100% – 94% A 93% – 0% A-

89 – 87 B+ 86%– 84% B 83% – 80% B-
79 – 77 C+ 76%– 74% C 73% – 70% C-
69 – 67 D+ 66%-64% D 63% – 60% D-
< 59 F

Course Schedule

Date Readings
Week 1: Reading assignment: (McKeen Chapter 1, Beckman Chapter 1-
date
Week 2: - Reading assignment: McKeen Chapters 2 &3, Beckman Chapters 4
date &7

Week 3: Reading assignment: Beckman chapters 2, 6 and 7, McKeen

date chapter 16
Week 4: Reading assignment: McKeen chapters 4, 6 and 7
date
Week 5: - Reading assignment: Beckman chapters 8, 9, 10 and SAP learning
date
Week 6: - Reading assignment: McKeen chapters 11, 12, 13, 14
date
Week 7: Reading assignments: McKeen chapters 17 & 18, Beckman chapter
date 11

Assignment Due Date

Term starts TBD

Discussion topic I open TBD

Discussion topic I closes TBD

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Review of the Company due TBD

Discussion topic II open TBD

Paper Review due TBD

Discussion topic II closes TBD

Discussion topic III open TBD

Discussion topic III closes TBD

Completed Team Project TBD

Term Journal TBD

Forum Contributions complete TBD

Term completed TBD

In the event that you have difficulty completing any of the assignments for this course,
please contact me immediately. My email address and telephone number are listed
above on this syllabus.

Class Policies

Editorial Format for Written Papers:

All written assignments are to follow the APA writing style guidelines for grammar,
spelling, and punctuation. Visit the following websites to www.apastyle.org and
http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm for guidelines.

Late Assignments:
VERY IMPORTANT: Any assignment received after the above, respective dates will be
graded in the same manner as all other submitted work. Once graded, however, an
automatic, one-half letter grade deduction shall apply to any late work. Absolutely, no
exceptions! If you miss one due date, start on the next assignment, and then return to
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the late assignment later in the class. If you are seriously behind in the class, apply for
an incomplete. Be sure to apply for an incomplete as early as possible.

Code of Academic Responsibility:

Each student accepts the responsibility of maintaining high standards of integrity in
his/her academic performance. It is the responsibility of all students to uphold the code
through the procedures set forth by the University as outlined in the Student Handbook.

Student Handbook: Please refer to your student handbook for all university regulations.