INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN

This is a survey course in Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) that focuses on design, planning, coordination, and improvement of operations and supply chain management. The key objectives of the course are to help students think critically about the ways in which operational and supply chain concepts are fundamental to the overall functioning of the business and to provide an operations “vocabulary” for students to carry forward into the rest of their studies and beyond. During the course linkages between operations and other business functions (particularly, finance, accounting, marketing, and information technology) will be stressed. With increasing competition around the globe, supply chain management is both a challenge and an opportunity for companies. Hence a strong understanding of supply chain management concepts and the ability to recommend improvements should be in the toolbox of all managers. The objective of this course is to introduce the students to the key concepts and techniques that will allow them to analyze, manage and improve supply chain processes for different industries and markets. At completion of this course, the students will have the skills to assess supply chain performance and make recommendations to increase supply chain competitiveness.

This is a survey course in Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) that focuses on design, planning, coordination, and improvement of operations and supply chain management. No specific knowledge is required to successfully follow the course and to be able to pass the exam but basic knowledge (undergraduate level) of business management is required.

Knowledge and understanding: This course is intended to provide students both with knowledge and understanding of OSCM theories as well as the capability to use this knowledge in actual decision-making related to operational and managerial problems. The course is structured to develop know-how and skills that allow students to elaborate and employ original ideas in complex contexts of analysis. Knowledge and understanding acquired by students will be evaluated through teamwork mid-term assignments and an individual final written exam. Applying knowledge and understanding: Classes involve a combination of traditional lectures, presentations and discussion of case studies in the OSCM domain. The course is highly interactive and aims at challenging students with exercises and cases based on real managerial problems. Case study discussions are critical to the completion of the course as they give students the opportunity to apply the constructs in real-file situations. Active class discussion is also encouraged and a mid-term teamwork assignment will be proposed to check the learning outcomes. This ability will be also evaluated with the final exam. Making judgements: The course aims at providing students with the ability to deal with complex OSCM problems autonomously. The course has strong emphasis on providing analytical skills, critical thinking, and managerial insights. The topics will be tested according to three main areas: Supply chain strategy (strategic fit, network design, global dual sourcing); Integrating relationships across the global supply chain (sales & operations planning, logistics management); Managing change in supply chain operations (sustainability and project management). Communication skills: Communication skills will be trained through continuous interaction between the students and the teacher as well as among the students themselves. To this end, students are expected to make presentations during classes both individually and in team (e.g. presentation and analysis of teaching cases, data, documents provided by the teacher). The goal is to stimulate students’ ability to communicate in front of an audience and boost their familiarity with communication techniques and tools. Learning skills: With increasing competition around the globe, supply chain management is both a challenge and an opportunity for companies. Thus, a critical goal of this course is to enable the understanding of this double face of supply chain management. Students are required to prepare materials and readings before the classes and discuss them with the teacher. This learning approach aims at fostering the students’ participation and engagement. These skills will be evaluated in-class discussions and during the final exam.

The course addresses the following topics: 1. Introduction to Operations & Supply Chain Management (OSCM) 2. Operations and Supply Chain Strategy 3. Sourcing and supply base management 4. Procurement management 5. Manufacturing and service process structure 6. Managing processes and capacity 7. Inventory management 8. Material Requirement Planning 9. Lean systems 10. Distribution Networks and Supply Chain Resilience 11. Sustainability in global supply chains: the triple-bottom line 12. Sustaining supply chains during crisis On successful completion of this course, students will be able to: - Understand the elements of the supply chain - Critically explain the main approaches to supply chain management - Critically understand the links between corporate strategy and supply chain design - Understand the basic process of demand and production planning - Understand the performance metrics of the supply chain - Identify the critical aspects of sustainability in supply chain management contexts

“Managing Operations Across the Supply Chain”, by Swink et al., 4th Ed., pub by McGraw-Hill, 2020.

Lectures will follow and expand the main topics presented in the book. The book will be integrated by the slides that will be available to students. Every lecture will present a mix of theory and business cases. The cases will illustrate real case examples of the theoretical concepts discussed in the class. The theoretical classes will allow students to improve their knowledge and understanding of the international business environment and of the main tools that managers can use to implement international strategies. The discussions of the assignments will allow students to apply this knowledge working autonomously and developing their skill to make judgments and to take decisions. Finally students, working in small groups, will have the opportunity to present in class one case study in order to develop their communication abilities. Good presentation will receive extra points on the final grade.

Compliant students Students who actively participate in at least 70% of classes, as recorded through the BEACON system, will be considered compliant students. For compliant students, the final grade will be based on continuous assessment and an individual final exam. Continuous assessment — 1/3 of the final grade The continuous assessment will consist of a group project on operations and/or supply chain management topics, with particular attention to sustainability and supply chain transformation. Students will be required to prepare and present their analysis in class. The assessment will consider the quality of the analysis, the appropriate use of course concepts, the robustness of managerial recommendations, the clarity of the presentation and the ability to discuss implications critically. Final exam — 2/3 of the final grade The final exam is an individual written exam including open-ended questions, short analytical exercises, and/or case-based questions. The exam will cover lectures, slides, case discussions, assigned readings, and the textbook chapters indicated in the syllabus. The combination of continuous assessment and final exam applies only to the examination session immediately following the semester in which the course is taught. In subsequent examination sessions (retake), the assessment will be based on a final exam accounting for 100% of the grade. The grade obtained cannot be rejected. Students exempted from attendance requirements or not compliant with the attendance threshold Students exempted from attendance requirements according to LUISS rules, as well as students who do not meet the 70% attendance threshold, will be assessed through an individual written final exam accounting for 100% of the final grade. The exam will include open-ended questions and/or exercises and will cover the full instructional load indicated in the syllabus, including the textbook chapters and additional readings listed for non-compliant/exempted students in Luisslearn.

Students are normally expected to have achieved a very strong performance in the course, preferably above 29/30, and to submit a well-developed thesis proposal. Two types of thesis projects will be evaluated: 1. Projects suggested by the students, which must be empirical 2. Projects that the professor is pursuing or running, for which some datasets or information are available for the students in the area of operations and supply chain management (including sustainability and digital transformation).