Western Illinois University

College of Business and Technology

Supply Management: OM-531

Spring 2005

Course Overview

There is a growing interest in the impact of supply management on organizational competitiveness. The purchase of goods and services by most organizations represents a significant level of spending. For example, close to 60 percent of sales revenue goes to outside sources in the North American manufacturing sector. Even in the nonprofit and service organizations, 20-50 percent of the total budget is often spent in this area. It is obvious that in every organization there should be serious concern over value received for these funds spent and how suppliers and supply management can contribute effectively to organizational goals and strategies. The perspective taken in this course is that of general manager. The key question for the course is: What should the general manager know about suppliers and supply management to be a good general manager? This can be slightly rephrased into: How can the general manager be sure that supply contributes effectively to organizational objectives and strategy and that organizational objectives and strategy properly reflect supply inputs?

Course Objectives

My objective in this course is to add value to you. This added value consists of the following capabilities that you would apply to improving the operating system:

C                      The ability to assess the potential contribution of suppliers and effective purchasing and supply management to corporate or organizational strategy and objectives.

C                      The ability to assess the strengths and weaknesses of existing suppliers, purchasing and supply management organizations, policies and practices.

C                      The ability to identify and analyze the major decisions and problems facing managers in this area and to apply the appropriate concepts, tools and techniques in their resolution.

Course Materials

C                      The text is, Purchasing and Supply Management, by Leenders, Fearon, Flynn, and Johnson, 12th edition, published by Irwin McGraw-Hill.

C                      Cases will be used to provide real life application of the topics.

C                      From time to time you will be asked to do additional readings. The material will be made known to you at least one week before it is due.

Grading:

Project assignment

 The project involves you doing a comparative analysis of two industries on any three components of supply chain, namely, minority supplier development, environmental greening, e-commerce, total quality management, and transportation/logistics cost reduction. The basic question being - how are companies, in the industries of your choice, involving/developing their supplier network in the advancement of these components of supply chain. You may think of industries as broad as automotive, electronics, aerospace, retail, food, construction, hotel, and hospital. Based on your analysis, you should be able to comment on the future direction that may be observed in these industries regarding supply management initiatives.  However, the project needs to be approved by me.

Or, you can integrate what you have learnt in this class to a real life situation on any one of the topics given above. If you decide to follow this path, then you need to meet with me and discuss the nature of your project. The project can be customized to your likings and strengths as well as work-experience. However, you need to get the project approved by me.

By February 8, each student needs to send me one page (single space) synopsis of the project they will be working on including the two industries of their choice or the company with whom they will be working and the nature of the project. The final written report is due on April 19.

There is no page limit for the final report. You may include exhibits to present supporting material like graphs, tables, charts, and any other pertinent information to your analysis. Your emphasis should be on critical analysis rather than simply reporting. The report should be professional in all respects. The paper should be edited for grammar and spelling. It should have an executive summary of the major findings and recommendations, and a write-up that provides the details of the analyses, recommendations and results. I am interested in depth, quality, and completeness. Besides visiting the library to read the magazines, you should make good use of ABI Inform, Proquest and other data banks for literature search. (I have some good project reports from past students with me that you are free to look - and make better judgement of what is expected from you). After having written the paper, you should be an authority on this subject.

I will be happy to discuss your project with you before you start and provide whatever guidance I can during the course of the semester. The criteria for success include:

Each student will have 20-25 minutes to present their analysis of the project, followed with questions. Any student missing class during the two days when presentations are scheduled will automatically lose 10 points.

Group Case Assignment (2 students per group)

Group assignment will be two cases that you will work in groups of two students. The cases will be made known to you in the first class. The written analysis of the case will be due at the beginning of the class on which that case is scheduled to be discussed. The analysis should be typewritten. There is no page limit. However, in the past good case analyses have been typically 6-8 pages long (double space) and are accompanied with exhibits. Each group will get 15-20 minutes to present their analysis using power points. How to approach a case will be discussed in the first class. 

Group Cross questioning

For each case discussed in class, another group will be assigned the task of preparing and cross-questioning the other group(s) that present the case. At least 7 questions need to be listed. A typewritten copy of these questions has to be submitted to me before the class.

Exams

The schedule contains one take home exam. The exam will have 3-5 essay questions. You will have three weeks to finish the exam. Exam will be due on April 5.

Journal Entry

One to two page (single space) detailed entry reflecting on the topic of the week substantiated by your personal experience. The dates for journal entries are March 8 and March 29.

Class Participation and attendance

Class participation is evaluated on the individual's initiative of being the lead discussant, class discussions, and involvement in the learning process. Your participation in class will provide the basis for my judgement of your normal level of day-to-day preparation. You should be prepared in each class (assigned text and cases) to participate voluntarily and when called upon. It is your responsibility to advise me and get assistance if you are unable to participate. Behavior that is considered as disrupting the class will be marked negatively.

Regular attendance is essential. A missed class will result in a loss of five points from your class participation score. However, you can makeup for the missed class (only excused absence) by submitting a written case analysis (3-4 pages, single space) that will be assigned from the book. Missing three or more classes will result in automatic failure in the course.

Grade A = total points 450 or higher

Grade B = total points between 400 to 449.9

Grade C = total points between 350 to 399.9

Grade D = total points between 300 to 349.9

Grade F = below 300

Case Presentation and Cross-questioning Schedule

PS – Before we meet for our second class, kindly send me an email to establish our future correspondence.

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