GLOBAL SUPPLY MANAGEMENT
Faculty
The Team Leader for the Global Supply Chain Concentration is Wendell Gilland, Wendell_Gilland@unc.edu (919)-962-8465 and the GSCM Administrative Assistant is Erin Rimmer, (919) 962-3217.
Faculty members associated with the concentration include: Jack Evans, Noel Greis, Morgan Jones, Eda Kemahlioglu-Ziya, Saravanan Kesavan, Ann Marucheck, Arv Malhotra, Adam Mersereau, Alan Neebe, Ali Parlakturk, Brad Staats, Jay Swaminathan, Harvey Wagner and Clay Whybark.
Concentration
GSCM students must complete a total of six (6) courses, of which at least 1 course from each of the four clusters must be selected:
1) Supply Chain and Operations Management Cluster covers the strategic capabilities afforded by the integration with customers and suppliers.
MBA 708 - Service Operations Management - Ali Parlakturk
The service sector is responsible for approximately 75% of the gross domestic product, and 80% of the jobs in the United States. Given the ever-increasing role of services in the American as well as world economies, it is important for a manager to understand both how services differ from manufacturing operations and how traditional operations management techniques can be applied to services. Service providers face high demand variability with significant number of customer contacts but without the ability to “store” service in advance of demand. How can a company achieve operational competitiveness in this context? What are the tools to analyze service operations? In this course we will examine different answers to these questions. Among the topics covered are: demand management, capacity management, management of service quality, design of service delivery systems and processes and the evaluation of service productivity. The course will examine settings in healthcare, financial services, retail environments, and transportation services among others. We shall illustrate conceptual and analytical frameworks through lectures, case studies, and in-class discussion.
MBA 709A - Operations Strategy - Brad Staats
This course examines how organizations can use their operations to build a competitive advantage. In today’s increasingly global and competitive environment the operational choices a firm makes are a critical part of its strategy and eventual success or failure – whether the company owns or outsources its actual operations. Operations are not just a source of cost, or even a value-add to the core part of the business, but rather they can and should be a primary competitive weapon. This course seeks to answer three related questions:
1. How do you evaluate an operations strategy?
2. How can an organization improve its operations?
3. How can an organization build operational capabilities that create a competitive advantage?
This class will be highly interactive consisting of active case discussions each day that will be supplemented with short lectures when appropriate. We will examine companies around the world and across different industries (e.g., manufacturing, quick service retail, banking, software services, wine making, etc.) An organization’s operation strategy is distinct, but not independent of, its other strategic choices. Therefore, this course will build not only on the core operations course, but also on the work you have completed in other areas such as strategy, accounting, and organizational behavior.
This class is appropriate for individuals going into operating roles, general management roles, and consulting. The study of how operations can drive a firm’s overall success (or failure) and how operations interacts with other functional areas are important lessons for all MBA students.
MBA 711 - Supply Chain Management - Eda Kemahlioglu-Ziya
Increase in product variety and customization in the past few years have posed challenges to firms in terms of delivering products to customers faster and in a more efficient manner. With the prevalence of the usage of the Internet for business, electronic business transformations are occurring in every business. One of the fundamental enablers for electronic commerce is effective supply chain management. Thus, supply chain management has become the focus of attention of senior management in the industry today.
This course considers management of a supply chain in a global environment from a managerial perspective. The focus is on analysis, management and improvement of supply chain processes and their adaptation to the electronic business environment. The course is divided into six related modules, namely, Inventory and Information Management, Distribution and Transportation, Global Operations, Supplier Management, Management of Product Variety and Electronic Supply Chains. Several new concepts including Prognostic Supply Chains, Build-to-Order, Collaborative Forecasting, Delayed Differentiation, Cross Docking, Global Outsourcing and Efficient Consumer Response will be discussed. The course will focus on traditional supply chain concepts and also introduce students to changes in supply chain management practices due to emergence of the Internet. Analytical and simulation approaches utilized in industry will also be introduced. At the end of the course a student will have the necessary tools and metrics to evaluate a current supply chain and recommend design changes to supply chain processes.
2) The Modeling Cluster covers the decision-aiding and analytic tools for the optimization of material, information, and financial flows necessary to effectively coordinate business activities that are geographically dispersed.
MBA 701 - Management Science Models - Alan Neebe
This course provides an introduction to the concepts and methods of Management Science, which involves the application of mathematical modeling and analysis to practical management problems. Emphasis is given to model formulation, sensitivity analysis, and interpretation of computer output, rather than to the details of the solution methodology. Both deterministic and probabilistic models are discussed. The course covers problems in resource allocation, project management, transportation and supply chain logistics, crew scheduling, facility location and design, and nutrition, amongst many others. The course introduces some of the more important mathematical optimization techniques, including linear, integer, goal and dynamic programming. Extensive use is made of the Premium Excel Solver, Crystal Ball, and Microsoft Project. Course grades are based on Excel applications, a group project, and a final quiz.
MBA 705 - Operations Management Models - Wendall Gilland
The purpose of this course is to develop your skills in a number of different modeling techniques that are used to guide decision-making in the field of Operations Management. I hope to enhance your ability to both build models and interpret the output of these decision tools. Although the emphasis of this course is on operations, the tools that we will discuss have practical applications in a wide variety of functional areas, including marketing, finance and human resource management. The objective is not to create expert mathematicians; we will discuss the theoretical underpinnings of these techniques only as needed. Rather, the emphasis is on assessing the applicability of these tools in practical situations.
3) Global Management Cluster addresses the inherently global nature of supply chain management in today’s business environment.
MBA 741G - Global Marketing - Jan-Benedict Steenkamp
This course examines specific issues involved in developing and executing marketing strategies on a global scale as opposed to a domestic scale. The course is intended to provide a thorough understanding of global marketing strategies, including: 1.) fundamental trends underlying convergence of world markets; 2.) pitfalls and challenges of entering other countries; 3.) ways to design effective global marketing strategies; 4.) key hurdles to the implementation of global marketing strategies; and 5.) in-depth understanding of the important and unique role emerging markets play in global marketing strategies. This course will help you achieve your career goals as you work - as virtually all of you will - in or with companies that are active in the international marketplace as well as domestic companies who face active international competitors.
MBA 806 - Global Context of Business - Peter Brews
The twin shock of globalization and the shift from industrial to post industrial business is altering the rules of competition and competitiveness worldwide, and Global Context provides insights into how these forces are impacting organizations, managers, and individuals alike. First, a framework that describes the current state of the global political economy, and which traces the evolution of the world economy from pre to post industrial production, will be presented. Then insights into the forces which have caused the globalization of products, markets, consumers, and competition over the past fifty years or so will be provided, and the business implications of these forces at the individual, firm, and nation state levels will considered. Here, the major challenges confronting organizations as they seek to enter and/or operate in the multiple business environments that characterize the global economy today will be considered, exposing participants to some conceptual models and analytical approaches considered appropriate for problem solving and decision making in the global context. The course will conclude with consideration of nation building and the policies nation states might adopt in the face of global competition.
The course provides insights into what it will take to remain competitive in the rapidly changing and hyper-competitive global economy of the early 21st Century. How nations, organizations, and individuals in both developed and developing countries should react to emerging global trends is the core underlying theme of the course.
MBA 870 - Global Immersion Elective
The Global Immersion Electives (GIEs) provide students in the MBA and Executive MBA Programs at Kenan-Flagler with an opportunity to engage in short-term experiential learning abroad for academic credit. There are seven different Global Immersion Electives offered, each of which combine relevant and timely international business issues with nuts-and-bolts discussions of how to do business in targeted countries or regions; the Electives highlight some of the most dynamic economies in the world. Depending on the expertise of the lead faculty member, an Immersion Elective may also place a secondary focus on a specific industry or functional area.
MBA 886 - MBA Exchange
The Office of International Programs (OIP) administers the MBA Exchange Program. Through this program, UNC Kenan-Flagler MBAs are given the opportunity to study at another top-ranked business school around the world. UNC Kenan-Flagler has exchange relationships with over 40 of the highest-ranked business schools in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.
4) Application Cluster covers areas such as project management, new product development, knowledge and innovation management, sustainability, quality, e-operations and other best practices.
MBA 708A - Retail Operations - Saravanan Kesavan
Retailing is not only a link in the supply chain, but also an important industry to study for a number of reasons. This industry, more than any other, is at the forefront of business changes since it directly connects with the consumer and generates demand for the rest of the economy. It is an intensely dynamic industry, with continuous changes in marketing channels, technology, and sourcing. It has gone through remarkable developments through history, and has often been an incubator for new business concepts. Currently, retailing is leading economic growth and transformation in emerging markets around the world, both through global sourcing and global marketing. In the US, retailing comprises 40% of the economy, and is the largest employer.
This course will examine various new developments in retailing and the application of operations management principles to these developments. The topics covered in the course include consumer behavior, demand forecasting, logistics and distribution, store execution, international retailing, internet-based retailing, performance assessment, and impact on financial performance. Case studies cover major US retailers such as Home-Depot, Amazon.com, Borders etc.
This course is highly recommended for students interested in careers in
- Retailing and supply chain management
- Businesses like banking, consulting, and information technology that provide services to retail firms
- Manufacturing companies that sell their products through retail firms
Even if you don’t expect to work for a retailer, this course can be useful to you in two ways. First, because retailers are such dominant players in many supply chains today, it is important that the processes they follow be understood by manufacturers and distributors, or by the consultants and bankers that service retailers and their suppliers. Second, the problems retailers face (e.g., making data accessible, interpreting large amounts of data, reducing lead-times, eliciting the best efforts from employees, etc.), are shared by firms in many other industries. It’s easier to understand these issues through case studies in retailing because we all experience the industry as consumers and can readily relate to chronic problems such as stock outs and markdowns.
MBA 710 - Project Management - Brad Staats
Most MBA graduates will spend a significant portion of their career taking part in and leading projects. The use of projects in organizations is only increasing. In many areas, ranging from consulting and investment banking to product development and service delivery, organizations deliver their primary output through projects. In other organizations projects are used to implement strategic decisions. Also, projects provide an opportunity for high-potential individuals to hone and prove their capability prior to taking on the responsibility of managing a larger business.
While every project has its unique components, in many ways projects in organizations are quite similar. It is these commonalities that permit us to explore project management generally. In this course we will examine a range of contexts – e.g., outsourcing, product development, geographic expansion, construction, merger integration – to help students become familiar with the tools and concepts of project management.
The objective of this course is to prepare students so that they have the ability to effectively take part in and lead projects. The goal is to equip individuals across any career concentration, rather than extend the expertise of project-management specialists. Therefore, this class will be highly interactive consisting of active case discussions each day that will be supplemented with short lectures when appropriate. We will cover both quantitative and qualitative aspects of project management.
The course will have four modules:
· Tools of Project Management
· Managing Complex and Dynamic Projects
· Managing Internal and External Relationships
· Your Career in Project Management
MBA 721A - Managing Innovation Processes and Performance in Organizations - Arvind Malhotra
This course is intended to introduce you to management models and make you think deeply about how to manage innovations in the 21st century organizations, especially in an economically challenging environment. The objective is to examine how the most innovative organizations around the globe excel at exploring, executing, and exploiting innovations with an eye towards superior performance. The major topics in the course include: cultivating a culture for innovation, instilling appropriate structures to foster innovation, leveraging creative human capital, and designing “open” innovation processes. We will look at innovation from both intra- as well as extra-organizational perspective. The aim is to help you as managers lead your organizations and people within to continuously develop and commercialize innovations. The course is pertinent for general managers, consultants, marketing managers as well as operations managers.
MBA 754A - Innovation and Product Development - Barry Bayus
By emphasizing the "fuzzy front-end" of the development process, New Product Development will address the following questions. How can the inspiration for new products be managed? How are new products developed? How can the voice-of-the-customer be "heard" and then "translated" into customer requirements, product specifications, and product prototypes? How can product design be used to enhance the customer value proposition?
We emphasize that an understanding and appreciation of the interaction between marketing, design, and engineering is necessary to develop successful new products. Key concepts will be learned via team and individual assignments, as well as case studies. Several in-class interactive exercises will also be used to vividly demonstrate these concepts.
Two (2) additional electives courses can be taken from any of the above cluster courses and/or from the following list of other related
GSCM Concentration electives:
MBA 743 - Customer Relationship Management
MBA 748A - Marketing Analytics
MBA 751 - Services Marketing
MBA 753B - Retail and Channel Management
MBA 760 - Pricing
MBA 780 - Applied Corporate Finance
MBA 796 - Global Financial Markets
MBA 815 - Sustainable Enterprise
MBA 822 - Negotiations
MBA 826B - Consulting Skills and Framework
Note: The list of cluster and elective courses is constantly evolving to reflect the needs of the business marketplace and latest developments. For this reason, the students are encourage to keep in constant contact with the concentration leader and faculty members teaching in the GSCM Concentration to learn about the newest course offerings that may be taken as electives.
Copyright 1995-2006 by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for its Kenan-Flagler Business School. All rights reserved