Technology and Operations Strategy Summer 2013

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1 Technology and Operations Strategy Summer 2013 Instructors: Nelson M ) and Medini R Summary This course focuses on the roles technology & operations play in the development and implementation of strategy. In the core Strategy Formulation course, you learned about the foundations of corporate success and how managers can devise a set of actions (the strategy) to achieve a competitive edge. Strategy development, at a fundamental level, is to identify an effective match between a firm s distinctive capabilities and selected markets. This course takes a new look at strategy formulation/implementation: we will focus on a firm s key operational and technological decisions (e.g., processes, capacities, technologies, process improvement, project management, supply chains) in order to understand how effective the firm s resulting operational capabilities (e.g., cost, quality, flexibility, delivery) match the markets it strives to serve. Conversely, we will also consider how to translate a business strategy into a set of actions and how these actions can be measured and supported for continuous improvements. However, given shifting market trends and evolving industry dynamics, a short term match between capabilities and current markets does not necessarily imply a sustainable competitive advantage. What operational and technological capabilities a firm chooses to develop can have a profound impact on its strategic options in the future. In other words, strategic operational decisions made today will determine the firm s operational capabilities tomorrow which in turn influence its business strategy in the future. Consequently, we will also try to emphasize the long term impact of strategic operational and technological decisions.

2 One of the main deliverables in the course is a group project that will be done in conjunction with a New York based entrepreneurial organization. In addition there will be guest speakers. Faculty: Nelson M. is Professor of Professional Practice and Director of the W. Edwards Deming Center. Professor joined Columbia Business School in He is a professor of practice in the Decision, Risk, and Operations division and is director of the W. Edwards Deming Center for Quality, Productivity and Competitiveness. He teaches the core Operations Management and Strategy course. He is also the Faculty director of ECLA (Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Latin America), a program for Latin American entrepreneurs who aim to be successful across borders. Prior to Columbia Business School he spent seventeen years in industry and consulting. His last job was with International Paper where he was chief technology officer for eight manufacturing divisions. His current research centers on entrepreneurship and process improvement. He has written cases on operational excellence on the Ritz Carlton Hotel and the supply chain strategies of Zara and Mango. He has also conducted executive education programs in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Professor holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, an M.S., M.B.A., and a Ph.D., all from Columbia University. Medini R. comes to Columbia from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. At Tuck, taught the MBA core course in operations management for the last six years. He has also taught MBA electives on time-based competition and simulation modeling. has also taught in the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he won the 1991 Teacher of the Year Award. His research interests are in the areas of modeling, analysis and optimization of manufacturing and service systems. His current research focuses on the impact of demand and supply

3 uncertainties on the performance of supply chains. has published numerous articles on the impact of yield, demand and supply uncertainties on the performance of manufacturing systems. He has also consulted for several Fortune 500 comp anies. His PhD is from Carnegie Mellon University. Group Project Part of this course will be a hands-on laboratory in which firm sponsor projects that will be attacked by student teams under the guidance of experienced professors. The course is part of the Business School s strategic thrust to better bridge the gap between theory and practice. The course will emphasize the process of creating actionable recommendations on issues faced by the sponsoring firms. As part of the course you will be assigned to work in a group project with a specific New York entrepreneurial organization. The idea is that you conduct a technological and operational assessment of your firm and suggest what type of strategies your company could use to improve on. Project sponsors will work intimately with the student teams throughout the term. There will be ongoing mentoring and guidance of the project teams by the professors throughout the semester and teams will debrief to each other at several stages of their projects. Project teams will also have ongoing interactions with the project sponsors, access to company data and personnel during the course of the project. Teams will be required to give a formal, in person briefing to senior management of sponsoring firms. Appropriate project confidentiality will be respected. Project Deliverables: Teams will provide an action oriented project report to their client in the form of a Word document (not more than 7 pages in length) in addition to a PowerPoint deck with supporting exhibits as needed. This is to be a self-contained, fully documented description of the team s analysis and recommendations. Teams will also give a formal in-person briefing, first in class and then to the senior management of the client.

4 Project Presentation: You should meet with your assigned company, as informed, during May and early June to understand the firm, its strategy and the technologies that the company is using/developing to achieve its goals. On Saturday, 15 th of June you will have 7-10 minutes to present your findings. There will be a brief Q&A afterwards. Project Report: As part of the final project you will have to suggest strategies that your firm could implement to improve the company s performance. Please note that your report should include: 1. Brief description of the company 2. Strategy 3. Existing operating and technology strategies 4. Suggested operations and technology strategies 5. Expected impact The deadline for submitting your project report is Tuesday, August 20, 2013 Grading: Your grade in the course will be based on your individual as well as group efforts and performance. Your performance will be judged through a variety of mechanisms that will enable us to assess your understanding of the tools and concepts covered your ability to synthesize, integrate, and apply them, and your contributions to the class's learning experience. Thus, in determining your course grade, we will use the following grading scheme to help us judge your performance: Class Participation 30% Project Presentation 10% Take home final examination (by August 27, 2013) 30% Project (by August 20, 2013) 30%

5 Session Number Date Topic Professor 1 18 May Operations and Technology Strategies Karim Chaiblaine 2 1 June 3 8 June Meeting with Sponsors Examples of operations and technology strategies Affimilk Shouldice Hospital Smarter operations: Alex Knaani 4 15 June Project Feedback Wriston Manufacturing / 5 22 June 6 29 June 12:30-3:30 PM DuPont Technology at Accenture: Javier Vergara Social Media: Cecilia Pineda 7 13 July 12:30-3:30 PM Detroit Motors Eli Lilly 8 20 July Flextronics Benetton 9 27 July 12:30-3:30 PM Bharti 10 3 Aug Aug Aug Aravind Zara Project Presentations Disruptive Technologies

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