busm361
On Education and Character
I taught a class at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management during the Winter 2007 semester. I taught a class on Operations and Supply Chain Management. All in all, it was a decent experience. I’ve taught before, but this time around was difficult. Life is so busy now — with family, a day job, and then teaching on the side — it’s too much. I’ll be taking a well-needed break and I’m going to just focus on my new career with eBay. But, it was also difficult for another reason: I’m very dissappointed in the students’ over-emphasis on grades which, I believe, greatly impacts their ability to learn and, more importantly, their opportunity to let education shape their character and make them better human beings.
I taught a class at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management during the Winter 2007 semester. I taught a class on Operations and Supply Chain Management. All in all, it was a decent experience. I’ve taught before, but this time around was difficult. Life is so busy now — with family, a day job, and then teaching on the side — it’s too much. I’ll be taking a well-needed break and I’m going to just focus on my new career with eBay. But, it was also difficult for another reason: I’m very dissappointed in the students’ over-emphasis on grades which, I believe, greatly impacts their ability to learn and, more importantly, their opportunity to let education shape their character and make them better human beings.
YouTube’s Queueing Properties
YouTube has many intriguing queueing properties. This article will primarily look at the mpeg-to-swf conversion and study out the queueing properties of that process.
Assumptions and Data
Below is a very simple, high-level process map of the steps to upload a video on YouTube:
In summary, the user does the following:
- User uploads video
- User waits while video is uploaded
YouTube has many intriguing queueing properties. This article will primarily look at the mpeg-to-swf conversion and study out the queueing properties of that process.
Assumptions and Data
Below is a very simple, high-level process map of the steps to upload a video on YouTube:
In summary, the user does the following:
- User uploads video
- User waits while video is uploaded
Process Cycle Efficiency (PCE)
What is a Process?
A process is an systematic activity comprising of smaller activities that culminate in an outcome — service or product. A process can take up time, space, and resources. All processes can be categorized into the following categories: Value-added, Non-value added but necessary, and Non-value added.
From the Customer’s Perspective:
- Value-added: This step in the process adds form, function, and value to the end product and for the customer.
What is a Process?
A process is an systematic activity comprising of smaller activities that culminate in an outcome — service or product. A process can take up time, space, and resources. All processes can be categorized into the following categories: Value-added, Non-value added but necessary, and Non-value added.
From the Customer’s Perspective:
- Value-added: This step in the process adds form, function, and value to the end product and for the customer.
Process Measures — Productivity and Efficiency
Part of managing processes is to measure their performance. This article will discuss 2 basic process measures: Productivity and Efficiency.
Productivity
Simply, productivity is measured like this:
Productivity = Outputs / Inputs
For instance,
| Quantity | $/Unit | |
| Car X | 4000 | $8,000 |
| Car Y | 6000 | $9,500 |
| Labor Hours for X | 20,000 | $12/Hour |
Part of managing processes is to measure their performance. This article will discuss 2 basic process measures: Productivity and Efficiency.
Productivity
Simply, productivity is measured like this:
Productivity = Outputs / Inputs
For instance,
| Quantity | $/Unit | |
| Car X | 4000 | $8,000 |
| Car Y | 6000 | $9,500 |
| Labor Hours for X | 20,000 | $12/Hour |
Toyota Factory in Ontario, Canada
The guys at Gemba pointed me to this great video on the Toyota factory in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
Check it out:
[youtube]YTQtoeP_1oU[/youtube]
For more on Lean, Agile, Six Sigma, or Operations in general, please view these articles:
The guys at Gemba pointed me to this great video on the Toyota factory in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
Check it out:
[youtube]YTQtoeP_1oU[/youtube]
For more on Lean, Agile, Six Sigma, or Operations in general, please view these articles:
The Bullwhip Effect
Yesterday for class, we played the Beer Distribution Game, which is a game developed by the Systems Dynamic Group at MIT back in the early 1960’s. This game simulates what can happen in a traditional supply chain and exposes some interesting dynamics that happen in real-world supply chains.
Yesterday for class, we played the Beer Distribution Game, which is a game developed by the Systems Dynamic Group at MIT back in the early 1960’s. This game simulates what can happen in a traditional supply chain and exposes some interesting dynamics that happen in real-world supply chains.
Forecasting – Unweighted and Weighted Moving Average Model
This article is part 2 of a series on Forecasting.
In this article, we will discuss 2 types of forecasting models — the weighted and unweighted moving average model. I’ll also discuss Measure of Forecasting Accuracy.
Unweighted Moving Average
This article is part 2 of a series on Forecasting.
In this article, we will discuss 2 types of forecasting models — the weighted and unweighted moving average model. I’ll also discuss Measure of Forecasting Accuracy.
Unweighted Moving Average
Introduction to Forecasting
This article is part 1 of a series on Forecasting.
A forecast is an estimate of the future level of some variable. That variable is most often demand but could also be supply or price. Most companies forecast in order to help the firm in strategic planning activities such as inventory purchasing, capacity planning, labor planning, etc.
This article is part 1 of a series on Forecasting.
A forecast is an estimate of the future level of some variable. That variable is most often demand but could also be supply or price. Most companies forecast in order to help the firm in strategic planning activities such as inventory purchasing, capacity planning, labor planning, etc.
The Apple iPhone Supply Chain
pdate: To read Aza Raskin’s (Aza is son of Jef Raskin, the inventor of the Macintosh) thoughts on the iPhone’s User Interface, please go here: . Alternatively, you can check out my .
Analyzing LicketyShip
I’ll be providing a take-home quiz to my students tomorrow. I want to provide thoughtful dialogue and inquiry, rather than the typical, boring, uninspiring material that some classes provide.
I’ll be asking my students to consider LicketyShip as a case and ask them to discuss LicketyShip in the framework of the four performance dimension: Time, Costs, Flexibility, and Quality.
Specifically,
I’ll be providing a take-home quiz to my students tomorrow. I want to provide thoughtful dialogue and inquiry, rather than the typical, boring, uninspiring material that some classes provide.
I’ll be asking my students to consider LicketyShip as a case and ask them to discuss LicketyShip in the framework of the four performance dimension: Time, Costs, Flexibility, and Quality.
Specifically,
