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printAEM 801: Economics for Lean Operations
Welcome to AEM 801, Economics for Lean Operations.
My name is Dennis Field and I will be your instructor.
My Background
I would like to take a moment to provide some of my background information. I have worked in both industrial and academic environments. After completing an undergraduate degree in Engineering Science from Iowa State University, I went to work for Texas Instruments in Dallas setting up manufacturing lines for Magnetic Bubble Memories, Very-High Speed Integrated Circuits, and Infrared Detectors. During my time with TI, I ended up on a 14-month assignment in Germany as an expatriate engineer transferring infrared detector technology to a German company. Following my time at TI, I spent five years in Minneapolis as an Operations Manager establishing a new manufacturing facility for solid state pressure and temperature sensors. Along the way, I completed graduate degrees in Business Administration (MBA), Statistics (MS), and Industrial Education and Technology (PhD). After completing my PhD in 1997, I joined the faculty at Iowa State University. I moved to EKU in 2004 and am currently coordinating the Bachelor's degree in Applied Engineering Management and the Master's degree in Applied Engineering and Technology Management.
The purpose of the course
The purpose of this course is fourfold:
- To introduce students to economic topics that play a role in effective manufacturing decision-making. Various quantitative methods and computer applications relating to manufacturing operations will be covered.
- To familiarize students with economic topics that are critical for a manufacturing technologist / engineer to consider when making managerial decisions. Specifically, applications of the value engineering equations used in the decision-making process will be addressed; and the impact of specific economic decisions on a project will be evaluated.
- To introduce students to the use of EXCEL spreadsheet for economic analysis and value engineering.
- To introduce students to the impact of legacy standard costing methods on lean organizations..
Syllabus review
You will need to make sure that you are aware of all of the information contained in the course syllabus. This course will take place over a period of eight weeks. It will be important for you to aggressively manage your time so that you can meet all of the course objectives. Hopefully you have already obtained a copy of the text for this course. The online lectures parallel information you will find in your textbook. You will need to complete each week's assigned reading and videos in order to effectively engage in the online Discussion Board.
Course text
We have one required text for this course: Newnan, D. G., Eschenbach, T. G., and Lavelle, J. P. (2014). Engineering economic analysis (12th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. In addition to, there will be several journal articles dealing with lean accounting. Link to these articles is posted in Bb. If you find you have interest in this topic, a useful reference is Stenzel, J. (Ed.). (2007). Lean accounting: Best practices for sustainable integration. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN-13: 978-0-470-08728-2
There are also Excel video tutorials on several topics from the text. Links to these tutorials will be posted in the weekly modules.
Additional Software
Students will need to have access to Microsoft Excel software. For those of you close to the EKU Richmond campus, this software is on all computers in Rooms 340 and 341 of the Whalin Technology Complex.
Course Correspondence Policy
Course correspondence will be conducted through Blackboard announcements, discussion board postings, and official EKU e-mail. Each student is assigned an official EKU e-mail account and is required to use this account for needed correspondence. EKU course instructors are not authorized to respond to e-mails which originate from outside the EKU system. My goal is to respond to any e-mail communications within 48 hours. All course correspondence should be in a positive tone and of civil content.
Course outline
This is an 8 week course. There will be many assignments in a compressed format. To be successful with an on-line educational format, it will require focus, motivation, and dedication. The course is set up in 8 week modules, and each week there are weekly assignments and weekly deadlines. Since this course is only 8 weeks long, it moves quickly and you will have to devote adequate time each week to complete your learning objectives. It is expected at a graduate level that you will need to spend 6-8 hours per credit hour each week. That means for this 3 credit hour course you should plan on spending at least 18-24 hours per week on course requirements.
Student learning objectives
Each week you will usually have assigned readings, a supporting power point presentation, a Blackboard Discussion Board assignment, and a project or open response assignment. In your syllabus you have a course outline that lists these for you. As you can see in the syllabus, in addition to your week one readings, you will be posting a short bio of yourself in the VoiceThread discussion board. VoiceThread is a web-based application that enables students and teachers to create and share a presentation. VoiceThread commenting features provider users with an opportunity to have an asynchronous conversation around a presentation. You will use VoiceThreads to introduce yourself.
Course Assessments
Assessment activities include on-line discussion postings, examinations, and homework assignments utilizing spreadsheet software. Each student must be punctual in getting in his or her assigned work. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are integral components of written work; these elements will play a role with respect to the grade assigned to your work.
The test schedule and due dates for assignments will be announced well beforehand. The assignments and due dates will be posted on Blackboard at least one week in advance. Late work will not be graded, but one discussion board assignment will be eliminated from consideration during final grade calculations. This assures that students who conscientiously plan and complete their work will be acknowledged, while accommodating emergencies that occasional arise. At the discretion of the instructor, work can be marked "not late" if arrangements have been made with the instructor well before the due date.
As for turning in your work, all coursework must be submitted through Blackboard. If you encounter any difficulties, please let me know.
Grading information is posted in the course syllabus. Please review and contact the instructor if you have any questions. Final grades will be posted to the University by the end of the following week after the course is complete.
That's it for now. I’m looking forward to working with you this semester.