Production/Operations Management and Business Policy advice for Excelsior

[jackbanta]

Just finished this course.... I got a perfect 1000/1000! I have to say, it wouldn't have been possible without this thread and some of the fine people on this forum. The course took me a few days over a month and I REALLY slacked the first two weeks. One could accomplish this in about three weeks, if determined, but do not be fooled. THERE IS A LOT OF WORK IN UNDERSTANDING ALL THE MATERIAL IN THIS COURSE. It's not hard, per se, but elements of it were definitely time-consuming to get a good grasp on everything.

To anyone taking this course going forward, barcotta's post and feedback document on page 14 thread is still VERY relevant. If you follow his guide, you will be just fine. I would also advise anyone to be very detailed in your exams and AEs if you're seeking a good grade.

I will also say that about halfway through the course, I determined that the required reading from the book wasn't really necessary. I found that reading ALL the documents available on the blackboard site (the chapter ppts, lecture notes, homework) was key in getting to the core of this course. The chapters aren't bad... it's just that I found the stuff that the AEs and exams revolved around seemed to focus on smaller sections of the chapters which were highlighted in the ppts and lecture notes. Once I dropped the required reading, I started getting through this class a lot faster and I really don't think it impacted my understanding of the material at all.

I WOULD recommend doing the assigned problems (the ungraded ones) or at least, reading through the them and understanding them, as this will save you a lot of time and stress when it comes to the exams.

I recommend this course to anyone who needs the OM credits. Professor Billington's reputation in this thread is well-earned. He was always quick to respond to my questions and the longest I had to wait for anything to be graded was about a day.