Engineering Management Program Courses

Engineering/Management Program

Engineering/technical courses and instructors


E0801: Design for Manufacture (Raymond Cipra)

This course introduces engineers and engineering managers to concurrent engineering practices and productivity issues in the design process and provides knowledge and skills needed to anticipate and avoid downstream problems in the design for manufacturability (DFM) of industrial products and systems. Among the topics addressed are: The design process and concept evaluation, material and manufacturing process selection, quality function deployment, design for assembly, design tolerancing, failure modes and effects analysis, and life cycle engineering. Participants learn techniques they can use effectively to incorporate elements of DFM and concurrent engineering in their design and manufacturing operations. In addition, participants are contacted prior to the beginning of the program and encouraged to bring examples of DFM experiences to share and discuss in class.

Raymond Cipra is associate professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue, where his teaching and consulting interests focus on design, analysis, and simulation of mechanical systems. His research interests include dynamics, kinematics, vibration, computer simulation, CAD, robotics, automation, and controls. He is published in the Journal of Mechanical Design and the International Journal of Robotics Research. Purdue's School of Mechanical Engineering has honored him with an Excellence in Teaching Award and a Spira Award for his outstanding contributions to the school and its students. For the past several years, he has served as a NASA Summer Research Fellow and Visiting Researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, working in the robotics area.

E0802: Supply Chain Management (Ananth Iyer)

The course begins with design and optimization of supply chain networks, modeling the supply chain as a geographically dispersed set of nodes, which are connected by various types of transportation links. We review inventory dynamics, which constitute the most visible cost in supply chains, considering safety stocks, risk pooling, and product differentiation. We then discuss the basic dynamics of lead times and replenishment in manufacturing nodes of supply chains. Finally, we discuss information and collaboration in supply chains via different information-sharing mechanisms: Vendor-managed inventory; collaborative forecasting, planning, and replenishment; and the effects of forecasts and their role in the performance of supply chains.

Professor Iyer is the Susan Bulkeley Butler Chair in Operations Management and the Director of DCMME (Dauch Center for the Management of Manufacturing Enterprises)and GSCMI (the Global Supply Chain Management Initiative) at the Krannert School of Management. Previously, he was Purdue University Faculty Scholar from 1999-2004. His teaching and research interests are operations and supply chain management. Professor Iyer's research currently focuses on analysis of supply chains including the impact of promotions on logistics systems in the grocery industry, and analysis of the impact of competitors on operational management models and the role of supply contracts. His other topics of study include inventory management in the fashion industry, effect of supplier contracts, and use of empirical data sets in operations management model building. His published works (with co-authors listed in the publications list)include "An Approach to Identifying Beneficial Collaboration Securely in Decentralized Logistics Systems, MandSOM (to appear),"Efficient Supply Chain Management at the US Coast Guard using Part Age Dependent Supply Replenishment Policies", Operations Research, 2006, 'A Principal Agent Model for Product Specification and Production", Management Science, 2005,"The Logistics Impact of a Mixture of Order Streams in a Manufacturer-Retailer System", Management Science, 2003,ìThe Supply Chain Impact of Smart Customers in a Promotional Environmentî with Huchzermeier and Freiheit, MandSOM, 2002; ìInventory Cost Impact of Managing Lead Times using Priority Queues based on Demand Uncertainty,î Naval Research Logistics, 2002; ìA Logistics Model in a Promotion Sensitive Grocery Environmentî with J. Ye, Networks, 2001; ìAssessing the Value of Information Sharing in a Promotional Environmentî with J. Ye, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, 2000; ìQuick Response in Manufacturer Retailer Channelsî with Mark Bergen, Management Science, 1997; ìBackup Agreements in Fashion Buying - The Value of Upstream Flexibilityî with G. Eppen, Management Science, 1997; and ìSeparating Logistics Flows in the Chicago School Systemî with D. Elsenstein, Operations Research, Vol. 44, No. 2, 1996. He was the FMC Scholar in 1990-91. He is a Department Editor of Management Science, Associate Editor of Operations Research, on the editorial boards of Operations Research Letters ,IIE Transactions, the ECR Journal and Manufacturing and Service Operations Management editorial board, and member of INFORMS. He was president-elect of the MSOM Society of INFORMS in 2001-02 and served as president for the year 2002-03. Prior to joining the Krannert faculty in 1996, Professor Iyer taught at the University of Chicago. He has been affiliated with the Production and Distribution Research Center at Georgia Tech, and a consultant to Daymon Associates, Sara Lee, Turner Broadcasting and others. He served his Chicago community as a pro bono consultant to the Chicago School System and the Chicago Streets and Sanitation Department.

M0803: Leadership (Brad Alge)

Leadership is a fundamental and central process in human interactions. It has come to mean many things to people and has been studied from many perspectives, e.g., group dynamics, political science, religion, organizational studies. This course focuses explicitly on leadership from a managerial perspective trying to understand what it is, what factors contribute to doing it effectively, and whether you can develop your promise as a leader.

The goals of this course are to:

  1. Give you a richer understanding of what managerial leadership involves
  2. Help you formulate your own model of leadership
  3. Give you some feedback about your own leadership characteristics and skills

The course is a mixture of lecture, discussion, experiential learning, projects, and cases analysis. The emphasis is on exploiting diverse ways of learning. Class time will be spent in exploring ideas from the reading, applying them to experience, interpreting and feeding back data from exercises, and applying knowledge to case discussion.

Bradley J. Alge, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Management at the Krannert Schoool. Professor Alge teaches courses in organizational behavior and human resource management in Krannert's executive, MBA and MSHRM programs. Professor Alge is also an accomplished researcher. Winner of the Jay Ross Young Faculty Scholar Award, Dr. Alge conducts research on leadership, motivation, team dynamics, pro social and antisocial work behaviors, creativity and technology. Professor Alge has conducted extensive research on organizational and work-related issues and has applied his knowledge and expertise for a variety of organizations.
Sample clients include:

E0804: Program/Project Management (Mitchell Springer)

The objective of this course is for engineers, technical specialists, and technical managers to develop a basic understanding of the key concepts, theories, tools, and methodologies applicable to program and project management. Through interactive lecture, videos, group discussion, and applied exercises, participants gain comprehensive breadth of understanding of program and project management--specifically, the multiple interrelated activities and attendant products that compose the program and project management process. Participants learn how to adequately define the requirements for a program; allocate and schedule the work; manage unanticipated risks; and monitor cost, schedule, and performance to the planned baseline. Qualitative aspects of the process focus on how to choose an organizational structure that best fits the organization, how to motivate program personnel, and how to increase the efficiency of the multiple generations at work within the program. Course materials are designed both for effective learning during the course and for future follow-up reference.

Mitchell Springer serves as manager of human resources for Raytheon in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He combines over 20 years of theoretical and practical experience from four disciplines: Software engineering, systems engineering, program management, and human resources. He holds a BS in Computer Science from Purdue, an MBA and doctoral degree in adult and community education (cognate in executive development) from Ball State University, and serves on numerous university and community boards and advisory committees. He is certified as both a Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). He has authored and lectured extensively on software development methodologies, management practices, and program management. His most recent texts, Program Management: A Comprehensive Overview of the Discipline, and Program Management: Understanding the Fundamentals, are the bases of this course.

Management courses and instructors


M0805: Managerial Accounting and Financial Analysis (Charlene Sullivan)

In the managerial accounting segment of this course, we start with an overview of financial and managerial accounting principles and practices. We introduce the accounting model, followed by an examination of the financial statement effects of accounting policy choices for such items as inventory, depreciation, revenues, and expenses. We then examine the financial statement and internal decision-making implications of the contribution concept, as well as cost-volume-profit models, variable and absorption costing procedures, standard costing, activity-based costing, and variance analysis.

In the financial analysis segment of the course, we consider analysis of the firm's funds flow patterns, the management of working capital, the process of capital budgeting, the choice of short- and long-term financing arrangements, capital structure design, and mergers and acquisitions. We maintain the perspective of the senior-level decision maker, paying special attention to the analysis of cash flow, EBITDA (earnings before income taxes, depreciation, and amortization), free cash flow, and understanding the implications of managerial decisions on those measures and metrics. As such, we provide managerial tools to measure the profitability of alternative commitments of the firm's resources and to select financing vehicles consistent with those commitments. We also consider the interaction between the firm and its external capital market, emphasizing strategies aimed at creating shareholder wealth.

Charlene Sullivan is associate professor of management at the Krannert School. She teaches corporate finance and financial accounting and has won multiple undergraduate and graduate teaching awards. She is also a faculty associate with Purdue's Dauch Center for the Management of Manufacturing Enterprises (DCMME), where she conducts studies of cost management systems and capital budgeting practices for national and international manufacturing firms. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, as well as on other association and agency boards. She is the author of numerous book chapters and journal articles on finance and is a frequent instructor in Krannert's executive education programs.

M0806: Strategic Global Marketing (Daniel McQuiston)

In this course, we develop skills in formulating and appraising marketing strategies and policies and in developing integrated strategies and implementation programs. We seek to familiarize participants with current practices in product and service firms by covering such topics as buyer behavior and market segmentation, product line strategy, new product development, advertising and promotion, pricing, and channel management. We emphasize the concepts of branding and co-branding. The course also deals with global marketing management and international competitiveness. We discuss the unique challenges of marketing in an increasingly global environment by covering such topics as global marketing strategy, responding to foreign competition in domestic markets, and organizing and controlling global marketing operations.

Daniel McQuiston is associate professor and director of executive education in the College of Business Administration at Butler University. His teaching interests include marketing management, industrial marketing, personal selling and sales management, marketing decision making, organizational buying behavior, strategic alliances in industrial distribution channels, customer service, and agricultural marketing. Dan brings solid Purdue teaching experience, having taught in Krannert's flagship executive MBA program and its food and agribusiness MBA program conducted with Purdue's School of Agriculture. He also teaches a range of non-degree marketing and sales programs throughout the world. Most notably, his marketing program for the restructured Hungarian Telephone Company, MATAV, was cited by The Wall Street Journal for its ability to successfully team Hungarian managers with their American counterparts from Ameritech and their German counterparts from Deutsche Telekom.

M0807: Strategy, Competitive Advantage, and Organizational Capabilities (Logan Jordan)

Most industries have a significant number of competing firms. In many instances, these firms have access to the same labor market; are governed by many of the same legal requirements; utilize similar science and technology; sell to the same customers, have access to the same capital and financial markets; and compete in the same business environment. Yet, the performance of firms in an industry can differ radically.

With so many similar factors, what explains the performance difference? Clearly, some set of the decisions made by firms must be leading to an advantage (or disadvantage) in the marketplace.

During this week long course we will explore how one analyzes an industry, identifies distinctive competitive advantages, and attempts to make the source of those advantages one of their firm's resources. All of these discussions will take place in the context of global strategies for globally competitive markets.

Some of the central questions we will address include:

Logan Jordan is associate dean of administration at the Krannert School, where his responsibilities include much of the school's infrastructure and support services operations, including information technology. His academic area is strategic management, and he has instructed in the school's undergraduate, masters, and executive programs.  In addition, Logan has instructed in management development programs for the American Animal Hospital Association, Case Corporation, Cendant, Lucent,   and Owens-Illinois and serves as a facilitator and consultant for a variety of business enterprises and not-for-profit organizations. He is a member of the Academy of Management, the Strategic Management Society, the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, and the North American Case Research Association.

M0808: Managing Human Capital & Negotiation (Benjamin Dunford)

This course draws on cases, exercises, videos and short lectures to provide managers with insights into motivating, engaging and disciplining employees. We cover performance management, employee motivation, incentives, discipline and termination. This course applies contemporary legal frameworks and research to help managers reduce the likelihood of legal action in response to employee disciplinary activity. Participants also gain exposure to practical tools for increasing the productivity of employees.

Benjamin Dunford is an Assistant Professor of Management at the Krannert School of Management, where his teaching interests include labor and employee relations, compensation and strategic human resource management. His research focuses on executive compensation, ownership based rewards, and employee relations. He has served as a consultant for Deseret News Publishing Company, Best Lock Corporation and Nortel Networks, among other organizations. His research has been published in scholarly journals including Personnel Psychology, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management and Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations. Professor Dunford has a Ph.D. in Industrial Relations from Cornell University .

M0809: Building a High Performance Organization Through Employee Engagement (Jack Wiley)

This course will review the organizational and leadership practices associated with delivering sustained high performance.  Case studies linking leadership practices, employee engagement, customer satisfaction and business performance will be presented and discussed.  A special focus will be placed on the role of employee engagement and what organizations must do to enhance employee retention.  Techniques for measurement, and building a balanced scorecard around these practices and outcomes measures, will be reviewed.

It will be taught by Jack Wiley, Ph.D., Executive Director of Kenexa Research Institute, a division of Kenexa, one of the world’s leading end-to-end providers of software, proprietary content, services and process outsourcing that enable organizations to more effectively recruit and retain employees.

Dr. Jack Wiley is recognized internationally for groundbreaking research that links employee survey results to measures of customer satisfaction and business performance. He has more than 30 years of survey research experience in health care, financial services and retail industries.

Dr. Wiley has written several articles and book chapters on survey research topics and has made numerous presentations to professional associations. He is a member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the Human Resources Planning Society. Wiley holds a Doctorate degree in organizational psychology from the University of Tennessee and is a licensed consulting psychologist.