BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYTICS

This course belongs to the fundamental teaching activities for the curriculum in International Management of the Master Degree in Management. The goal of the course is to provide students with some of the basic techniques for using data and analytical tools for managing effectively business processes (for example, MRP, ERP, Inventory Management). Emphasis is also given to the importance of the use of decision support systems, particularly when dealing with uncertainty of external or internal processes/factors. For example, we will discuss uncertainty of demand and supply chains; the difficulty of estimating lead times, and/or delivery dates of activities inherent to the internal processes of the company. To this aim, the course introduces the study of Workflow Management (and techniques such as Petri nets) and concepts related to the optimal planning of activities (Critical Path and PERT Analysis). The course also aims to provide skills and expertise on the use of analytic models and adequate data to support decisions and on their interpretation with the final goal of proposing appropriate solutions to the managerial challenges under study. To foster engagement and commitment of the students and to encourage "active" learning, the course will be delivered in "blended" learning; standard classes are combined with online activities.

Knowledge and understanding skills
Through the attendance of classes, the activities proposed through the Moodle platform, as well as through the individual study the student will acquire the following knowledge and understanding skills:
learn the basic tools to deal with the analysis of business processes;
learn the role and how to operate integrated systems (ERP) and their main modules (such as MRP and Inventory);
learn analytical and conceptual tools needed to examine and solve decision problems typical of companies engaged in internationalization;
learn and understand the main techniques useful to translate a complex decision problem into models that can be solved analytically;
learn how to hierarchize a complex problem into simpler instances that are appropriately integrated with each other;
acquire familiarity with some basic techniques to support managerial decisions such as the representation and management of distributed systems and complex projects and their risks.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding.
Through the individual study, by reading the materials suggested by the instructor, through the discussion of business cases, the interaction with external experts, the execution of software experiments, the development of homework based on practical examples, students will have acquired the following skills to apply their knowledge:
be able to use the main techniques to support business decisions, based on analytical and conceptual tools, useful for examining and solving management problems;
be able to analyze the main inputs for the MRP, and utilize the available data to plan some basic operations (production, orders);
be able to use spreadsheets to visualize, analyze and solve practical cases of complex decisions, with emphasis on the international operations;
be able to interpret the data and results provided by mathematical-statistical techniques and dedicated software with respect to complex decision-making problems;
be able to represent in an analytical and tractable way distributed systems;
be able to quantify the durations and risks related to the development and management of complex projects in all business divisions.

Making judgments, communication, lifelong learning skills.
Thanks to the discussion of business cases and interaction with peers, instructors and external experts, the student will learn:
how to formulate rational justifications to support their own judgments;
how to understand the relative strengths and limits of their judgment on the basis of hypotheses, data, and models;
how to formulate and communicate adequately their analysis and their economic-financial interpretation of company facts, also through the use of the software.

This course emphasizes applications over theory. Some (few) basic knowledge in Mathematics are appreciated. Familiarity with the software Excel is welcome. For a reference course in mathematics (at the bachelor level) see http://www.unive.it/data/course/257915/programma

The main topics addressed during the course are the following:
- Integrated systems: MRP, ERP and the current challenges related to uncertainty of procurement and demand
- Tools for Inventory Management and recent heuristics (also based on Artificial Intelligence)
- Business processes and Business Process Reengineering (BPR)
- Business Processes as Distributed Systems: Workflow Management and Petri nets
- Large projects: Critical Path Analysis, Pert and other tools for Project Management and risk analysis

Portougal, V. & Sundaram, D. (2006). Business Processes: Operational Solutions for SAP Implementation. IGI Global.
Van Der Aalst, W., Van Hee, K. M., & van Hee, K. (2004). Workflow management: models, methods, and systems. MIT press.
Jacobs, F.R, Chase, R (2020) Operations and supply chain management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Other teaching material will be made available for download.

The evaluation is based on a written test and weekly ongoing assessments. The final written test contributes for 25 over 30 points to the final score, while the ongoing assessments contribute for 5 points max.

Ongoing Assessment: Students will be proposed 5 quizzes, each consisting of 8 multiple-choice questions; approximately one quiz for each week of classes. Each quiz yields a maximum of one point, contributing to the final exam grade.

Written Exam: The written exam will be delivered in a mixed format, including 5 multiple-choice questions and 3 excerises. Each multiple-choice question carries a maximum of 2 points, and each exercise carries 5 points. In total, it is possible to obtain 25 points for the written exam.

The exam is evaluated on a scale of 30 points, combining the scores from the ongoing assessments and the final written exam. A minimum of 18 points is required to receive 6 credits for the course.

The course is delivered in "blended" learning, that is, with traditional lectures and purely online activities. The entire course covers 30 academic hours of teaching. The purpose of the online activities is to promote a different way of studying: students are invited to study some concepts at home, through materials made available in advance; based on an "flipped" approach, the instructor will then propose practical activities in class, in order to put into practice the knowledge acquired.

In order to participate in all the online activities (some of which are mandatory), students are required to register for the course on the Moodle platform. In case of problems, the student can get in contact with the instructor by mail.

English

International students.
The participation of international students is warmly encouraged. Bachelor-level international students should be aware that the techniques used in class, the teaching methodologies and the examination procedures are designed for a master-level course.

Accessibility, Disability and Inclusion.
Concerning Accommodation and support services for students with disabilities and students with specific learning impairments, Ca’ Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.

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This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Circular economy, innovation, work" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development