i'd like to invest 30mins for every thursday for the next three weeks. i identified four key tasks: 2025-06-26 | Task | Simple Input | Output | Procedure | Questions for the Instructor | Additional File Request | | | | ----------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Yedioth Case** | - Team case reports (~13) | `Yedioth Case.pdf` <br>[[8_ass2_yedioth]] | `YediothSolution.pptx` 2 | Graded reports with feedback for ~13 teams. | - Verify the method used to compute quantities for the "no pooling" scenario to meet a 99% service level 3.<br> <br>- Check the accuracy of calculated inventory benefits from "full pooling" and "agent pooling" 4444.<br> <br>- Assess the feasibility of proposed "realistic policies" that leverage the mid-week agent visit5. | - Should I give more weight to the quantitative accuracy of the pooling calculations or to the qualitative discussion of implementation challenges 6?<br> <br>- The solution deck presents analyses using both the empirical histogram and an assumed Normal distribution7. How should I grade submissions that use only one of these methods? | - The full Excel data sheet mentioned in the case PDF to verify calculations8.<br> <br>- Anonymized top-scoring reports from a previous year to help calibrate grading. | | **Ops-Venture Pitch** | Team pitch decks (≤10 slides each) for ~13 teams. | Graded pitch decks. | - Assess if the pitch identifies a clear market need with a significant operations component 9.<br> <br>- Evaluate the pitch against the structure of examples provided (e.g., YC, Sequoia) 10.<br> <br>- Review peer rankings and use them as an input for selecting the top 3 teams for live presentation11. | - How should I balance the perceived value of the business idea versus the quality and clarity of the pitch deck itself during grading?<br>- What specific operational models or metrics do you expect students to include to demonstrate the venture is "ops-focused"? | - Successful pitch decks from previous years, as mentioned in the syllabus12. | | | | **Office Hours** | Student questions about cases, concepts, and the simulation. | Clarified student understanding and resolved queries during 5 weekly sessions. | Be available for 1 hour each week to answer student questions by drawing on lecture notes, case teaching notes, and solution materials. | - **How much should I digest the PATA & simulation game cases to hold effective office hours?**<br>- What are the most common points of confusion for students that I should be prepared to address? | - A summary of frequently asked questions from previous TAs, if one exists.<br>- All lecture notes to ensure my explanations align with yours13. | | | | **Final Exam Prep & Grading** | - ~60 individual student exams<br>- Syllabus outlining exam scope 14 | - Prepared students via review sessions15151515.<br> <br>- Graded final exams. | | **Prep:** Lead the final exam review recitation sessions 16161616. | **Grading:** Grade ~60 exams, focusing on quantitative applications of capacity, inventory, and revenue management concepts17. The time allocation is ~20 minutes per exam. | - Is there a specific topic (e.g., queuing, inventory models) that is consistently weighted more heavily on the exam?<br>- What level of partial credit is appropriate for quantitative problems that have calculation errors but use the correct methodology? | - Past final exams and their answer keys to prepare for the review sessions and understand grading standards. | | | | | | | | | | | **PATA Case** | Team case reports (~13) and the provided grading scheme18. | Graded reports with feedback. | - Use the grading scheme to assess the process flow diagram, bottleneck identification, and build-up analysis 19.<br> <br>- Verify the analysis of the task force diagnoses and the identification of variability sources202020. | The grading scheme awards 15 points for the "buildup analysis"21. How detailed should the diagrams and calculations be to earn full points? | Confirm the official `11-127.Teaching Note.PATA.pdf` is the primary reference for grading. | | | | **Simulation Game** | Team simulation reports (~13) and the | `Littlefield Technology Simulation Exercise 2024.pdf`22. | Graded reports with feedback. | - Assess the report against the 6 required questions from the assignment 23.<br> <br>- Grade based on whether students provided explicit models and quantitative justification for their decisions, not just descriptions242424242424242424. | Should a team's final cash rank influence their grade, or is the grade based solely on the quality of their report and the justification of their strategy? | Anonymized top-scoring simulation reports from past years to see examples of strong quantitative justification25. | | | Task | Input | Output | Procedure | questions | additional file request | | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------- | ----------------------- | | **🟩 Recitation** | - Syllabus schedule<br>- Lecture notes & concepts<br>- Case materials (PATA, Yedioth)<br>- Student questions | - Clarified student understanding<br>- Case & simulation prep<br>- Final exam review | - **Flow:** Prepare students by reviewing concepts from lectures. Guide them through the logic of upcoming cases (PATA, Yedioth). Facilitate Q&A and introduce the simulation game. Conclude with a comprehensive final exam review. | | | | PATA Case | - Student team reports (~13)<br>- PATA case & teaching note<br>- PATA grading rubric | - Graded reports with feedback | - **Alert:** Grade students on how well they alert management to the problem. Check their analysis of the bottleneck (the _root problem_), their use of a build-up diagram to quantify its impact (the _problematic phenomenon_), and the quality of their recommendations to solve it. | x | x | | **🟧 Yedioth Case** | - Student team reports (~13)<br>- Yedioth case & solution deck<br>- Yedioth data (Excel) | - Graded reports with feedback | - **Grow:** Grade students on how well they grow a solution. Assess their quantitative models for setting inventory levels (the _solution_) to reduce waste while meeting the 99% service level (_the need_), especially their analysis of risk pooling benefits. | | | | ** Simulation Game** | - Student team reports (~13)<br>- Simulation exercise description<br>- Final simulation cash balances | - Graded reports with feedback | - **Conclude:** Grade students on their final report, which concludes their performance. Evaluate their justification for the _most impactful integrations_ of capacity, inventory, and contract decisions that led to their financial result. | x | x | | Ops-Venture Pitch | | | | | | | **🟥 Final Exam** | - Individual student exams (~60)<br>- Answer key | - Final exam scores | - **Conclude:** Grade each individual's exam to conclude your assessment of their learning. Apply the answer key to score their application of the core quantitative tools (queuing, inventory policies) covered in the course. | | | This updated plan is designed for a 30-minute focused session each Thursday. It now includes direct excerpts from the syllabus to streamline your review. **Week 1 (Today): Process and Capacity Analysis (PATA Case)** - **Objective:** Understand how to analyze a process, identify a bottleneck, and quantify its impact. - **Activities (30 min):** 1. **Review Core Concepts (10 min):** Review the following syllabus excerpts covering process and capacity analysis: - **Case: McDonald's and Burger King¹ (July 22):** "Map out the production process, showing the major process steps, inventories and flows for hamburger production in your case." and "analyze the peak hourly capacity and peak hourly demand for burger patties." - **Lecture: Capacity Analysis 1: Predictable Variability; JetBlue² (July 23):** Case questions include: "What is the operational impact of de-icing capacity at Logan?" and "Under ideal conditions, theoretically, what is the maximum number of planes per hour that can be processed by four de-icing teams?" - **Lecture: Capacity Analysis 2: Unpredictable Variability; Uber (July 25):** Case: "THE EFFECTS OF UBER'S SURGE PRICING: A CASE STUDY [SKIM]". 2. **Analyze PATA Materials (15 min):** Skim the `PATA Case Grading Scheme.docx` and the `11-127.Teaching Note.PATA.pdf`. Focus on the process flow diagram, the identification of the RN visit as the bottleneck, and the use of a buildup diagram for waiting time analysis. 3. **Formulate Questions (5 min):** - 1. The teaching note uses a deterministic build-up diagram for the RN queue but a stochastic queuing formula (G/G/mG/G/mG/G/m) for other steps. What is the pedagogical reason for this distinction, and how should I explain to students when to use which model? - 2. The grading rubric for PATA mentions "provider variability" as a key concept. Could you recommend a specific framework or a short reading on managing process variability in service operations that I can use to frame this discussion during recitations? - 3. The recommended solutions in the teaching note include organizational changes like working in teams and standardizing work. How much emphasis should I place on these qualitative/organizational solutions versus the quantitative analysis during grading and recitation? **Week 2 (Next Thursday): Inventory Management & Risk Pooling (Yedioth Case)** - **Objective:** Master the concept of risk pooling and its calculation using different methods. - **Activities (30 min):** 1. **Review Core Concepts (10 min):** Review the following syllabus excerpts covering inventory control: - **Lecture: Inventory Control 1 (July 29)** - **Case: Zara (July 30):** Case questions include: "Assuming long lead times, how would a buyer at the Gap make inventory ordering decisions? How do buyers make the same decision for Zara?" and "What are the relative benefits of Inditex/Zara's business models?" - **Lecture: Inventory Control 2 (August 1)** 2. **Analyze Yedioth Materials (15 min):** Review the `YediothSolution.pptx`. Focus on the calculation differences between "No Pooling," "Pooling by Agent," and "Full Pooling." Note how both the empirical histogram and the Normal distribution are used to find the required inventory for a 99% service level. 3. **Formulate Questions (5 min):** - 4. The solution presents analyses using both the empirical distribution (histogram) and an assumed Normal distribution. In a real-world scenario, what are the primary trade-offs in choosing one approach over the other, and what level of justification should I expect from students on their choice? - 5. The concept of risk pooling is central. Beyond the quantitative inventory reduction, what are the key operational complexities or costs (e.g., transportation, information systems) of implementing pooling that students should consider for a complete analysis? - 6. The case mentions potential IT solutions like EDI and RFID. How can I guide students to connect these technological enablers to the quantitative benefits of the pooling models they are building? **Week 3 (Thursday after next): Integrated Dynamic Operations (Littlefield Simulation)** - **Objective:** Understand the dynamic trade-offs between capacity, inventory, and lead time in the simulation. - **Activities (30 min):** 1. **Review Simulation & Exam Scope (10 min):** Review the following syllabus excerpts: - **Simulation Exercise (Live Aug 7-9):** "With your team, you will get to manage a virtual factory in a web-based simulation exercise." "The goal of this assignment is to let you adapt and apply concepts from the first half of the class in a managerial situation". - **Final Exam (Aug 19):** "A final exam will be held in-class, on Monday, August 19, from 8:30 to 11:30." It will "cover the quantitative tools and methodologies taught in class (queuing, inventory policies, etc.)." 2. **Synthesize Key Trade-offs (15 min):** Review the simulation report questions from the syllabus. Think through the main challenge: maximizing cash by balancing capacity investment against a demand curve that first grows, then stabilizes, and finally collapses. 3. **Formulate Questions (5 min):** - 7. The simulation involves a non-stationary demand pattern. What fundamental model or framework would you suggest for making capacity decisions (buying machines) when demand is first growing and then declining? - 8. The report asks students how they decided on their inventory policy (R,Q). Given the variable demand and lead times, what is the simplest effective model you would recommend students use for setting and updating R and Q throughout the game? - 9. The final exam covers quantitative tools. Which specific analyses or calculations from the simulation (e.g., capacity utilization, cycle time estimation, EOQ) are most representative of the skills you want students to demonstrate on the final exam? --- # 2. Summary of TA Tasks Here are tables summarizing your key responsibilities based on the provided documents. **Table 1: Recitation Sessions** |Date|Cohort|Topic|Key Objective| |---|---|---|---| |July 23|A / B|Capacity Analysis, PATA Case Prep|Prepare students for the PATA case by reviewing process flow, utilization, and bottleneck analysis.| |July 30|A / B|Inventory 1, Yedioth Case Prep|Introduce inventory models (Newsvendor) and set the stage for the Yedioth case on risk pooling.| |Aug 5|A / B|Yedioth Debrief, Littlefield Simulation Game|Discuss Yedioth solutions and introduce the strategy for the Littlefield Simulation.| |Aug 7|A / B|Littlefield Simulation Kick-off|Officially start the simulation, answer last-minute questions about the interface and rules.| |Aug 13/16|A / B|Final Exam Review|Review key quantitative tools and problem-solving approaches for the final exam.| **Table 2: PATA Case Report** |Component|Description|Key Concepts|Grading Focus| |---|---|---|---| |**Objective**|Analyze clinic workflow, identify the bottleneck, quantify patient wait times, and recommend process improvements.|Process Flow Diagrams, Capacity & Utilization, Bottleneck Analysis, Build-up Diagrams, Queuing Theory, Process Variability.|Correct identification of bottleneck (RNs), accuracy of buildup diagram and wait time calculation, valid evaluation of diagnoses, and actionable recommendations.| |**Due Date**|July 26, 8:30 AM||| |**Format**|Team assignment, < 4 pages.||| **Table 3: Yedioth Case Report** |Component|Description|Key Concepts|Grading Focus| |---|---|---|---| |**Objective**|Recommend an inventory policy to reduce costs while maintaining a 99% service level, evaluating the benefits of risk pooling.|Newsvendor Model, Service Levels, Risk Pooling (Physical & Virtual), Demand Distribution Analysis.|Correct application of a method to set inventory levels for each retailer (no pooling), correct calculation of inventory savings from full and partial (agent-level) pooling, and realistic policy proposals.| |**Due Date**|August 2, 8:30 AM||| |**Format**|Team assignment, graded.||| **Table 4: Littlefield Technology Simulation Game** |Component|Description|Key Concepts|Grading Focus| |---|---|---|---| |**Objective**|Maximize the factory's final cash position by managing capacity, inventory, and contracts in response to a changing demand pattern.|Demand Forecasting, Capacity Management, (R,Q) Inventory Policy, Lead Time Management, Cycle Time, Queuing.|Clear explanation of demand forecasting method, justification for capacity decisions (machine purchases), rationale for inventory parameter choices, and defense of contract strategy. Report requires explicit models, not just descriptions.| |**Due Dates**|Runs Aug 7 - Aug 9. Report due Aug 15.||| |**Format**|Team assignment, < 4 page report.||| **Table 5: Final Exam** |Component|Description|Key Concepts| |---|---|---| |**Objective**|Individually assess student mastery of the quantitative tools and methodologies taught in the course.|Capacity, inventory, and revenue management (quantitative aspects like queuing, inventory policies, etc.).| |**Date**|August 19, 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM.|| |**Format**|Individual, in-class exam. Open notes (printed/local), no internet.|| --- # 3. Additional Files to Request To effectively prepare for your TA duties, I recommend you request the following materials from the professor: 1. **Lecture Notes:** The syllabus mentions that lecture notes will be uploaded to Canvas. These are essential for aligning with the professor's teaching methods, notation, and emphasis. 2. **The Yedioth Case Data File:** The case text explicitly refers to an "accompanying Excel sheet for data". This file is necessary to replicate the analysis in the `YediothSolution.pptx` and to answer any student questions about the data. 3. **Exemplary Past Student Submissions (Anonymized):** - **PATA and Yedioth Reports:** Seeing top-scoring examples will help you calibrate your grading, especially on the qualitative aspects of the analysis. - **Littlefield Simulation Reports:** A winning report would provide a benchmark for a high-quality strategic analysis. - **Venture Pitch Decks:** The syllabus promises to "share successful pitch decks from previous years"; these are critical for grading this unique, creative assignment. 4. **Past Final Exams:** Access to one or two past exams is the best way to prepare for the Final Exam Review recitations, as it will reveal the question format, difficulty, and scope. 5. **Recitation Materials from Previous TAs:** If available, seeing how previous TAs structured the PATA/Yedioth case prep or the Final Exam review sessions would provide a useful template and highlight common student questions or points of confusion.