Ready-to-use simulation

Abstract

Business students are typically introduced to the concept of process management in their introductory course on operations management. A very important learning outcome here is an appreciation that the management of processes is a key to the management of quality. Some of the related concepts are qualitative, such as strategic and behavioral issues, whereas others are quantitative, such as statistical process control (SPC). Students often fail to interlink the qualitative and quantitative concepts. SPC, in particular, tends to be one of the most challenging topics for students. This exercise allows students to intuitively experience the underpinnings of SPC, embedded within the broader context of managing processes for quality. Once students become familiar with terms such as process variability, process control, and process capability, they are less daunted by SPC and become more appreciative of the number crunching that SPC entails.