Mgmt 4000 Purchasing & Supply Management
Course Syllabus - Summer 2008
Instructor: Dr. Bill Christensen, C.P.M.
Tel: 435.652.7887
Email: christenb@dixie.edu
Office Address: Udvar-Hazy Bldg#344, Dixie State College of Utah, 225 S 700 E, St. George, UT 84770
Text: World Class Supply Management, Burt, Dobler, and Starling, 7
th
edition
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This online course in Purchasing & Supply Management (PSM) provides an
exciting, provocative, and insightful learning experience. In practice, PSM
demands analytical skills,
creativity, the ability to communicate and convince others, and general business competence of the
highest order. The application of techniques learned in this course can have profound positive impacts.
After all, the purchasing function of most organizations spends approximately 60 percent of the firm’s
revenue! Good purchasing and supply management greatly improves the firm’s quality, productivity,
profitability, and return on investment. This course is important to all business students because PSM is
the one business function that interacts with every other business function. Careers in PSM offer
responsibility, excitement, the enjoyment of exploring new ideas and products, the stimulation of working
with different personalities, and the challenge of integrating PSM activities with organizational objectives.
Students concentrating in fields such as marketing, operations, finance, and engineering will be greatly
handicapped if they do not understand the PSM function.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The objective of this course is to introduce students to the basic issues, methods,
and problems of modern PSM. The continued pressure of international competition makes effective PSM
critical to the success of all organizations. For those students engaged in, or considering the PSM
profession, this course provides a solid foundation for ongoing professional development.
GRADING: Grades will be based on exams and assignments. All exams and assignments should be
completed and received by the instructor by the due dates listed in the class schedule. There is no grade
penalty for late work, but you must assume the risks and consequences that come with procrastination of
course work (i.e., failing and/or not completing the course).
Final grade computation will be as follows:
Project (1 project x 200 points each) = 200 points
Exams (8 exams x 100 points each) = 800 points
TOTAL = 1,000 points
Grades will be assigned according to the following scale. However, the instructor may, at his sole
discretion, uniformly increase all student scores. In no case will the instructor subtract points in order to
curve downward the class average.
A = 93 - 100%
A- = 90 - 92.9%
B+ = 87 - 89.9%
B = 83 - 86.9%
B- = 80 - 82.9%
C+ = 77 - 79.9%
C = 73 - 76.9%
C- = 70 - 72.9%
D+ = 67 - 69.9%
D = 63 - 66.9%
D- = 60 - 62.9%
EXAMS: All exams must be taken in the DSC testi ng center unless other arrangements are made in
advance with the instructor. Access to exams is through the class website and requires you to use your
personal logon. Access also requires a proctor (authorized person) to input a password. A limited period
of time is allowed to take each exam (i.e., exams are timed). The time allowed for each exam is set by
the instructor and depends on the length and difficulty of the exam. Students should be well prepared
before taking an exam and should make sure they will not be interrupted while taking the exam. All
