James Hill

Chair, Department of Operations and Business Analytics
Professor of Operations Management
Operations and Business Analytics

Background

James A. Hill is the Department Chair of Operations and Business Analytics and professor of operations management. He is the managing director for Ascend Columbus, a partnership with the University of Washington, Northwestern University, and JP Morgan Chase to develop minority businesses nationwide. Hill teaches elective courses in supply chain management in the undergraduate and graduate programs. He has twice received the outstanding professor for teaching excellence in the full time MBA program for the core operations management course and his elective course in matching supply with demand. He was a recipient of the Pace Setters Graduate teaching award.

Hill is primarily interested in supply chain management with an emphasis on supply chain coordination. His research on coordination covers areas such as behavioral supply chain contracts as well as coordinating and managing supplier diversity. His current research examines how intermediaries, more specifically nonprofit organizations, and universities design processes to enable minority business growth. Hill also does research on operations planning and control in food process industry environments with a focus on product complexity. His articles have appeared in Production and Operations Management, Journal of Operations Management, Decision Sciences, Journal of Supply Chain Management, Journal of Business Logistics, and the European Journal of Operational Research, among others.

Hill has extensive work experience in various management positions. His research and education in supply chain management and operations planning and control have included engagements with PepsiCo., Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., Nestle, Sherwin Williams, Agrana Fruit U.S., Greif, JP Morgan Chase, and Kellogg, among others.

 


Areas of Expertise

  • Operations planning and control
  • Behavioral contracts
  • Supply chain management
  • Process industries

 


Education

  • PhD, Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University

  • MBA, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
  • BS in Electrical Engineering, University of Dayton

 

Publications

Published Articles

Courses

BUSOBA 7232 - Supply Chain Analytics: Matching Supply with Demand
Explores how firms can better organize their operations so they more effectively align supply with demand for products and services. Students will learn how to assess supply flexibility and manage demand for a fixed supply and explore topics including flexible capacity management, short-life-cycle forecasting, quick response, revenue management, buy-back contracts and revenue-sharing contracts. Prereq: MBA 6231 and 6232, or 6233; and enrollment in MBA or WPMBA. Not open to students with credit for 832.
BUSOBA 8232 - Operations Planning & Control I
Doctoral research seminar: critical analysis of research in fundamental and classical operations management and operations research topics. Prereq: Enrollment in BusAdm PhD program.
BUSOBA 8235 - Fundamentals of Operational Excellence
Doctoral research seminar: Critical analysis of research in quality management, lean, six sigma, designing operations to support and sustain innovation, integrating technology into operations. Prereq: Enrollment in BusAdm PhD program.
BUSOBA 8238 - Supply Chain Management I
Doctoral research seminar: Critical analysis of research in supply chain essentials, design, and management. Prereq: Enrollment in BusAdm PhD program.
BUSOBA 8242 - Operations Management Seminar Speaker Series
Doctoral research seminar: Critical analysis of research in different areas of behavioral operations; practice in developing research questions and formulating hypotheses; presentation of original research of publishable quality. Prereq: Enrollment in BusAdm PhD program. Repeatable to a maximum of 3 cr hrs.
BUSOBA 8241 - Operations Method II
Doctoral research seminar: critical analysis of analytical research methods and dynamic programming. Prereq: Enrollment in BusAdm PhD program.
BUSOBA 8234 - Innovation Management
Doctoral research seminar: Critical analysis of research in portfolio management, NPD, managing NPD teams, distributed and platform innovation, and innovation implementation. Prereq: Enrollment in BusAdm PhD program.