The Monroe Street Journal

Issue date: 4/7/08 Section: Inside Ross

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Similar to most recent college grads, Professor Hyun-Soo Ahn did not immediately know what to do after getting his BSE from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science And Technology. And similar to most incredibly successful people, Ahn somehow found his way to the University of Michigan. After completing his Masters degree in the College of Engineering's Industrial Operations program in 1997, Ahn tried out the real-world at Intel in Arizona. However, as Ahn noted, "I do not care how dry it is, 110 degrees is 110 degrees," and he came back to UM to a more comfortable 10 degrees to complete his PhD. After completing his PhD, Ahn joined the faculty at UC Berkeley's Industrial Engineering and Operations Research department.

Love soon brought Professor Ahn back to Ann Arbor as he received an offer to join the Business School's faculty allowing him to be with his wife, a doctor at the University of Michigan Hospital. Ahn said, "It was like coming home," and thanks to him students have been mastering the principals of OM ever since.

Among business school students, Professor Ahn is perhaps most noted for his teaching methods. Ahn noted, "I learned that Business students like to be challenged. If the goal is clear, they will see the value." Business students are "Leaders in Thought and Action," but they are also leaders in deciding to never attend a class again if they do not see how the material will improve their careers.

Professor Ahn makes sure to engage his students by creating an atmosphere where students feel comfortable trying to learn and "are not afraid of what they don't know." He is able to relate to his students because he feels he is as diverse as his classes. The MBA and BBA classes are full of students from all around the world who come from diverse backgrounds. The concepts in OMS 301, 502, and 899 are tough, but once everyone feels comfortable being themselves, students are able to open their minds and embrace challenges. Ahn confessed that "this is the secret to success."

Professor Ahn is also committed to demonstrating the value of his classes by making sure students see the connection with real life. For example, in 2005, Professor Ahn, along with his colleague Professor Amitabh Sinha, completely overhauled how OMS 301 was taught. He noted, "We changed it to make it more applicable to real-world problems." After reading Money Ball by Michael Lewis, Ahn was intrigued by how the Oakland Athletics (A's) uses statistics to see which players are good. From 2000-2006 the A's won more games per dollar than any team in the league. Seeing how exploring this issue could add value to his course, he decided to write a case testing the conventional wisdom of Major League Baseball (MLB). In need of data for the case, Professor Ahn called the MLB's commissioner's office; and after many leads, he eventually was in contact with the MLB's statistics department. Ahn and Sinha also designed other case studies to increase the relevance of the OM concepts including the Timbuktu case. Professor Ahn explained to me that the rationale behind the cases is that, "before it was as if we had two courses [OM and Stats]. The case is a good way to summarize the concepts and apply them."

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