Master of Business Administration

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT

OCTOBER 2011 – SEPTEMBER 2012

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1. Assessment Overview

Operations Management is assessed by:

(a) Examination 50% (b) Group Assignment (individual in special circumstances) 50%

(a) Examination – 50% of marks:

The examination will be 3 hours in duration and be composed of two Sections A and B. Each section will present you with a different challenge.

Section A has ten compulsory questions (each worth 5 marks) which will test your basic understanding and knowledge of theory.

Section B will contain two case studies. You will be asked to answer only one of these (the case is worth 50 marks). Case studies present as close to a real world situation as is practical in an examination (cases will usually incorporate more than one topic). In the examination question, you will be expected to clarify the situation described in the case study as well as interpret the operational models that most closely fit with the problems and possible solutions. Practice in analysing and writing answers to case questions will be gained during face to face sessions with counsellor and/or during the intensive seminars with UK tutors. Students should note that there is also guidance on tackling cases on the class webpage.

(b) Assignment – 50% of marks:

The assignment is an opportunity for you to investigate operations management in practice and to carry out deeper investigations. We expect you to demonstrate further reading and investigation – and to compare what you see in your own organisation (or an organisation of your choice) with what is written in the academic literature.

Students are encouraged to work in groups. Groups may comprise up to (but not exceed) 4 people. The group assessment will allocate the same mark to each participant. Under special circumstances students may be allowed to carry out an individual assignment (eg. flexible learning students) – students should seek permission from their operations management lecturer before starting an individual assignment.

Your lecturer will give you specific instructions regarding submission (eg. deadlines). Depending on your mode of learning you may be given other instructions (for example some students may be asked to present their findings in class). Students should make sure they check the website regularly for further updates.

2. Assignment Brief

Students should select an organisation (which you have access to) and work through the following questions relating to operations within the organisation. Students should write a report (using the headings below as a guide) discussing the operations of the organisation, and making recommendations for improvement.

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We have suggested some questions to consider under each heading – but these are not exhaustive topics (and you may discuss other things you see as being important). We would advise that you adopt a reasonably formal style and structure for your report. Include an executive summary and conclusions and recommendations.

Students should note that they do not need to look at an entire company but instead may decide to focus on a particular business unit or operation. For example the group want to look at a large international company – but only have access to one part of the organisation – this is perfectly acceptable (but you may wish to discuss this with your lecturer/counsellor before starting).

Operations StrategyDiscuss the operations strategy of your chosen organisation. Does your chosen organisation have a clear operations strategy? How does the operations strategy support or complement the business strategy? How has the operations strategy developed and changed in recent years? If the organisation doesn’t have an operations strategy can you help them broadly define an operations strategy or give them guidance on what they should do to develop one?

Product & Service DesignDiscuss the products and services offered by your chosen organisation. Do they target the same markets or do they have different offerings catering to different markets? What operations challenges does the product/service mix pose? Can you see evidence of effective screening processes? How good is the organisation at developing products and services? If appropriate discuss the product or service design process. Who else is involved in product and service design (e.g. suppliers, customers, retailers)? Do they measure the impact of design and new product development?

Process Design Discuss the processes within your chosen organization. From your reading of chapter 4 of the Operations Management course notes and other background reading, consider whether or not alternative approaches might lead to improvements in the performance of the organisation. After reading chapter 7, can you comment on the layout of retail outlets or manufacturing facilities belonging to the organisation? How would you go about helping the organization to make improvements? Can you comment on the use of technology?

Planning & ControlOutline the types of short and long term planning that are carried out in the organisation. Is demand dependent or independent? How appropriate is their approach to forecasting? How could they improve? Critically discuss the organisation’s approaches to scheduling, loading and sequencing where appropriate. If appropriate discuss capacity management. How does the organisation cope with fluctuations in demand? What alternatives might be open to them? Is technology used to support these activities? Do you think there is adequate feedback and control?

Innovation and improvementHow does the company encourage innovation? Is innovation something that is managed? Outline some of the tools for improvement that you would recommend as being appropriate for your organisation and explain how they could be implemented. Would you say the organisation is lean or agile?

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Supply ChainOutline the supply chain of the organisation (or part of it), including purchasing, physical distribution management and materials management. How is IT used to supply chain management? Outline how the supply chain might be improved.

Quality ManagementDiscuss the costs of quality as they apply in your chosen organisation. How are quality problems diagnosed? How could the company improve their approach to quality management? Does the organisation have a formal quality system? Would this be appropriate?

Before getting started on your assignment, a few things to consider….

You might feel tempted to answer some of the questions based on common sense but I would urge you not to do this. We are looking for you to demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes for this module (through the assignment). Please do keep this in mind and try to demonstrate understanding and application of theory, tools and techniques covered during the lectures (and from directed reading).

The maximum word count can be calculated as follows (+/- 10%):

Individual assignment = 2,500 words2 people in group 2,500 plus 1250 = 3750 words3 people in group 2,500 plus 1250 plus 625 = 4,375 words4 people in group 2,500 plus 1250 plus 625 plus 312 = 4,687 words

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3. Assignment Marking & Feedback

Here are the marking arrangements used by staff when marking assignments.

Assignment Feedback (Example)

Assignment Topic: Operations Management

Name: (Individual or group names)

First Marker: Local Counsellor Second Marker: UK Academic

Marking Guide: (see detailed explanation overleaf)

Scale Mark band Description0 Less than 45 Should prompt a personal discussion with your tutor.1 46-49% Unacceptable2 50-54% Just Acceptable3 55-64% Good Work4 65-74% Very Good work.5 75+% Distinction standard.

CRITERIA 0 1 2 3 4 5 FeedbackStructure and Organisation Title, clear structure (contents page); Clarity; Written for a busy manager, Executive summary?(10%)

InvestigationHave the students explained their approach to gathering information? Have they gathered appropriate information and presented it clearly? Have they documented the operations of the organisation. (40%)Analysis Have the students linked what they saw in the organisation with the academic theory? Have they used appropriate models, tools, frameworks to help in their analysis? Have they argued a clear case and linked theory and practice? (40%)Conclusion and Overall PerspectiveAre conclusions and recommendations linked to the body of the report – substantiated and cross-referenced? (10%)

Feedback Summary:

Mark: Deductions: Final mark:

Signature: Date:

Marking Guidelines Assessment of Coursework and Projects:

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3 Writing up your individual or group essay:

 Excellent

+75%Very good

65-74%Good

55-64%Just

acceptable 50-54%

Unacceptable

46-49%

StructureAndOrganisa-tion

Explicit specification of proposed organisation that corresponds with outcome. Logical structure and relevant discussion, and absence of repetition. Clear and balanced view of issues.

Coherent and sensible structure. Clear and balanced view of the issues. Relevant and non-repetitious discussion.

An acceptable structure and organisation. Discussion that covers the primary issues. Some limited weaknesses in relation to coherence, focus, relevance or repetitious.

Evidence of structure and organisation but not entirely appropriate or not sufficiently maintained. Evidence of repetitious and irrelevant material, and weaknesses of judgement in the emphasis given to the issues and arguments.

Difficult to identify a coherent structure and organisation. Irrelevant and repetitious discussion.

Knowledge

Demonstrates an excellent appreciation of the relevant theory and analysis, and an ability to relate this to the relevant literature.

Demonstrates a very good appreciation of the relevant theory and analysis, and the ability to relate this to the relevant literature.

Demonstrates basic awareness and understanding of the relevant theory and analysis.

Demonstrates a limited awareness and understanding of the relevant theory and analysis

Demonstrates inadequate understanding of relevant concepts, theory or evidence relating to the topic.

Source Material

The coverage of the literature extends beyond the recommended readings, demonstrating the use of personal initiative and curiosity. Able to place the academic literature into context and reference sources.

A firm grasp of the recommended readings, evidence of some further reading of relevant articles, and to refer to them as appropriate in the discussion.

Demonstrates a reasonably competent coverage of the recommended reading.

Provides limited evidence of having covered some the recommended readings. Minimal or no evidence of further reading.

Demonstrates inadequate knowledge of the recommended readings.

Analysis Demonstrates an excellent understanding of the relevant concepts and models, and the ability to develop and present the analysis in a logical and coherent way. Exhibiting clarity of thought and an appreciation analysis.

Demonstrates a good understanding of the relevant concepts and models, and an appreciation of the strengths and weakness of the analysis.

Demonstrates a reasonable understanding of the relevant concepts and models, and some evidence the ability to assess the analysis.

A reasonable working knowledge of the relevant concepts and models but presentation is limited or indicative that understanding is incomplete.

A weak and limited awareness of the concepts and models and errors suggesting incomplete understanding. 

Expression

Very clear exposition, with excellent use of examples and analogies. Good choices of words and phrases.

Clearly expressed with some evidence of an attempt to write in a lively and interesting style.

Clearly expressed and easy to read and understand.

Adequately expressed for the most part but poses some difficulties for understanding.

Lack of clarity. Poor choice of words and sentence structure. Difficult to follow and understand.

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Conclusion andOverall Perspective

Conclusion that provides a clear overall perspective; reflecting the preceding discussion, an ability to differentiate between theory, evidence and judgement. Evidence of independent thought.

Conclusion that reflects and is logically derived from the discussion. Demonstrates ability to differentiate between objective analysis and personal opinion.

Conclusion provides a reasonable summary of arguments and a statement that sensibly differentiates between personal views and objective evidence.

Demonstrates some ability to draw inferences from discussion. Limited or incomplete summary.

Fails to produce either an adequate summary of the discussion or to develop any coherent inferences from the discussion.

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