operation Management

A4

Module title and
Module code:
Operations Management
35548
Level
5
Title of assignment Managing Capacity in an Operation.
Programmes
undertaking the
assignment
? BSc (Hons) Business and Management Studies
? BSc (Hons) Business and Management Studies (with
Professional Experience)
? BSc (Hons) Business and Financial Management
? BSc (Hons) Business and Financial Management (with
Professional Experience)
? BSc (Hons) Human Resource Management
? BSc (Hons) Human Resource Management (with Professional
Experience)
? BSc (Hons) International Business
? BSc (Hons)International Business(with Professional
Experience)
? BSc (Hons) Business Management with Law
? BSc (Hons) Business Management with Law (with Professional
Experience)
? BSc(Hons) Enterprise Leadership and Management
? BSc (Hons) Marketing
? BSc (Hons) Marketing (with Professional Experience)
Date Issued Week commencing 26th September 2016
Hand-in Date Before 16:00 on 9th December 2016 via TurnitIn
Assignment
Weighting
25%
Word Limit It should be a maximum of 1,500 words. Your word count is from
the introduction to conclusion sections. Therefore, it does not
include title page, contents page, reference section, appendices
etc.
Presentation Criteria Your assignment will be presented in report format, being clearly
structured using numbered headings, sub-headings etc. It is not
necessary to include an executive summary at the beginning of the
report. Your assignment should be presented using Times New
Roman (TNR) 12 font, 1.5 line spacing
Format You must endeavour to use theory explicitly at all stages, but do
not spend too much time describing a theory. While you must be
explicit about the theories, models, techniques etc. that you use,
you can assume that the reader is familiar with them. What the
reader requires is evidence of your ability to understand and apply
the theory, and learn from in order to support the development of
your findings and/or ideas.
You must cite all sources on which you have relied, for example
textbooks, journal articles, web pages etc. using the Harvard
Bibliographic referencing system. If you do not cite all sources,
then you may be accused of plagiarism, and that may endanger
your success in passing the module. If you are in any doubt about
how to reference your work, please obtain guidance from the
library and/or your academic librarian(s) for this module.
Please do use diagrams, illustrations, tables, graphics etc.
wherever these are helpful, and remember that these do not count
towards your word limit. If you do use these, please do not put
them in the appendices if they are part of your discussion.
Appendices are the appropriate places to put supporting material,
however, remember if the reader is satisfied with the main points of
your discussion; the supporting information within the appendices
may not even be reviewed.
Learning Outcomes
(from module
specification)for this
assignment.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
1. Recognise the role of Operations Management in contributing
to the realisation of organisational objectives in a competitive
global environment.
2. Utilise a range of tools and techniques in order to aid decisionmaking
in complex and unpredictable contexts across a range
of business sectors.
Transferable/Key Skills and other Attributes
7. Plan and manage time effectively by organising their own work,
monitoring their own progress and meeting targets.
8. Apply problem solving skills in specific areas of Operations
Management.
9. Undertake advanced information searching from a range of
sources.
10.Effectively communicate information, arguments and analysis
in a variety of forms to specialist and non-specialist audiences
using a range of media.
Assignment
Background
Operations Management (OM) is an important aspect of business
(Slack et al, 2013; Greasley, 2013; Patton et al, 2011). Both
service and manufacturing organisations use OM to ensure they
are competitive and assist in providing and maintaining good levels
of customer service (Johnson et al, 2012). Developing a clear
understanding of an organisation\’s working can be advantageous
both for both the customer and organisation (Bamford and
Forrester, 2010). Subsequently, once this been understood by the
Operations Manager it should be possible to determine why it
works well, or not well, and to recommend potential improvements
that could assist both parties concerned.
References
? Bamford, D R and Forrester, P L (2010). Essential guide to
Operations Management: concepts and case notes. John Wiley.
ISBN 978-0-47068-816-8.
? Greasley A (2013). Operations Management, Third Edition, John
Wiley. ISBN 978-1-11997-854-1.
? Johnston R; Clark, G and Schulver, M (2012) Service Operations
Management: Improving Service Delivery, Fourth Edition, Pearson.
ISBN 978-0273740483.
? Slack, N; Brandon-Jones, A and Johnston, R (2013). Operations
Management, 7th Edition. Pearson. ISBN 978-0-273-77620-8.
? Patton, S; Clegg, B; Hsuan, J and Pilkington, A (2011). Operations
Management. McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-0771-2617-9.
Assignment Task In this assignment describe and analyse a small operation
(service, manufacturing or a combination of the two) preferably
with which you are familiar or have experience of using. For
example; a shop, a restaurant, a university application process,
doctors surgery are all possible examples. If you are unsure,
please discuss this with your tutor who will give some guidance on
your choice of organisation/case study. Your assignment should
address the following areas:
1. Illustrate by using a Transformational Process Model, how
your small operation is currently managed and transforms
the process into desired outputs which satisfy the customer
needs. (10)
2. Using a flow chart or value stream mapping technique,
provide a detailed illustration of the current operational
process for your small operation. This should cover all the
operational processes that enables the organisation to
deliver its product/service to the customer. (25)
3. Identify three areas on how is the capacity of your small
operation currently measured, and evaluate how well
capacity and demand are currently aligned? (25)
4. What performance measures (i.e. Slack et al\’s [2013] 5
Performance Objectives or Waters [2002] Triangulation)
could be used to help provide focus to improve the
product/service provided for the customers by your small
operation? (30)
5. Draw two key conclusion from your work discussing the
extent to which an organisation has achieved its alignment
between its performance objectives and the configuration of
its operational process, when considering the original
capacity constraints of your small operation. (10)
NB:
? Please add CRN, your name and student identity number to
the header of each page of your report.
? University lateness and plagiarism rules apply.
Assessment Criteria See standard grade descriptors for level 5
Formal feedback provided by lecturer via \’TurnitIn\’.
Make sure in your introduction you have a clear aim to test. This will help provide focus for both you and the reader. Perhaps discuss early thoughts with your seminar tutor?
Remember you assignment is just 1500 words (+/- 10%) and only 25% of the overall module grade, therefore you need to focus on a particular aspect of an operation. For example, a GP surgery \’per se\’ will very probably be too large, but one operation within the surgery might make a suitable assignment topic/focus.
You should have at least between 5 and 10 scholarly sources to support your report. If you have more, that is fine.
Illustrations are not included in the word count.
Using Slack et al (2013) performance objectives model approach (or similar i.e. Waters [2002]) could be useful to demonstrate and discuss the key differences/changes of your capacity.
Consider how these changes might impact the performance measure, i.e. how might quality be impacted?
Is this change similar to other businesses and how did they manage their capacity performance? What does your background reading suggest?
Use only a flow chart or value stream to address point two on the assignment brief. Remember it must be a drawing and not a discussion.
Ensure your transformational model is detailed.
If you have not got permission to use the company name, it may be a useful approach to make them anonymous, i.e. company A.
would you please include some references from this list also : Operations management – Nigel Slack, Alistair Brandon-Jones, Robert Johnston 2013
Operations management – Andrew Greasley 2013
Chapter 10: Lean Operations and Just In Time (JIT)