Operation and Information Management

Assessment task details and instructions

Different manufacturing processes have different strengths and weaknesses as some are best suited to making small numbers of customized products, while others excel at producing large volumes of standard item. Companies must therefore carefully consider the strengths and weaknesses of different processes and make appropriate decisions as part of their overall business strategy not just in relation to the right equipment but also to include people, facilities and physical layouts as well as information systems (Bozarth and Handfield, p. 55). Consequently, an ideal manufacturing system must be flexible and yet efficient, with low unit production costs.

Based on the above, you are asked to take as an example a product or a service from an industry that you are familiar with (e.g., food, technology, healthcare, retail, services, automotive), and critically:

1. Examine the current process design of that product or service in alliance with the 4 Vs model and illustrate the operational process by using either a Flow Chart or Value Stream Map technique.
2. Discuss how implementation of Lean Principles and Just -in- Time (JIT) manufacturing may assist in achieving a more flexible and yet efficient process design.  Justify your answer by referring to the 5 Performances model.

Please follow a report format. Therefore, you should have a title page, contents page, sections and sub sections, page numbers, appendix section etc. Please note if you are uncertain on how to present and structure a report then visit the university website or the RKC induction materials. Please 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 them, 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.

Please try 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 see, for example, https://beta.salford.ac.uk/library/skills-learning/referencing for the Harvard (APA 6th) system.

You will also need to take the following into account when completing your assignment:

•          Quality of executive summary (does it give a brief complete summary of your paper for an executive to read?)

•          Establishment of relevant theory

•          Allocation of credit and sources used (have I included references and citations to the material I have used?)

•          Clarity of argument

•          Overall report presentation including spelling and grammar

•          Adherence to nominated word limit (+/- 10%)

•          Word processed (letter size 12, times new roman, 1.5 space), fully referenced (Harvard Referencing System)

Assessed intended learning outcomes

On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Critically analyse the theory, concepts and models of operations management and demonstrate an understanding of the importance of operations management in global organisations.

2. Analyse and critically evaluate the ways in which operations are adapted in view of specific market culture and customer requirements, and the role and importance of operational excellence in various aspects of competitive advantage.

3. Justify the value of understanding, measuring, reducing and preventing quality costs and understand the application of basic planning and control techniques.

4. Use the basic tools and techniques to plan and improve all aspects of the operations function and understand the application of the control systems that can be used for operations management in a wide variety of environments.

Practical, Professional or Subject Specific Skills

1. Leads by example - as high levels of self-awareness, emotional and social intelligence, empathy and compassion, and able to identify mental well-being in others. Work collaboratively enabling empowerment and delegation - acts with humility and authenticity, is credible, confident and resilient.

2. Judgement and Challenge - Takes personal accountability aligned to clear values. Demonstrates flexibility and willingness to challenge when making decisions and solving problems - instils confidence demonstrating honesty, integrity, openness, and trust.

3. Courage & Curiosity - is confident and brave, willing to innovate, seeks new ideas and looks for contingencies. Manages complexity and ambiguity, comfortable in uncertainty, and is pragmatic.

4. Valuing Difference - engaging with all, is ethical and demonstrates inclusivity, recognising diversity, championing, and enabling cultural inclusion. Empowers and motivates to inspire and support others.

5. Professional Reflects on own performance, demonstrates professional standards in relation behaviour and ongoing development. Advocates the use of good practice within and outside the organisation.

Transferable Skills and other Attributes

1. Identify and utilise appropriate methods for collecting and analysing data related to operations management issues.

2. Locate, summarise and synthesise a range of information from published literature and electronic sources on operations management.

3. Use and evaluate a variety of tools for improving organisational performance

5. Manage effectively their own time and learning.

6. Improve their research skills, and data analysis and presentation. Manage their time to meet deadlines in both group discussions and in preparation of in-class activities.

Module Aims

The overall aim of the module is to allow students to develop an in-depth understanding of the increasingly important field of Operations and Information Management. More specifically, the module aims to provide students with an overview of how to improve different types of operations, and information systems to contribute to a companies’ competitiveness and strategy. It will also provide knowledge of concepts, techniques and models that are used for planning, managing and improving operations and information systems, within organisations in a global context.

Word count/ duration (if applicable)

The maximum word count is 3,000 words (+/- 10%). Your word count is from the introduction to conclusion sections. Therefore, it does not include title page, contents page, reference section, appendices etc. If the assignment exceeds these limits; the work in excess of 3,000 is not marked.