Use cases, Operation Management

Assignment Help:

A case study presents an account of what happened to an organisation or business over a period of time. It chronicles the events that occurred within that organisation and which the operations managers had to deal with. It may also describe changes in the competitive environment, and describe senior managers' response, which usually involves changing the operations strategy or changing the operational focus.

Cases provide valuable insights into the theory and concepts of managing operations. They are directed at developing managerial decision making skills in Operational Management decision areas.

Cases provide you, the student, with a shared experience of operational problems if you are working in groups. They may present you with issues that you probably have not had the opportunity to experience first-hand. In a relatively short period of time, you will have the chance to appreciate and analyze the problems facing many different organisations and how operations managers deal with them. 

Cases illustrate what you have learned. The meaning and implication of this information are made clearer when discussed in groups and in the larger group. The operational theory and concepts help reveal what is going on in the organisations studied and allow you to evaluate the proposed solutions (or ways forward). Consequently, when you analyze a case, you should consider yourself a detective who, with a set of conceptual operational tools, probes what is happening and what or who was responsible and then consider the evidence described in the case. Senior managers enjoy the thrill of testing their problem-solving abilities in the real world. It is important to remember, after all, that no one knows what the right answer is. All that managers do is to present the most feasible options and compare the advantages and disadvantages between them until a preferred solution emerges.  In fact, managers often suggest that they are happy if they are correct only half of the time. Management is not a game of certainty, and using cases to evaluate how theory can be put into practice is one way of experiencing the role of senior operations managers.

Case studies also give you with the opportunity to work in groups and to gain experience in presenting your ideas to others. Tutors sometimes call on students as a group to identify what is going on in a case study, and through group discussion the issues in and solutions to the case problem will are considered. In such a situation, you will have to organise your views and conclusions so that you can present them to your group and possibly as a presentation in class. Your colleagues may have analysed the issues differently from you (discuss is useful), and they will want you to argue your points before they will accept your conclusions; so be prepared for healthy debate. This is how decisions are made in the real world. You should consider impressing by the insights and alternatives that you have considered. You will influence not dictate.

Tutors may assign groups, to analyse a case and present their ideas before the whole class. The group will probably be responsible for a twenty-to-thirty minute presentation of the case to the whole class. That presentation must cover the issues involved, the problems facing the organisation, and a series of recommendations for resolving the problems. Also, you will be asked to finish by considering the learning points in this case.

The discussion then will be thrown open to the class, and you will have to defend your ideas. Through such discussions and presentations, you will experience how to convey your ideas effectively to others. Remember that a great deal of management time is spent in similar situations, presenting their ideas and engaging in discussion with other managers, who have their own views about what is going on and what we should do next.

If you work in groups to analyse case studies, you also will learn about the group processes involved in working as a team. When people work in groups, it is often difficult to schedule time and allocate responsibility for the case analysis. There are always group members who shirk their responsibilities and group members who are so sure of their own ideas that they try to dominate the group's analysis. Most business negotiations take place in groups, however, and it is best that you learn about these problems now with an emphasis on operations issues.


Related Discussions:- Use cases

Define materials requirements planning, Describe a consequence of not proce...

Describe a consequence of not processing MRP (Materials Requirements Planning) records in a timely fashion.

Process design in operations managment, when asked to critically discuss ma...

when asked to critically discuss main factors that influence process design within a familiar organisation, does this mean a breakdown of the company''s design process or an analys

Explain type of antennas issues signals with equal strength, Name the type ...

Name the type of antennas issues signals with equal strength and clarity in all directions? a. directional b. bi-directional c. tri-directional d. omni-directional

Introduction of operations strategy, Introduction of Operations Strategy ...

Introduction of Operations Strategy The term strategy, given in the Collins English Dictionary is, 'the art or science of the planning and conduct of a war; generalship; a lon

Explain the size and timing of planned-order, A firm that produces wood shu...

A firm that produces wood shutters and bookcases has received two orders for shutters: one for 100 shutters and one for 150 shutters. The 100-unit order is due at the start of week

Explain this in relevance to uncertain events, Imagine the difficulties of ...

Imagine the difficulties of an employer whose decision context is choosing a new employee from a set of applicants whom he will interview. What do you think the employer's objectiv

Describe how cultural diversity can affect the functioning, Explain how cul...

Explain how cultural diversity can affect the effective functioning of virtual teams operating in a global economy Assess a company's marketing strategy, with a focus on marketing

What is the ex post redistribution, 1. Two individuals, Vic and Val, are bo...

1. Two individuals, Vic and Val, are both working. Vic faces a 10 percent chance of becoming unemployed for three months and losing $12,000 of income. Val's probability of becoming

Explain multifactor productivity, The following table shows data on the ave...

The following table shows data on the average number of customers processed by several bank service units each day. The hourly wage rate is $15, the overhead rate is 1.0 times labo

Explain reducing the project duration increases the risk, Take a position o...

Take a position on the following statement from the textbook author: "Reducing the project duration increases the risk of being late." Support your position

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd