Reference no: EM132512942

Course - BSB51918 Diploma of Leadership and Management

BSBMGT517 - Manage Operational Plan Assignment - Australian Centre of Further Education, Australia

Assessment Task 1 - Questions

Purpose - To demonstrate the skills and knowledge required for BSBMGT517 - Manage operational plan.

Task overview - You are required to complete 19 questions.

Question 1a: Briefly define "Operational Plan" and its role in achieving the organisation's objectives. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words.

Question 1b: Briefly explain why it is important to research, analyse and determine resource requirements when developing an operational plan. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words.

Question 1c: List three (3) types of resources that need to be considered when developing an operational plan.

Question 2: Briefly explain why it is important to develop and implement consultation processes when developing an operational plan. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words.

Question 3: Briefly explain why it is important to develop KPIs (key performance indicators) to measure organisational performance. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words.

Question 4: Briefly explain why it is important to develop and implement contingency plans for the operational plan. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words

Question 5a: Briefly explain why it is important to present resource acquisition proposals effectively. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words.

Question 5b: A report can be used to present proposals for resource requirements. List three (3) features of a well-written report.

Question 6: Briefly explain why it is important to obtain approval from and explain the plan to relevant parties before implementing the operational plan. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words.

Question 7: Briefly explain why it is important to recruit and/or induct employees according to organisational policies and procedures. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words for each blank.

Question 8: The acquisition of resources for many organisations occurs in accordance with defined policies, practices and procedures and many include:

standard operating procedures (SOPs)

organisational culture

organisational guidelines

Describe what is meant by each of these and why they are important. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words for each blank.

Question 9: Read the following case study, and give advice to Jim about what information related to intellectual property rights and responsibilities he should have researched before asking the computer technicians to install on the computer generic work-processing and spreadsheet software. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words.

Case study - Jim is an operations manager. The organisation he is working for is currently upgrading their computer systems. This project also requires the replacement of 20 old computers with 30 new ones. After setting up the new computers, Jim asks the computer technicians to install on the computer generic work-processing and spreadsheet software that had been previously purchased.

Question 10: Based on your own experience, explain how you would monitor and review your team members' work performance and progress in order to achieve the operational targets. Answer must be no fewer than 50 words.

Question 11a: Briefly explain why budgets are prepared. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words.

Question 11b: Briefly explain why performance against budgets is monitored. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words.

Question 11c: List the five (5) stages of budgeting processes

Question 12a: List three (3) methods that you can use to identify problems in workplace

Question 12b: The causes of under-performance can be categorised into the following two reasons. List one (1) strategy that can be used to solve under-performance issue.

Question 13a: Summarise the difference between mentoring and coaching. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words

Question 13b: Suppose you are a line manager. Briefly explain what you would do to ensure that you use resources effectively, economically and safely when you provide mentoring and coaching to support your team members by completing the following form.

Question 14: Support you are the line manager of a team. Briefly answer the following questions related to variations to operational plans. Use one (1) or two (2) sentence for the first questions and list the relevant people for the second and third questions.

Question 15a: If an organisation does not have an appropriate policy and procedure, they may have to develop one. A good policy and procedure should have clear guidelines regarding documentation and record access.

Briefly describe what should be included in a policy and procedure regarding documentation and record access. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words.

Question 15b: Performance records relating to an individual or a team of individuals should be kept in accordance with relevant legislation. List one (1) legislation here.

Question 16: Describe how operational plans are developed through the following approaches. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words for each approach.

Question 17: Describe the alternative approaches to developing key performance indicators to meet business objectives. Answer must be no fewer than 25 words

Question 18: List two (2) legislations which are relevant to operational plan of an organisation

Question 19: List two (2) organisation's policies or practices or procedures that directly related to the operational plan

Assessment Task 2 - Project (Scenario)

Purpose - To demonstrate the skills and knowledge required for BSBMGT517 - Manage operational plan

Task overview - You are required to complete a scenario based project and prepare a set of documents accordingly.

Project Scenario - You are working for ABC Company and is required by the Marketing Manager Liz to take on the management of a specific part of the Operational Plan (July-Sept) (Attachment 1)-the purchase of delivery vans for each of the retail outlets.

You will need to access ABC Company's policies and documents (specified in section "Resources Required" below. You are required to complete the following tasks by compiling your responses to each task in a report.

1. Conduct research to determine the resources that will be required to manage and implement this item "Acquire additional resources-delivery van" in the operational plan. You are required to:

- List the research questions, and state your findings to each question

- The research questions must address the relevant items in the mission statement and business plan objectives (see Attachment 1-Organisation operational plan sections 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3)

2. Prepare a detailed consultation plan that will outline the processes and people who will need to be consulted for. (Refer to Attachment 1-Organisation operational plan section 2.0 and Attachment 2-Oranisational Chart).

3. Prepare a detailed operational plan for the acquisition of the delivery vans based on the above research and analysis. Use the existing headings from the Attachment 1-organisation operational plan section 3.0 as a starting point, but make changes if necessary

- In the operational plan, establish a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) that will assist in monitoring the implementation of your detailed operational plan. The KPIs must support the broader KPI outlined in the operational plan.

4. The operational plan requires the delivery vans to be purchased and decaled by 31 July. Prepare contingency plans for the following risks that have been identified:

Vehicle supplier cannot supply 150 units by 31 July.

The corporate logo is being redesigned and will not be released until August 20 so vehicle decals will have to be developed before putting the job out to tender.

The budgeted cost per vehicle of $42,680 is based on the current exchange rate of the Australian dollar. There is a risk the dollar value could drop by 10-15% and increase the value of the vans by this percentage.

5. Prepare a briefing document with no fewer than 150 words, to present to senior managers, for the acquisition of the delivery vans. As this specific operational plan has an overall budget of $7.5 million, it is important to carefully consider the specifications of the vans (such as size, engine capacity, fuel efficiency and warranty) and their suitability to align with ABC Company's commitment to being environmentally friendly. The briefing document should contain the following:

Recommendations, with supporting arguments, of suitable makes and models.

Reference to the sources of specialist advice that contributed to these recommendations.

Recommendations of an acquisition process that aligns with Attachment 3- Purchasing resources acquisition policy and Attachment 4-Purchasing resources acquisition procedures.

6. The marketing department has provided you with some specifications for the design of the decals for the delivery vans. You need to take this information to a graphic artist and request a design for use on the sides and back of the vans. Before entering into any purchasing agreement, prepare a short briefing document (no fewer than 100 words) that outlines the intellectual property issues that may be associated with the supply of this design.

7. Prepare a briefing document (no fewer than 150 words) for the retail outlet work teams that explains your detailed operational plan and outlines how it will be implemented in the set time line. The briefing document also needs to:

Outline the aspects of the operational plan that will need to be implemented at each retail outlet.

Include a strategy to utilise existing retail staff in operating the delivery service.

Contain a WHS risk assessment and legislative review of the issues associated with having retail staff operating delivery vans.

8. Use the KPIs developed in task 3 to develop a monitoring process for the implementation of the detailed operational plan. Use the assumption that the time line for the plan is set for one month (completion by 31 July). The monitoring process should include the following:

A breakdown of the overall plan into tasks.

Time lines and responsibilities assigned for each task.

A budget allocation to appropriate tasks.

A mechanism to quantitatively analyse the level of completion of each task (for example: 15 delivered equates to 10% completed).

9. Prepare a budget for the purchasing and decaling of the vans using the following criteria:

The project covers a period of three months from 1 July to 30 September, which should cover all of the financial aspects of the detailed operational plan.

Financial management is based on accrual accounting, so expenditure is based on events such as the approval of a purchase requisition and not when cash finally changes hands.

Purchase of the vans is based on a 10% payment on placement of the order and the remainder on receipt of goods. The budget allocation for each van is $42,680.

Design of a van decal requires 50% payment on concept approval and 50% of delivery of final design. The cost for the design is budgeted at $5,000.

Decaling of vans is a payment on a weekly invoice based on the number of vans decaled. The cost for each van is budgeted at $1,000.

Project management is a set weekly expenditure item of $6,000 for six weeks.

Staff training in van operational procedures occurs in the two-month period after delivery and has an allocation of $3,000 per retail outlet for casual replacement staff.

10. At the end of the first month (31 July) the progress of the operational plan is as follows:

The order for 150 vans has been placed with a purchase value of $45,238 for each van.

There is shortfall in supply and only 67 vans have been delivered. The remainder should be delivered in two months.

The van decal has not received final approval from the CEO, but this is expected within the next few days.

All of the supplied vans should be decaled in the next 30 days.

The remainder of the decaled vans should be decaled within 30 days of their delivery.

Project management costs need to extend to 12 weeks, but the second six-week period should only cost $3,000 per week.

The purchase order specified vans with manual transmission. They only require a normal driver's licence for operation, but approximately 50% of the retail staff have never driven a manual vehicle.

Use the monitoring process developed in task 8 to prepare a review report with no fewer than 150 words of the operational plan's progress to date. This report should cover the following items:

Analysis and interpretation of budgeted and actual financial information.

Identified areas of under-performance.

Recommendations for variations to the operational plan.

11. The retail staff have had a series of consultation meetings with managers and have developed a proposal where staff who have only ever driven vehicles with automatic transmission, should have specific external training to operate vehicles with manual transmission. This should cost approximately $200 per person and there are 315 people who need this training. After the initial training, they have requested that a skilled workplace coach support them in using the van for their first five deliveries. The time cost of this coaching would equate to another $250 per person.

Prepare a detailed operational plan for the external training and internal coaching of sales staff to enable them to drive the vans for deliveries. The operational plan should include the following:

KPIs for monitoring the plan's implementation progress and outcomes.

A breakdown of the overall plan into tasks.

Time lines and responsibilities assigned for each task.

A budget allocation to appropriate tasks.

A mechanism to quantitatively analyse the level of completion of each task.

A process to evaluate the outcomes of the plan.

A risk analysis of factors that could prevent the successful implementation of the plan.

12. Past records associated with the management of operational plans appear to be very difficult to find. A few discrete questions to other managers have indicated that many of the files are still held by the relevant operational managers. Access the Attachment 5- Information management policy and Attachment 6-Information management procedures and prepare a guideline with no fewer than 150 words that will assist operational managers in managing and storing this information in accordance with policy and procedures.

You must complete the project unassisted by the assessor or other personnel, but may refer to reference material as needed.

Note - Need approx 1000 words and NEED TO DO BOTH TASK 1 AND 2.

Attachment:- Manage Operational Plan Assignment File.rar