Reference no: EM132457507 , Length: word count:4000

Operations Management Assignment -

Aim(s) -

To develop and introduce and develop a critical understanding operations management for modern organisations in a variety of sectors of activity;

To consider operations strategy in its broadest sense and relate this to the internal management and organisation of the production of goods and services within organisations in different sectors of the economy;

To examine how to organise resources and operations, and how to improve them using a variety of quality tools and techniques and process improvement activities;

To consider the organisation in its wider context; examining how inputs on the supply side can be managed and improved, and on the demand side how customers, and customer satisfaction can be understood.

Learning Outcomes - On completion of this module, students should be able to:

Evaluate the nature, scope and extent of manufacturing and service operations strategy;

Critically evaluate the use of quality tools and techniques for a wide range of organisational problems;

Solve complex operational problems related to managing capacity and constraints within organisations;

Demonstrate the application of strategies, tools and techniques to improve business operations and appraise and select appropriate methods for managing supply bases for a variety of organisations.

Assessment - One of the key aspects of any business (the business being considered in a broad sense) is to provide services and/or products in line with customer demands. Operations Management deals with the design and management of delivery of these products and services including processes and supply chains. The study of Operations Management involves every level i.e. strategic, tactical and operational.

TASK: Pick an Organisation of your choice. You are an Operations Management Consultant. You are required to undertake an individual research project and to prepare a Management Report (4000 words) for the Board of Directors of the company.

Explain/discuss Operations in the organisation - (Not Marketing, Not HRM- OPERATIONS).

The key aspects that need to be covered within the report are:

PART A -

i) Critically evaluate the existing operations functions within the organisation and the role of the operations manager within the organisation. (Note: I would expect you to evaluate current practices and evaluate them in the light of standard practices within the industry that the organisation is in and how well/badly does this organisation align with the industry standards)

ii) Draw a Process Chart for the organisation showing how customers are processed through operations within the organisation. Critically discuss how the Process Management should be planned in the organization to achieve operational excellence. Support your answer by illustrating:-

Process analysis and improvement

Customer service strategies

Inventory management

Scheduling operations

Purchasing and supplier management

iii) Identify if the organisation is implementing any Lean processes. If it is then critically evaluate if what benefits it is bringing to the organisation and IF NOT then critically evaluate how implementation of lean management could benefit the organisation. (Extra credit would be provided for use of examples).

PART B -

i) Managing Capacity is the most tricky part of operations management as it is characterised by uncertainity. Using the organisation as an example you need to critically evaluate whether: "Organisations should always attempt to match its capacity to its forecast and known demand patterns or there might be situations where this might not be needed".

PART C -

i) Collate all your finidings about the organisation and draw concrete conclusions and draw some recommendations for the organisation, which can be from the practitioner i.e. other organisations/industry or academic research.

You need to follow a REPORT FORMAT. Report Structure, Layout and suggested word count:

Executive Summary

Introduction (setting the scene and purpose of the report) [350 words]

Operations Management in the Organisation highlighting the key issues as well (Part A - i) [750 words]

Process Management in the Organisation including the Process Chart (Part A - ii) [1000 words]

Lean Management in the Organisation (Part A - iii) [700 words]

Capacity Management within the organisation. (Part B) [700 words]

Conclusions and Recommendations. (Part C) [500 words]

Correct use of Harvard Referencing system.

Attachment:- Operations Management Assignment File.rar