Business Operations Management

Programme

iMBA

Module name

Business Operations Management

Schedule Term

Student Reference Number (SRN)

Report/Assignment Title

Date of Submission

(Please attach the confirmation of any extension received)

Declaration of Original Work:

I hereby declare that I have read and understood BPP’s regulations on plagiarism and that this is my original work, researched, undertaken, completed and submitted in accordance with the requirements of BPP School of Business and Technology.

The word count, excluding contents table, bibliography and appendices, is words.

Student Reference Number: Date:

By submitting this coursework you agree to all rules and regulations of BPP regarding assessments and awards for programmes. Please note, submission is your declaration you are fit to sit.

BPP University reserves the right to use all submitted work for educational purposes and may request that work be published for a wider audience.

BPP School of Business and Technology

Assignment Part Mark Approach

1. Organisation’s overview

5

Provide a clear and comprehensive overview of the business you have selected, and define the scope of your analysis. Whether it is the organisation’s global operations, a particular region, the local market place, a specific branch or a single business location.

An excellent response will include key and relevant company data – suitably presented and tailored to the scope of analysis - which will facilitate an understanding of their current business position.

2. Gantt Chart of the assessment

preparation process

10

Create a Gantt chart for the work you will have to carry out in order to deliver this assessment, in full and on time.

An excellent answer will include a detailed and realistic Gantt chart, which includes ALL the activities and their respective times that you

indentation levels to distinguish between the project, key deliverables and sub deliverables, as well as identifying all the relevant predecessors for each activity. The critical path should be highlighted. An excellent Gantt chart will be one that is created using specialised project management software tools.

3. Operations challenges analysis

25

Critical analysis of business challenges using established operations management frameworks.

An excellent response will include a thorough examination of the most pressing operation management challenges the business is now facing, which may impede the achievement of the planned strategic goals. Challenges must be clearly identified. You should use established operation management frameworks to structure your answer, such as: the 4Vs (Volume, Variety, Variation, Visibility); OM Performance Objectives (Q, C, S D, F); the 7 Wastes of Lean Management (over processing, over production, inventory, defects, motion, transport, waiting time); and/or any other frameworks you consider relevant. An excellent response will go beyond qualitative descriptions and provide a thorough critically analysis. This needs to be supported with specific KPIs and other quantitative data, which shows actual organisational performance against planned targets. You should use suitable data visualisation tools and methods, such as: tables, charts, diagrams, and/or graphs, amongst others.

4. Process analysis

25

Evaluate the key processes for the production and/or delivery of the products or services offered by the organisation. Discuss advantages and disadvantages of such processes in terms of their ability to meet the desired performance objectives.

An excellent response will start by mapping a specific key business process of the business, which will be used for the analysis. You should justify the selection of this process, as well as the level of analysis you conduct. You should use a suitable mapping methodology to create a professional process map. The key stages of the process, through which resources are transformed into goods and services, must be clearly identified. Problematic areas and activities within the map must be identified and should be used to conduct a pros and cons critical analysis into the overall business process approach chosen by the company. Finally, an amended process map should be produced, as a recommendation in which the problematic areas have been corrected.

5. Improvement recommendations

25

Provide business operations recommendations for continuous quality improvement.

An excellent answer will consolidate all your research findings and analysis into a set of clearly articulated, concise, realistic and feasible recommendations, which will enhance the organisation’s strategic

your suggestions, in order to prioritise them. You are encouraged to use continuous quality improvement frameworks to structure your answer - such as the PDSA cycle, or other relevant ones - and you should offer managerial guidance in terms of duties, responsibilities, implementation timings and key performance indicators to be used, as well as their measurement and control methods.

6. Presentation and Layout

5

Structure and presentation as a professional business document; easy to read, clearly laid out, good use of headings, page numbering

images and references are not included in the word count. Refer to your student handbook for further guidance.

7. Academic

References

5

The assessment is supported with a comprehensive set of relevant and - where possible - recent citations and academic references from

media articles, amongst others. All references should be presented in accordance to Harvard referencing standards.

Total

100

Criteria

Pass Grades

Fail Grades

High

Distinction

Merit

Pass

Fail

Distinction

85-100%

70-84%

60-69%

50-59%

30-49%

(c) Extremely strong and

(c) Extremely strong and

(c) Evidence of an argument

(c) Evidence of an overall convincing

(c) Evidence of a consistent

consistent

consistent

that is generally

argument but may

argument but

argument

argument that convincingly

convincing with

have weaknesses,

may have

making a

addresses issues

a good internal

gaps or

weaknesses,

(b) Sustained

(b) Precise and

(b) Some clear

(b) Clear

(b) Unclear or

excellence in the

well judged

evidence of the

evidence of an

imprecise

application of

application of

application of

understanding

understanding

thoughts and

thoughts and

thoughts and

of thoughts and

of thoughts and

practices at the

practices at the

practices at the

practices at the

practices at the

forefront of the

forefront of the

forefront of the

forefront of the

forefront of the

discipline

discipline

discipline

discipline.

discipline.

Criteria

Pass Grades

Fail Grades

High

Distinction

85-100%

Distinction

70-84%

Merit

60-69%

Pass 50-59%

Fail

30-49%

Low Fail

0-29%

The work

The work

The work

The work

The work

The work

displays:

displays:

displays:

displays:

displays:

displays:

convincing whole with

including uncertainties and

consistency and addresses most

inconsistencies. Clear use of

significant gaps or be

weaknesses in the integration

evidence of

conflicts.

issues. Very

information

unconvincing.

of evidence

originality.

Excellent use of information

good use of

gathered but may have some

Clear use of

and/or no

Impressive

gathered which to

information

weaknesses in

information

awareness of

dexterity in the

support and

gathered to

the integration

gathered but

the limitations

use of

further the

support the

into the argument.

may not be

or weaknesses

information

argument

argument.

sufficient to

of the research.

gathered to

sustain the

support the

argument.

argument.

(d) Evidence of an innovative or original use of extensive

(d) Substantial research and evidence of an innovative use

(d) Clear evidence of considerable personal

(d) Appropriate use of a wide range of personal

(d) Evidence of a range of personal research but

(d) Over reliance on very restricted range of personal or

Argument

(continue

d)

personal

of a wide range

research and

research which

evidence of

secondary

(d)

research which

of personal

the use of a

is critically

methodological

research much

Independe

has been thoroughly

critically

research with clear and consistent

diverse range of appropriate sources but

evaluated for key conceptual and

or conceptual evaluation may be limited,

of which may not be evaluated and

nt

Research

evaluated both conceptually

critical

evaluation both

may contain problems with

methodological issues although

inconsistent or inappropriate

may not be directly related

and

conceptually

consistency in

this may not be

to the question

methodologically

and

the conceptual

consistent

or area

methodologicall

and

throughout

y

methodological

critical

evaluation

Presentati

(a) Excellent

(a) Excellent

(a) Good

(a) Adequate

(a) Adequate

(a) Poor

on

structure and

structure and

structure and

structure and

structure and

structure and

(a) Structure

presentation

presentation

presentation

presentation

presentation

presentation

(b) Precise, full

(b) Precise, full

(b) Full and

(b) Good

(b) Competent

(b) Poor

(b)

and appropriate references and notes.

and appropriate references and notes.

appropriate references and notes with minor or

references and notes with minor or insignificant

references and notes but may contain inconsistencies,

references and notes with multiple inconsistencies,

Referencin

g

(c) Use of

Language

insignificant

errors or

errors or

errors or

errors

omissions

omissions

omissions

(c) Subtle use of

(c) Precise use

(c) Clear and

(c) Generally

(c) Generally

(c) Serious

language

of language

precise use of

clear use of

understandable

errors in the

expressing

expressing

language

language

use of language

use of language

highly nuanced

complex

allowing a

sufficient for

but significant

which makes

thought with

thought with

complex

arguments to

errors in

meaning

clarity and

clarity, accuracy

argument to be

be readily

expression

unclear or

precision to a

and precision

easily

understood and

affecting overall

imprecise

level appropriate

which furthers

understood and

followed

clarity

for submission for publication.

and enhances the argument

followed