Master of Business Administration: Managing Operations Assignment

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Master of Business Administration

Managing Operations

Assignment

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Assignment Brief As part of the formal assessment for the Master of Business Administration you are required to submit an Operations Management assignment. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.

Learning Outcomes After completing the module the student should be able to: 1 Evaluate problems in operations and identify approaches to overcoming

them. 2 Critically evaluate operating plans and identify areas for improvement. 3 Justify, implement and evaluate changes to operations in line with

modern approaches. 4 Develop outline plans for investment in new capacity, including location

and layout. 5 Evaluate operations processes so that customer requirements including

quality, delivery and reliability are achieved. 6 Differentiate and devise suitable control systems. 7. Apply principles of project management.

Assignment Task

Choose an Operations Management problem relating to an organisation with which you are familiar and undertake a critical review. This should include (indicative marks provided):

1. an introduction to the problem and its relationship to operations practice in the organisation; (10 Marks)

2. an explanation of the process(es) under consideration (ideally incorporating some form of process map) (20 Marks)

3. a discussion of relevant Operations theory (this should address the underlying processes on which quality depends - do not rely on quality theory only); (15 Marks*)

4. a comparison of the theory with the practice; (20 Marks*) 5. consideration of how potential changes would improve quality

and/or customer focus; (5 Marks) 6. recommendations, based on the comparison above, as to how the

process(es) could be improved, accompanied by a revised process map clearly showing the improvements (20 Marks)

7. Referencing both in text and in the Bibliography, using the Harvard system (10 marks)

*No more than 10 marks will be awarded if you only consider general (‘soft’) quality theory (such as TQM, SERVQUAL and Six Sigma)

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Normally, a published case study will not let you display the depth of knowledge of its Operations which this assignment requires, so you are advised to use an organisation with which you are familiar. The problem you select should be significant, it should allow you to make reference to the learning outcomes of the module as listed above, and it should relate mainly to the Operations of the organisation. Examples of issues which would form the basis of the assignment include: investment in new plant or machinery; location of business premises: implementation of new quality processes; development of products and processes; distribution of products; development of control processes; The management of change projects It is essential that you explain what changes need to be made to the operations processes to provide improvements in quality. You should make use of the theory to critique organisational practice, and to develop recommendations showing how similar issues could be handled better. You are expected to show evidence of reading beyond the online course material and basic internet resources (eg Wikipedia) and to reference using the Harvard system.

The maximum total word count is 4000 excluding the title page, reference list, and appendices. You are required to show the exact word count on the front page of the assessment. You will be penalised if you exceed the word count by more than 10%. Please be aware that the quotation of an incorrect word count will be treated as an attempt to deceive and will be considered as a disciplinary offence under the appropriate University regulations. The full word count policy is available on i-Learn. Please also carefully note the University regulations on plagiarism. Before starting this assignment you are required to send to your tutor an outline in up to 500 words of the problem you will consider, what theory you plan to use and how you would expect to improve the problem situation.

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Grade Criteria

> 69% � Clear explanation of the problem situation, and a good contextualisation in the operations of the organisation � Detailed discussion of the elements making up the relevant process(es) � Critical discussion of theory, indicating wide reading and a balanced approach � Application of the theory to the detailed process, indicating where theory does and does not fit the practice and vice versa � Balanced approach to improving quality and customer focus � Detailed realistic recommendations based on the application of theory to the problem � Correct referencing using the Harvard system

60 – 69% Demonstration of most of the above elements, but one or two not evident

50 – 59% � Sound explanation of the problem situation, and some evidence of contextualisation in the operations of the organisation � Evidence of the majority of the elements making up the relevant process(es) � Detailed presentation of theory, indicating some reading and balance � Application of the theory to some elements of the process, with some indication of where theory does and does not fit the practice and vice versa � Sound approach to improving quality and customer focus � Presentation of recommendations mainly based on the application of theory to the problem � Adequate referencing using the Harvard system

45 – 49% Demonstration of most of the elements in the previous category, but one or two not evident

40 – 44% � Basic explanation of the problem situation, with limited contextualisation in the operations of the organisation � Cursory discussion of the elements making up the relevant process(es) � Basic presentation of theory, indicating limited reading and balance � Basic attempt at application of the theory to the process, with limited indication of where theory does and does not fit he practice and vice

versa � Cursory attempt to improving quality and customer focus � Superficial recommendations with little basis in theory � Inadequate referencing using the Harvard system

< 40% � Little or no explanation of the problem situation, and minimal contextualisation in the operations of the organisation � Minimal discussion of the elements making up the relevant process(es) � Limited uncritical discussion of theory, with limited evidence of reading and � Trivial application of the theory to the process, with little or no attempt at comparison � Little or no approach to improving quality and customer focus � Superficial recommendations with limited basis in theory � Little or no referencing

Learning Outcomes Assessed: all.