Managing Operations CRCK5005Final Assignment

Managing Operations CRCK5005Final Assignment

University of Cumbria and Robert Kennedy College

General Instructions Please read carefully

You are required to complete the assignment outlined below and submit your completed final document through the RKC Online Campus by the end of Unit 6. Your grade will be based on a combination of your activities on the forum and the submitted written assignment. The written assignment contains a series of exercises based on a case study of your choice.

In addition, you must upload part of your case study analysis draft by the end of Unit 3 (see Interim Assignment, below). This draft will not be graded, but it is an important way of monitoring your progress as well as receiving formative feedback.

Your submitted document must have a clear structure and be presented as a professional report:

Cover page (including module name, student number, date of submission, number of words, assignment title)

Abstract (no more than 150 words, a single paragraph) summarizing the content of the report.

Table of contents (Table of tables/figures if necessary) numbered sections, page numbers

A subsection for each of the questions of the assessment - no more than 1500 words in total

A list of references list of publications consulted by you in preparation of the report.

Please ask any questions about the interim assignment and final assignment in the class discussion forums.

Final Assignment

A. Participation in class discussions. Almost every unit will have one exercise posted either on the forum or through an online poll. You must answer at least 3 of these exercises.

These answers shall be included in the final document uploaded on the campus, in the Appendices. This section is not included in the word count.

Weight: 10% of the final mark

B. Case study analysis Maximum 1500 words

For an organization of your choice discuss the points below. The analysis should be focused on a specific area/department/section of the business to allow a detailed discussed. Be careful when defining the actual processes (manufacturing or service delivery) as this is key to answering the questions.

1. Process design and layout analysis. Looking at the chosen case study organization or department, and with a specific focus on one product or service:

a. Present the company in a few sentences

b. Present the process map (diagram) for the product manufacturing or service delivery. Try to indicate the people vs the machines doing each operation.

c. Present the layout diagram

d. Briefly discuss the 4V and 5 Performance Objectives models as they apply to the chosen business and process. What does quality mean for that product/service?

e. Briefly discuss the technology used for the manufacturing / service delivery. Is there an impact on the 4V and 5 Performance Objectives?

Weight: 40% of the final mark

2. Planning and Control. Discuss the planning of the production together with the control elements. Include your opinion on whether the current approaches used are sufficient/optimal/lacking and why you think so. How is technology used for the planning and control?

Similar to the example below, using the diagrams from question 1, breakdown the process into the main operations and identify some estimated durations for each operation. Calculate the cycle time.

(Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2019 p 203)

Weight: 20% of the final mark

3. Capacity and Inventory Management. Choose and discuss one of the following

Capacity management: how is the demand measured and how is this being considered when planning the production?

Inventory Management: where and how are inventories being kept throughout the process?

Weight: 15% of the final mark

4. Strategy and Improvement. Starting from Hayes and Wheelwrights four stage model, indicate in a few sentences where the company/process is situated now, what are the current main limitations and what could be done about them? Focus on the operations management aspects, not the overall business strategy. For an excellent analysis, include one of the techniques for improvement in your analysis.

Weight: 10% of the final mark

The remaining 5% of the final mark will be dependent on the proficiency in the English language.

Interim Assignment

The Interim assignment requires you to submit, by the end of Unit 3, a draft of the final assignment through the OnlineCampus. The draft should be no longer than 500 words (any text more than that will not be read). The draft should clearly present the chosen case study which is key to answering each of the questions. You may choose to give more attention to the first questions or write a few sentences under each point indicating your proposed approach. Formative feedback will be given to you so that you may improve and expand for the final version.

Criteria and Weighting To obtain 70% or above: To obtain 60%-69%: To obtain 50 59%: To obtain a bare pass grade of between 49 - 40 %: To obtain a failing grade between 39 - 0%:

A. Class exercises (10%) Answered 3 or more exercises with a detailed and correct presentation. Numerical results are correct. Answered 3 exercises with some minor issues in the application of the theories and models. Answered less than 3 exercises and/or there are some issues with the answers to some of the exercises. One or two contributions to the forum exercises, but with limitations in the analysis indicating limited understanding of the concepts. No contribution to the forum exercises or wrong / off topic answers.

B1. Process design and layout (40%) An excellent consideration of the business processes addressing all points of the question with detailed diagrams and discussion. Good consideration of the business processes with some minor issues in the diagrams and / or in the discussion.

A reasonable presentation of processes, rather superficial in some areas and requiring a more detailed discussion. One or two points are not addressed. A limited presentation of the processes that demonstrates some gaps in the knowledge and understanding of the discussed models and theories. Only a few questions are answered. A very poor or missing presentation of the processes that does not support the demonstration of understanding of the theories and models. Questions are not answered directly, or the answers are not focused on a clearly defined case study.

B2. Planning and Control (20%) An excellent discussion presenting clearly the planning and control aspects of the chosen case study business. Clear diagram and correct numerical analysis. A good discussion of the planning and control aspects, with minor issues in the consideration of the case study business. Small issues in the diagram and/or numerical analysis. A reasonable presentation, with some issues or limitations in the presentation. Some errors in the diagram or calculation, but with a correct overall approach. Limited discussion, or too generic and not applied to the chosen case study business process. Incorrect diagram and /or numerical analysis. Little evidence of understanding of the requirements, missing or generic discussion. Missing or wrong diagram and numerical analysis.

B3. Capacity and Inventory Management (15%) An excellent consideration of the Capacity or Inventory Management topics, clearly focused on the case study business and demonstrating. Diagrams and/or numerical analysis is used to support the discussion. A good analysis of a) or b) focused on the case study business. Some minor issues or remaining superficial at times. A reasonable analysis introducing some models and theories, but with limitations in the application to the case study business. A poor analysis, limited in either scope, depth or both, but with some focus the question itself. Little evidence of understanding of the issues surrounding the Inventory / Capacity Management. Generic or missing analysis.

Strategy and Improvement (10%) An excellent consideration of the various topics around business strategy and clear focus on the business and how it could be improved. A good analysis of the strategy and limitations of the current processes with some minor limitations on the use of the theory or in the recommendations for improvement. A reasonable analysis with some focus on the case study, but with limitations on the integration and application of the theory to the chosen case study. A poor analysis, limited in either scope, depth or both. Lack of clarity or missing recommendations for improvement. Little evidence of understanding of the issues. No clear discussion of the assignment question: strategy, limitations, possible improvement.

Quality of expression in English (5%) Spelling, grammar, punctuation and vocabulary meet the minimum standard for this study level of accuracy and clarity. Written expression has very few errors in standard UK English spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Vocabulary choice shows an accurate understanding of the meaning of a wide range of specialist terms in the context of the subject. There is also a broad and varied general vocabulary chosen so that nuances of meaning can be expressed concisely. Sentences are grammatically correct and express arguments and ideas through using both short, simple sentences and longer, compound sentences that allow the writer to bring facts or ideas together in a logical way. Expression is appropriate to the form of the assessment (for example, the use of bullet points and captions instead of sentences). Meets the Tech Prof threshold criterion partly (3 points) Does not meet the Tech Prof threshold criterion (0 points)

Assessment Feedback Sheet and Marking scheme

Criteria Max Mark Achievable Mark Awarded Comments

A. Class exercises

Minimum 3 exercises addressed? Are the questions answered directly? Clear results presented (when requested)? 10% B1. Process design and layout

Is there a clear case study chosen? Are all points a)-f) addressed? Are the diagrams clear and easy to understand? Does the presentation go beyond Yes/No answers and includes a discussion of the topics? Is there a clear focus on the chosen business case? 40% B2. Planning and Control

Clear focus on the business case? Are the questions addressed directly? Clear diagram? Numerical analysis included? 20% B3. Capacity and Inventory Management

Is the question addressed directly? Does the discussion include the relevant theories and models? Are these applied to the chosen case study? 15% Strategy and Improvement

Is the company placed on the Hayes and Wheelwrights model? Is there a justification given for this? Are there limitations identified based on the previous sections and diagrams? Does the discussion use the findings from the previous sections? Are there recommendations for improvement included (or justification of why the process is good enough for now)? 10% Quality of expression in English

See description in the table above 5% Overall Comments Total 100% List of References

Slack, N. and Brandon-Jones, A., 2019. Operations Management. 9th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.