Operations Management (Module 10, 2016)

Bruno Silvestre
Assessment Document
This document describes the requirements for each type of assessment.

Course Requirements and Values

Participation / Professionalism (individual)

In-Class Activities / Mini-Cases (group)
Test 1 (individual)
Test 2 (individual)
Group Project
Total

Weighting (%)
or maximum
points
10%
20%
20%
30%
20%
100%

1. Participation / Professionalism (10%):

This grading component is referred to both contribution and professionalism. Regarding the
first, students are required to contribute/participate constructively and regularly to class
discussions. Discussions of reading materials, textbook and articles are evaluated as
contribution. Comments should be directed to both class members and the Instructor to
create a rich, thought-provoking environment that stimulates thinking and learning.
Professionalism includes being punctual, being courteous to fellow students and the
Instructor, being conscientious when working as a team, respect diversity, raising their hands
before speaking in class, and other aspects of behaviour normally expected of students or
employees. This grading component will be available to students at the end of the course.

2. In Class Activities / Mini-Cases (20%):

Students are required to deliver any required homework and in-class exercises (including the
analysis of mini-cases, the company visit report, analysis of Walmart business case, among
other in-class activities) to the Instructor. These activities are usually done in groups of 2-4
students, but can be done individually depending on the circumstances and its learning
goals. The dates when these activities happen may vary at the Instructors discretion, and
students will not know the dates in advance. The dates of these activities will depend on the
topic, students response to that specific topic, and the way the course progresses. This
grading component will be available in full to students at the end of the course.
There will be NO make-up for any part of this grading component. Students who miss an inclass or mini-case activity for a legitimate reason (excused absence) will have the weight
added to the Group Project component. Students who miss an in-class or mini-case activity
without a legitimate reason (unexcused absence) will receive a mark of 0 (zero).

Company visits
On April 12th and April 14th, we will have company visits. Due to space limitations, class will
be split in two groups: Group 1 and Group 2. One group will visit the operations of a local
company while the other group will work on other equally demanding activity in class. This
activity will be detailed by the Instructor in the class immediately before the company visits.
Students visiting the companies are required to write a company visit report which should
contain the following:

Brief history of the company

Brief description of the company (size, turnover, etc)
Description of product(s)
Main markets
Main processes
Current issues for operations managers in that company
Overall reflection, learning points, recommendations

The company visit report is expected to be 3-5 pages in length and is an INDIVIDUAL
assignment. You are expected to do some background research, e.g. by Internet, about the
company and its processes.
Group 1 OC-System on April 12th Assignment deadline: April 13th @ 5:00pm
Group 2 Alhstrom Glassfibre on April 14th Assignment deadline: April 15th @ 5:00pm

3. Test 1 (20%):
The Test 1 may contain any or all of multiple choice questions, quantitative analysis
questions, short and/or long answer questions (explanations or essays), completion
questions and short case analysis. These will include questions, which require students to
analyse, understand and explain business situations, eventually making decisions and
providing recommendations. The Test 1 will cover all the content covered up to Session 5,
and is designated as a closed book and closed notes test.

4. Test 2 (30%):
The Test 2 may contain any or all of multiple choice questions, quantitative analysis
questions, short and/or long answer questions (explanations or essays), completion
questions and short case analysis. These will include questions, which require students to
analyse, understand and explain business situations, eventually making decisions and
providing recommendations. The Test 2 will cover all the content covered up to Session 12,
and is designated as a closed book and closed notes test.

5. Group Project (20%):

This assignment has 2 different parts: Part 1 and Part 2, as explained below.

Part 1 (deadline: April 15th @ 5:00pm):

Students will work in groups of 2 (the Instructor will assign the groups). The overall purpose
of this assignment is to give students the opportunity to try out the techniques covered in the
course in a real situation and to find out what works and what doesnt and why. A suitable
operation for improvement is any activity where people or materials are being processed
and where you think it could be organised better. Students will pick either a
business/organisation that they know well or a business/organisation that they choose to
study (See Appendix 1 for some examples). Follow the steps below:

Select a target business/organisation in the production/service sector that interests

you.
Have an initial brainstorm with your group mate about what the key operations
management issues for that company (and its products or services) might be. A good
starting point is:
o What does this company have to be really good at every day in order to be
successful?
o What distinguishes it from other companies in the sector doing similar things?
o Think about what the majority of employees do (operations is usually the
biggest function in terms of employees).
o What must this company do in the longer term in order to retain its competitive
position? Think about the 4Vs approach (Chapter 1) and the 5 performance
objectives of operations (Chapter 2)

Once the group explored the points above, it is expected to write a report on the results. The
report should be no-more-than 5 pages long (please note it is the maximum, not the target),
be well-structured and coherent to read, and be properly referenced (worth 40% of your
assessment for this assignment). The following approach can be applied:
State the problem

Describe the operation that you have chosen, and why it needs to be
improved.

Identify performance
objective

What is the overall purpose of the improvement in terms of performance

objectives (chap 2)? What are the order-winning criteria, what are the
qualifying criteria, and what are other less important criteria? What has the
business got to do well? What does the customer value?

Data collection and

analysis

Use appropriate methods to collect and present data, for example, layout
diagrams (chap 7), rates of arrival/serving of customers (supplement to
chap 11), process map (chap 4) etc. See chapter 18.
(Often just representing the current processes is more than half of the
analysis because problems and potential solutions become obvious).

Generating alternatives

Use your imagination to think of as many different ways of improving the

process as possible. Brainstorm! Think outside the box!

Evaluate the alternatives

From the list of alternatives generated, evaluate them using appropriate

criteria related to the desired outcome. This could include a cost-benefit
analysis or reduction in operation time, or reduction of one or more types
of waste etc. Some ideas may be more appropriate for the short term
(easy to do), and some may be for the long term (needs investment).

Make recommendations

Choose your best ideas and present them in a recommended order of

implementation, starting with what you think is likely to be the most cost
effective (i.e. maximum impact for minimum cost).

Personal reflection

Look back at the overall exercise. What worked well? Why? What was
most difficult? Why? What would you do differently next time? Do you think
you could use this approach in your future chosen career (i.e. in any
business function)?

Please send the report to the Instructor by email by April 15th @ 5:00pm.
Come and see me for information or ideas at any time. I can help you to identify the points of
interest in that organisation. The best assignments are usually ones where we have pooled
our ideas!

Part 2 (deadline: April 21st @ 5:00pm):

This is the continuation of the Part 1 of this assignment. Students will work in groups of 4
(two Part 1 groups now working together the Instructor will assign the new groups).
Students will discuss and agree on the target business/organization, and carry out an
investigation into the Operations Management of such business/organization. The selected
business/organization must be one that was the focus of the Part 1 of this assignment of one
of the two groups.
The purpose of the investigation is to understand, as far as possible, the specific issues in
each topic of Operations Management that are present in that company and how they are
managed. The result should be a coherent presentation about the scope and objectives of
operations management in the organisation, and the methods employed to manage
operations in that business as well as the key issues, current challenges, and
recommendations. The overall approach is as follows:

Using business directories, Internet and other sources, obtain basic data about the
organisation - activities, locations, financial results, products/services etc
Using literature and Internet sources, investigate as many as possible of the areas
below and, together with the groups own judgement and common sense, build-up a
picture of how operations in this organisation are managed.

Prepare a no-more-than 10 minute presentation (please note it is the maximum, not the
target) for delivery in class in the last session of the module April 22nd (worth 60% of your
assessment for this assignment). Each group will also have 5 minutes for Q&A and
discussion. Please send your slides (only no need for a report) to the Instructor by email by
April 21st @ 5:00pm.
Areas to investigate:
Notes:
You do not have to answer all the following questions. They are just meant to be
trigger questions to get you thinking!
Not every area may be applicable to your organisation, and nor will you necessarily
find information about every aspect for your chosen organisation. If you cannot find
out exactly what you are looking for regarding your chosen organisation, you may
find it helpful to look at how other organisations in the same sector treat the same
issue.
You may add any other section you feel to be appropriate to operations management
e.g. research and development focus, technology development, capital assets etc.

Feel free to see me or email me at any time for further ideas or guidance.

1. Business description and background (not more than page)

Introduction to products/services, market sectors
BRIEF history
Current financial performance
Geographical areas of activity
Number of employees
2. Strategy (not more than page)
What is the overall business strategy?
What therefore is the operations task? (i.e. what must the Operations function be
good at or deliver to customers?)
3. Capacity planning and management
What sort of time horizon is used for capacity planning?
What determines "capacity"? Capacity of which resources?
What is normal capacity? What is maximum capacity?
What are the key resources for which capacity must be planned?
How much seasonal variation in demand might there be?
Is a chasing or levelling strategy used? Why?
What sort of shift patterns would be used? Is it a 24x7 operation?
4. Layout of the area and process type
Is it possible to create a plan (map) of the area?
What are the main flows? (people, materials, trolleys etc)
What process type do you think is used and why?
What are the main benefits of this process type?
Can you draw a flow chart following a person or product? Or a simple box diagram?
What is "materials handling" in this context (if any)?
5. Inventory management and sourcing
What different types of inventory exist?
What are the key objectives for managing these different inventories?
What are the key drivers when sourcing?
6. Staffing
What are the key skills required among the operations staff?
Where do they acquire these skills?
What is the availability of these skills in the local/national/international market?
What are the key personnel management policies required?
7. Operational success
What are some of the key performance measures that you would need to manage the
business if you were:
o an operations supervisor in one area of this organisation (day-to-day, tactical
measures)
o the operations director (longer term, financial, strategic)
8. Quality
What are the key quality issues for the customer/consumer?
What does conformance to standard or regulatory compliance mean in this
business?

What are the key performance standards that are applied?

What does quality assurance mean in this organisation?
How is quality improved?

9. Lean or agile?
What does "lean" operation mean in this organisation? What evidence is there?
What does "agile" operation mean in this organisation? What evidence is there?
Which do you think is more important or appropriate and why?
10. Current challenges
What impact does globalisation have on this organisation?
What are the key issues relating to demographics in this organisation?
What does sustainability mean in this organisation? What are they working on in this
area, or what should they be working on? E.g. what are the key environmental
issues? Do they have a policy regarding auditing or inspection of foreign suppliers to
ensure appropriate working conditions?
11. Summary and review
Overall, what do you see as the key strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and
threats (from an operations management perspective) of this organisation?
What are the recommendations the group has to offer?
What are the key perspectives for the future?
What Im really looking for:
Understanding of the key points and vocabulary from the module and how they are
applied in a real organisation
Analysis of the key elements of the operations function in an organisation,
demonstrating an appreciation of the issues faced by operations managers and some
of the solutions
Quality of analysis rather than quantity of facts and description
The grid used to assess this assignment is shown in Appendix 2. All students are required to
fill a self-evaluation sheet (Appendix 3) for Part 2 of the Group Project

Appendix 1: Target Business/Organization

Choose a sector that interests you and then choose an organisation that works in this
sector.
Potential sectors or types of organisation:

National or international operations, e.g.:

o Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG)
o Automotive
o Pharmaceutical
o Clothing
o Appliances
o Luxury products
o Food
o Computers
o Smart phones
o Etc

Hospital operations

Sports complex

Stadium

Hotel

Restaurant

Airline

Airport e.g. security company, baggage handler

Car hire company

Hypermarket

Rubbish disposal or recycling centre

Transportation company - buses, railway

Water or sewerage plant

Energy sector e.g. power station

Express carrier e.g. UPS, DHL, Fedex

Information systems e.g; SAP, Oracle

Appendix 2: Evaluation sheet for Group Project

Name(s)Overall grade:...
Topic..
CRITERIA

Maximum

PART 1: Report
Presentation and style: visual appearance, clarity of writing,
organisation of material, correct referencing, introduction, pagination,
etc

/10

Structure: logical flow of topics, numbered headings and sub-headings,

ease-of use of table of contents, value of appendices

/10

Content: quality of information, use of examples, quality of analysis and

discussion, quality of recommendations and conclusions

/20

PART 2: Presentation
Structure: Logical, structure clearly explained at the start, reminder as
new sub-topics are introduced, introduction, summary

/15

Content: Interesting, informative, relevant, appropriateness to oral

presentation, ability to answer questions

/15

Style: Clear diction, flow, enthusiasm, confidence

/15

Visual aids: attractiveness of slides, appropriate use, well laid out,

supporting not replacing oral points

/15

Total for Part 2:

/60

GRAND TOTAL

/100

Score

Appendix 3: Self-evaluation sheet for Group Project

Student name (print)_________________________________________

Signature _________________________________________________

Since group members may contribute to varying levels in the production of case
assignments, you are each given responsibility for distribution of the groups points to
individual team members. Note that no member may be given less than 75% of the
average grade. The average of the percentages allocated must be 100%.

As an example, let us say that you are working in a team of 4 and one of your team
was not contributing very much. You decide to award this person 70%. In your view,
the rest of the team contributed equally to the project and so you award each of them
(including yourself) 110%.

Team member name (including yourself):

1.
2.
3.
4.

% to be allocated