Operations Management And Decision-Making Models

Operations Management and Decision-Making Models
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Assessment Description
This assessment, in two parts, is an opportunity for students to explore operations management and decision making in practice and to use their investigations as a basis for making recommendations for improvement.
Students are encouraged to work in groups of 3 or 4. They must select an organisation that they are familiar with (or can gain access to key information from) to construct a report that investigates the organisation’s operational dynamics and decision making processes.
This report will be used as the basis for the group to develop a 15-minute presentation that summarises all the key elements of the report and any recommendations that evolved from the report.
The grade for this assessment will be allocated to each member of the group without modification.
Part 1 – The Report
Submission: Turnitin
Length: 3000 words +/- 10%
Late submission possible: Yes, but published Kaplan penalties will apply
Assessment brief
Students should note that the scope of their report need not include the entire organisation under examination. Instead the group may focus their investigation onto a particular business unit or operation. If in doubt discuss the issue with your lecturer prior to commencing your research.
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Copyright Regulations 1969
This material has been reproduced and communicated to you by or on behalf of Kaplan Business School pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968 (‘Act’). The material in
this communication may be subject to copyright under the Act. Any further reproduction or communication of this material by you may be the subject of copyright protection
under the Act. Kaplan Business School is a part of Kaplan Inc., a leading global provider of educational services. Kaplan Business School Pty Ltd ABN 86 098 181 947 is a
registered higher education provider CRICOS Provider Code 02426B.
Assessment Information
As this assessment is a formal business report it must be formatted as a report that includes:
• Cover page (including the names and student numbers of each group member) contents page
• Executive Summary
• Body of the report (with appropriate headings)
• Conclusions and Recommendations
• Harvard Reference List
• Appendices
The word limit starts at the beginning of the Executive Summary and ends at the beginning of the references.
N.B. Only one member of each group need make the group submission to Turnitin.
Groups have some degree of flexibility in the range of information to be included in the report however the following topics should be considered as key requirements of the report:
Description of the organisation
What is the history, purpose and size of the organisation?
What is the overall business strategy?
Is it a provider of products, services or both?
Operations Strategy
Does the chosen organisation have obvious and transparent operations strategy?
Has the operations strategy changed or evolved over time?
Can you identify improvements (recommendations) to the existing strategy or propose a strategy if one is not evident?
Decision-making processes and innovation
How are strategic and operational decisions made in this organisation?
Is innovation encouraged throughout the organisation?
Does the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility factor into decision-making?
Product and Service Design
What are the products or services offered by the organisation?
Does the product/service mix of the organisation pose any operational challenges?
Is the research and development function properly resourced?
Process Design
Are business processes constantly being measured and evaluated?
Are the manufacturing and/or retail facilities being used properly to support business processes?
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Copyright Regulations 1969
This material has been reproduced and communicated to you by or on behalf of Kaplan Business School pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968 (‘Act’). The material in
this communication may be subject to copyright under the Act. Any further reproduction or communication of this material by you may be the subject of copyright protection
under the Act. Kaplan Business School is a part of Kaplan Inc., a leading global provider of educational services. Kaplan Business School Pty Ltd ABN 86 098 181 947 is a
registered higher education provider CRICOS Provider Code 02426B.
Assessment Information
Can you identify areas where business processes might be improved?
Value Chain (Supply Chain)
Is the organisation an advocate of the value chain concept?
Can you briefly outline the supply chain of the organisation?
Are there areas of the supply chain that can be improved?
Planning and Control
What is the organisation’s approach to forecasting demand?
What are the linkages between the decision-making processes and short and long term planning?
Is there appropriate feedback and control? Can you make any recommendations?
Quality Management
Are or have quality tools such as Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma used in the organisation?
Is the quality system of the organisation still appropriate? Can you make recommendations for improvement?