Operations and Project Management, SHR039-6

Assignment 01: Operations Management Report

Written Report

40%

1,500 words

1. An in-depth knowledge and critical appreciation of Operations and Project Management tools and techniques for various business planning and decisions within organisations.

2. Effectively determine how Operations and Project Management can support the corporate strategic plan of an organisation, improve performance and implement change while using appropriate tools to support decisions and project planning.

You need to choose an organisation with international operations for your individual report. The organisation should be discussed and agreed individually with your tutor during BS1, or via the Discussion Boards on BREO as by Thursday in week 2.

You will then need to write an individual Business Report focused on the following operations management questions (in the format as suggested):

Title Page (including Unit code and unit name, Unit Coordinator’s name, your name and student ID number, assessment number, due date, a meaningful title for your report.

Executive Summary

Table of Contents

Introduction

Main Body Section 1) Critically assess the quality requirements of the organization, existing quality processes and other relevant factors

Main Body Section 2) Develop a well-thought Quality Management Plan using a Total Quality Management (TQM) framework

Main Body Section 3) Critically evaluate how TQM can contribute to the Operations Strategy and the overall strategic objectives of the organisation

Conclusions

Reference List

TQM: Read through the Quality Management Plan document in the BREO shell (Business School 1 folder) – TQM SME journal article in the same folder that may help with understanding

Looking to identify specific TQM principles and apply to organisation in the form of a QMP

More details are as follows:

Title Page (Not in word-count)

Executive Summary (not in the word-count)

Table of Contents (Not in word-count)

Introduction

Main sections:

Q1 – Quality Requirements Discussion – (needed to establish requirements of operations)

For example, if Oman Air is the organisation for your assignment, you will need to do the following:

Establishing quality requirements, focusing on service delivery, bring SERVQUAL as a lens to understand quality, bring in specific citations and information regarding Oman Air quality factors/concerns

Citations about factual information on company, on quality requirements concept from textbook or other academic sources

Q2 – Quality Management Plan and TQM Discussion – (giving your considered recommendations to improve quality of operations)

Focus on TQM principles of quality circles, involvement of staff at all levels, empowering staff regarding quality issues, Quality Management Plan looking at implementation of quality circles in route-basis or other organisational form, implementation of empowering staff, what does this mean? How would this be implemented?

Citations about TQM itself from textbook or many academic sources, citations about the use of TQM in company already, if applicable from academic or (high quality) non-academic sources

Q3 – Critical Evaluation of TQM and Operations Strategy – (Connecting TQM with the strategy objectives and operations strategy)

Highlight connection between TQM and Operations Strategy, highlight need for focus on Quality delivery (e.g. SERVQUAL) to remain competitive within industry, etc. and highlight connections between TQM implementation and overall strategic objectives

Citations about TQM, Operations Strategy and the kind of strategic objectives you are discussing from academic sources

Conclusions

Reference List (Not in word-count)

Appendices (Not in word-count) – Used for supporting information only, not for your own argument/discussion or anything that belongs in the main body.

Use appropriate operations management theories and techniques to solve, to an acceptable level, a variety of operations management issues;

Deliver an acceptable plan that addresses the set operations management issues in the chosen company.

You will need to produce a high-quality individual report that adheres to Business Report conventions (e.g. an appropriate format, an executive summary, etc.) and that displays a professional level of presentation and polish.

You should critically analyse your chosen organisation using a combination of high-quality non-academic research and appropriate academic models and concepts from the literature, with a focus on Total Quality Management (TQM).

You should demonstrate a sound evaluation of your organisation’s quality requirements and operations strategy by giving logical recommendations based on your analysis and supported by strong evidence.

The assignment focuses on key Operations Management concepts and models discussed in the scheduled sessions, namely operations strategy and the core Operations Management decision areas.

Your assignment will be marked according to the threshold expectations and the criteria on the following page.

You can use them to evaluate your own work and consider your grade before you submit.

3^rd Class – 40-49%

Lower 2^nd – 50-59%

Upper 2^nd – 60-69%

1^st Class – 70%+

Use of academic concept, models, theories and literature 30%

Fair use of academic literature, fair use of course concepts, models and theories but lacking in depth and/or breadth in some areas.

Good use of academic literature in connection to problem set and good overall application of multiple course concepts, models and theories.

Very good use of academic literature in connection to problem set and very good overall application of multiple course concepts, models and theories.

Excellent use of academic literature in connection to problem set and excellent overall application of multiple course concepts, models and theories.

Strength of discussion

30%

Fair quality of discussion and argument but limited in scope or depth, limited input into recommendations of report.

Good quality of discussion and argument demonstrated with some input into recommendations of report.

Very good quality of discussion and argument with good input into recommendations of report.

Excellent quality of discussion and argument demonstrated, with clear input into recommendations of report.

TQM and operations strategy

30%

Attempted to critically understand and assess TQM and operations strategy, key points accurate but may be shallow and lacking in detail in areas.

Some evidence of critical understanding and assessment of TQM and operations strategy, key points accurate but may be shallow or lacking in detail in areas.

Good evidence of critical understanding and assessment of TQM and operations strategy, key points accurate but lacking in detail in some areas.

Excellent evidence of critical understanding and assessment of TQM and operations strategy, key points accurate and containing depth and detail.

Structure, presentation and referencing

10%

Fair structure and design. Report structure used by with minor errors and/or partial implementation. Referencing present but some errors.

Good structure and design. Report structure used by with minor errors and/or partial implementation. Referencing present but with minor errors.

Well-structured arguments and design with reasonable flow of the report. Formal report structure used. Mostly accurate referencing.

Well-structured arguments with good design of the sections with good flow of ideas. Formal report structure used. Accurate referencing.