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Bruno Silvestre
Assessment Document
This document describes the requirements for each type of assessment.
Weighting (%)
or maximum
points
10%
20%
20%
30%
20%
100%
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:
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.
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
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
Make recommendations
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!
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.
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
Hospital operations
Sports complex
Stadium
Hotel
Restaurant
Airline
Hypermarket
Maximum
PART 1: Report
Presentation and style: visual appearance, clarity of writing,
organisation of material, correct referencing, introduction, pagination,
etc
/10
/10
/20
PART 2: Presentation
Structure: Logical, structure clearly explained at the start, reminder as
new sub-topics are introduced, introduction, summary
/15
/15
/15
/15
/60
GRAND TOTAL
/100
Score
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%.
% to be allocated