Operations Strategy

Operations strategy should reflect the needs and requirements of the business’s market. No operation that fails to serve its market is likely to survive in the long term. The individual coursework assignment relates directly to the learning outcomes of this module and should consist of two parts – A and B:

Part A: State-of-the-Art-Review (1000 words)
In Part A, provide a state-of-the-art review of any one of the operations management field listed below specifically discussing the trends, opportunities and challenges in this field using up-to-date academic journal articles and other articles.
A state-of-the-art review should consider mainly the most current research in the given area or concerning the given topic. It often summaries current and emerging educational trends, research priorities and standardisations in a particular field of interest. The review must aim to provide a critical survey of the extensive literature produced in the past decade, a synthesis of current thinking in the field. It may offer new perspectives on an issue or point out an area in need of further research. i
For the review, select only one of the operations management field below.
? Operations performance
? Process design
? Supply network design
? Process technology
? Inventory planning and control
? Supply chain planning and control
? Risk management
? Operations and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
To conduct the analysis and review, search and use journal articles/papers published in the last ten years in some of the following academic journals (e.g.):
? Journal of Operations Management
? Production and Operations Management
? International Journal of Production Economics
? International Journal of Operations and Production Management
? Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
? Manufacturing and Service Operations Management
? International Journal of Production Research
i http://www.elsevier.com/__data/promis_misc/edurevReviewPaperWriting.pdf
? Production Planning and Control
? Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management
Finally, present your state-of-the-art review in 1000 words in the chosen operations management field by reading and
analysing papers published in the above listed journals in the last ten years.

Part B: Company Analysis (1500 words)
In Part B, you are expected to critically analyse the operations and management processes of any one of the UK high street retailers, from an operations management perspective. You are required to assess how the retailer competes and survives in the highly competitive business environment by using the concepts, tools and techniques studied in this module.
Once you have selected the retailer you would like to examine, prepare a short report of 1500 words making sure you include the following operations management concepts in your analysis:
? A brief background of the chosen retailer and an overview of its operations.
? A critical analysis of the operations transformation process for the product / service of the retailer. If the retailer has
more than one product / service, you may focus on one of them.
? A trade-off analysis among the operations performance objectives, namely: cost, quality, speed, dependability and
flexibility. Can the operations manager of the retailer overcome any of these trade-offs? Give some
recommendations.
? An evaluation of the company’s operations in terms of the specific operations management field selected in Part A.
? An application of appropriate tools and techniques to analyse the complex operational issues of the retailer and
(where appropriate) development of viable courses of action.

Part A and B Overall Requirements:

? References: A “References” section is required to be included at the end of the coursework. This section will include the details of all the references used for both Part A and B in the coursework (minimum five journal articles and other articles of your choice)

? Appendix: Additionally, you may include an “Appendix” section after the “References” section. This section will not be considered for calculating the number of words.
? Total Word Count: The assignment should be completed in report format of no more than 2500 words in total which exclude the title page and any references and appendices.

****Criteria;

Content:
correctness and completeness of analysis;
(60%)
Evidence of excellent and comprehensive research into the subject matter. All analyses are correct and interpreted at an exceptional level. The examples and theories are relevant to the assessment task.

Writing quality and style:
narrative; grammar and punctuation; spelling; language use; length
(20%)
The writing quality and style is excellent. There is an excellent narrative. The grammar and punctuation are error- free. There are no spelling mistakes or incorrectly-used words. There are no long, confused or unwieldy sentences which detract from legibility. Material taken from other sources is accurately paraphrased; the text/style/content is that of the writer. It is within the word limit of 2500 words and is not less than 2250 words in length.

Structure:
segmentation; sequencing; (10%)
The account is presented in a professional manner; there is very clear and logical sequencing.

References / Referencing (10%)
Excellent use of references which are accurately cited and presented in the text and in the references section.