MAS50952 – Strategic Management
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ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK
| TO BE FILLED BY THE ASSESSOR | ||
| Assessment type | Marks | Marks Awarded |
| Task 1 | 70 | |
| Task 2 | 30 | |
| Overall score | 100 | |
| Overall Marks achieved | ||
| GRADE ACHIEVED | ||
| Summative Feedback by Assessor for further improvement | ||
| Comments for REDO submission(If applicable) | ||
GRADE DESCRIPTORS
| 70% and above (Distinction ) | The assignment evaluated is of a high to exemplary standard. The work addresses clearly and articulately the assignment requirements and thus meets, and satisfies all the learning outcomes (either well or in an exemplary way). The work demonstrates: clear knowledge; references to appropriate academic literature; analysis; critical evaluation; and originality of argument. It is structured and presented to a high (or exemplary) standard. Referencing conventions are fully observed. |
| 60 to 69% (Merit) | The assignment evaluated is of a good to a high standard. Substantial knowledge, comprehension and analysis is evident throughout. Arguments presented are clear and focussed with a logical structure in place. There is clear evidence of critical evaluation of a wide range of theories/perspectives from academic literature and some independent thought. The work is well-written and addresses well all of the learning outcomes. Referencing conventions are fully observed. |
| 50 to 59% (Pass) | The assignment evaluated is of a fair to good standard. Adequate knowledge, comprehension and analysis is evident throughout. The arguments presented have a logical structure and show some critical evaluation in places, although there may be limited evidence of an independent perspective. There is evidence of some good engagement with some of the appropriate literature. Learning outcomes have been largely met and to an appropriate degree. Referencing conventions are observed. |
| 40 to 49% (Fail/Redo) | The assignment evaluated is of a basic standard. The arguments presented have some logical structure and are supported by academic literature in most cases. The academic literature used is outside of the suggestions made in the module guide but remains limited. Little critical evaluation is evident, and the work tends more widely towards a descriptive style. Learning outcomes have been addressed in a basic but satisfactory way. Referencing conventions are mostly observed. |
| Fail Grades | |
| 30 to 39% (Module retake) | The assignment evaluated is of a limited standard. Limited use of academic literature and as such knowledge and argument is very weak. A simple descriptive style with no evidence of critical evaluation throughout. Over-reliance on simplistic, limited sources. Referencing conventions may not be observed. Some learning outcomes met but in a weak and simplistic way. The work is needs to be developed in greater depth and detail to move to a passable standard at this level of study |
| 29% and Below (Module retake) | The assignment evaluated is of an unacceptable standard. There is little or no evidence of knowledge and understanding that is required at this level. Referencing is inadequate or non-existent. The learning outcomes have not been addressed fully and the work requires significant modification to bring it to a passable standard. |
Operations Management
Module Description
The module is designed to help students understand the strategic role of operations management and its competitive advantage for organizational survival. It brings out the relationships between the operations function and other functional areas of a business such as marketing, finance, and information systems and how they can work together to achieve the business strategy.
Learning outcomes
LO1. Know the various tools, techniques and apply suitable tools and techniques in different alternative scenarios of Operations Management.
LO2. Apply information management techniques and evaluate them in context of operational functions to achieve competitive advantage and make the organization globally competitive.
LO3. Apply and critically evaluate the importance of project management to given business situations (Using PERT / CPM).
LO4. Demonstrate operations strategy in domestic and global context, and evaluate how the use of technology has impacted the operational functions.
Expectations
- Plagiarism
All forms of plagiarism are taken seriously, and any suspected cases will be investigated thoroughly. If a case is found proven then the work will be graded as a fail and the case will be reviewed by the academic committee.
General Guidelines
- Complete the ‘ To be filled by the student section’ in the cover page
- All assignments must be submitted as an electronic document in MS word via the LMS (Use 12 Times New Roman script with 1.5 spacing between lines)
- The results are declared only if the student has met the mandatory attendance requirement of 75% and/or minimum 50 % under extenuating circumstances approved and ratified by the academic committee and the examination board
- The assignment should not contain any contents with references cited from websites such as ukessays.com, styudymode.com, slideshare.net, scribd.com, Wikipedia but should contain references/citations from credible academic journal and articles.
- Submit the assignment in MS word document with the file name being:
First Name Last Name _ Module Code
Example: John Smith_GM701
Checklist
| o | I have filled the student Information columns below. |
| o | The contents of my assignment have been submitted to Turnitin and I have attached the Turnitin report |
| o | I have strictly followed Harvard Referencing Style and Citations. |
ASSIGNMENT TASK
Assignment Task 1: [70 Marks] – Report Format
Word count: Maximum 3600 (+/-10%)
Read the following Scenario, and prepare a report with the guidelines provided.
Scenario: The learner is acting as an internal Operations Management expert for a chosen organization (ideally a fortune 500 organisation delivering products or services). Learner is required to look at existing operations management & quality management processes, procedures & systems within the organization, &, evaluate competitiveness of the organization in achieving key strategic objectives both in the domestic and global contexts. Where required, compare with other best-in-class organizations to further support your responses to the different parts of the report.
Report should include the following:
- Introduction of Chosen Organization briefly stating the organizational objectives that can be linked to Operations and Quality processes. [7 Marks, 400 words]
- Evaluate success of existing operations management processes & quality management processes in achieving chosen organization’s strategic management objectives. You must do this by conducting a review of operations strategy of your organization, exploring both the current & long-term solutions to address the challenges your firm is experiencing. [15 marks, 700 words]
- Evaluate any three tools and techniques of operations and quality management, specifying how they contribute to achieving organizational objectives and competitiveness of your Chosen company in different alternative scenarios of Operations Management, in the domestic and global context:
[15 marks, 1000 words]
- Discuss how information management system enhances overall business operations of your Chosen organization and analyse the role of ICT applications in Operations optimization in your chosen organisation. Evaluate how operational strategies involving the use of ICT applications help gain a competitive advantage in your chosen organisation? [10 marks, 600 words]
- Discuss how AI can enhance overall business operations of organization in both the domestic and global contexts, while highlighting challenges organization may probably face if implemented. [10 marks, 500 words].
- Conclusion & Recommendations [10 Marks, 400 words]
- Referencing (Adhering to Harvard Referencing Format) [3 Marks]
Assignment Task – 2: [30 Marks]
Word Count: 1500 words (-/+10%)
Project Management using Program evaluation and Review technique (PERT) and Critical path method (CPM)
Based on the project scenario given below, answer the following questions
Scenario: Your organisation, ABC construction group has made a winning bid to construct a new manufacturing plant. The client expects the plant to be functional within a year. You are assigned as the Project Manager to ensure that the whole project stays on schedule. The two important conditions as per the client contract are:-
- ABC construction group will incur a penalty if the work is not completed by the deadline of 47 weeks from now.
- ABC construction group will be provided additional incentive if the work is completed within 40 weeks.
The table below describes the activity list for ABC construction group for this project:-
| Activity | Description | Immediate predecessors | Estimated duration |
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N | Excavate Lay the foundation Put up rough wall Put up the roof Install exterior plumbing Install interior plumbing Put up exterior siding Do exterior painting Do the electric work Put the wallboard Install the flooring Interior painting Exterior fixtures Interior fixtures | – A B C C E D E,G C F,I J J H K,L | 2 weeks 4 weeks 10 weeks 6 weeks 4 weeks 5 weeks 7 weeks 9 weeks 7 weeks 8 weeks 4 weeks 5 weeks 2 weeks 6 weeks |
(Source: – Turner, 2016)
For any given activity, its immediate predecessors (as given in the third column of Table) are those activities that must be completed by no later than the starting time of the given activity. (Similarly, the given activity is called an immediate successor of each of its immediate predecessors.) For example, the top entries in this column indicate that:-
- Excavation does not need to wait for any other activities.
- Excavation must be completed before starting to lay the foundation.
- The foundation must be completely laid before starting to put up the rough wall, etc.
When a given activity has more than one immediate predecessor, all must be finished before the activity can begin. In order to schedule the activities, you have consulted with each of the crew supervisors to develop an estimate of how long each activity should take when it is done in the normal way. These estimates are given in the rightmost column of Table. Adding up these times gives a grand total of 79 weeks, which is far beyond the deadline for the project. Fortunately, some of the activities can be done in parallel, which substantially reduces the project completion time.
Given all this information, please develop answers to the following questions:-
- Develop a project network diagram to visually display the whole project and describe the project network diagram– [10 Marks]
- Schedule the whole project with PERT/CPM. In doing so, you must be able to satisfy these crucial objectives:-
- Total time required to complete the project if no delays occur
- The start and finish of individual activities to meet the project completion deadline
- The start and finish of individual activities if no delays occur
- Critical activities where any delays must be avoided to prevent delaying project completion
- The delay that can be tolerated for other activities, without delaying project completion.
[20 Marks]
References (Adhering to Harvard Referencing Format)
Note: Students can make use of images, animation, graphs, tables, illustration, maps that makes the report interesting. This is applicable for both Task 1 & Task 2 of the assignment.
(START WRITING YOUR ANSWER HERE…..)
