Reference no: EM132848199
Unit 16 (HNBS 316) Operations and Project Management Assignment - The London College, UK
Assignment Title - Review and Critique of Operations Management/Project Life Cycle
Assignment 1 -
Unit Learning Outcomes -
LO1. Review and critique the effectiveness of operations management principles.
LO2. Apply the concept of continuous improvement in an operational context.
Scenario - Using an organisation you know well and can obtain information on (your own place of work if possible), you are required to review and critique the effectiveness of operations management principles, and apply the concept of continuous improvement to the organisation. You are expected to apply a range of appropriate theories, concepts and/or models to justify organisation's strategies of a continuous improvement plan for achieving improved efficiency.
You are to produce a formal business report which should contain the following:
1. An introduction to your chosen organisation.
2. An explanation of operation vs operations management.
3. Conduct a review and critique of the implementation of operations management principles (such as Six Sigma, Lean Principles) within your chosen organisation.
4. Analyse the extent to which the operations management of the organisation in the case study meets the requirements of the organisation.
5. Discuss continuous improvement as a philosophy and describe the Lean principles.
6. Prepare a continuous improvement plan based on your review and critique of operations management principles within your organisation, and referring to theories and/or models to justify your strategy.
7. Using continuous improvement principles, make at least two justified recommendations which could improve the operations function detailed in the case study.
Assignment 2 -
LO3 Apply the Project Life Cycle (PLC) to a given context.
LO4 Review and critique the application of the PLC used in a given project.
Scenario - Project case study
You have secured employment in a large manufacturing organisation based in the Midlands, which has 1,250 employees on this site. The organisation has staff employed in a range of different roles, including office staff and factory workers. The offices and factory are on an extensive site in various buildings. Currently there is no onsite catering. You work as a member of the Project and Programme Office, which is responsible for delivering the change programme for the organisation. As part of your induction and personal development plan, your new line manager has asked you to plan and manage a theoretical in-house project. She believes this will help to you to gain a thorough understanding of how in real terms the organisation translates business objectives into the identification of specific development projects and their planning and completion.
Two of the relevant business objectives for the current financial year are:
- Reducing the movement of staff from the premises during the lunch break which is currently creating congestion issues in the local area.
- Helping staff to develop a healthy life style which the organisation believes is part of their CSR and will also reduce staff absenteeism.
Your line manager has asked you to analyse these business objectives in order to identify feasible projects and apply the project life cycle to this project, and to review and critique the application of the PLC. You are to provide theoretical and/or conceptual arguments to justify the use of project methodologies, tools and leadership within the given project.
You are to produce a portfolio of evidence containing a set of project management documents which summarise the following stages of the PLC:
- Project initiation.
- Project planning.
- Project execution.
- Project closure.
This could include information on the following:
1. An overview of the case study you have been given.
2. A description of the PLC and an explanation of each stage.
3. Evidence of how each stage of the PLC applies to your given project, including supporting documentation for each stage (e.g. business case, the project plan, cost-benefit analysis and work breakdown structure).
4. Critical analysis of the rationale for the project methodologies, tools and leadership methods you have implemented within the PLC for your project.
5. Critical evaluation of the effectiveness of the PLC in application to your project using the appropriate theories, models and concepts. Also, consider how the application of the relevant theories, concepts and models in the PLC would differentiate between large and small-scale projects.