Reference no: EM132551983 , Length: 5 pages
OPM 2103 Operations Management - Higher Colleges of Technology
INDUSTRY RESEARCH PROJECT
DETAILS: In this project you will discuss the operations management of a large company. Your discussion must be specific and refer to one product/service throughout most of the project. Read the instructions carefully. Do not just put generic theory; the discussion must be specific, you must apply the theory and use the tools we discuss in class. The practical examples must refer to your company's activity and must be explained in text.
BASICS OF THE PROJECT
Title page
The Title can be something like: "Operations Management practices of ___________ ."
This should be a separate page. You can include a photograph or logo or something here.
Table of contents
The Table of Contents must indicate the headings in the project as well as the page numbers. The Table of Contents must also be on a separate page.
Basic guidelines for the project:
- Use numbered headings and paragraphs. This will make referrals easier and will make references to the Table of Contents easier.
- The project should be typed at 1½ line spacing. The Font size should be 12. You should use Times New Roman or Arial Font
- Page layout should be portrait.
- You must quote and include your references. Also include a list of references at the back of your project. This is very important.
Structure of the project
Here is a basic structure for the project. Notice how I have given structure to the headings. I have numbered them and I have used:
- CAPS and BOLD for the main headings
- Bold, for the subheadings and
- Bold and Italics for the sub-subheadings
If the company provides a service, you may have to be creative and elaborate on certain sections. Service companies will have unique operations management activities and you should highlight them. The marks allocation will be adjusted accordingly.
1. INTRODUCTION, COMPETITIVENESSAND STRATEGY
Background of the companyand the industry in which the company competes and the strategy of the company.This section is about the company and its industry.
In this section you provide a brief backgroundof the company. Briefly describe the company's activity and their products/services. Which strategyis the company following? Is it a low cost, differentiation or response strategy? Why do you say so? Justifyyour answer.Describe the industry in which the company operates with this product/service and the main competitors. Explain how you believe the company competes with this product (relating this to their operations).Why do you think they are so competitive? Describe the product/service you choose to discuss in this project andthe specific inputs-transformations-outputs
2. PRODUCTIVITY
From here on the discussion has to be specific for one product/service.
Does the company measure the productivityof their workers? How do they measure productivity? Is productivity difficultto measure in this industry or company? Why? If productivity is not measured, how would you recommend the productivity be measured? Provide an exampleof how they could measure productivity by applying theory to their situation (Excel). Explain the calculated example in your Word written project - what were your assumptions? How could they increase productivity?
3. FORECASTING
Briefly explain the different forecasting approachesand which approaches the company is using. Provideexamplesof the company's forecasting techniques. Provide examples of the time horizonsof the forecasts. If the information is too confidential (or there is not enough information available), I want you to be bold and explain to me which forecasting techniques they should be using and why you say so.Provide an exampleof how they could forecast by applying theory to their situation (Excel). Explain the calculated example in your Word written project - what were your assumptions? How could they improve their forecasts?
4. PRODUCT AND SERVICE DESIGN
Select a product and discuss its design. Be explicit, research how they design their products. In your opinion, what improvements(re-design) is needed for that product? Give suggestionsfor improvements. Explain briefly the various impact this product causes to the legal, sustainabilityand 3R(reduce, reuse and recycle) factors.
If your company sells a service, discuss the service design (blueprint). Give suggestionsfor improvements. Explain briefly the various impact this product causes to the legal, sustainabilityand 3R(reduce, reuse and recycle) factors.
5. CAPACITY PLANNING
How is the company managing its capacity? Explain your answer. Do they have enough capacity or do they need more capacity? Is there excess capacityavailable? What should they do if they need morecapacity? What if they have too muchcapacity? Provide an exampleof how they could calculate capacity by applying theory to their situation (Excel). Explain the calculated example in your Word written project - what were your assumptions? What could they do if they need more capacity? What could they do if they have too much capacity?
6. PROCESS SELECTION AND FACILITY LAYOUT
Give a chart depicting the process that happens in the organization, and explain how it works. If you have a difficulty you may describe an initial process and further explain the other processes. Study the layout of the organization, what type of layoutis it? Do you think the layout is goodand helps in free flow of work? Explain with examples.Provide an exampleof how they might flowchart a process (Powerpoint). Explain the flowchart in your Word written project - can the process be improved? How?
10 Marks
7. LOCATION
In what location is the company manufacturing and selling their product/service? Whydid they choose those locations? Select twospecific locations and explain your answers. Whichfactorsdid they consider? In your opinion, are those good locations? Why or why not? Recommendone location and justify your choice. Be creative - for example, you could support your recommendation with a map of competitor locations if that is a criteria.
8. Work Design and Measurement
Explain briefly how work design and measurement techniques could be used to improve operations of your company. Explain job specialization with suitable example from your company. Do they practice job enlargement, rotation or enrichment? How? Do they measure standard time? Give an example.
9. QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Discuss the 4 determinants of qualityfor a selected product for your company. Do they make use ofinspection? Give a specific exampleof how they can use a cause and effect diagram to improve their product or process quality. What can you recommend to improvequality of the products and/or services? If you would benchmarka company, who would that be and what would you benchmark. Explain your answer. Provide examplesof how they could use two quality tools (Excel). Explain the calculated examples in your Word written project - what were your assumptions?
10. Production Planning and Inventory Management
How long does your company plan in advance for capacity planning. How do they prepare production plan to match the expected demand? Do they maintain any inventory? What is their inventory strategy? How much they do order each time, do they use economic order quantity models? Show an example with calculation.
11. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In this section, you have to make some conclusions and recommendationsto the company for the way forward. Based on the findings in the project (list the most important 4-5 findings), where do they see themselves in the future? Is the company following their selected strategy? What can you suggest to them? What recommendationscan you make to them (in terms of operations while considering their strategy, competitors, and trends)?
Attachment:- Operations Management.rar