Assessment: Individual Assessment

Requirements-

PREAMBLE:

The assessment is an Individual Assignment written in the form of a business report addressed to the senior management of the company.

AIM AND KEY OBJECTIVES:

The aim of the assessment is to allow students an opportunity to apply the learning from the Operations Management paper to a practical setting. The emphasis in this assessment will be on analysis, critical thinking and the application of the right technique /tool /methodology in a practical setting (either on the student's organisation), or a practical case provided to students who cannot (or choose not to) use their own organisations.

The assessment case study is based on a typical organisation in the marketplace and will be handed out to the students in class.
Students who choose to use their own organisation however will need to meet the following mandatory requirements and have written approval from the lecturer by week 2 before proceeding:

1. The organisation they choose must be based in New Zealand;

2. They must be able to demonstrate that they are familiar with the organisation, and that they have access to critical information, before they begin the report;

3. They must present to the lecturer sufficient evidence that they meet the requirement above and well before the Week 2 class session (a 2 page 8 summary outlining their company's product-service offering, competitive advantages and key value drivers must be submitted) ;

4. They must present to the lecturer sufficient work-in-progress by week 4, to demonstrate that they are on the right track. Students who are unable to use their organisation or choose not to do so will be given a market based case study instead, which will be handed out in class.

APPROACH

The suggested approach to students is to divide the task of writing the assignment into a number of sections, and to work on each section as they progress through the course, returning to their work as they add key elements to their knowledge of the subject, with each class room session.

The approach should be ‘critical' instead of descriptive. The aim is to take each element of knowledge and learning from the class room sessions, and apply this learning to the situation presented by the case company (or their organisation).

The learning obtained from Assessment One (above) also forms a critical part of this assignment.

Students are encouraged to interact with the lecturer as they write each section, clarify ideas and clear any doubts that they have. The assignment should be assembled in the form of a business report addressed to the senior management of the case company. The report should cover the following broad headings:

• An Executive Summary and list of contents

• The Introduction/organisation in context , issues and problems if any

• An analysis of the company's current operations with emphasis on the use of operations management analytics, tools and techniques taught in the course

• Findings, recommended change in policy, and the impact of this change in policy on profitability and value (25%) • Mapping and justifications for the new supply chain

• Conclusions and final recommendations

• Bibliography (compulsory)

• Referencing

This is a business report written for the CEO/ board of directors. Nevertheless referencing of all material that is imported is mandatory, including a bibliography of all references used in the document.

To make the report readable to senior business managers however, students should use footnotes instead of ‘in line' referencing. MBA level students are expected to make the differentiation between academic referencing and good business referencing.

All other rules as applicable in a university setting will apply, including the rules governing acceptable amounts for referenced material in a typical report. These do not change for either \ an academic or business report. Clarifications if any should be sought from the lecturer.

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT-

The case study is on TCL Multimedia, It deals with the operations of the firm and its supporting supply chain. Every case study however tends to be dated almost as soon as it is written. Additional research from peer reviewed journals is permitted, but not compulsory.

The aim is to provide students with a ‘setting to work from' that allows them to use the tools and techniques provided in the course to achieve the learning outcomes. Students may make intelligent assumptions where information is not available. This individual assignment needs to capture in some depth the answers to the following broad questions (analysis must be supported by data from the case):

From and operations and supply chain perspectives what are the key characteristics of the TV market in China? What elements of the TV market are relevant and impact on the firm from the perspectives of the operations management decisions and design/management of its supply chain;

What are the major challenges facing TCL Multimedia's operations and supply chain? What was the competitive strategy of the firm as of August 2014? Is this strategy optimal and sustainable moving forward into the future?

Which type of supply chain is the most appropriate choice for TCL Multi Media and why? Is a push or pull or push-pull hybrid appropriate? Should the supply chain be lean or agile or a hybrid of both?

What capabilities/resources and tools techniques might be used to implement the most appropriate supply chain strategy?