Assignment

The final project for this course is the creation of a project management plan. In Milestone One, you will submit the operations management section (Section I) of your project management plan.

Assess the history and trends of operations management, focusing on the business or company from your business plan in the Marketing and Strategy course. Provide rationale for the selection of your business development opportunity.

Detail initial estimates of demand based on your forecasts and justify your selection of forecasting methods. Determine site location(s) and provide specific quantitative rationale for your selection.

Consider the underlying business information needs of the new business and what information requirements will be needed.

Outline the management information structure of the proposed business information system for your new business opportunity as part of the overall proposal based on the feedback received from Module Two.

Consider specific IS concepts in Chapter 12 to outline your proposed system. For example, what elements do you plan to incorporate into your management information system? What linkages in the information structure are proposed?

Prompt: Assess the history and trends of operations management, focusing on the business or company from your business plan in the Marketing and Strategy course. Specifically, you should assess the significant forces that have shaped operations management in recent history and answer the following:

How did these forces impact the business operations of your company?

If your company does not yet exist, how do you envision these forces will impact the business operations of your company?

Critique the key obstacles and issues that confronted company management during the evolution of operations management into the modern era. How did your company's management handle these obstacles? If your company did not exist then, how do you think they would have responded to these issues?

Assess changes to operations management philosophies and organizational structures in response to the evolving complexity of business operations. In other words, what has changed and why? Analyze the business operations of your selected company. Consider questions such as these in your response:

o What organizational processes does the company use?

o How do the business operations support the strategic plan, mission, and vision of the company?

o What factors affect productivity and profitability?

Determine the key trends in production, quality, resource, and information management with a focus on the business operations of your company.

Assess the impact of these key trends on the business operations of your selected company and on the business product, service, or other idea in your business plan.

Note: If, for some reason, you cannot use the company and product, service, or other idea from your business plan, you will need to work with your instructor to select another company and corresponding business product, service, or idea.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

a) Assess the significant forces that have shaped operations management in recent history. How did these forces impact the business operations of your company? If your company does not yet exist, how do you envision these forces will impact the business operations of your company?

b) Critique the key obstacles and issues that confronted company management during the evolution of operations management into the modern era. How did your company's management handle these obstacles? If your company did not exist then, how do you think they would have responded to these issues?

c) Assess changes to operations management philosophies and organizational structures in response to the evolving complexity of business
operations. In other words, what has changed and why?

d) Analyze the business operations of your selected company. Consider questions such as these in your response: What organizational processes does the company use? How do the business operations support the strategic plan, mission, and vision of the company? What factors affect productivity and profitability?

e) Determine the key trends in production, quality, resource, and information management with a focus on the business operations of your
company.

f) Assess the impact of these key trends on the business operations of your selected company and on the business product, service, or other idea in your business plan.