This document provides the assignment brief, specification and assessment criteria for your first assessment on the module: Building High Performance Organisations.

3000 (+/- 10%) word report contributing 45% to your final grade on the BHPO module

Report Brief:

Pat Matthews, whom is the Managing Director of Absolute Foods (A.F.) has limited knowledge and understanding of the latest thinking in operations and supply chain management (tip: it is crucial in report writing to style and address your report to the intended reader - Pat, the MD of A.F.). Therefore, Pat has asked you, as a consultant specialising in lean thinking and process improvement to tender for a ‘lean implementation' project. To build a relationship, she has invited you and other consultants to write a report on implementing lean principles in a food manufacturing company and transparency in the supply chain. You can assume that Pat's knowledge and understanding of the latest thinking in operations and supply chain management is limited - that's why she needs consultancy support from you ...

To support you in this activity you will use Kennedy, Plunkett and Haider (2013) case study notes on implementing lean principles in a food processing company and Christopher and Peck (2004) article that introduces you to some challenges when "leaning down". You can assume that these case notes are from a previous project that your consultancy has tendered and successfully completed for an organisation sharing similar characteristics to A.F. There is an expectation that your research goes beyond the case study notes and the suggested article. You should search the literature using academic databases with key terms relevant to addressing this brief so to have a sound knowledge base that can be applied in practice.

Part A - Lessons Learnt for A.F. [approx. 2,000 words]

1. Discuss the development of the philosophy, principles and process of lean in the context of its contribution to manufacturing industries and applicability in the food processing industry (tip: make sure you contextualise this discussion to the intended reader - Pat, the MD of a food processing company).

2. Critically evaluate the implications and challenges that may arise when implementing lean in the company A.F.. Pay particular attention to A.F. need to manage and mitigate risk by creating more resilient, traceable and transparent supply chain operations (i.e. as a result of "leaning-down" and/or the increasing complexity of its supply chain in a global business environment).

3. You are expected to offer a set of recommendations to the Managing Director of
as a result of your responses to questions 1 and 2 (tip: make sure these are justified, and are explicitly linked back to your discussion in the main body of your report).

Part B - Reflections within the context of an organisation familiar to you (e.g. your current or previous employer) [approx. 1,000 words]
1. Critically reflect on the five principles to Lean as described in Womack and Jones (1996) article on ‘How to Root Out Waste and Pursue Perfection' in the context of an organisation of your choice/familiar to you.

2. Critically evaluate the benefit(s) of implementing lean on business performance in the context of your response to question 1.
Please note that this section must also be underpinned by academic literature and evidence to substantiate claims need to be included. Draw on the range of theoretical concepts and principles learnt in each of the units 1 - 6 in developing your response (tip: not just lean thinking - better answers will identify linkages across the units). You will need to conduct research into the industry and to reflect the nature of the company and its context in relation to addressing the question.

You will need to briefly introduce your chosen organisation to familiarise the reader with appropriate context to address part B. There are no marks for detailed background to the company. You are being assessed on your reflections, interpretation and application of theory in practice and analytical reasoning using accepted academic practice and literature (tip: make sure you are clear with the criteria you will be assessed against on the following page).

Report Specifications

Your report should be 3000 words approximately excluding title page, references, and appendices. Sticking to a strict word limit is difficult and an important skill for you to acquire, so make sure that you write in a concise and focused manner. It should be typed font size 12 and 1.5 line spacing and must be presented in portrait format, not landscape. You should not be able to complete this task in any less than 3000 words minimum. Please provide an Executive Summary and Contents Page (excluded from the word count). This report is worth 45% of your total grade for this module.

An essential feature of the report is to illustrate how theoretical constructs or models can be critically analysed and applied to organisations in practice. You are therefore advised to read widely. In fact, unless you have read and referenced at least 10 discrete references, it is unlikely that you have done sufficient reading to obtain a satisfactory grade (tip: students achieving higher awards will engage considerably with the academic literature as part of independent research). Beware of sources from the Internet (no Wikipedia!): apart from reputable and academic references that can be downloaded through the Internet (commonly via the library catalogue); most Internet references are not considered reliable for an academic piece of work. Academic journals generally offer a better source than textbooks.

You must use the APA 6th referencing system. This requires you to state the surname of the author(s) in the text of your report, followed by a comma and year of publication e.g.: "Kraljic (1983) states that...." If you use direct quotes, then the page number should follow e.g.: Kraljic (1983: 112) "The profit impact of a given supply item can be defined in terms of volume purchased, percentage of total purchase cost or impact on product quality or business growth". Failure to reference properly constitutes a violation of university regulations i.e. plagiarism and is a serious offence.

The guidelines for APA6 can be found on the Moodle page or via the library.

3000 (+/- 10%) word report contributing 45% to your final grade on the BHPO module