Using your own organisation or a local organisation that you know well, identify a strategic operations issue or problem that needs to be addressed. This problem should be related to one of the topics that are covered in this subject.
Describe the organisation. Keep the description brief, but make sure that the reader can clearly understand what the organisation does and the organisational context.
Describe the specific operational issue, problem or process that needs to be addressed. Again, keep this brief but ensure the reader understands what the issue or problem is and how the issue/problem affects the organisation’s processes.
In order to help explain how the issue/problem affects to the organisation, you might want to include one or more of the following:
a chart or process flow diagram to show the functional relationships of the issue or problem with the rest of the organisation’s workflow;
key objectives and purpose of the operation including your opinion of its current and ideal performance (preferably supported by actual performance data);
opportunities for change and improvement to the process or techniques being used now;
resource implications or constraints that need to be considered;
technologies and/or manpower issues involved in the process.
Analyse the issue or problem using a concept covered in this subject. If you believe it is appropriate, you can use more than one concept from the subject (but bear in mind the assignment’s word limit). This analysis should be the major content of your report.
When analysing the issue or problem, you should consider:
the five main performance objectives of operations management;
changes to performance or outcomes (such as cost, output, quality, productivity etc);
potential improvements that you believe can be made;
relevant theory calculations where possible;
where possible, any information about the costs involved.