Operations and Information Management
Process selection and design are both strategic elements for any organisation as they can contribute directly to the overall efficiency and effectiveness of operations. Organisations make decisions on process selection and design based on the variety in products or services that the system need to handle, the degree of the equipment flexibility and expected volume output. Using the 5 Performance model organisations can benefit in producing higher quality products and services and, operating at low cost.
i. By taking as an example a product or a service from an industry that you are familiar with, critically discuss the main factors that influence the manufacturing/service process design.
ii. Discuss how implementation of the 5 ‘performance objectives’ – quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost – may assist in achieving greater productivity, lower costs and higher quality.
Critically analyse the theory, concepts and models of operations management and demonstrate an understanding of the importance of operations management in global organisations.
2. Analyse and critically evaluate the ways in which operations are adapted in view of specific market culture and customer requirements, and the role and importance of operational excellence in various aspects of competitive advantage.
3. Justify the value of understanding, measuring, reducing and preventing quality costs and understand the application of basic planning & control techniques.
4. Use the basic tools and techniques to plan and improve all aspects of the operations function and understand the application of the control systems that can be used for operations management in a wide variety of environments.
