Discuss, from the perspective of the operation, why a store might replace traditional checkouts, and what issues the self-checkouts might present.
2. Suppliers may be rated on the basis of cost, dependability, flexibility and quality. With reference to a company of your choice, clarify which aspects would be considered important within these areas and why this may be considered to be so, for the business concerned.
3. What may be considered to constitute waste in the production process and why is it considered important to have an uninterrupted value stream flow? With reference to a company of your choice, clarify areas incurring waste and how this might best be addressed for the business concerned.
4. The Gantt chart below shows the estimated schedule for activities on a small construction project. The activity durations are not known exactly.
Most of the activities could be done more quickly by employing more construction staff. The following table shows the additional (crash) cost per month for reducing the length of time of activities that can be done more quickly. It also shows the minimum plausible duration for the activity.
Activity Crash cost per month Minimum duration in months
A £1200 1.5
E £600 1
G £1000 0.5
I £800 1
C £400 0.5
Discuss how you might complete this project within seven months. Your discussion should first explain how you would revise the project schedule. Then it should discuss how you could monitor and control the project to deal with uncertainties in project durations.
Notes
1. If you wish to cite any sources in your essays you should use Harvard (author, year) format. The references do not count in the word count and we are not expecting many.
2. Below are the learning outcomes we are assessing in this assignment. Your essays should reflect at least some of these. Note that we have not specified any particular essay structure: it is your understanding, analysis and argument we are assessing.
Know the main concepts of operations management
Appreciate the nature and scope of operations management
Understand operations strategy and discuss what operations objectives are important for a particular operation
Analyse and design products and services
Use appropriately a range of established operations management techniques to measure, plan and control capacity, inventory, supply chain, projects, quality and performance improvement
Appreciate the value and limitations of lean operations
Demonstrate intellectual ability and practical skills through writing
Assignment instructions
Answer any three of the four questions below. Each essay should be about 400 words. In total you should write about 1200 words and not more than 1300 words.
Note Each Question/Essay contributes equally to the overall assignment grade.
Questions
1. Some stores, especially grocery stores, have started replacing staffed checkouts with self-operated checkouts, where the customer checks out their own goods. Discuss, from the perspective of the operation, why a store might replace traditional checkouts, and what issues the self-checkouts might present.
2. Suppliers may be rated on the basis of cost, dependability, flexibility and quality. With reference to a company of your choice, clarify which aspects would be considered important within these areas and why this may be considered to be so, for the business concerned.
3. What may be considered to constitute waste in the production process and why is it considered important to have an uninterrupted value stream flow? With reference to a company of your choice, clarify areas incurring waste and how this might best be addressed for the business concerned.
4. The Gantt chart below shows the estimated schedule for activities on a small construction project. The activity durations are not known exactly.
Most of the activities could be done more quickly by employing more construction staff. The following table shows the additional (crash) cost per month for reducing the length of time of activities that can be done more quickly. It also shows the minimum plausible duration for the activity.
Activity Crash cost per month Minimum duration in months
A £1200 1.5
E £600 1
G £1000 0.5
I £800 1
C £400 0.5
Discuss how you might complete this project within seven months. Your discussion should first explain how you would revise the project schedule. Then it should discuss how you could monitor and control the project to deal with uncertainties in project durations.
Notes
1. If you wish to cite any sources in your essays you should use Harvard (author, year) format. The references do not count in the word count and we are not expecting many.
2. Below are the learning outcomes we are assessing in this assignment. Your essays should reflect at least some of these. Note that we have not specified any particular essay structure: it is your understanding, analysis and argument we are assessing.
Know the main concepts of operations management
Appreciate the nature and scope of operations management
Understand operations strategy and discuss what operations objectives are important for a particular operation
Analyse and design products and services
Use appropriately a range of established operations management techniques to measure, plan and control capacity, inventory, supply chain, projects, quality and performance improvement
Appreciate the value and limitations of lean operations
Demonstrate intellectual ability and practical skills through writing
Assignment instructions
Answer any three of the four questions below. Each essay should be about 400 words. In total you should write about 1200 words and not more than 1300 words.
Note Each Question/Essay contributes equally to the overall assignment grade.
Questions
1. Some stores, especially grocery stores, have started replacing staffed checkouts with self-operated checkouts, where the customer checks out their own goods. Discuss, from the perspective of the operation, why a store might replace traditional checkouts, and what issues the self-checkouts might present.
2. Suppliers may be rated on the basis of cost, dependability, flexibility and quality. With reference to a company of your choice, clarify which aspects would be considered important within these areas and why this may be considered to be so, for the business concerned.
3. What may be considered to constitute waste in the production process and why is it considered important to have an uninterrupted value stream flow? With reference to a company of your choice, clarify areas incurring waste and how this might best be addressed for the business concerned.
4. The Gantt chart below shows the estimated schedule for activities on a small construction project. The activity durations are not known exactly.
Most of the activities could be done more quickly by employing more construction staff. The following table shows the additional (crash) cost per month for reducing the length of time of activities that can be done more quickly. It also shows the minimum plausible duration for the activity.
Activity Crash cost per month Minimum duration in months
A £1200 1.5
E £600 1
G £1000 0.5
I £800 1
C £400 0.5
Discuss how you might complete this project within seven months. Your discussion should first explain how you would revise the project schedule. Then it should discuss how you could monitor and control the project to deal with uncertainties in project durations.
Notes
1. If you wish to cite any sources in your essays you should use Harvard (author, year) format. The references do not count in the word count and we are not expecting many.
2. Below are the learning outcomes we are assessing in this assignment. Your essays should reflect at least some of these. Note that we have not specified any particular essay structure: it is your understanding, analysis and argument we are assessing.
Know the main concepts of operations management
Appreciate the nature and scope of operations management
Understand operations strategy and discuss what operations objectives are important for a particular operation
Analyse and design products and services
Use appropriately a range of established operations management techniques to measure, plan and control capacity, inventory, supply chain, projects, quality and performance improvement
Appreciate the value and limitations of lean operations
Demonstrate intellectual ability and practical skills through writing
Assignment instructions
Answer any three of the four questions below. Each essay should be about 400 words. In total you should write about 1200 words and not more than 1300 words.
Note Each Question/Essay contributes equally to the overall assignment grade.
Questions
1. Some stores, especially grocery stores, have started replacing staffed checkouts with self-operated checkouts, where the customer checks out their own goods. Discuss, from the perspective of the operation, why a store might replace traditional checkouts, and what issues the self-checkouts might present.
2. Suppliers may be rated on the basis of cost, dependability, flexibility and quality. With reference to a company of your choice, clarify which aspects would be considered important within these areas and why this may be considered to be so, for the business concerned.
3. What may be considered to constitute waste in the production process and why is it considered important to have an uninterrupted value stream flow? With reference to a company of your choice, clarify areas incurring waste and how this might best be addressed for the business concerned.
4. The Gantt chart below shows the estimated schedule for activities on a small construction project. The activity durations are not known exactly.
Most of the activities could be done more quickly by employing more construction staff. The following table shows the additional (crash) cost per month for reducing the length of time of activities that can be done more quickly. It also shows the minimum plausible duration for the activity.
Activity Crash cost per month Minimum duration in months
A £1200 1.5
E £600 1
G £1000 0.5
I £800 1
C £400 0.5
Discuss how you might complete this project within seven months. Your discussion should first explain how you would revise the project schedule. Then it should discuss how you could monitor and control the project to deal with uncertainties in project durations.
Notes
1. If you wish to cite any sources in your essays you should use Harvard (author, year) format. The references do not count in the word count and we are not expecting many.
2. Below are the learning outcomes we are assessing in this assignment. Your essays should reflect at least some of these. Note that we have not specified any particular essay structure: it is your understanding, analysis and argument we are assessing.
Know the main concepts of operations management
Appreciate the nature and scope of operations management
Understand operations strategy and discuss what operations objectives are important for a particular operation
Analyse and design products and services
Use appropriately a range of established operations management techniques to measure, plan and control capacity, inventory, supply chain, projects, quality and performance improvement
Appreciate the value and limitations of lean operations
Demonstrate intellectual ability and practical skills through writing
