L. O.s Covered by this Assessment: LO 1: Explain the management functions, roles and skills in an organization
LO2: predict the impact of leadership in organizations
LO3: Recommend adequate quality management and quality control tools to improve the quality of production or services in different types of organizations
% of Final Grade: 20%
Total Marks Available: 100
Group members:
Students’ ID:
_______________________________________
Section #: ________________________________________
HCT Graduate Outcomes Addressed:
CLO1 CLO2 CLO3
GO1 Communication and information literacy 1
0
0

GO2 Critical and creative thinking 0
1
0

GO3 Global awareness and citizenship 1
0
0

GO4 Technological literacy 1
0
0

GO5 Self-management and independent learning 0
1
1

GO6 Teamwork and leadership 0
1
1

GO7 Vocational competencies 0
0
1

GO8 Mathematical literacy 0
1
0

HCT Academic Honesty Policy
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated within the HCT. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism (copying) or any other attempt to gain an academic advantage in a dishonest or unfair manner. Breaches of the Academic honesty policy will result in dismissal from HCT.

ASSESSMENT 3: INDUSTRY RESEARCH PROJECT

WORTH: 20% of Final Grade
MARKS AVAILABLE: 70 (to be shown as a percentage)
DUE DATE: Due on 14th of May 2015 (end week 13)
PAGE COUNT: Approximately 9-10 pages maximum
CONDITIONS: This is a Group (3 – 4 students maximum) assessment task.

Tasks must be handed in by the deadline. Failure to submit on time will result in a deduction of 10% for each day over the deadline.

First drafts are not permitted. Any questions regarding the explanation of the project and the requirement are only allowed.
TEACHER CONTACTS: Email: marylene.younes@hct.ac.ae
Phone: 02 694 1239 (direct)
BASICS OF THE PROJECT: 4 marks
Title page (1 mark)
The Title can be something like: “Operations Management practices of _______ .”
This should be a separate page. You can include a photograph or logo or something here.

Table of contents (1 mark)
The Table of Contents must indicate the headings in the project as well as the page numbers. The Table of Contents must also be on a separate page.

Basic guidelines for the project: (1 mark)
– Use numbered headings and paragraphs. This will make referrals easier and will make references to the Table of Contents easier.
– The project should be typed at 1½ line spacing. The Font size should be 12. You should use Times New Roman or Arial Font
– Page layout should be portrait.
– You must quote and include your references. Also include a list of references at the back of your project. This is very important.
Structure of the project (1 mark)
Here is a basic structure for the project. Notice how I have given structure to the headings. I have numbered them and I have used:
– CAPS and BOLD for the main headings
– Bold, for the subheadings and
– Bold and Italics for the sub-subheadings

If the company provides a service, you may have to be creative and elaborate on certain sections. Service companies will have unique operations management activities and you should highlight them. The marks allocation will be adjusted accordingly.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO SELECT A SMALL COMPANY.

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY (Page Guide for This Section Is One Page)
In this section you provide a brief background of the company. Be sure to discuss the main products and/or services that the company sells. Describe the industry in which the company operates. You can generally mention something about the location and if the company operates locally or internationally. You can also briefly mention something about the competition and how you believe the company competes (relating this to their operations), as well as something about the company’s position in the market. For example, are they market leaders or not?
8 marks

2. STRATEGY OF THE COMPANY (Page Guide for This Section Is One Page)
What is the “vision and mission” of the company? If unknown, explain what you think the vision and mission would be. Which strategy is the company following? Is it a low cost, differentiation? Justify your answer. What are the company’s core competencies? What do you believe are the company’s “Order Winners”?

Does the company measure the productivity of their workers? How do they measure productivity? Is productivity difficult to measure in this industry or company? Why? If productivity is not measured, how would you recommend the productivity be measured?
8 marks

3. FORECASTING (Page Guide for This Section Is One Page)
Briefly explain the different forecasting approaches and which approaches the company is using. Provide examples of the company’s forecasting techniques. Provide examples of the time horizons of the forecasts. If necessary, you can use subheadings to highlight this. If the information is too confidential (or there is not enough information available), I want you to be bold and explain to me which forecasting techniques they should be using and why you say so.
8 marks

4. PRODUCT AND SERVICE DESIGN (Page Guide for This Section Is One Page)
Discuss the various product and service designs that the company uses. What are the design considerations (legal, ethical, sustainability) the company must make with their product and/or services? Where would you position the company’s products or services in their product life cycles and why do you say so? Are the products or services standardized or customized and to what extent? How does the company ensure reliability?
8 marks
5. CAPACITY PLANNING (Page Guide for This Section Is One Page)
How is the company managing its capacity? Explain your answer. Do they have enough capacity or do they need more capacity to match demand? What do they do if they need more capacity and when is the capacity needed? Is there excess capacity available? Is there any capacity cushion? Are there any bottlenecks or constraints in their operations, and how could they be overcome?
8 marks
6. PROCESS DESIGN (Page Guide for This Section Is One Page)
Which process design is the company following? Explain in detail how the product/process matrix relates to the product and/or service that your company provides? Explain in detail the type of layout the company is using to create their product/services. Explain the factors that were considered when designing the layout?
8 marks
7. LOCATION (Page Guide for This Section Is One Page)
Where is the company located? Explain your answer. Which factors did (or would have) they consider (were present) when they made this decision? In your opinion, is this a good location? Why or why not?
5 marks

8. QUALITY and QUALITY CONTROL (Page Guide for This Section Is One Page)
Discuss the management of quality and the quality control within this company. Which of the concepts for an effective quality management program is the company using? Do they make use of inspection? What types of quality tools are used? What can you recommend to improve quality of the products and/or services?
8 marks
9. CONCLUSIONS (Page Guide for This Section Is One Page)
In this section, you have to make some conclusions and recommendations to the company for the way forward. Based on the findings in the project, where do they see themselves in the future? Is the company following their selected strategy? What can you suggest to them? What recommendations can you make to them?
5 marks

Marking Criteria:

Organization: 4 marks

1. Introduction 8 marks

2. Strategy 8 marks

3. Forecasting 8 marks

4. Product and Service Design 8 marks

5. Capacity Planning 8 marks

6. Process Design 8 marks

7. Location 5 marks

8. Quality and Quality Control 8 marks

9. Conclusion and Recommendations 5 marks
TOTAL AVAILABLE MARKS