Operations and Supply Chain Management

Post Graduate Diploma in Management

Year: 2024/2025

INTRODUCTION TO THE MODULE

In today's dynamic and interconnected business landscape, operations and supply chain management stand as critical pillars for organizational success. Operations management entails the design, execution, and improvement of processes that convert inputs into goods and services, aiming to maximize efficiency and quality while minimizing costs. On the other hand, supply chain management involves the coordination of activities that procure raw materials, transform. them into finished products, and deliver them to customers, emphasizing seamless integration and responsiveness to market demands.

In essence, operations and supply chain management serve as the backbone of modern businesses, driving efficiency, agility, and customer satisfaction in an ever-evolving marketplace. Mastering these disciplines is not just a strategic advantage but a necessity for businesses aiming to thrive in today's fast-paced and interconnected world.

This module's main objective is to assess pertinent and applicable concepts and practices related to operations and supply chain management. Additionally, it will empower learners to critically analyse the intricate issues at the core of this subject. Furthermore, learners will be given the chance to evaluate strategic decision-making processes within their respective organizations.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of this module the student will be expected to be able to display the knowledge, understanding and application of the following:

a) Recognise, analyse and critically reflect on key concepts, managerial frameworks and techniques available to operations managers.

b) Demonstrate conceptual and practical understanding of the opportunities and constraints that organisational characteristics place on operations managers and on operational decision making in the supply chain context.

c) Critically discuss the managerial relevance of topics in business operations and supply management, analysing their benefits and implementation challenges to organisations and their supply chains.

d) Apply managerial concepts, theoretical frameworks, and approaches to solve specific operations and supply chain problems in a range of business case scenarios, including related implementation challenges.

e) Demonstrate ability to relate theory to practice and to identify and proactively anticipate broader implications for selected issues across contexts.

f) Produce and justify appropriate informed decisions in the context by elaborating pros and cons arguments concerning application of relevant concepts and managerial frameworks.

INDICATIVE CONTENT

1. Introduction to Operations Management

2. Operations Strategy

3. Quality management

4. The Design of Services, Products and Processes

5. Lean Management

6. Supply Network Management

7. Capacity Management

8. Forecasting

9. Planning and Control

10. Operations Improvement

11. Innovation in operations and supply chains

12. Sustainability within the context

Recommended Text

Nigel Slack, Alistair Brandon-Jones, Robert Johnston (2022) Operations Management, 10ed. Pearson.

Learners are to read from a wide variety of other sources – journal articles, websites, other textbooks – which will vary from one topic to another.

Online Resources

1. The Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/

2. Ivey Business Journal https://iveybusinessjournal.com/

3. JSTOR Digital Library https://www.jstor.org/

4. ResearchGate.net https://www.researchgate.net/

5. Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-ethics-quarterly

6. Bookboon online https://bookboon.com/

Assessment

The assessment for this module consists of two forms of assessment. Submission dates are as indicated.

Please see page 8 for AS1 brief and page 12 for AS2 brief.

All coursework assignments and other forms of assessment must be submitted by the published deadline which is detailed above. It is your responsibility to know when work is due to be submitted – ignorance of the deadline date will not be accepted as a reason for late or non-submission.

Any late work will NOT be accepted and a mark of zero will be awarded for the assessment task in question.

You are requested to keep a copy of your work.

2.0 Additional Information

2.1 Grading Scheme

Amity Global Institute uses the following grading scheme for its courses.

Note: In case of multiple assessment types, the students’ marks (Grade/ Classification) will be decided according to the aggregate weight age of the assessment types.

2.2 Progression criteria

Amity Global Institute courses are modular and there are no pre-requisite modules. Hence the concept of ‘progression’ to the next level does not apply to the Amity Global Institute courses. Students who have failed a module may choose to re-take the module. Hence, a progression criterion at Amity Global Institute is student progression to the next level of the programme or to the next educational level.

2.3 Award criteria

When the students have completed all the sufficient modules and amassed enough credits, they graduate. All assessments are held every semester, and a student if fails can retake the assessment without any difficulty or time lag.

2.4 Appeal Procedure

· Students who have not passed their modules may submit an appeal for review of results using AGI-SS-FRM-020 Results Appeal Form. through the Student Support Officer giving their reasons.

· This appeal must be submitted within 1 week of the release of exam results.

· The Student Support Officer passes the Appeal Form. to the Principal, who obtains the response from the teacher/marker on the merit of the appeal.

· Principal then submits the appeals with the teacher’s response to the Examination Board for decision.

· The Principal communicates the decisions of the Exam Board to the students of the outcome of their appeal and the same is updated in the results in the Examination Register and the student is issued with the revised Results Notification Letter. (subject to any changes in the results)

· Amity Global Institute works within the following timelines for processing and release of the final exam results and appeal results.

a) Release of final exam results – within 4 weeks after completion of the final paper of the examination

b) Release of appeal results – within 4 weeks from the official date of release of the exam results (or 3 weeks from the close of the appeal period)

· Amity Global Institute returns the examination scripts / assignments to students after 4 weeks or more from the official date of release of the examination results.

· A student whose appeal is unsuccessful may apply to Amity Global Instituteto take a re-test (also referred as re-sit) with payment of a re-test fee. This application must be submitted within 1 week of the release of the appeal results. If the student fails the re-test, he must either repeat the module in order to accumulate the required number of passed modules for graduation.

· A student who chooses not to appeal may apply to Amity Global Instituteto take a re-test, with payment of a re-test fee, within 1 week of the release of the exam results.

2.5 Assessment Offences

As an academic community, we recognise that the principles of truth, honesty and mutual respect are central to the pursuit of knowledge. Behaviour that undermines those principles weakens the community, both individually and collectively, and diminishes our values. We are committed to ensuring that every student and member of staff is made aware of the responsibilities s/he bears in maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and how those standards are protected.

You are reminded that any work that you submit must be your own. When you are preparing your work for submission, it is important that you understand the various academic conventions that you are expected to follow in order to make sure that you do not leave yourself open to accusations of plagiarism (e.g. the correct use of referencing, citations, footnotes etc.) and that your work maintains its academic integrity.

Definitions of Assessment Offences

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is theft and occurs when you present someone else’s work, words, images, ideas, opinions or discoveries, whether published or not, as your own. It is also when you take the artwork, images or computer-generated work of others, without properly acknowledging where this is from or you do this without their permission.

You can commit plagiarism in examinations, but it is most likely to happen in coursework, assignments, portfolios, essays, dissertations and so on.

Examples of plagiarism include:

· directly copying from written work, physical work, performances, recorded work or images, without saying where this is from;

· using information from the internet or electronic media (such as DVDs and CDs) which belongs to someone else, and presenting it as your own;

· rewording someone else’s work, without referencing them; and

· handing in something for assessment which has been produced by another student or person.

It is important that you do not plagiarise – intentionally or unintentionally – because the work of others and their ideas are their own. There are benefits to producing original ideas in terms of awards, prizes, qualifications, reputation and so on. To use someone else’s work, words, images, ideas or discoveries is a form. of theft.

Collusion

Collusion is like plagiarism as it is an attempt to present another’s work as your own. In plagiarism the original owner of the work is not aware you are using it, in collusion two or more people may be involved in trying to produce one piece of work to benefit one individual, or plagiarising another person’s work.

Examples of collusion include:

· agreeing with others to cheat;

· getting someone else to produce part or all of your work;

· copying the work of another person (with their permission);

· submitting work from essay banks;

· paying someone to produce work for you; and

· allowing another student to copy your own work.

Many parts of academic life need students to work together. Working as a team, as directed by your tutor, and producing group work is not collusion. Collusion only happens if you produce joint work to benefit of one or more person and try to deceive another (for example the assessor).

Cheating

Cheating is when someone aims to get unfair advantage over others. Examples of cheating include:

· taking unauthorised material into the examination room;

· inventing results (including experiments, research, interviews and observations);

· handing your own previously graded work back in;

· getting an examination paper before it is released;

· behaving in a way that means other students perform poorly;

· pretending to be another student; and

· trying to bribe members of staff or examiners.

Help to Avoid Assessment Offences

Most of our students are honest and want to avoid committing assessment offences. We have a variety of resources, advice and guidance available to help make sure you can develop good academic skills. We will make sure that we make available consistent statements about what we expect. You will be able to do tutorials on being honest in your work from the library and other support services and faculties, and you will be able to test your written work for plagiarism using a software package that detects plagiarism.

You can get advice on how to use honestly the work of others in your own work from your lecturer and personal tutor.

If you are not sure whether the way you are working meets our requirements, you should talk to your personal tutor, module tutor or other member of academic staff. They will be able to help you and tell you about other resources which will help you develop your academic skills.

Procedures for assessment offences

An assessment offence is the general term used to define cases where a student has tried to get unfair academic advantage in an assessment for himself or herself or another student.

We will fully investigate all cases of suspected assessment offences. If we prove that you have committed an assessment offence, an appropriate penalty will be imposed which, for the most serious offences, includes expulsion from Amity Global Institute.