Individual Assignment for
EFIMM0072: Strategic Operations Management (65%)
EFIMM0075: Supply Chain Technology and Digitalisation (65%)
• Name of Programme: MSc Global Operations and Supply Chain Management
• Assignment (individual)
• Topic: Individual project for analysing operations and technology management
• 3,500 words +/-10%
• Deadline: 9th December 2025, 13:00 PM
• 65% of the total mark
Intended learning outcomes will be assessed for EFIMM0072
1. Evaluate what operations strategy and management entails in manufacturing, service and not-for- profit contexts, taking into consideration a range offactors including economic, environmental, ethical, legal, political, sociological and technological, together with their effects at local, national and international levels of operations strategy and management.
2. Critically evaluate the core theories, concepts and frameworks of operations management and apply them to operations decision making processes within a range of organisational settings.
3. Understand and critically evaluate the role of market requirements and operations resources in shaping a firms operations strategy and the design of a their respective delivery system.
4. Be able to apply operations management knowledge into a range of complex situations, whilst taking into account the overall implications for other areas of the business as well as changing external environment.
Intended learning outcomes will be assessed for EFIMM0075
1. Critically explore of the various digital technologies in global operations and supply chains;
2. Distinguish between the technical and managerial issues related to the application of digital technologies to supply networks;
3. Analyse the emerging digital and global economic trends and their impact on current global operations and supply chain practices;
The Task
Operations and supply chain management has entered the Industry 4.0 era, enabling businesses operation to be smart and data-driven. The purpose of this coursework is to demonstrate your understanding of how an organisation sets itself up to deliver customer requirements and critically analyse how disruptive technologies (such as artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, 3D printing, Internet-of-Thing, and augmented reality) can be used to improve their product/service offering.
You are required to conduct a management consultancy project on an organisation that offers a range of services or products (or a single service or product) and select an operation of your chosen organisation. This can be any manufacturing or service organisation. The scope of the operation under study should be reasonably wide enough, or you may not be able to provide sufficient discussion for the following questions.
You are required to write a report addressing the following:
1. Briefly explain the operation you are studying and use the input-transformation-output diagram to support your explanation. Boundary of the operation under study should be well defined and justified. Also discuss the strategic implications of the operation (i.e. what are the current customer expectations of the organisation and why it is worth studying). (EFIMM0072 ILOs 1, 2) [30% marks]
2. Draw a process map to outline the process steps of the operation you are studying. Discuss each process step of your diagram in detail (e.g., resources required, or time spent at each step), and clearly indicate the flow from one symbol to another symbol. Provide a definition of the symbols you used. (EFIMM0072 ILOs 1, 3) [30% marks]
3. Identify one or a range of operational issues that your chosen operation is currently facing and discuss its implications to the organisation’s strategic objectives. Aspects you might consider include better managed inventories, service quality, queuing theory, capacity planning, design of service and process, and supply chain management. (EFIMM0072 ILOs 3, 4) [40% marks]
4. To address the operational issues that you identified and discussed in question (3), you are expected to critically identify at least three alternative technological solutions and introduce them. (EFIMM0075 ILO 1) [20% marks]
5. Considering the external environment and governance issues of your selected company, please justify why certain disruptive technology (not all you identified in question 4) can be considered. What are the pros and cons of using them in the operations/supply chain management of your selected organisation? (EFIM0075 ILOs 2, 3) [40% marks]
6. Implementing the disruptive technologies can be considered as organisational change that might lead to managerial challenges (e.g., employees’ resistant to change). To ensure the disruptive technology you justified can be implemented smoothly in operations, what are your suggestions for the managers? (EFIM0075 ILOs 2,3) [40% marks]
Note:
(i.) The marks from Questions 1, 2, & 3 will account for the individual assessment for EFIMM0072 Strategic Operations Management, and the marks from Questions 4, 5 & 6 will account for the individual assessment for EFIMM0075 Supply Chain Technology and Digitalisation.
(ii.) You are required to use the literature research (e.g., academic references, news report, and online customer reviews etc.) to complete the report.
(iii.) If a student fails this unit (i.e., the combined mark of individual and group assessments for EFIMM0072), the student will only resit for the failed unit. Students will not take the integrative assignment again. Instead, a separate resit assignment is prepared for each unit.
(iv.) You are strongly recommended to allocate half of word count to the assignment components to each unit.
(v.) You must submit an electronic copy to the Turnitin through Blackboard