Team Assignment

HS258a – Operations Management

Project Assignment – Operations Analysis

Objectives

The operations function of any enterprise has a direct and significant impact on the competitiveness and success of the firm. Upon completion of this project, you will have gained a deeper understanding of how the goals and objectives of an operation are realized in the way they do business. The project will draw upon the skills we have been developing this semester – process mapping, performance analysis, quality management, and process improvement – and apply them in a real-world setting.

Assignment

Select an operational process that you can easily visit (at least twice) and where you can readily conduct observations. This is not a typical ‘research project’ but an experiential learning project; the types of references and sources you will use are fairly straightforward, such as company websites, our book and course readings, first-hand knowledge, site visits, or marketing literature. Your most important reference and source of data you will create by observing, collecting and analyzing data about the process first hand.

Analyze the operation in terms of mission, operations strategy, goals and objectives, competitive priorities, customers: apply the frameworks we have examined in the course.

Complete two separate observations of the operation (this can be done in mini-groups) changing the time of day or day of week. The observations should be meaningful (i.e. not just 10 minutes) but not arduous (you don’t need to spend 10 hours in Starbucks). Think about what type of process is being used (assembly line vs. project, for example). Collect data on the process, observe the customer interaction and process flow.

Analyze the operations process and formulate recommendations.

Your paper should include:

• A description of the organization.

• Customer analysis – who are they, what do they expect?

• Process objectives: how does the organization...