Submission Deadline Marks and Feedback

Before 10am on: 20 working days after deadline (L4, 5 and 7)

15 working days after deadline (L6)
25/03/2022 10 working days after deadline (block delivery)

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Unit title & code BSS042-3 Management and administration of operations

Assignment number and title
Assignment type
Weighting of assignment
Size or length of assessment
Unit learning outcomes
1
Written report based on a case study
60%
1800 words
1. Demonstrate an understanding of operations management and factors affecting the design of
products and processes within an organisation.

2. Apply operations management concepts to plan and control organisations and their quality
improvement.

What am I required to do in this assignment?

Assignment should be handed in by 10am of the submission date.

The unit title and code number must be clearly marked on the assignment top sheet.

Coursework must be submitted via BREO by the date and time specified. Late work is not accepted, and will be deemed a fail and graded
G(0) (no work submitted). If you have/anticipate difficulties in meeting the deadline, please contact SID (Student Information Desk) to apply
for Mitigating Circumstances as soon as possible.
The word limit is 1,800 words excluding cover page, executive summary, table of contents and reference list. Your cover page must have
your full name and ID number.

All work should be word processed and presented in a professional manner. You must use a Business Report format. Pages should be
numbered. Headings and sub-headings must be provided.

References must include academic sources.

 Assessment 1: Business Report

Business Report Task:

You have been asked to write a Business Report for the Case Study below, makings sure your report covers the points raised in the
questions listed next.

The word limit is 1,800 words to address the following, excluding the cover page, executive summary, table of contents and reference list:

1. Identify and discuss what were the reasons why operational performance was prioritised over innovation? Use the case study
and your research and knowledge to address this question.

2. What are the innovations that Blockbuster could have done to bring in innovation that would have not had a serious
operational impact, yet allow them to be competitive? Use the case study, your research and knowledge to address this
question. Use examples to help support your answers.

The report needs to follow a good academic report structure, including introduction, the main part (using meaningful headings), a
reflection and conclusion. Please ensure that you have read and understood the Rubrics at the end of this brief!

Additional Guidance

1. The balance between presenting research and applying academic concepts– ensure that your report are balanced with regards to
research and application of course concepts. For example, do not use a lot of space simply relating the information you’ve found
from research, instead you need to demonstrate your understanding of the relevant academic concepts by applying them to the
information gathered.
2. Avoid waffling and be concise. Present directly relevant contents to your response to the assessment brief - avoid including
irrelevant or tenuously-related material.
3. Academic content – peer-reviewed academic materials are critical and use limited online sources. You need to demonstrate your
understanding of the theoretical concepts and models through the citation of relevant peer-reviewed academic articles.
4. Executive summary – an executive summary should be written in a way that allows the executive who reads it to know what the
problem/situation is and the key findings of the reports or key recommendations to solve the problem discussed. An executive
summary is not an introduction to the report, a place for background information on the company or a place to summarise the
task/premise given.
5. Presentation and structure – to achieve an excellent grade, your presentation also needs to be excellent – this includes numbering
tables, referencing correctly etc. Do not present a lot of data and information in tables as appendices. Data or statistics that refer
directly to your discussion in the main body, should be presented in the main body. Tables and figures – tables and figures need to
be numbered and each should have a title that is self-explanatory. Your analytical content must be high, demonstrating critical
thinking and the ability to apply relevant marketing concepts

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 Please, note that your cover page must have your Full Name and ID Number.
CASE STUDY

Blockbuster: Process Efficiency At the Expense of Innovation

Just as too much attention to innovation can hinder a company’s processes, a lack of innovation can be crippling as well. Although we still
refer to the most successful movies as “blockbusters,” the company itself is now regarded as one of the most prominent examples of
business failures.

In 2004, Blockbuster was bringing in $6 billion in revenue and Netflix was trailing behind as a scrappy start-up. Just six years later, Netflix
was a $2.2 billion company and Blockbuster was bankrupt. Today, Netflix is worth more than $28 billion and Blockbuster is ancient history.

What went wrong? Blockbuster’s leadership failed to recognize how quickly the video rental market was changing due to disruption.

A few years earlier, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings actually proposed the two companies work together, with Netflix running Blockbuster’s brand
online and Blockbuster promoting Netflix in its stores. Blockbuster refused. Instead of taking a cue from Netflix and embracing change in the
way customers preferred to watch movies—by streaming them from the comfort of their living rooms instead of renting— it focused on
maintaining the status quo, doubling down on physical stores and inventory. By the time they caught up, it was too late.

Innovation is always critical to maintaining a competitive advantage, but it becomes even more important when new technology is
transforming the market or your competitors are introducing new ways of doing something. Without innovative leaders, even the most
successful companies can flounder.

What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF)

 Describe the key operations management concepts and apply these to provide strategic insight to an enterprise.

3
  Evaluate operations management / supply chain management scenarios and case studies and demonstrate how operations
management techniques may lead to increased effectiveness and efficiency
How do I produce high quality work that merits a good grade?
In order to produce a high quality work, it is essential to use excellent quality and range of recommendations with clear input into discussion
and conclusion of report. Moreover, the academic writing style and the structure of the report is very important making sure that
arguments are constructed academically and based on evidence with good design of the sections and good flow of ideas. Accurate
referencing is also essential. Very good use of academic literature in connection to problem set and excellent overall application of multiple
course concepts, models and theories is necessary to ensure a high-quality work that merits a good grade is produced. Please make sure to
study and fully understand the marking scheme in detail.

How does this assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?
The assessment is designed to test your knowledge and understanding of the main theories and concepts discussed in the class. Hence your
attendance and participation in the class plays a significant role in your success in this assessment.

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How will my assignment be marked?

Your assignment will be marked according to the threshold expectations and the criteria on the following page.

You can use them to evaluate your own work and consider your grade before you submit.

3rd Class – 40-49% Lower 2nd – 50-59% Upper 2nd – 60-69% 1st Class – 70%+
Application of Some use of academic Some use of academic Good use of academic Very good use of academic
course concepts, literature but with little or literature but with little or no literature, good use of course literature in connection to
models and no logical interrelation with logical interrelation with the concepts, models and problem set and excellent
theories to the the problem set. Little use problem set. Little use of theories but lacking in depth overall application of multiple
problem set – of relevant course relevant course concepts, and/or breadth course concepts, models and
including use of concepts, models or models or theories. theories.
appropriate theories.
academic
literature
35 marks
Quality of Poor quality of Poor quality of Good quality of Excellent quality and range of
recommendations recommendations with recommendations with low- recommendations with recommendations with clear
and integration low-quality sources used. quality sources used. Poor reasonable input into input into discussion and
into business Poor input into discussion input into discussion and discussion and conclusion of conclusion of report.
report discussion and conclusion of report. conclusion of report. report. May be limited in
and conclusions scope/depth.
35 marks
Coherent Poor structure and design Poor structure and design Well-structured arguments Well-structured arguments
argument, logical with a reasonable flow of with a reasonable flow of and design with reasonable with good design of the
structure, overall ideas. No report structure ideas. No report structure flow of the report. Formal sections with good flow of
presentation of used or poor report used or poor report report structure used. Mostly ideas. Formal report structure
the report, and structure. Referencing structure. Referencing accurate referencing. use. Accurate referencing.
referencing present but frequent present but frequent errors.
15 marks errors.

Reflection Poor reflection, Poor reflection, Good reflection, Excellent reflection,

15 marks demonstrates limited
awareness and appraisal of
learning process.
Experiences insufficiently
placed in context or
examined.
demonstrates limited
awareness and appraisal of
learning process. Experiences
insufficiently placed in
context or examined.
demonstrates good
awareness and appraisal of
learning process. Experiences
placed in context and
examined.
demonstrates strong
awareness and appraisal of
learning process. Experiences
placed in context and
examined.