Operations and Information Management – Midterm draft

Assignment
Based on the OmegaCo case study detailed information in the assignment brief you are required to write a 1300-word
draft report addressing the following points.
1. Develop a SWOT analysis of the current situation at OmegaCo (10 marks).
2. Based on your SWOT analysis, discuss how a more effective and efficient management of capacity, quality and both
suppliers and customers could help OmegaCo meet its new performance objectives (40 marks).
3. Select one of the process areas from part 2 (e.g. capacity, quality, supplier or customer management) and, using
Business Process Model (BPM) techniques, develop and present two BPM models that show how these could be
improved by capturing the existing and the proposed business processes (20 marks).
4. Conduct research into a suitable Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software solution and develop an evaluation
table, which shows a set of evaluation characteristics and the analysis of two commercial/off-the-shelf products and two
Open Source Software alternatives (20 marks).
5. Select one Industry 4.0 technology and discuss the benefits of implementing this into OmegaCo (10 marks).

Personal Feedback

Note: the marks are maintained for reference only but will not be filled for the draft version.

If you repeat this for the final paper, a failing grade will be the least of your concerns:

Watch the first webinar, in particular the section about “not copying from other sources”.

XX/10 – SWOT of the current situation at OmegaCo (~300 words)

I recommend starting each section with definitions of the main concepts and (if there is space) a brief discussion of the
concepts based on various authors to ensure a clear presentation. Then apply those definitions to the case study.

A good S+W presentation. The O+T needs to be expanded and more precise.

Follow the matrix with a brief discussion of the main findings only and how they impact the next sections of the report.

XX/40 – How to improve management of capacity, quality, suppliers and customers (~1200 words)
"Business conditions are constantly evolving, with customer needs changing, leading to increased quality, shorter delivery
times, and lower prices." – not clear what this is about. How is the “customer need” changing leading to “increased
quality”? As mentioned above, start with clear definitions instead of such generic and abstract statements that add little to
the demonstration of your understanding.

"Matching resource availability with demand is crucial for achieving profitability and" – And this is precisely what the
“capacity management” is about and this is a dedicated section just below. Point to that.

"3.1 Importance of Capacity Management" – The question here is not about the “importance”, but “how to achieve
this”. Clear examples are needed here. What should the company do, where and how? You can make any assumptions
needed about the actual situation to make the report as realistic as possible.

A superficial presentation so far in the draft.

XX/20 – BPM diagrams: current state + recommended improvements (~600 words)

Not included in the draft. Watch the webinar(s) for details of what is expected.

Remember to include the software from the next section into the processes.

XX/20 – ERP evaluation and recommendation (~600 words)

Not included in the draft. Watch the webinar(s) for details of what is expected.

Explore the literature on research about how to select a software for integrating in a business / company / organization
and expand the comparison criteria based on that.

XX/10 – Industry 4.0 technology recommendation (~300 words)

How exactly should this technology be implemented in the company? What should be done where and how? Clear
examples are needed for a proper demonstration of your understanding of how the technology can be used to support
Operations Management.

The List of References indicates a limited literature review that should be extended with more books and articles on the
main topic of the course and assignment. A broad literature review would provide a solid base for the expression of
critical analysis through combination and comparison of information from different sources. The researched material
needs to be properly used throughout the paper.

At the Masters level it is imperative that students demonstrate critical analysis skills by identifying and structuring relevant
information from a variety of sources. Compare and combine information from different sources to express how they are
similar, how they are different, why some theories are more relevant for the given case study than others, in which cases
they would be applicable, etc.

Please review the information available on the university’s pages regarding Writing Skills (see Academic Writing) and
Critical Thinking and referencing: http://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning/home/reading-and-writing and
http://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning/home/using-and-referencing-information

General comments on the paper presentation:

Word count? It is good practice to count for the draft to validate your approach. It is in your best interest to learn to count
so that you can make the best use of the limited space available.

The document is well presented with a cover page, table of contents and numbered pages.

The Executive Summary should be placed before the Table of Contents as it a summary of the paper and not part of the
analysis.

"outlining various tasks indicated below." - ?? This is what the table of contents does.
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Assessment Criteria
You should look at the assessment criteria to find out what we are specifically looking at when marking the
submissions. This reflects the Level 7 assessment criteria.

Criterion / 90-100 80-89 70-79 60-69 50-59 40-49 0-39

Mark
range
Outstanding clarity of Excellent clarity of Very good clarity of Good clarity of focus on Focus evident and Poorly Little or no focus evident
Task 1 - focus on the task focus on the task focus on the task and the task and required satisfactory structure. focused, with poor and very poor
SWOT and required and required required structure structure. Satisfactory Critical structure. structure. Little or no
structure. structure. Excellent Very good critical Good critical understanding understanding of the Poor critical understanding critical understanding of
Analysis Outstanding critical critical understanding understanding of the of the relevance of the subject matter, with of the subject matter, subject matter. Very poor
understanding of the of the relevance of relevance of the issues, with some limited awareness of with limited awareness of application and synthesis of
(10%) relevance of the the issues, issues. omissions or unnecessary issues, Satisfactory issues, and expression of academic content and
issues, Very good Very good application Very good issues. Very good application and synthesis of ideas. Poor application use of
application and and synthesis of application and application and synthesis of academic content and and synthesis of academic secondary sources.
synthesis of secondary secondary synthesis of secondary sources, with use of content and limited use of
sources. sources. secondary sources. some limitations. secondary sources, with secondary sources.
some limitations.
Outstanding clarity of Excellent clarity of Very good clarity of Good clarity of focus on Focus evident and Poorly Little or no focus evident
Task 2 – focus on the task, focus on the task focus on the task, the task, with some satisfactory but with some focused, with significant and very poor structure
OM link to structure and structure and structure and omissions or unnecessary omissions and unnecessary omissions and unnecessary and
argument. argument. Excellent argument. Very good issues. Good structure and issues. issues. Poor structure and argument. Little or no
performan Outstanding critical critical understanding critical understanding argument. Satisfactory structure and argument. critical understanding of
understanding of the of the subject of the subject Good critical understanding argument. Poor critical understanding subject matter is
ce subject matter, issues, and matter, issues, and of the subject matter, Satisfactory of the demonstrated and poorly
objectives matter, issues, and expression of ideas. expression of ideas. issues, and critical understanding of subject matter, with expressed ideas. Very
expression of ideas, relevance of issues. relevance of issues. expression of ideas. the subject matter, with limited awareness of poor application and
(40% relevance of issues. Excellent application Very good application relevance of issues with limited awareness of issues, and expression of synthesis of academic
Outstanding and synthesis of and synthesis of some limitations. Good issues, and expression of ideas. Poor application content and use of
application and academic content academic content application and synthesis of ideas. and synthesis of academic secondary sources as
synthesis of academic and use of and use of academic content and use Satisfactory application content and use of appropriate.
content and use of secondary sources as secondary sources as of secondary sources as and synthesis of academic secondary sources as
secondary sources as appropriate. appropriate. appropriate. content and use of appropriate.
appropriate. secondary sources as
appropriate.

Task 3 – Outstanding clarity of

focus on the task and
Excellent clarity of
focus on the task
Very good clarity of
focus on the task and
Good clarity of focus on
the task and required
Satisfactory clarity of
focus on the task and
Poor clarity of focus on the
task and required
Little or no focus evident
and very poor
BPM (20%) required structure. and required required structure. structure. required structure. structure. structure. Very poor
Outstanding structure. Excellent Very good application Good application and Satisfactory application Poor application and clarity of
application and application and and synthesis of synthesis of academic and synthesis of academic synthesis of academic focus on the task and
synthesis of academic synthesis of academic content, content, relevance of content, relevance of content, relevance of required structure Very
content, relevance of academic content, relevance of issues and issues, with some issues, with limitations issues, with limitations poor application and
issues and use of relevance of issues use of secondary
limitations and use of and/or and/or synthesis of academic
secondary sources as and use of secondary sources as
secondary sources as omissions and use of omissions and use of content, relevance of
appropriate. sources as appropriate.
appropriate. appropriate. secondary sources as secondary sources as issues, with significant
appropriate. appropriate. limitations and/or
omissions and use of
secondary sources as
appropriate.
Outstanding clarity of Excellent clarity of Very good clarity of Good clarity of focus on Focus evident and Poorly Little or no focus evident
Task 4 – ERP focus on the task, focus on the task focus on the task, the task, with some satisfactory but with some focused, with significant and very poor structure
(20%) structure and structure and structure and omissions or unnecessary omissions and unnecessary omissions and unnecessary and
argument. argument. Excellent argument. Very good issues. Good structure and issues. issues. Poor structure and argument. Little or no
Outstanding critical critical understanding critical understanding argument. Satisfactory structure and argument. critical understanding of
understanding of the of the subject matter, of the subject matter, Good critical argument. Poor critical understanding subject matter is
subject matter, issues, issues, and issues, and understanding of the Satisfactory critical of the subject matter, demonstrated and poorly
and expression of ideas. expression of ideas. subject matter, issues, and understanding of the with limited awareness of expressed ideas. Very
expression of ideas, relevance of issues. relevance of issues. expression of ideas. subject matter, with issues, and expression of poor application and
relevance of issues. Excellent application Very good application relevance of issues with limited awareness of ideas. Poor application synthesis of academic
Outstanding and synthesis of and synthesis of some limitations. Good issues, and expression of and synthesis of academic content and use of
application and academic content academic content application and synthesis of ideas. content and use of secondary sources as
synthesis of academic and use of and use of academic content and use Satisfactory application secondary sources as appropriate.
content and use of secondary sources as secondary sources as of and synthesis of academic appropriate.
secondary sources appropriate. appropriate. secondary sources as content and use of
as appropriate. appropriate. secondary sources as
appropriate.
Outstanding clarity of Excellent clarity of Very good clarity of Good clarity of focus on Focus evident and Poorly Little or no focus evident
Task 5 – focus on the task, focus on the task focus on the task, the task, with some satisfactory but with some focused, with significant and very poor structure
Industry 4.0 structure and structure and structure and omissions or unnecessary omissions and unnecessary omissions and unnecessary and
argument. argument. Excellent argument. Very good issues. Good structure and issues. issues. Poor structure and argument. Little or no
(10%) Outstanding critical critical understanding critical understanding argument. Satisfactory structure and argument. critical understanding of
understanding of the of the subject matter, of the subject matter, Good critical argument. Poor critical understanding subject matter is
subject matter, issues, issues, and issues, and understanding of the Satisfactory critical of the subject matter, demonstrated and poorly
and expression of ideas. expression of ideas. subject matter, issues, and understanding of the with limited awareness of expressed ideas. Very
expression of ideas, relevance of issues. relevance of issues. expression of ideas. subject matter, with issues, and expression of poor application and
relevance of issues. Excellent application Very good application relevance of issues with limited awareness of ideas. Poor application synthesis of academic
Outstanding and synthesis of and synthesis of some limitations. Good issues, and expression of and synthesis of academic content and use of
application and academic content academic content application and synthesis of ideas. Satisfactory content and use of secondary sources as
synthesis of academic and use of and use of academic content and use application and synthesis of secondary sources as appropriate.
content and use of secondary sources as secondary sources as of academic content and appropriate.
secondary sources appropriate. appropriate. secondary sources as use of secondary sources
as appropriate. appropriate. as appropriate.