Academic Year

Coursework Assessment
and Instructions 2023/2024

Module Code: BUS002 Level 5

Module Title: Operations Management

Weighting % 100% Group NO

Assessment Name: Individual Report
Word Count 2,000 words

Submission Date: Friday, December 22, 2023. 3:00 pm

Module Organiser: Dr. Evangelos Markopoulos. e.markopoulos@qmul.ac.uk

Module Level Learning Outcomes to be assessed (Reference to Module Proposal Form)

Module Learning
No Description
Outcome
1 A1 Assess key factors influencing effective management of operations
Evaluate the fundamental concepts, tools and techniques of operations
2 A2
management
3 B1 Apply operations management tools and techniques to business problems
Approach and manage data and information, problem solving and decision
4 B2
making effectively
Analyse data and information using relevant operations management tools and
5 B3
concepts
Apply analytical and problem-solving skills to decision problems in business
6 C1
management

Assessment instructions for students (as per QMplus ‘Assessment Information’ tab)
 BUS002 Operations Management. Coursework Assessment and Instructions

Assessment instructions for students

In this report, you are required to answer ALL SIX QUESTIONS. Your answers are to be presented in a single
report format, and in answering these questions, please:

• state and explain all assumptions, on which your answers are based.
• support any answers with the appropriate calculations to arrive at the answer.

While each individual answer might have a different word count from the others, the overall word count
should not exceed 2,000 (+ or – 10%) words excluding calculations (numbers and equations, etc.).

The report must be submitted in Microsoft Word or PDF FORMAT ONLY,

via QMplus, by FRIDAY, December 22nd 2023 at 15:00 (3pm)

Late submissions will be penalised according to School regulations (see Submission guidelines and policies
after the assessment questions.)
Under no circumstances can submissions via email be accepted. Under no circumstances should you attempt
to hand in your work directly to the lecturer or to the class teacher.

In any case you are affected by EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES that might prevent you from submitting your
work on time, you should contact the module organiser (Dr. Evangelos Markopoulos,
e.markopoulos@qmul.ac.uk) AND student support officer (Ms Ripa Parvin, r.parvin@qmul.ac.uk) as soon as
possible when the problem occurs and no later than the deadline for submitting the report. Extenuating
circumstances will be evaluated in accordance with College regulations.

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BUS002 Operations Management. Coursework Assessment and Instructions

Assessment Questions
Q1. (20%) As Patrick Sportwear Co. completes plans for its new assembly line of Liverpool, it identifies 30
different tasks in the production process. VP of Operations Kevin Keegan now faces the job of balancing the
line. He lists precedences and provides time estimates for each step based on work-sampling techniques.
His goal is to produce 1.000 football shoes per standard 35-hour workweek.

Task Time Immediate Task Time Immediate

(sec) Predecessors (sec) Predecessors
B1 50 - E2 18 G5, F3
K4 24 B1 A4 10 E1
K9 27 B1 E3 109 F3
J1 66 B1 D6 53 F4
C2 12 - D7 72 F9, E2, E3, K9
J2 22 B1 C1 78 F7, A4
J3 3 C2 D8 78 E3, D6
D5 6 - D9 37 D6, A4
G4 79 K4, K9 C3 40 F9, D7
G5 29 K9, J1 B3 72 D7, D8, D9, C1
F3 32 J2 B5 108 C1
F4 92 J2 A1 52 B5
F7 21 J3 B7 18 A1, B3, C3
E1 20 C2 A2 72 B5
F9 126 G4, K4 A3 114 B7, A1, A2, D5

a) Balance this operation using the shortest operation time rule and compute the efficiency of the
line. (10%)

b) Explore if this balance could be improved (7%).

c) Discuss if is it possible to improve this balance to 100%? (3%)

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 BUS002 Operations Management. Coursework Assessment and Instructions

Q2. (20%) Michele Platini and Diego Maradona, planners for a company that makes several models of
footballs are about to prepare the capacity plan that will cover six periods. They have assembled the
following information.

Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
Forecast 250 300 350 400 500 250 2,050

They intend to start with zero inventory on hand in the first period, and their production rate is 300 units per
period. Use overtime at a fixed rate of 15 units per period as needed. Use subcontracting at a maximum rate
of 50 units per period if needed.
Plan for an ending inventory of zero for period 6. Backorders cannot exceed 60 units per period.
Compute the total cost of the plan.

a) Prepare the capacity plan as below using the level strategy. (10%)
Period 1 2 … 6 Total
Forecast
Production:
Regular …
Overtime …
Subcontracting …
Output-Forecast …
Inventory:
Beginning …
Ending …
Average …
Backorders …
Costs:
Regular …
Overtime …
Subcontracting …
Inventory …
Backorders …
TOTAL …

Level Strategy Operations Costs: Regular: 4£, Overtime: 2£, Subcontracting: 10£, Inventory: 2£, Backorders: 30£

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 BUS002 Operations Management. Coursework Assessment and Instructions

b) Prepare the capacity plan using the chase strategy, and compute the costs. (7%)
Period 1 2 … 6 Total
Forecast
Production:
Regular …

Change in …
Production
Costs:
Regular …

Production level …
change
TOTAL …

Chase Strategy Operations Costs: Regular: 4£, Level change: 6£

c) Compare and contrast the two strategies. (3%)

Q3. (15%) Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff are purchasing managers for the headquarters of a large

sports marketing company chain with a central inventory operation. Their fastest-moving inventory item has
a daily demand of 35 units. The cost of each unit is £200, and the inventory carrying cost is £25 per unit
per year. The average ordering cost is £60 per order. It takes about 5 days for an order to arrive, and there
are 252 working days per year.

a) To minimize the cost, how many units should be ordered each time an order is placed?
What is the total annual inventory cost, including the cost of the units? (7%)

b) How can they manage the days it takes for an order to arrive? (How does it impact their
operations and costs?) (4%)

c) b) Even if there is substantial uncertainty in the parameters in the EOQ-model, it is still quite a
useful model. Discuss why. (4%)

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BUS002 Operations Management. Coursework Assessment and Instructions

Q4. (15%) Oleg Blokhin Sportwear uses, for the goalkeeper gloves, a time sensitive and unstable chemical
compound that must be kept in an environment where both temperature and humidity can be controlled.
He uses 250 pounds per month of the chemical, estimates the holding cost to be £4.25 (because of spoilage),
and estimates order costs to be £20 per order. The cost schedules of four suppliers are as follows:

Vendor 1 Vendor 2
Quantity Price/LB (£) Quantity Price/LB (£)
1-49 36.00 1-74 35.00
50-99 34.75 75-149 34.00
100-149 33.55 150-224 32.80
150-249 32.35 225-299 31.90
250-349 31.25 300-374 31.40
350-499 30.50 375-449 30.90
500+ 30.00 450+ 30.50
Vendor 3 Vendor 4
Quantity Price/LB (£) Quantity Price/LB (£)
1-99 34.50 1-199 36.00
100-199 33.75 200-399 34.00
200-399 32.00 400-599+ 32.00
400-499 31.25 600+ 30.00
500+ 30.50

a) Identify and discuss what quantity should be ordered, and which supplier should be used? (10%)

b) Discuss factor(s) that should be considered besides total cost. (5%)

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 BUS002 Operations Management. Coursework Assessment and Instructions

Q5. (15%) A process considered to be in control measures an ingredient in ounces.

Roberto Baggio, a quality inspector took 20 samples, each with 8 observations as follows:

SAMPLES OBSERVATIONS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 11 9 10 13 10 11 9 12
2 7 8 12 9 6 8 11 10
3 13 9 10 12 12 11 10 9
4 9 10 8 8 11 12 10 10
5 12 10 9 7 9 12 11 8
6 11 10 8 9 10 14 12 9
7 13 12 10 11 14 15 8 9
8 10 10 8 9 10 11 10 9
9 8 8 12 11 13 10 12 10
10 10 12 11 10 11 12 10 12
11 11 9 10 12 11 13 9 12
12 12 11 11 11 12 10 11 13
13 13 9 10 12 11 12 10 9
14 9 8 11 12 9 11 10 10
15 8 10 9 14 13 13 11 12
15 9 10 8 11 15 16 12 9
17 11 10 9 12 15 14 8 10
18 12 10 11 9 11 12 9 10
19 9 12 12 12 11 13 12 9
20 11 11 9 10 10 11 8 12

a) Using this information, obtain three-sigma (i.e., z=3) control limits for a mean control chart and control
limits for a range chart, respectively. It is known from previous experience that the standard deviation of
the process is 0.693. (8%)

b) Discuss, with justification and observation, whether the process is in control or not. (7%)

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BUS002 Operations Management. Coursework Assessment and Instructions

Q6. (15%) Nikos Anastopoulos of EMPROSS Strategic IT Consultants, leads the development of a new
football stadium. He developed the activities, durations, and predecessor relationships in the following
table for delivering company valuations.

Activity Predecessor Duration in Weeks

A - 5
B - 3
C A, B 8
D C 3
E - 4
F E 10
G F 8
H E 18
I D 20
J D, G, I 7
K I 5
L H 10

a) Draw the Network Diagram, and identify and discuss the project duration and the critical path using
the following activity notation (7%)

ES ID EF

SL SL

LS Time LF

b) Draw the project’s Gantt chart (3%)

c) Change the time of at least two activities that can reduce the overall project duration, draw the new
critical path and the new Gantt chart (5%)

====================== END of QUESTIONS =======================

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 BUS002 Operations Management. Coursework Assessment and Instructions

Submission Information

Please observe the following style guide. Unless otherwise specified,

1. All work must be typed and submitted in MS Word or Adobe PDF format

2. Font size should be 12 point (unless otherwise specified)

3. Font style should be Arial

4. Leave margins for comment Insert page numbers

5. Use a cover page containing your student ID number, the module code to which your work applies, and the
date.

And Please:

• Always spell-check and proofread your work before handing it in (once you have submitted your
work you will not be permitted to retrieve it)

• Keep your own electronic back-up copy of your work and if possible save it on two devices

• Avoid plagiarism

• Submit your work on time

Guidelines and Late-Work Policy

Please read the information below carefully before you submit your assignment. Additional information on coursework
submissions is available in the Undergraduate Student Handbook 2023/24.

1. Coursework submitted late (and there are no extenuating circumstances) will incur a late penalty. Five
percent of the total marks available shall be deducted for every period of 24 hours. After seven calendar
days (168 hours or more late) the mark shall be reduced to zero, and recorded as 0FL (zero, fail, late).

2. The word limit for the coursework is 2.000 words (which can go up to 10% more 2.200 words). For
submissions that exceed the word limit, the module organiser will take into account the word length under
the standard marking conventions. For example, if you have exceeded the word limit then it might be that
you have not been sufficiently succinct or focused in your assignment, or obtained an unfair advantage

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 BUS002 Operations Management. Coursework Assessment and Instructions

against the students who restricted their answers within the word limit, and therefore might be penalised for
these weaknesses. Please note that word limits do NOT include references or appendices. However, if
excessive material is included in appendices then this too will be judged accordingly and you may be
awarded a lower mark.

Please note that word limits do NOT include the questions, references, appendices, formulas, calculations
and numbers in tables or figures. However, if excessive material is included in appendices then this too will
be judged accordingly and you may be awarded a lower mark.

3. You should ensure that your submission is in either Microsoft Word or PDF format.

Failure to submit in either one of these formats will result in a mark of 0 being awarded for the assessment.
It is therefore your responsibility to ensure that the file format is correct and it can be opened by the
receiving party.

4. You should ensure that the correct piece of assignment is uploaded as the document downloaded on the
due date by the module organiser will be marked regardless of content. You will not have another
opportunity to submit the work again if you mistakenly uploaded the wrong document.

5. If you are a student with specific learning difficulties (SpLD), it is your responsibility to attach the SpLD
cover sheet.

6. ALLOW YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME TO SUBMIT YOUR COURSEWORK. DO NOT LEAVE IT UNTIL
THE LAST MINUTE

7. Computer problems, such as computer viruses, failure to make a back-up copy or temporary internet
access problems, will NOT be viewed as a valid reason for late submission.

8. Check that your assignment submission has been successful, and print a copy of the confirmation screen.

9. If you submit your assignment after the deadline, you will still be able to submit your coursework via QMplus
however you will be penalised for late submission, the only exception to this is if you have an approved
extension due to extenuating circumstances.

Academic Integrity. What is academic integrity?

Academic integrity simply means that you act honestly when you submit a piece of work for marking and
avoid committing any form of assessment offence. By acting honestly we expect that you avoid cheating or
plagiarising and maintain high academic standards.

Students found to have plagiarised or committed an assessment offence of any nature will be penalised
and penalties can range from failing the module to failing the entire programme of study and exiting without
any award.

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 BUS002 Operations Management. Coursework Assessment and Instructions

The University uses Turnitin which is a plagiarism detection service tool where you can upload your work
which helps you to reference your work correctly when you write an essay, report or case study for
example. Turnitin will compare the work you submit with stored resources (e.g. from both contemporary and
previous submissions, reference texts / periodicals / books and the internet).

For each piece of work submitted Turnitin provides two things:

1. A similarity index, which indicates the percentage of the submitted paper that Turnitin has identified as
matching other sources.
2. An originality report, which shows each of these matches in more detail, including the source(s) that
Turnitin has found.
Guidance on interpreting the similarity index and originality report can be found in the SBM UG and PG
Information zones on QMplus.

You are strongly encouraged to do the following for each piece of work you submit:

A. Take academic Integrity seriously.

B. Upload your work onto Turnitin well in advance of the submission deadline so that you:

i. have enough time for the system to turnaround your work (the first and the next 3 uploads will
typically take 1 hr each to process)

ii. have enough time to respond to any issues identified in the originality report

iii. Return to your assignment drop box before the submission deadline to make sure you have not
left your work in “draft” form.

•Only after you have made the draft submission and addressed issues identified in the originality report you
should make the final submission. Please note that you will no longer be able to make draft submissions or
make changes after the submission deadline.

The module organiser will check the similarity index for all the submissions after the deadline and any
submissions with a high similarity index will be sent to the Academic Offences Officer for further
investigation which will delay your work being marked.

Submission Deadline
Date 22nd December 2023
Time 3:00 PM
QMplus https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/4049582/mod_resource/content/1/%5BBUS
Link/Pag 002%5D%20Individual%20Report%20%282023-24AY%29-QUESTIONS-and-
e INSTRUCTIONS.pdf

Help and Support

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 BUS002 Operations Management. Coursework Assessment and Instructions

• Module Organiser: Dr Evangelos Markopoulos (e.markopoulos@qmul.ac.uk)

• Disability and Dyslexia Service (DDS): Ms Ripa Parvin (r.parvin@qmul.ac.uk)

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