Operations Management

BSNS 7350

Peter J Mellalieu

i

Preface

Feedback on this iBookVersion 4.1+, 2016-02-02 (Development) - Zotero.

This is one of the first iBooks I have written. I have attempted to exploit many of the interactive features of the iBook format. However, to gain the full advantages of these features you must view this iBook on an iPad or Mac computer using the iBook app.

For those without access to the iBook version, you may view a .pdf version produced from the iBook. However, the .pdf version does not present all the features available in the iBook version.

Known faultsI have attempted to provide hyperlinks to resources that are embedded in the iBook version. I am aware that upon conversion from the iBook to .pdf some of the links fail to be converted properly. “It’s a mystery”. You could copy and paste the full link into your browser. For those enrolled in the Unitec courses BSNS 6350 and 7350 you will be able to locate the resources on the course learning management system, Moodle.

I welcome your feedback on your experience of the iBook and pdf versions of the course handbook. Please send me your PMIs to: peter.me@me.com

PMIsP: What examples of Positive experiences with the iBook/pdf?M: What examples of Minus experiences with the iBook/pdf?I: What examples of Interesting features of the iBook/pdf?

Keep up to dateThis iBook is updated in response to your feedback. You can download the latest

iBook for iOS version (via DropBox) http://tinyurl.com/opsmanibook

Pdf version (via DropBox) http://tinyurl.com/opsmanpdf

Thanks for your feedback!

Peter J Mellalieu

ImagesLeft: Norske Skog Tasman newsprint mill, Kawerau.Cover: Thomas Alva Edison holding a creativity-inspiring steel ball; Inventor of the electricity distribution industry and the industrial research laboratory; Founding entrepreneur of General Electric Corporation (GEC).

ii

Interactive Preface.1 Email feedback to the author

peter.me@me.com

BSNS 7350 Operations Management

Lecturer: !! Peter J MELLALIEUOffice:! ! OAKRIDGE 054-1012Phone:! ! 815 4321 Extension 8108 Mobile:! ! 021 42 0118 (Preferred)Email:! ! pmellalieu@unitec.ac.nz

Department of Management and Marketing Bachelor of BusinessUnitec Institute of Technology

3

Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so.Galileo Galilei

CHAPTER 1

Course Handbook

SECTION 1

All businesses must satisfy customers and deliver products to customers efficiently. The manner in which delivery is man-aged must match the organisation’s strategy to ensure busi-ness success. Senior management must fully support the strat-egy and business philosophy adopted. Furthermore, it is nec-essary to coordinate the organisation’s activities with those operations of other organisations, such as suppliers and dis-tributors.

This course is explores the principles and techniques to assist the focus on efficiency improvement. The course builds upon BSNS 6350 Business Process Improvement with a particular focus on applying your learning to investigate and solve a practical problem for a business client.

Welcome to Unitec BSNS 7350 Operations Management.

Overview

1. What is the aim of this course?

2. What can I learn from previous students?

3. Who can help me be successful with my study?

4. What assessments must I complete?

5. What resources are available to help me?

Figure 1.1 Unitec staff

Unitec staff are usually happy to discuss with you how to achieve success in your studies and life on campus.

Introduction

4

1. WelcomeThe aims of this course are

To enable you to investigate methods, systems, and procedures for managing planned co-ordination of operations"

To develop you as professional operations managers capable of investigating, planning, and leading successfully a significant operations-related programme of productivity enhancement, business growth, new venture creation, technol-ogy transfer, environmental sustainability, or risk mitigation.

The prime focus will be on achieving world-class competitiveness in medium and small enterprise from New Zealand in the manufacturing, services, and technology sectors. Emerging global trends and opportunities in the operations management professions and disciplines will also be considered for relevance to your interests and career ambitions.

To achieve these aims you will work in a team to identify effective solutions for ad-dressing a specific operations management challenge facing a real company as your client.

The video Interactive 1.1 present a brief snapshot of the elements of BSNS 7350.

5

Interactive 1.1 Introducing BSNS 7350 Operations Man-agement

Source: Mellalieu, P. J. (2015). Applied workplace learning in operations management at Unitec New Zealand. Auckland: MyndSurfers/Department of Management & Marketing, Unitec Institute of Technology. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNImMRqlyoU

2. Advice from previous graduatesPrevious graduates of the class remark that the class is both different, challenging, but immensely valuable for their professional and career development.

Watch the video Interactive 1.2 discussing previous students’ experience of BSNS 7350 Operations Management. Take note of their advice on how to succeed in the class and team project.

6

Interactive 1.2 Advice from previous students

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuRqIvVVTxA

3. Key StaffSukesh Sukumaran, Head of Department: Management & Marketing (DoMM), Tel. 815 4321, Ext 8635, ssukumaran@unitec.ac.nz

Dr. Liz Rainsbury Head of Department: Accounting & Finance, Tel. 815 4321, Ext 8803, erainsbury@unitec.ac.nz

Ken Newlands — Programme Leader (Deputy)— BBus, Tel. 815 4321, Ext 7061 knewlands@unitec.ac.nz

Maura Kempin, Programme Leader — BBus, Tel. 815 4321, Ext 8811 mkempin@unitec.ac.nz

Nadesa Goundar Programme Leader —NZDipBus Tel. 815 4321, Ext 7097 ngoundart@unitec.ac.nz

Alastair Emerson Programme Leader — Dip Mgt/. GDipBus, Lecturer Depart-ment of Management & Marketing Tel. 815 4321, Ext 7033. aemerson@unitec.ac.nz

Jeff Marriott, Programme Leader – MBus, Tel 815 4321, Ext 8131 jmarriott@unitec.ac.nz

Ngaire Molyneux Lecturer/Maori Advisor Tel. 815 4321, Ext 7065, nmolyneux@unitec.ac.nz

Malama Solomona Lecturer/Pacific Advisor, Tel. 815 4321, Ext 7030 msolomona@unitec.ac.nz, or pacific@unitec.ac.nz Tel 8154321 ext

Manjula Kambalapuram Programme Administrator - BBus, DipMgt/GDipBus, DipProfAcc, Tel. 815 4321, Ext 8622, mkambalapuram@unitec.ac.nz

Key ContactsSupport Centre / Counselling Service, B28 Tel. 815 4321, Ext 7248 or 8160

Maia Māori Development Staff, Pukenga B171 Tel. 815 4321 Ext 7093

UBS Bookstore, Tel. 815 4321 Ext 7490 or DD 8155400

Te Puna Ako - Learning Support Centre, Tel. 815 4321 Ext 8611

Unitec Library Front Desk, Tel. 815 4185

Pacific Centre for Teaching, Learning and Research, Tel. 815 2949

Student Loans & Allowances Administrators Jacky Brodie Tel. 815 4321 Ex 8244

Ed Collective at Unitec (Formerly USU) contacted@edcollective.org.nz

Course Tutor: Dr. Peter Mellalieu, Associate Professor, Tel 021 42 0118, +64 9 815 4321 Ext 8108 pmellalieu@unitec.ac.nz, Interactive 1.6, Office :Oakridge 054-1012,

7

4. Course descriptor: Course title Operations ManagementCourse number: BSNS 7350Main programme: Bachelor of BusinessLevel: 7Credits 15Pre-requisites: BBus: BSNS 6350 Business

Process ImprovementCo-requisites: DMgt: BSNS 6350 Business

Process ImprovementRestrictions: APMG 7350Compulsory/elective: Compulsory (Management Ops

stream)

Learning time:Lecturer contact hours Non-contact hours Total hours

39 111 150

Course aims:To enable students to investigate methods, systems and procedures for managing planned co-ordination of operations and the global impact on firms in New Zea-land.

To develop students as professional operations managers capable of investigating, planning, and leading successfully a significant operations-related programme of productivity enhancement, business growth, new venture creation, technology transfer, environmental sustainability, and risk mitigation. The prime focus will be on achieving world-class competitiveness in medium and small enterprise from New Zealand in the manufacturing, services, and technology sectors. Emerging global trends and opportunities in the operations management professions and dis-ciplines will also be considered for relevance to the student's interests and career ambitions.

Learning outcomes

1.Evaluate the particular challenges of leading and improving operations in New Zealand, especially within the context of achieving world-class competitive performance in the manufacturing, services, and technology sectors.

2.Evaluate and design solutions using contemporary and emerging information, communications, process, and other technologies to manage and improve selected operations processes, products, services and/or structures.

3.Identify the comparative costs and benefits of operations solutions for risk mitigation, and improving flexibility, safety, resilience, environmental sustainability, and corporate social responsibility.

4.Design integrated operations management solutions to operations issues that both support current operations while enhancing the enterprise's future competitive strategy and sustainability.

5.Design, present, and defend a detailed project plan for leading a significant programme for improving operations processes and strategies in a New Zealand-based enterprise to enhance its world-class performance.

6Practise and reflect on the art and science of leading a productivity improvement team, consultancy investigation, and/or operations management line function drawing on the student's particular technical and leadership strengths.

Topics/Content outline:Integration of previous and new learning through the use of case studies, the charac-teristics of world class production and service operations. The steps and decisions of an operations strategic plan.

Course scope and exclusions: analytical modelsThe scope of the course excludes supply chain management, quality management, and project management. These topics are covered in depth in other courses con-ducted by the Unitec Department of Management.

8

Learning and teaching approachesA mixture of in-class discussions, lectures, video clips, class exercises will be util-ised. Guest lectures will be arranged where possible. The principal mode of learn-ing is through a Team Based Consultancy Project (TBC) with an external client. An overview of the TBC and its relation to other course elements is presented in Interac-tive 1.3

9

Assessment

Team Project Outputs

25 %

Team Contribution by Peer Evaluation

25 %

Personal and Professional Insight

20 %

Technical Writing30 %

Technical Executive

Summaries (x 3)15 %

Peer Reviews of Formal Writing

(x3)15 %

Final Report7.5 %

Client Project Conduct

Evaluation7.5 %

Peer critique of Final Draft Report

2.5 %

Final Draft Report2.5 %

Oral Presentation with Client and

Class5 %

Team-based Consultancy Project for Operations Management

BSNS 7350

Final Reflective Professional and

Personal "Artefact"12.5 %

Weekly and Event-driven Reflective

Journal7.5 %

Pre-Requisite Professional Competences

Peer Ranking by "Team

Achievement" Criteria

Net Grade for "Project Outputs"

Final 20%

Provisional5%

Technical expertise Project Management

Identification of Client

Development of Project Scope and

Objectives

Negotiation of Project Milestones and Project Plan

with Client

Project Execution

Project Delivery (Formal Report

and Oral Presentation)

Client Project Evaluation

Team and Project Data Management

Technical Communications Team Achievement

Personal and Professional Reflection

Reflective Journaling

Emotional Intelligence

Operations management

Consultancy Practice

Technical investigation and

inquiry

Case Study Analysis and

Debate

Formal Technical Report Writing

Formal Oral Presentation

Informal Technical Communication

Proofreading and Copyediting

Peer Marking of Formal Technical

Writing

Team Output

Team Input

Team Harmony , Inclusion, and Collaboration

Team Leadership, Creativity, and

Enterprise

Competencies

Assessment

Interactive 1.3 Overview of course assignments

Download from the course Moodle, orhttp://tinyurl.com/pzaohf9

Co-requisite infographic and videoAn infographic and video explaining the pre/co-requisite course aims, BSNS 6350 Business Process Improvement, is available in Interactive 1.4.

Mellalieu, P. J. (2013). Introduction to Business Process Improvement at Unitec. Unitec Institute of Technology. [video] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03TKlbrmSTA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Mellalieu, P. J. (2013). Introduction to Business Process Improvement at Unitec [Info-graphic]. Retrieved from https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49418067/BPI%202013_PUBLIC.pdf

10

Interactive 1.4 Introduction to Business Process Improvement at Unitec - pre/co-requisite course [Video]

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03TKlbrmSTA

5. Assessment

Id Weighting Nature of assessment Learning outcomes

1a 25 Team Consultancy Project (Report and oral presentation)

all

1b 25 Team Contribution by Peer Evaluation all

2 20 Professional Reflective Learning Journal

3 15 Technical writing (Executive Summaries)

4 15 Technical writing (Peer reviews of Executive Summaries)

1, 3, 4, 5

TOTAL 100

WARNING!!! You are required to submit ALL assignments. Failure to submit an assignment will result in FAILURE of the course. If you fail to resubmit an IN-COMPLETE assignment, then you will fail the course as a whole.

Assessment breakdown and due dates

Id Weight Nature of assessment Component Id Sub-weight Week

due

1a 25 Team Consultancy Project: Outputs

Draft report 1a.1 0 10

Oral presentation with client

1a.2 5 11

Peer critique of draft report 1a.3 5 12

Final Report 1a.4 7.5 13

Client project conduct evaluation

1a.5 7.5 14

1b 25 Team Contribution by Peer Evaluation

Provisional 1b.1 5 4

Final 1b.2 20 14

2 20 Professional and personal insight

Action Plan and Reflection on peer evaluation

2a 7.5 5

Final reflective professional and personal ‘essay’

2b 12.5 14

Technical writing

3 15 Executive Summaries of Case Analyses(x 2)

3.1, 3.2 15 2, 5

4 15 Peer reviews of Executive Summaries (x 2)

4.1, 4.2 15 4, 7

TOTAL 100 100

Semester-Specific dates of classes and assignments are here.

11

Assignment assessment policyAll assignments submitted for this course are required to conform to the course as-signment assessment policies and standards.

These standards are presented on the course e-learning site in these sections:

Course assignment assessment policy

Mandatory written and oral communication standards

General information

The specifications and assessment rubrics for all assignments are detailed on the course e-learning site.

4 Peer Review15%

1b Team Contribution25%

1a Team Project25%

2 Professional Insight20%

3 Technical writing15%

Assessment Breakdown

12

6. Topics, content, and reading scheduleCourse topics , semester-specific dates of classes, and Turnitin assignment submis-sion times are presented on the course eLearning site, https://moodle.unitec.ac.nz/course/info.php?id=546.

13

Semester-specific calendar and assignment due dates for 2016-1BSNS 7350 Operations ManagementElectronic submission DATE for Assignments: On the date specified for the class session. Submission TIME: Submit before 10 am on the day class commences. Risk management: You may submit and replace DRAFT versions of your assignment prior to your final submission. Submitting drafts is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.Late assignments cannot!, CANNOT!!, CANNOT!!! be admitted into the Turnitin Peer Evaluation system.ALL assignments must be submitted on-line to http://turnitin.com. See access codes and password on the page ‘Turnitin Registration’All feedback and marks for written assignments are provided through the Turnitin system.All Peer Reviews of written assignments are conducted through the Turnitin system.Teaching locations and times available on the Unitec main website here: http://www.unitec.ac.nz/career-and-study-options/management/graduate-diploma-in-business-operations-management/operations-management

Semester 1

Date Week Agenda Ass 1a: Team ProjectAss 1b: Team Peer Evaluation Ass 2:

Professional InsightAss 3 & 4: Technical Writing

1-Mar 1 IntroductionAssignment 1 commences: Team building

Ass 2: Journaling commences

8-Mar 2Case Discussion: Inner City Paints (ICP)

Ass 3.1: Draft: Inner City Paints (ICP)

15-Mar 3 Ass 3.1 Revision 1: ICP

22-Mar 4Ass 1b.1: Provisional Peer Evaluation of team contribution

Ass 4.1 Peer review of 4.1 ICP

29-Mar 5 Easter Break (Commences 25 Mar)

5-Apr 6 Case Discusion: Kelly Tarlton (KT)

Ass 1b.1 Action Plan and Reflection on Peer Evaluation

Ass 3.2: Draft: Kelly Tarlton (KT)

12-Apr 7 Ass 3.2 Revision 1: KT

19-Apr 8 Ass 4.2 Peer review of 4.2 KT

26-Apr 9 Study Break - week 1 (Commences 25 Apr

3-May Study Break - week 2 (Ends 6 May)

10-May

17-May 10 Ass 1a.1: Draft Report

24-May 11 Ass 1a.2: Oral Presentations

31-May 12Ass 1a.3: Peer critique of Draft Reports

7-Jun 13 Last week of Semester Ass 1a.4: Final Report

14-Jun 14 Study WeekAss 1a.5: Client project conduct evaluation

Ass 1b.2: Final Peer evaluation of team contribution

Ass 2: Professional Reflective Learning Journal

21-Jun Examination Period Week 1

28-Jun Examination Period Week 2

7. Learning resourcesPrescribed textHeizer, J., & Render, B. (2014). Operations Management: Sustainability and Supply

Chain Management [Global Edition] (11th ed.). Pearson Education.

New Zealand eBook version available here: (cheaper, interactive features)

Heizer, J., & Render, B. (2013). Operations Management: [Global eBook Instant Ac-cess Edition] (11e ed.). Pearson Education. http://www.pearsoned.co.nz/9780273788195

Recommended texts

Barlow, J. (2006). Excel Models for Business and Operations Management [online e-book]. John Wiley & Sons. http://unitec.eblib.com.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=241134

Turner, K., Ireland, L., Krenus, B., & Pointon, L. (2011). Essential Academic Skills (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Manalo, E., Wong-Toi, G. & Bartlett-Trafford, J. (2009). The business of writing: Writ-ten communication skills for business students (3rd ed.). North Shore, NZ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Students are required to access Unitec e-learning Moodle site and the internet for materials relevant to this course.

14

Online resourcesStudents are required to

Access the Unitec Learning Management System (LMS) Moodle internet site for materials and communications relevant to this course.

Moodle Course BSNS 7350: https://moodle.unitec.ac.nz/course/info.php?id=546

Use http://turnitin.com to submit written components forming parts of all assignments. The Turnitin course access code and password is provided in In-teractive 1.5

Use a citation management system such as Endnote or Zotero to manage their database of reading. See http://www.zotero.org. and see Interactive 2.7.

Use Unitec library - all prescribed texts and reference texts are placed on course reserve for your emergency use.

Use Unitec Library online databases

How to access library assistance Main Library

Building 110, Gate 4, ! Mt Albert campus Monday to Thursday, ! 8.00am - 9.00pmFriday, ! ! ! 8.00am - 6.00pmWeekends, ! ! ! 9.00am - 4.30pm

Phone: ! ! ! Front Desk ! (09) 815 4185

Email: ! ! ! library@unitec.ac.nz

Web address: ! ! http://library.unitec.ac.nz/

Study Guides: The Unitec Study ToolBoxhttp://libguides.unitec.ac.nz/studytoolbox

Student Learning Support Centre (Te Puna Ako)Te Puna Ako, Learning Support Centre 815 4321 Extn 8611 Building 180, Mt Albert campus

Monday to Friday, ! ! 8.30am - 4.30pm! ! ! ! Evenings by arrangement

Mt Albert campusPhone ! ! ! +64 9 815 4321 ext 8611

Web address; ! ! http://libguides.unitec.ac.nz/TPA

To make the best use of the Learning Support Centre, Te Puna Ako, watch the video Interactive 1.5.

How to gain excellent marks in assignmentsDo you want to improve your assignments and grades?

You could:

Talk with your lecturer or programme director. 

Visit Te Puno Ako or Maia for learning advice and support. 

Visit the Pacific Centre for Teaching, Learning and Research. 

Contact the Student Issues Advocates for independent advice. For contact de-tails and more information, visit http://www.unitec.ac.nz/current-students/student-life/student-advocates

15

Interactive 1.5 Make the best use of the Learning Support Centre, Te Puna Ako

Available from:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUexq3qgyTU

16

SECTION 2

Overview

1. Must I attend class?2. Who is the course lecturer?3. What are my responsibilities

as a student?4. What are Unitec’s

obligations to me?5. What are Unitec’s rules and

policies that are relevant to me?

General

17

Figure 1.2 Campus view from Gate 4, Carrington Road

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance." Socrates

1. Contact sessions: Studios and conductYour learning experience assumes that you will attend class contact studios to clar-ify assignment requirements and to participate in extending the learning you gain from the section: Topics and Content Outline: Reading Schedule, Section 4. Accord-ingly, all studio sessions are compulsory. Email your team and tutor in advance if you cannot attend.

Studio sessions will be the primary time discussions will be held about the assess-ments.

Please ensure that before coming to the studio sessions that you are prepared. Skim read the relevant chapters prior to the relevant class. Prepare questions and/or case examples you would like to discuss drawn from recent news events.

Follow up classes by reading fully the chapters indicated in the section: Topics, con-tent and reading schedule

18

2. Lecture attendance and conduct

Unitec is required BY NZ LAW to record and report to the immigration department on the attendance of any student present in New Zealand under a Student Visa. Therefore, if you are attending Unitec on a Stu-dent Visa you are expected to attend all lectures.

ALL students are strongly encouraged to attend every session as a range of differing subject matter, guest lecturers and in class group activities and discus-sions are designed to enhance student learning and experience. Punctuality is an important courtesy for lecturers and students and is, of course, a manda-tory requirement in the business environment. 

Email the tutor and your team beforehand if you have to miss a class.

An attendance register will be taken at the start and end of each class to moni-tor the attendance of each student for administrative purposes.

Lecture sessions for all students will be the primary time for coaching and dis-cussions. Class meetings will include discussion about the assessments and assignments. Please ensure that before coming to the lecture sessions and tuto-rials that you are prepared. Read the relevant chapters (at least) the night be-fore lectures. Prepare questions and/or case examples you would like to dis-cuss. We expect you to be up to date on current industry developments.

Team work is an essential component of this class. You will be rated on the quantity and quality of your contribution to your team’s assignments. Your team will expect to check in with your progress on team tasks prior to and af-ter the formal component of the class session.

Cell phones are not permitted to be on, or used, during class time and must only be done so during break times or by prior lecturer agreement.  

Our lecture sessions should be fun and interactive. Please feel free, and wel-come, to participate in any discussion and debate. We want to hear your views!

In grading all assessments, consideration may be taken into account of stu-dents who do not regularly attend lectures and team meetings.

19

3. Unitec and BBus policies and procedures

Unitec guidelines on policies and procedures Please read the policies specific to the Bachelor of Business in conjunction with the Unitec publication, “Your Guide to Unitec’s Rules and Policies”.

All students should obtain a free copy of the “BBus Student Handbook” which in-cludes information on:

Lectures and Conduct

Academic Dishonesty

Online Enrolment

Attendance Policy (International and Domestic)

Assignments (Format, Presentation, Referencing, Submission, Extensions)

Exams (Regulations, Timetables, Special Consideration Applications)

Assessment (Collection of Assessments, Uncollected Assessments, Reconsid-eration)

Special Assessment Consideration (SAC)

Results

These documents are available on Moodle and via Unitec’s main site:

Unitec rules and policies:http://www.unitec.ac.nz/current-students/support/rules-and-policies/rules-and-policies_home.cfm

Bachelor of Business Homepage On Unitec’s eLearn site, Moodle

http://moodle.unitec.ac.nz/course/view.php?id=1235

Unitec’s commitment and expectations of students Unitec is committed to providing you with:

Lecturers who are well prepared and organised

Display a thorough knowledge of their subject

Good communicators

Provide you with useful feedback on your performance

Responsive to your learning needs

Qualifications that are credible and portable

A quality education in a climate of continuous improvement

Accurate information about your programme

Assessment that is fair, valid and timely

The opportunity to evaluate courses and teaching in confidence

A learning environment that is safe and one that enables you to achieve your full potential.

We expect students to:

Be punctual and reliable in attendance

Be well organised and prepared for each class

Be committed to your own learning

Participate actively in group work and other learning activities associated with their programme.

Abide by Unitec statutes and regulations

Respect the rights of your fellow students and Unitec staff

Provide useful feedback to courses and teaching to assist us in improving our programmes and services.

20

4. Course tutor

Peter J MELLALIEU, PhD, BTech(Hons), MPubPol, CertIwiEnvMgt

StrengthsQuest Talents: Strategy. Learner. Ideation. Activation. Intellection.

MihiKo Tongariro te maunga

Ko Waikato te awa

Ko Huguenot te iwi

Ko Geering te rangatira

Ko Mellalieu te hapū

Ko Pukawa te marae

Ko Boeing te waka

Ko Kaiako Jean-Pierre ahau

AboutAssociate Professor Peter MELLALIEU teaches innovation, strategic thinking, new venture development, and ‘wealth from green’ at Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland.

Peter emigrated from the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. He grew up in the Wai-kato, later studying biotechnology, industrial engineering, and management at Mas-sey University (Manawatu).

After university graduation he worked in Wellington as an industrial scientist imple-menting novel Decision Support Systems for long-range strategic development in several agribusiness sectors including the New Zealand dairy industry. Later, Peter worked in Belgium in an entrepreneurial new venture information technology (CAD/CAM) systems company. The Flanders-based company was located near his family’s 17th century Huguenot roots as silk-weavers in a north-east French village, Malaloy, in the Champagne producing region of Alsace-Lorraine.

Returning to the Manawatu in 1987, Peter commenced his tertiary academic teach-ing career at Massey University. In 2000, he organised a conference on the theme ‘strategies for sustainability and success’ in which he engaged thought leader theolo-gian Sir Lloyd Geering as keynote speaker. This conference lead to his current re-search interests in education for sustainability, eco-innovation, eco-enterprise, and eco-magination.

He spends many happy hours walking, sailing, singing, and skiing with family, friends, and learning partners around Tongariro, Taupo, and Auckland.

21

ContactDepartment of Management and Marketing

Faculty of Creative Industries & Business

Unitec Institute of Technology

Carrington Road, Mt Albert, Auckland

Office:! ! OAKRIDGE 054-1012

Mobile: ! 021 42 0118 (Preferred)

Phone:! 815 4321 Extension 8108

Email:!! pmellalieu@unitec.ac.nz

LinkedIn:! http://www.linkedin.com/in/petermellalieu

Publications:!http://unitec.academia.edu/PeterMellalieu

Journal:! http://pogus.tumblr.com

Skype:!! myndsurfer

Unitec:! Staff directory

Appointments and communications with course tutorFor an appointment with the with course tutor, please email, text, or phone at least 24 hours in advance. All efforts will be made to accommodate your request for an appointment. All requests for an appointment will be confirmed prior to any ap-pointment.

If you “drop in” for an unconfirmed appointment while the lecturer is busy with other duties, an appointment may not be appropriate or possible. In these instances, offence is not intended. You are encouraged to make an appointment by phone or email to avoid this possible occurrence. 

Please ensure your written communications use formal business English. plz dnt uz txt. That is, please avoid text abbreviation language.

You may attempt to text or phone this lecturer between the hours of 8:00 am and 9:00 pm 24/7.

22

Interactive 1.6 Peter Mellalieu’s Office at Oakridge 054

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/qUwPy

Feedback from employers informs Unitec that you can DOUBLE your entry-level salary in a management position through possessing writing and oral communication standards that enable your work to be presented directly to an employer’s clients without ‘hand-holding’ by your manager.

Example of a cover page for a formal re-port. Source: (“An-nual Report 2007: Carbon Finance for Sustainable Develop-ment,” 2007)

23

Writing and successWrite. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.Larry L. King

CHAPTER 2

Assignment guidelines

SECTION 1

Overview

1. What are the requirements for a Formal Technical Report

2. What are the requirements for an Executive Summary?

3. How can I improve my professional writing to meet the requirements of this class?

4. What is a typical assessment rubric for a Formal Report?

5. What is the six-trait rubric for professional writing?

Figure 2.1 Students collaborating to write a report

Written reports

24

Assignment requirementsReport your recommendations, analysis and discussion in the format of a For-mal Technical Report with Executive Summary. See Required Sections below.State all assumptions and estimates that you use. Ensure you show all workings and formulae for calculations. Include examples of your calculations.Submit copies of spreadsheets used in your calculations as Appendixes to your reports.Use additional resources where necessary to aid your discussions. Submit your report through http://Turnitin.com immediately before class on the due date. Turnitin access codes, Semester-Specific dates of classes and as-signment submission times are presented here, and on the course eLearning site, https://moodle.unitec.ac.nz/course/info.php?id=546 and the course Tur-nitin site.Interactive 2.1 shows a typical assessment rubric for a Formal Technical Re-port. The EXACT rubric for each specific assignment will be detailed in the As-signment Specification for that assignment.All Formal Reports are required to include an Executive Summary, Interactive 2.3Formal writing is required to meet a high professional standard, the require-ments for which are detailed in Interactive 2.5.Use a citation management system such as Endnote or Zotero to manage the literature your find from web searches, research databases and other reading. See http://www.zotero.org. See Interactive 2.7.

Formal Technical Report: Required sequence of sectionsUnitec Assignment Cover Sheet

Report Title PageTable of ContentsList of Illustrations (i.e. Figures and Tables)Abbreviations and GlossaryAcknowledgements

Executive Summary (Further details here)1.0 Introduction (what is the purpose of the investigation; overview of report)2.0 Background (who is the audience/client for the report; where is the investiga-tion to be conducted; relevant theory and principles; what work has already been done on related projects by others?) 3.0 Investigation Method (how was/will be the study carried out in practice.)4.0 Results (Present the data collected. Use appropriate analytical frameworks to analyse data. Provide examples of calculations)5.0 Discussion (Discuss the implications of your results in relation to the client’s requirements and purpose of the report)5.0 Conclusions (Summarise the key results and discussion. Present succinct con-clusions. Note any limitations of the study and areas for future investigation.)6.0 Recommendations (On the basis of your summary and conclusions, what actions do you recommend the client/audience should implement?)

References

AppendicesAppendix AAppendix B

25

Contents of each section of a Formal ReportGuidance on completing each section of a Formal Report is explained in detail in Interactive 2.2:

Mellalieu, P. J. (2014, May 22). Guidance for writing a formal technical report. Inno-vation & chaos ... in search of optimality. Retrieved from http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/86483674558/guidance-for-writing-a-formal-technical-report

Turner, K., Ireland, L., Krenus, B., & Pointon, L. (2011). Essential Academic Skills (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.nz/books/about/Essential_Academic_Skills.html?id=TRyCZwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

PaginationUse Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v… x) commencing from the Table of Contents (page i) through to the Abbreviations section. Use modern numerals (1, 2, 3 … 100) commencing from the Executive Summary (Page 1).

26

Interactive 2.1 Assessment rubric for a TYPICAL formal techni-cal report

This rubric explains precisely where you will earn marks for each component of a typical formal technical report assignment.

Source: Mellalieu, P. J. (2014, May 27). Source: Assessment Rubric for Operations Management Investigative Report. Peter Mellalieu’s GoogleDrive. http://tinyurl.com/qeryhu3

Executive summaryYour report must include an Executive Summary. An Executive summary IS NOT AN INTRODUCTION!!!! It is a self-contained document that includes Purpose, Overview, Scope, Findings, and Key Recommendations.

Here is a scaffold of an Executive Summary that you may adapt freely (based on my implementation of Turner et al, Ch. 7, p. 145):

Situation (Introduction): Provide context information.

Problem: Define the issues that the paper addresses. The issues may be prob-lems, opportunities, or challenges faced by the enterprise described briefly in the ‘Situation’ paragraph(s).

Investigation method: The method(s) that were used to conduct the study and investigate the costs and benefits of alternative solutions to the issue(s).

Solution: Describe the solution – its key characteristics, fundamental princi-ples, and how the solution solves the problem.

Evaluation: Provide a summary of evidence for how well the solution solves the problem. Summarise how efficient, effective, and appropriate is the pro-posed solution compared with (a) the next best alternative (b) doing nothing (c) continuing current practice (d) other alternatives.

Recommendations: Give suggestions for implementation or future work. Who should do what by when? What further investigations should be conducted?

1. IMPLEMENT the ‘linear’ laboratory layout, illustrated in Figure 3.2….. 2. NOTE that the next best alternative is ..3. NOTE that if Celestial Chocolates adopts the new biscuit chocolate then

the recommended laboratory layout is...

The audience for an executive summary is precisely what the name indicates: execu-tives and managers. 

An Executive Summary may optionally contain brief summaries of tables and fig-ures presented in greater detail in the full report or appendices.

For examples and guidance and guidance to writing an Executive Summary, see In-teractive 2.3

27

Interactive 2.2 Guidance for writing a formal technical report

Source: Mellalieu, P. J. (2014, May 22). Guidance for writing a formal technical report. Innovation & chaos ... in search of optimality.http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/86483674558/

Formal written language quality The quality of your communication is a CRUCIAL requirement for your success in this course .... and your future career. Feedback from employers and recruitment consultants informs Unitec that you can DOUBLE your entry-level salary in a man-agement position through possessing writing and oral communication standards that enable your work to be presented directly to an employer’s clients without ‘hand-holding’ by your manager.

Accordingly, for this course you are expected to write in a style suitable for an inter-national business audience for whom English is a second language. This style of Eng-lish is termed ‘Global English’.

Furthermore, all of your assignment writing is assessed according to the Figure ‘Six-trait method’, Interactive 2.4. The figure specifies the criteria used to assess your writing quality.

The resources in Interactive 2.5 explain some of the special writing features your tutor requires: Global English, paragraphing, and word choice, for instance.

Assignments that fail to reach the required minimum standard of writing will be re-turned for re-writing. You will receive no additional marks if you are required to re-submit. Get your assignment “write” first time! Further details are explained in In-teractive 2.5

Assistance to improve your professional writing and approach to assign-ments

Review the videos Interactive 2.6

Schedule and attend a workshop or personal coaching session provided by the Unitec Student Support Centre

Prior to attending the Unitec Student Support Centre watch this video to en-sure you are best prepared: Interactive 1.5.

Discuss your draft writing with members of your project team, learning clus-ter, or tutor

View the resources available at Study Guides: The Unitec Study ToolBox http://libguides.unitec.ac.nz/studytoolbox

28

Interactive 2.3 Guidance for writing an executive summary

Source: Mellalieu, P. J. (2013, October 3). Exemplars and guidance for writing a technical executive summary and report. Innovation & chaos ... in search of optimality.http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/62931215234/

29

Interactive 2.5 Required formal written language quality guide-lines

These guidelines provide resources to ensure you meet the writing requirements for this course.

Source: Mellalieu, P. J. (2013, October 3). How can we incentivise our students to develop an appropriate professional writing style? My policy and practice. Innovation & chaos ... in search of optimality. Retrieved from http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/62944857816/

Interactive 2.4 The six-trait rubric for assessing professional writing quality

Many written assignments in this course are assessed against the six-trait rubric.

Source: Mellalieu, P. J. (2013, July 25). Assessment Rubric for Professional Language: Six-Trait Method for Evaluating Writing Quality (Ver 1.5) (pdf). Unitec Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/sixtrait

30

Interactive 2.6 How to improve your writing using the six trait rubric

Peter Mellalieu and Mary Lim explain how to improve your writing through the six aspects that contribute to professional writing quality.

Source: Lim, M., & Mellalieu, P. (2013, November 18). Developing professional writing using the six trait rubric [video]. Innovation & chaos ... in search of optimality. http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/67325245170

Interactive 2.7 Information management for team-based projects: Introducing Zotero

Source: Mellalieu, P. J. (2015, March 11). Information management for team-based projects: Introducing Zotero. Retrieved from http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/113293595663

SECTION 2

OverviewA proportion of the marks you earn in this course are gained from your participation in a team project that delivers several outputs. Typically, each team member contributes a different amount of effort to the team's output depending on their am-bition, capability, and commitment. Accordingly, this assign-ment enables you to rate the contribution of each of your team members relative to their contribution to the team's per-formance.

If your team members rate your contribution highly, then you could achieve 100 per cent for your team contribution. In con-trast, if you free-load or disrupt the team's achievement, then you may achieve a zero mark for your team contribution mark. Furthermore, if your team delivers poor results for in your Team Assignments then you will also achieve a lower Team Contribution mark. This topic explains and provides the Team Contribution Calculator spreadsheet that your team will use to calculate each team member’s Team Contribution mark.

Overview

1. How can the differing contributions of team members to a project be rewarded fairly through academic grades?

2. What is the Team Contribution Calculator, and how can I use it?

3. How can weakly performing team members be encouraged to contribute to team performance - or penalised?

Figure 2.2 A project team makes its oral presentation

Team Contribution

31

Factors used to determine the Team Contribution markYour individual Team Contribution mark is based on these measures and factors:

OUTPUT ACHIEVEMENT: Your personal on-time delivery of outputs and promises made to your team. Quality of output delivered in support of the Team Project assignment specifications.

LEADERSHIP AND ENTERPRISE: Actions you take to inspire and direct the team's goals, strategies, and plans; your initiative, innovation, creativity, and enterprise.

TEAM HARMONY AND ENGAGEMENT: Activities you take to promote ef-fective team communication, relationship building, positive working climate, member inclusion, involvement; overcoming team conflict, team dysfunction, and team member free-loading.

INPUT BY TEAM MEMBER: Your on-time attendance and contribution to team meetings. Preparation for team meetings. Prompt response to communi-cations such as messages, emails, phone calls.

INPUT THROUGH CLASS ATTENDANCE: Your on-time attendance at class, as recorded by the course tutor. Typically this includes the first 4 weeks of the semester up to the point of the submission of your team’s project proposal.

TEAM RESULTS: The mark determined by the tutor for your team’s Team As-signment outputs. These outputs typically include:

Source data for calculationsThe following items are determined from the course tutor’s records:

TEAM RESULTS from all assignment outputs generated by the team, such as grades for:

Team Project Proposal

Team Project Workshop or Oral Presentation

Assignment Final Report

Feedback on Final Report and conduct of project from client

Team peer ratingThe following items are determined by each team member rating the relative contri-bution of every other team member. Each of the team members’ rankings are input to a spreadsheet your team uses to determines the mark to be allocated for each team member. The tutor DOES NOT expect to see every team member rated with the same score.

OUTPUT ACHIEVEMENT

LEADERSHIP AND ENTERPRISE,

TEAM HARMONY AND ENGAGEMENT

INPUT BY TEAM MEMBER

You DO NOT need to wait until the tutor has assessed the final report. Once your team has completed all work associated with your Team Assignment, please upload the peer rating component of the spreadsheet to Moodle. The tutor will then add in the marks for your team assignment outputs to calculate the final contribution for each team member.

Anonymity or transparency of rating dataOne team member should be delegated to enter each students' ratings into the spreadsheet. To preserve the anonymity of your ratings, the task of data entry may be delegated to a member of another team.

The Team Contribution Calculator spreadsheetDownload the Team Contribution Calculator Excel (TCC) spreadsheet here: 

Mellalieu, P. (2013, May 13). Team Contribution Calculator - Release Version 3.3 [Spreadsheet]. Unitec Institute of Technology. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49418067/Team%20Contribution%20v3.3%20copy.xls

This video demonstrates how the Team Contribution Calculator spreadsheet func-tions, Interactive 2.8

32

Managing an under-performing team member

Manage workload and stressAs you near the middle of the semester (around weeks 4 to 5), just before the 'break for study', it is productive for teams to ensure that all team members are willing and able to contribute towards the team's objectives. However, this part of the semester is especially challenging as you juggle several commitments:

Assignments due for other courses

The Team Assignment

New life circumstances, such as a job or career change, accommodation change

Family commitments

Planning a few days' vacation

Information overload

Your first challenge is to manage your personal stress - and/or help reduce your team members' stress. Managing (reducing) stress enables you to focus more pro-ductively on the many competing tasks you are pursuing. Managing stress also re-duces the risks of making silly mistakes in your work and relationships. 

Second, ensure your team members are aware of changes in your circumstances. Ask for a change in the commitments you have promised. Ask for assistance: either from your team, other students in the class, or Unitec's professional support serv-ices.

Due process for managing your team's 'free-riders'In other courses, some of your team members will have discussed team develop-ment processes. Many teams go through a dysfunctional 'storming' process prior to establishing productive norms and performing to achieve agreed commitments. However, the majority of a team may find that one or two members appear to be 'free-riding'. That is, relying on other team members to do their work. From Week 4 onwards - a team IS NOT required to carry free-riders.

33

Interactive 2.8 Explaining the Team Contribution Calculator

Source: Mellalieu, P. (2013, May 14). Team Contribution Calculator (Overview). Innovation & chaos ... in search of optimality. Retrieved May 13, 2013, fromhttp://pogus.tumblr.com/post/50359001293/

Accordingly, a team that suspects it is carrying a free-riders may choose to exclude the free-rider from their group. To ensure 'fair and due process', I STRONGLY REC-OMMEND you adopt the following protocol before you formally exclude a team member:

The team should first attempt to manage the performance of the free-rider using the techniques advocated in Turner, Ireland, Krenus, & Pointon, (2009) or the chap-ter Peer Feedback in Carr et al (2005). See Bibliography below. 

1. Ensure you are familiar with Unitec's policy on equity and diversity, presented below. 

2. The 'three strike-out' rule. If a team member fails on three 'strikes' of any from the following, the team can prepare to vote to exclude the free-rider. A 'strike' in-cludes:

Failing to respond to communications (by email, phone, text, etc);

Failing to attend a meeting or rehearsal of the team, unless an apology is submitted in a timely manner before the scheduled meeting;

Failing to deliver agreed commitments by the due date/time agreed with the team;

Submitting unsuitable or unprofessional material;

Committing acts of Academic Dishonesty, such as plagiarism.

3. The tutor MUST be advised of a team's intention to consider excluding a team member. Sometimes there are circumstances of which a team may not be aware.

4. The vote to exclude should be at least 2/3 majority of the remaining team mem-bers, and, ideally, consensus. ('Remaining' means the team members voting to exclude the alleged 'free-rider(s)').

5. The free-rider should be warned at least 24 hours prior to the team's intention to meet to discuss excluding a team member.

6. The final decision must be communicated to the course tutor by email and by phone. If you have not received an acknowledgement of your message from the Tutor, ensure you meet the tutor to advise him of the situation immediately prior to the class commencement.

7. Should the student arrive in class, members of the team should request and en-sure the tutor relocates the excluded student to a distant part of the classroom to minimise the prospect of disruptive, inappropriate or harassing behaviors as de-tailed below. If the student arrives late, walk up DISCRETELY to the tutor and advise him of the arrival of the student.

8. The tutor will speak to the excluded student during a scheduled class break and may provide an opportunity for the student to relocate to another team.

Equity and diversity and UnitecSource: Equity and diversity at Unitec. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.unitec.ac.nz/about-us/equity-and-diversity-at-unitec

Nobody is one-dimensional - there are many sides to each of us. That's what makes us so unique. It's these differences that make Unitec such a truly unique work and study environment - vibrant, innovative, highly productive, and bursting with crea-tivity.

Harnessing the benefits of diversity requires an inclusive, flexible and equitable working and learning environment; one that encourages and values difference and embraces diverse perspectives.

We are all responsible for cultivating an environment that recognises the value in our differences and uses them to achieve the best possible educational, business and community outcomes.

Valuing equity and diversity also means creating an environment free from:

Unfair treatment

Exclusionary behaviour

Sexual, racial or any other form of harassment

Bullying

Discrimination based on membership in a social or cultural group.

If you see or experience any of these behaviours, you can seek confidential help and advice.

34

Relevant Unitec policies includeSee: Complaints. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.unitec.ac.nz/current-students/services-and-facilities/complaints-and-policies/complaints

Academic Integrity Policy

Countering Harassment Policy

Student Complaints Resolution Policy

Student Disciplinary Statute

The foregoing are available from: Unitec policies. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2014, from http://www.unitec.ac.nz/current-students/services-and-facilities/complaints-and-policies/unitec-policies

Mismatch of team member ambitionsOne cause of frustration amongst team members may be that team members have different ambitions regarding the target grade they are seeking for the assignment. Some may seek an A+, whilst others a C pass.  If a mismatch in ambition occurs, it is appropriate for the team's leadership to con-sider allocating a lesser amount of work to the person who is satisfied with a lower grade. The entire team must AGREE in a timely manner that the less ambitious members will get. To enact this agreement, there should be a written agreement for-warded to the Presentation Judges and tutor on or before the team's presentation. An adjustment to team members' mark is made when the tutor applies the Team Contribution Calculator as part of the Course Assessment process, Interactive 2.8.

A large team also has the option to split into two smaller teams, sharing the topics due for presentation at the studio. A team of ONE is entirely permissible!

Risk managementIn general, team members SHOULD ensure they are acquainted with the risks to the achievement of the team's goals. Consequently, a team should consider a regular review of each team members' workloads and other factors that may impinge on a team member's ability to contribute.

Productive meeting procedureEnsure you follow correct meeting procedure at your formal scheduled meetings. As per Interactive 2.9 ensure you record and communicate:

Date, time, and location of meeting;

Agenda: Meeting objective, topics for discussion; information to be prepared for presentation and discussion at the meeting;

Names of those required to attend;

Progress review against project plan

Minutes: record of decisions made and actions to be undertaken by whom, by when;

Record of attendance and apologies: Names of those team members absent or attending the meeting incompletely (late arrival, early departure); Reason for absence; Formal apology provided prior to the meeting?

35

BibliographyCarr, S. D., Herman, E. D., Keldsen, S. Z., Miller, J. G., & Wakefield, P. A. (2005). The Team Learning Assistant Workbook. Boston, Mass.: McGraw Hill Irwin. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0072977264

Turner, K., Ireland, L., Krenus, B., & Pointon, L. (2009). Collaborative learning: Work-ing in groups. In Essential Academic Skills (Revised., pp. 149 – 174). Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://openlibrary.org/b/OL10135765M/Essential-Academic-Skills

Complaints. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.unitec.ac.nz/current-students/services-and-facilities/complaints-and-policies/complaints

Complaints and policies. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.unitec.ac.nz/current-students/services-and-facilities/complaints-and-policies

Equity and diversity at Unitec. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.unitec.ac.nz/about-us/equity-and-diversity-at-unitec

Unitec policies. (n.d.-a). Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.unitec.ac.nz/current-students/services-and-facilities/complaints-and-policies/unitec-policies

Unitec policies. (n.d.-b). Retrieved September 14, 2014, from http://www.unitec.ac.nz/current-students/services-and-facilities/complaints-and-policies/unitec-policies

36

Inputs

Processes

Outputs

CAPA

Interactive 2.9 Process diagram for effective meetings

Anderson, C. (2005, May 13). Write Procedures for Results! Retrieved from http://www.bizmanualz.com/blog/writing-procedures-for-results.html

Design, present, and defend a detailed project plan for leading a significant programme for improving operations processes and strategies in a New Zealand-based enterprise to enhance its performance to world-class benchmarks.

Practice and reflect on the art and science of leading a productivity improvement team, consultancy investigation, and/or operations management line function drawing on the student's particular technical and leadership strengths.

37

CHAPTER 3

Assignment 1: Team Project

Assignment contribution weight

Id Weight Nature of assessment Component Id Sub-weight Week

due

1a 25 Team Consultancy Project: Outputs

Draft report 1a.1 0 10

Oral presentation with client

1a.2 5 11

Peer critique of draft report 1a.3 5 12

Final Report 1a.4 7.5 13

Client project conduct evaluation

1a.5 7.5 14

1b 25 Team Contribution by Peer Evaluation

Provisional 1b.1 5 4

Final 1b.2 20 14

The Team-Based Consultancy Project comprises one-half of your course assessment, of which:

Assignment 1a: Half of the mark awarded to each student will arise from the mark awarded for the project outputs.

Assignment 1b: Half a student's mark will be determined by an anonymous peer rating, from 0 to 100, rated by the other team members of the project team. The mark will be determined by the 'Team Contribution Calculator' method, which is explained in Interactive 2.8

The assignment is designed as a series of stages or milestones. These milestones en-able your team to gain constructive feedback from your client and class members through the progress of the project.

38

Assignment missionDesign, present, and defend a detailed project plan for leading a significant pro-gramme for improving operations processes and strategies in a New Zealand-based enterprise to enhance its performance to world-class benchmarks. (Learning Out-come 5).

Whilst conducting this assignment you will also insights from your experience as part of your Assignment 3: Professional Reflective Learning Journal. You should commence writing entries into your journal from the first week of class.

Previous assignmentsPrevious students have conducted investigations including:

Productivity improvements for The Pallet Company - See Interactive 3.1

Improvements to production scheduling at LSG Sky Chefs

An improved approach to inventory management of paint at VIP Packaging 

Corporate Social Responsibility and Shareholder Engagement at Kiwi Rail

Improvements to waitress scheduling and customer service in a casino opera-tion

Inventory and logistics planning to meet Best Buy’s growth strategy

Operational improvement strategies for Rio Kitchen

Theobroma St Luke Operational Report

39

Interactive 3.1 Productivity Improvements at The Pallet Company

Source: Mellalieu, P. J. (2015). Experiencing operations management.

Auckland: MyndSurfers/Department of Management & Marketing,

Unitec Institute of Technology. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYduJye7OqU

Workload and planningI anticipate the team will present its penultimate technical report including Execu-tive Summary with an oral presentation around week 10 or 11.

Following your presentation you have 2 weeks to respond to the feedback from the audience to include in your team's final report document. The audience WILL in-clude the client organisation, and other technical experts relevant to the project you undertook.

One member of YOUR team will also be tasked to review critically the draft reports of at least two other Project Team’s Draft report. Your team will also include this critical feedback into the Final Report you submit to your client.

Expected input of timeGiven the assessment weight is 50 per cent of the course, I anticipate that the aver-age student seeking to gain a B grade for the assignment will contribute 50 to 75 hours. Students seeking a higher grade would expect to provide a greater and/or smarter input. Consequently, for a team of five students, I would anticipate your planning a project requiring 250 - 350 hours over a twelve week period. This time allowance and project timeframe should be made clear to your client.

Assignment Milestones You will present regular updates of your team's progress on a fortnightly basis throughout the semester. Here is a guideline to the milestones that you should incor-porate into your team’s project plan. Note that the designation ‘Week’ refers to Unitec teaching term weeks. Semester breaks and public holidays are excluded: you have extra time! Follow this link for Semester-Specific dates of classes and assign-ments, Interactive 1.5. Ensure that each meeting follows a well-structured planning, execution, and follow-up process, as per the generic agenda, Interactive 2.9.

Milestone Week 1-2:Outline of the Team Consultancy Project.

Identification of possible client sites and projects from within students’ own places of employment

Nomination of Team Project Leaders.

Selection of teams.

Create a team project overview slideshow eg using the Google Consulting Pro-posal template

Review an example of a typical BSNS 7350 Operations Management team pro-ject, presented in Interactive 3.1.

Review the advice from previous students, presented in Interactive 1.2.

Milestone Week 3:Identified the process of engagement with your potential client (See section below for suggestions)

Identified several potential client organisations that you can approach as candi-dates for the assignment.

Identified the requirements for achieving world-class performance in the con-text of a New Zealand based small-medium enterprise. See, for in-stance Green, Agarwal, van Reenen, & Bloom, (2010)

Established procedures for sharing information and maintaining the confiden-tiality of sensitive information.

Consider using Zotero to maintain a shared research literature database. See Interactive 2.7.

40

Milestone Week 4: Identified a client and negotiated the terms of access to the site and data.

Identified and discussed with your client a range of candidate productivity improvement projects, from which you will ultimately select one project to un-dertake.

Documented the 'Case Notes' describing the company, its industry, and the contexts to the productivity improvement project(s) you are considering under-taking. ie a case document similar to the cases we have discussed in class. An exemplary case format is Kirkwood, J., & Ruwhiu, D. (2002).

Outlined a project plan for the remainder of the project. The plan will establish clear milestones and responsibilities for the team members.

Author(s) of Literature Review identified. Note, Your Literature Revierw com-ponent could be submitted as fulfilling the requirements for the Level 7 Spe-cial Topic or Negotiated Studies.

Identified issues for which you require assistance from the tutor and others.

You will conduct a peer review with your team members to ensure that a fair and balanced contribution to the team’s performance is likely to occur.

Milestone Week 5:Presentation to client of of detailed Project Plan and Draft Report Template.

Draft Report Template includes the following COMPLETED sections: Introduc-tion, Purpose, Background Context, Issues, Investigation Method, Project Plan, Team organization structure and responsibilities, Risk management, Appendix A: Company and Industry Case Notes.

Milestone Week 6Confirmation from client of project scope, plan, resource availabilities, sched-ule of meetings.

Milestone Weeks 7-9 And Study BreakOngoing field visits to client.

Progress results on results of investigations presented for critical and construc-tive peer review in class by other teams.

Literature Review half complete.

Milestone Week 10:Final Draft Report uploaded to Turnitin for Peermark review by other teams.

Literature Review incorporated into Final Draft.

Guidelines for documenting your Formal Report are specified in the 'Ad-vanced' section of: Mellalieu, P. J. (2014, May 22). Guidance for writing a for-mal technical report. Innovation & chaos ... in search of optimality. Retrieved from http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/86483674558/

Milestone Week 11:Oral Presentation to client and class.

Handouts and copy of Final Draft report presented to Client.

Milestone Week 12 PeerMark of Final Drafts completed by ALL teams to all teams.

Milestone Week 13Final Report submitted to Client and Course Tutor.

Milestone Week 14Client completes evaluation of project conduct

Team conducts peer evaluation of contribution by team members

Submit Reflective Essay

Celebrate

41

Developing a process of engagement with a client organisationEven though you might not yet have a client organisation to approach, your team should develop a 'process of engagement' to guide your working with your poten-tial client. Your 'process of engagement' outlines:

How you will approach your client.

How you will explain what your project is about.

When you would like to meet with the company, and how many times.

How you will maintain confidentiality of company data, and the results of your analyses.

What information you might require from the company

Who you might wish to speak with (eg in terms of roles and positions within the company.

How you will manage any risks, crises, or challenges that emerge throughout the project relationship.

How you will plan, conduct, and review your meetings. See Interactive 2.9.

Relevant literature for a consultancy engagementI suggest you do some literature searching on how to conduct a consultancy engage-ment. Here is a useful first start:

Consulting Services for Small Businesses. (n.d.). Duke Fuqua Client Consulting Prac-ticum from  http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/programs/studentconsulting/smallbusiness/

For example a generic approach to this consultancy-like assignment might be:

Identify the client company and gain agreement for a first meeting to explore project options

Conduct desk research to establish the context of the company, its industry, and competition.

Desk research means find out from library research as much as you can about the company, prior to visiting the company.

First visitClarify the scope of the project, the timing, and availability of your resources ie, the project comprises a team of five final year operations management stu-dents, in which each team member will contribute approximately 50 - 75 hours over a ten week period, etc, etc (ie as per the milestones detailed above.)

Brainstorm possible areas for conducting the investigation.

Agree on a shortlist of 1-3 topics for investigation.

Agree on a Company Liaison Person to whom inquiries for data, meetings etc should be addressed by the team. In some cases, this person may be a member of the student team.

Agree on the consulting team's principal Client Relationship Manager, who will be the principal source of contact between the company and consulting team.

Discus ethical, safety, environmental risk factors associated with the project, and how they will be managed.

42

Ensure the Company Liaison Person is provided with full contact details for the course tutor ... and vice versa.

Second visit Presentation of detailed project plan to client.

Further data collection, photographs, interviews.

Ensure the company client/audience(s) for the draft and final reports and oral presentation is clearly identified.

Conduct investigations, analyses, primary and secondary research.

Peer review of project progress with members of other teams and class.

Subsequent visitsAd hoc inquiries to company.

Presentation of Draft Report and recommendations, including oral defence with client and tutors.

Submission of Final Report document, taking in corrections and responses to questions raised at the 'Oral Presentation' and peer review by other teams of your Draft Report.

Commercial sensitivity: the Chatham House RuleIn general, you should regard ALL INFORMATION supplied by students and com-panies as Personal, Private and/or Commercially Sensitive.  

To facilitate productive sharing of ideas and insights amongst class members, all discussions held in class with are presumed to be held under the Chatham House rule. Read about the Chatham House Rule here: 

http://www.chathamhouse.org/about/chatham-house-rule

43

Team roles and arrange-mentIf a member of your team is employed by a company to which you are consulting, then I STRONGLY SUGGEST that there should be a SEPARATION of duties and responsibilities for the role of Team Leader and Client Relationship Manager in your team. This SEPARATION of duties is intended to ensure:

The avoidance of a conflict of interest between the aims of the team (repre-sented by the Team Leader), and the aims of the Client Organisation (repre-sented by the team's Client Relationship Manager).

A reduction in the risk of overburdening one person with overall team leader-ship and client relationship.

This separation of roles would be sensible in ALL teams!

Final Report FormatReview the guidance for writing Technical reports in the ‘Written Reports’ section of this handbook, here.

In particular, see the 'Advanced' guidance here: Interactive 2.2 and Interactive 2.3, or

Mellalieu, P. J. (2014, May 22). Guidance for writing a formal technical report. Inno-vation & chaos ... in search of optimality. Retrieved from http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/86483674558/guidance-for-writing-a-formal-technical-report

44

Assessment RubricsRubric for Draft and Final ReportsYour final report will be assessed against the assessment rubric shown for the assign-ment on Turnitin. The rubric is similar to the generic rubric shown in Interactive 2.1. Check the rubric shown on Turnitin for the precise rubric that applies to this assign-ment.

Rubric for Team ContributionYour Team Contribution is calculated using the method explained in this handbook section: ‘Team Contribution’

Rubric for Oral PresentationThe rubric for the Oral Presentation with the client is shown in Interactive 3.2.

Rubric for Client Project Conduct EvaluationThe team’s client will be asked to complete the Client Project Conduct Evaluation form, Figure 3.1.

The client will also be invited to make comments in support of their score, includ-ing examples of good practice, areas for improvement.

A link to an on-line version of this rubric is here:

Mellalieu, P. J. (2015). Client feedback evaluation for Unitec Operations Manage-ment BSNS 7350. Auckland: Unitec Institute of Technology. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12d8ZZs-4EUQ0sxEjjZKvefVQXau060DtzzQgXIH340Y/edit?usp=sharing

45

Figure 3.1 Client project conduct evaluation

Q ATTRIBUTE SCORE

1The communications, formal and informal, between the client and the Unitec team were conducted in a professional manner.

2The team's project objectives and project plan were communicated and negotiated with the client in advance of pursuing the project.

3The interim (draft) report and oral presentation were useful to the client and delivered in a professional manner.

4The final report provided valuable insight and/or actionable recommendations for the client.

5The final report was written in a professional style that met the client's normal standards and practice.

6

The client would consider employing at least one (additional) member of the project team as either a part-time employee, full-time employee, or industry-based learning student. Please name the student(s).

7The client would engage a Unitec Operations Management project team for a future project assignment with the company.

8

Overall, the client's collaboration with the Unitec Operations Management project team provided worthwhile value and insights through a professionally-conducted relationship.

Scoring of client project conduct evaluationThe key to the scoring system in Figure 3.1:

O, 1 = to little or no extent

2 = to some extent but below a normal professional standard

3= to a normal, average, and acceptable professional extent

4 = to better than the usual professional or company standard

5 = to an exceptional, highly professional extent achieved by the best management consultancies or in-house staff.

The score ranges between 0 and 40 marks.

46

Assessment Rubric - Assignment TWO - Team Presentation Marking Schedule – Oral Presentation

Date: Judge: Team Id: Team Name Criteria

Levels

Speaker 1:

Level

Speaker 2:

Level

Speaker 3

Level

PRESENTATION Delivery 5: Professional throughout

3: Good 1: An effort

Team work 5:Excellent 3: Evident most of time 1:Some evident

Clear speaking 5:Very clear and audible 3: All clear and audible 1: Most members mostly clear

Non-verbal communication

5: Exceptionally high 3: Good standard 1: Mostly adequate

Visual aids 5: Very effective 3: Good standard 1: Used

Logical sequence 5: Logical 3: Logical 1: Attempted

Transitions 5: Very smooth 3: Evident 1: Attempted

Rapport & involvement

5: Excellent 3: Gained 1: Attempted

Timing 5: Appropriate and consistent with topic 3: Mostly appropriate and consistent 1: Difficulties apparent

Innovation 5: Clearly evident 3: Effort made 1: Absent

Sub-Total: Presentation

Mark = Level x 6 Out of 30

CONTENT Purpose of

presentation 5: Clearly identified 3: Identified 1: Attempted

Topic Focus 5: Direct 3: Mainly 1: An effort made

Strategy, sustainability

principles

5: Clearly identified 3: Identified 1: Attempted

Relevant information

5: Highly relevant 3: Mostly relevant 1: Little

Sub-Total: Content Mark = Level x 6 Out of 30

QUESTION HANDLING

Answers the question

5: Completely 3: Present 1: Attempted

Succinct 5: To the point 3: Waffle 1: Evasive

Sub-Total: Questions

Mark = Level x 4 Out of 20

HANDOUT Lucid 5: Easy to follow; Own words;

logical

Comprehensive 5: Overview of presentation; Supplementary detail

Layout and presentation

5: Professional; Numbered and/or mindmap; Headings; White space

Sub-Total: Handout

Mark = Level x 4 Out of 20

Key Areas for Improvement

Key Areas of Strength

TOTAL

Sum of Marks Out of 100

T O C P a g e 27

BSNS 5391 | UNITEC Institute of Technology | Department of Management and Marketing

Weighting

Interactive 3.2 Oral presentation rubric

1 2

ReferencesGreen, R., Agarwal, R., van Reenen, J., & Bloom, N. (2010). Management Matters in New Zealand –  How does manufacturing measure up? Findings from the New Zea-land Management Practices and Productivity global benchmarking project. Welling-ton, New Zealand: NZ Ministry of Economic Development/University of Technol-ogy Sydney/LSE Centre for Economic Performance. Retrieved from http://www.med.govt.nz/about-us/publications/publications-by-topic/occasional-papers/2011-occasional-papers/11-03-pdf

Kirkwood, J., & Ruwhiu, D. (2002). Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter and Under-water World. In T. Batley (Ed.), Business case studies in operations management. Auckland: Pearson Education New Zealand.

47

A reflective journal is designed to help you think deeply about your learning, especially on issues such as: your progress in learning, the difficulties you encountered in the process of learning, the strategies you have taken to get around those difficulties, and your evaluation of your own performance.

"Paris 2010 - Le Pen-seur" by Daniel Stockman - Flickr: Paris 2010 Day 3 - 9. Licensed under Crea-tive Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 via Wikime-dia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paris_2010_-_Le_Penseur.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Paris_2010_-_Le_Penseur.jpg

48

On reflectionA life not studied is a life not livedJames Boswell

CHAPTER 4

Ass 2: Professional Insight

Assignment contribution weightId Weight Nature of assessment Component

IdSub-weight Week

due

2 20 Professional and personal insight

Action Plan and Reflection on peer evaluation

2a 7.5 5

Final reflective professional and personal ‘essay’

2b 12.5 14

Action Plan and Reflection on peer evaluationIn Week 4 you will receive feedback from your team mates about your contribution to the team’s Assignment 1 project. Based on the feedback you receive, you will pre-pare an Action Plan of SMART goals to address issues identified in the feedback process. The issues include both areas of strength to be developed further, and areas of improvement.

Final reflective professional and personal ‘essayThis assignment requires you to produce:

A reflective diary of events, observations, and insights related to your partici-pation and leadership of course actives including the assignments and course meetings.

A summative reflective essay that distills key insights from your entire 'learn-ing adventure' of the course and its context.

You are required to submit these TWO components combined as one artifact at the end of the course.

Reflective Essay. 

Reflective Journal - as an Appendix to the Reflective Essay.

You MUST record the Journal from the beginning of the course on a week-by-week basis, and whenever some event strikes you as being significant to record

Recording your journalThanks to Patrick Dodd for the information in the following sections.

Your learning journals may be done via your blog on Wordpress.com or Tumblr.com. Alternatively, you may undertake the assignment by recording in a Word, Pages, or a handwritten diary. However, to ensure that no plagiarism has oc-curred, you will be required to cut and paste your journal entries and reflective es-say into a document file and upload that file to Turnitin.com on the due dates listed on Turnitin.

The benefits from writing a reflective learning journal

For your study, writing a reflective learning journal helps you:

bring together theory and practice,

yield better understanding of the course material

 

For your development as a successful and independent learner, reflective journaling helps you:

Identify your strength and weakness as a learner

Discover the methods of learning which suit your own learning style

Notice how you can improve your learning in the future

Gain a clearer picture of your learning progress placing you in a better posi-tion to plan your learning.

49

Guidelines for writing ‘reflectively’This section offers guidelines to making journal entries that are reflective and signifi-cant to you personally.

What learning experience should I reflect upon?

Reflect on your process of learning. 

Reflect on your process of engaging with your team project.

Record any observations, experience, thoughts and insights that are significant to you as a learner, or even as a person.

 

Prompt questions for your reference

The function of prompt questions is to stimulate your reflective thinking. You don’t need to answer every one of them in any entry. In fact, you are not supposed to an-swer every one of them in any entry.

How does what I have learned apply to my career in business?

How what I have learned relates to my other experiences?

How what I have learned helps to explain current events?

What implications does it have regarding my learning?

What difficulties have I encountered in applying my knowledge in dealing with everyday situations?

What would be the causes for those difficulties and how could I overcome them?

What has been discussed today in class? What does it mean to me?

What do I find difficult in understanding? Why?

What do I find difficult in accepting? Why?

Could it have been otherwise?

Sample journalThe following figure shows a typical journal entry and feedback provided by a tutor in the right-hand margin

50

What do I write in the Reflective Learning Journal?Reflective learning journal writing is very different from academic assignments that you have been writing. A journal entry is a piece of flexible, personal, informal piece of writing. If you are unsure about how to start, and how to write, don’t just scrab-ble something in the journal. Writing something truly “reflective” is the most impor-tant part of the process. These tips should give you a lift!

“I don’t know what to write!”

Five tips on what to write in a journal entry:

Start off with whatever in your mind about your learning experience in the course

Don’t just throw in events in chronological order

Describe the meaning of what you learnt in the course. Also, your reaction, feeling, opinions, views on both the learning process and the learnt material

List the goods and bads, strengths and weaknesses you consider you demon-strate in the course of your learning

Make advice for yourself and make plan for your learning in the near future

 

“Now I know what to put in the entry, but how should I write it?” 

Five tips on how to write a journal entry:

Write in first person, as if you are writing a letter to a friend

There is no right or wrong answer for a journal entry. Therefore, feel free to express your ideas, opinion, and thoughts.

Don’t hesitate to share your personal experience if that helps to illustrate your point.

Don’t limit yourself to words – diagrams and pictures are ok, too.

Don’t be too intimidated by English rules. It’s okay to make minor grammati-cal mistakes if that does not interfere the transmission of ideas. So don’t put too much thoughts about how to write good English, instead spend more ef-fort on what to write.

However, your summative Reflective Essay should be much more professionally crafted in both writing and presentation.

SourceAdapted, with appreciation, from:

Dodd, P. (2014, March 24). Learning Journal Assignment Specification (BSNS 7360 International Business). Unitec Institute of Technology.

51

Further guidanceMellalieu, P. J. (2010, August 7). Writing a reflective document: The DIEP frame-work. Innovation & chaos ... in search of l’excellence. Retrieved August 7, 2010, from http://pogus.tumblr.com/post/915055044/diep

Exemplary reflective essaysNote: Available only to enrolled students on the course Moodle site.

Qureshi, H. (2012, June). Creative Me.... Reflective Essay (Reflective Essay submitted in partial fulfillment for  BSNS 8118 Enterprise Creativity, Innovation and Design). Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, N.Z. here.

Vanphavong, M. (2012, May 22). Space Saving Furniture: Reflective Essay (Reflective Essay submitted in partial fulfillment for  BSNS 8118 Enterprise Creativity, Innova-tion and Design). Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland. Retrieved from https://www.dropbox.com/s/yabjnjhodogtaqw/Reflective%20Essay.pdf

Young, C. (2012, June). Cut Above’s e-learning strategy: Reflective essay (Reflective Essay submitted in partial fulfillment for BSNS 8118 Enterprise Creativity, Innova-tion and Design). Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, N.Z. here

Velikanov, D. (2012, June 30). Reflective essay on APMG8118 – Enterprise Creativity, Design and Innovation. A breath of fresh air: The Chronicles of my new life in the new place on the Globe. here.

Further examplesReflective essay written at the conclusion of an Industry Based Learning Project by Unitec students

Barnes, D. (2009, October 29). Reflective essay for IBL [Unitec Industry Based Learn-ing Project Journal]. Marketing for Fashion. Retrieved January 17, 2012, from http://danni-ibl.tumblr.com/post/226763243/ibl-reflective-essay

A typical diary entryBarnes, D. (2009, October 12). Journal entry 9: Media work. Marketing for Fashion. Retrieved from http://danni-ibl.tumblr.com/post/210591244/journal-entry-9-media-work

On-line blog of journal entries and reflective essayAlenepi, T. (2011). The KIDzone marketing adventure [Unitec Industry Based Learn-ing Project Journal]. Retrieved January 17, 2012, from http://tracey-ibl.tumblr.com/

52

"Seattle Daily Times news editor quarters - 1900" by Alfred D. Bowen. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Com-mons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seattle_Daily_Times_news_editor_quarters_-_1900.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Seattle_Daily_Times_news_editor_quarters_-_1900.jpg

53

Time is the best editorPut down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it.Colette in ‘“Casual Chance”, 1964

CHAPTER 5

Ass 3 & 4: Technical Writing

Assignment contribution weight

3 15 Executive Summaries of Case Analyses(x 2)

3.1, 3.2 15 2, 5

4 15 Peer reviews of Executive Summaries (x 2)

4.1, 4.2 15 4, 7

This assignment is designed to develop several competencies including your ability to:

Analyse complex business situations to identify opportunities for improving productivity and effectiveness in an enterprise;

Debate and defend your arguments for proposing specific actions to improve

Communicate your analysis and argument in succinct, persuasive formal, pro-fessional English.

Understand an apply the tutor’s standard for assessing written assignments

Compare and contrast your approach to analysis and writing with the ap-proaches of other students in the class.

MethodOver the progress of the semester, you will be provided with three (3) case studies. These case studies are, typically, a technical description of an enterprise, its indus-try, and competitive situation. Your task is to read each study PRIOR to the class in which the case will be discussed. You will apply both your raw intelligence and rele-vant analytical techniques to identify such factors as: issues/problems/challenges and opportunities for improvement for the enterprise.

The case studies are:

Inner City Paints (5 marks)

Kelly Tarlton (10 marks)

Draft analysis and summaryPrior to class, you will write a draft summary of your analysis in the format of an Executive Summary. You will upload this draft assignment to the Turnitin Assign-ment Management system.

In-class case discussionDuring the case study discussion in class, you will present and defend your analy-sis and arguments whilst listening to the equally well-considered analyses and argu-ments of your classmates.

RevisionFollowing the class, you will revise your draft Executive Summary and upload Revi-sion 1 to Turnitin. The tutor will assess your revised submission against the assess-ment rubric for the assignment which is located on the Turnitin site. An example of the assessment rubric for an Executive Summary is provided here, Interactive 2.3.

PeerMarkingOnce all students have submitted their revised Executive Summaries, you will have the opportunity to review, anonymously, ALL the submissions of the students in this class. Specifically, you will now assume the role of a class tutor. You will have the task of marking and providing feedback to a selection of four (4) assignments.

The four assignments that you will review include:

Two assignments randomly allocated by the Turnitin system

One assignment that you choose yourself, from amongst all submitted assign-ments.

Your OWN assignment.

The rubric that you will employ to assess the four PeerMark assignments is shown here, Interactive 5.1.

FeedbackOnce the PeerMark process is complete, each student will be able to review the feed-back comments and grading against the rubric from the other students who marked their assignment.

54

Your mark for this assignmentYou gain higher marks from the tutor for:

Completing the review of all four assignments

Providing constructive comments on the papers reviewed, including provid-ing specific actions that the assignment writer should pursue in future assign-ment writing tasks.

Completing a realistic and fair assessment that approximately correlates with the standards of the course tutor.

The mark you allocate to another student IS NOT applied to the mark that student receives for the assignment. Only the tutor’s mark for the assignment applies. How-ever, statistical analyses of previous versions of this assignment identify that there is a 30 % correlation between the mark a student allocates for a peermarked assign-ment, and the grade the tutor allocates. A higher correlation is expected for this class due to improvement the tutor has made to the peermark process and and as-signment structure.

Critical information: Avoid late assignment submissions!

Owing to the technical implementation of the Turnitin submission and PeerMark system, late assignments CANNOT be admitted into the process. In other words, ALWAYS ensure that you have submitted a draft and revision assignment (Assign-ment 4.1, 4.2., 4.3) PRIOR to the due date and time for submission. The due dates for the assignment submission, revision, and peermark process are detailed here.

It is ESSENTIAL for the fair and correct functioning of the Turnitin Peermark sys-tem that you submit your Assignment 4 BEFORE the due date and time for the as-signment. No late assignments will be accepted by the Turnitin system for Peer-mark. Reason: All students will be provided with access to ALL submitted assign-ments within a few hours afters after the deadline for Assignment 4. That means, a late Assignment 4 submitter could "cheat" the system by viewing other students' submitted work then "improve" their late submission. Furthermore, the Turnitin Peermark system WILL NOT allow a student who submits late to view and Peer-mark the assignments of other students. I repeat: It is ESSENTIAL for the fair and correct functioning of the Turnitin Peermark system that you submit your Assign-ment 4 BEFORE the due date and time for the assignment.

The prudent Operations Management student will have uploaded a DRAFT version of their assignment at least 24 hours before the deadline! 

Guidance to improve your writing and editingGuidance to improve your writing and editing is provided here, Assignment Guide-lines: Written Reports.

55

Interactive 5.1 Rubric for PeerMarking of other students’ Execu-tive Summary Case Studies

Available for view on the course Moodle site.http://tinyurl.com/mxzmbdw

56