Applied Operations Management
The purpose of an Assignment is for students to be able to demonstrate that they have successfully achieved the module Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1. Understand the operations function as a mechanism for competitive advantage. 2.Recognise the need to maintain and improve operations to meet demanding quality
standards and customer expectations
3.Understand the role of design, planning, control and improvement in the operations
function, and be able to apply this knowledge to practical workplace/case study situations
This is the Assessment guidance as produced in your Module Handbook.
Coursework 2: 70% (Learning Objective 1 and 3)
Individual Assignment: Management Report on a real-world project, which provides a detailed theoretical and applied rationale/justification to support the outcomes backed up by recent scholarly books, articles, etc.
Individual, written 3000 words (+/- 10%) assignment which will include the review and evaluation of operations function and recommendations for improvement.
OVERVIEW
In Coursework 1 (CW 1) you have applied your knowledge to the case study/scenario presented. CW1 provided you with an opportunity to understand the application of theoretical knowledge to real-life scenarios. The case/scenario was presented in a structured manner with information/data provided. The expectation was that you will apply specific theoretical knowledge to the provided scenarios.
In Coursework 2 (CW 2) you are presented with a real-life case where you are provided with basic information about the rationale, purpose and scope of the study subject. You are expected to apply the breadth of your knowledge obtained throughout this course and conduct both the online and in-field research to further expand your understanding of the operational aspect of the case presented. In result, you will provide a comprehensive analysis with academic underpinning and recommendations. It is expected that you will spend a total of 30 hours on this research. This time could include, but is not limited to:
• Assignment briefing
• Q & A session regarding the task, with client/ tutors
• Site Visits
• Competitor analysis
• Skills analysis (Skills that you have developed during this module and specifically by doing CW2)
You should structure your thoughts in a logical manner and present them professionally in a written document. Your answers should not exceed a total of 3000 Word limit (+/- 10%). Word limit excludes Table, Figures and charts.
Marked work will be available to view with comments through Turnitin in 3 weeks after the submission date.
Case Study: The Markeaton Park Project
Markeaton Park (including the Mundy Play Centre) is Derby’s most visited and heavily used park and one of the most visited destinations in the East Midlands area, with a wide range of recreational and sporting facilities and attractions. In recent years, the Craft Village has gained a major uplift and all the units are occupied by different businesses. The Community Room is used as a base for a range of events and can be hired. Bookings have already been taken for two art exhibitions this year along with workshops and other public and private training and conferences. Park’s management has applied for Brown Signage at the road for the Craft Village, so more people driving nearby will know and could potentially visit.
The park retains a good reputation as a place to visit and attracts around 1.6 million visits annually while hosting over 100 different events throughout a year. Some of the key events are:
• One of the biggest Park-Run in all of the East-Midlands. It attracts over 600 participants weekly.
• An Outdoor Theatre & Cinema programme offers something for everyone and the 4 nights of
cinema was a sell-out in 2019 after adding an extra night.
• Formerly known as “The Rose Garden” this area has been adopted by an organisation known as
‘Making Spaces’. They provide health and social care services. This is now called “Capability Garden”, created for people living with dementia, their families and carers.
Operational Aspects/Challenges:
Park’s operations management span from range of different processes/functions such as maintenance of grounds and facilities, ensuring the seasonality factor on available activities for people, managing the layout of the park, smooth flow, ensuring for the craft village space to be occupied in effective way, engaging with community, capacity management, events planning and management, etc.
Some of the key current and upcoming challenges for the park are, but are not limited to:
1. A-38 will be undergoing major improvements starting 2021 and is expected to complete in 4 years. Since the park has one of the major access points through A38, the
management is concerned as to,
• How to keep the Park busy and accessible?
• How to ensure that Visitor’s number would not decline but rather increase?
• What will be the impact of this on the businesses in Craft Village and how to
avoid/manage this impact?
2. Park has limited budget overall and thus limited budget for Marketing. What possible
ways the management can increase the Park’s visibility and engage with people of all
ages and abilities?
3. Park’s management would also like to expand their knowledge as to how people access
the park (bike, cycle, walk, car) and what they think about the park, such as its
accessibility, facilities, and how they can be improved.
4. Park wants to attract people of all ages and abilities, for this purpose are current
facilities, and attractions good enough or do they need improvement? If so what and to what outcome?
5. The slow decline in horticulture standards and features such as loss of herbaceous borders and bedding, indicating a reduced level of care by the Council.
Some of the continued challenges for Markeaton Park are,
• To increase visitor numbers throughout the year.
• To increase the income that can be used to reinvest in the park in improved
maintenance and management and provision of a higher quality of facilities. • To protect and improve the parks historic and natural fabric.
Please note that the above-mentioned challenges/issues are just a few to trigger your analytical thinking. You must not limit yourself to these only but utilise the knowledge gained through the course and apply different models (such as Value Chain analysis, ITO or IPO model, etc.)
A Way Forward?
The Council submitted a successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund under the Parks for People programme http://www.hlf.org.uk/Pages/Home.aspx. The award was for a grant of around £2.4 million towards a project costing around £3.4 million and was confirmed in December 2012. The Council, therefore, spent the money on improving various aspects of the Park. Details of Markeaton Park and the improvements proposed can be found at http://www.derby.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/parks-and-open-spaces/markeaton- park/ Following this success, the Council will continue to look at other funding streams to finance future improvements.
The Council have done well to obtain past funding – only around 20% of applications for funding actually succeed. Thus, with future funding, it has to make sure that it creates a successful and sustainable leisure facility for the future.
One of the key outcomes is to increase the amount of revenue funding generated by the park that can be used to support improvements to the park’s management, maintenance and infrastructure. There are three existing important sources of revenue: car parking, the craft village rents and income from the pay to use facilities in Mundy Play Centre.
Background Information
Detailed Information about Markeaton Park and the Mundy Play Centre can be found on
http://www.derby.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/parks-and-open- spaces/markeaton-park/
Useful Web-sites
Derby City Council website: http://www.derby.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/parks- and-open-spaces/markeaton-park/
Google Map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=211224912365347794408.00047c6d7cb6aaad270 d6&msa=0&ll=52.934465,-1.502037&spn=0.009351,0.019205
Mundy Play Centre: http://www.derby.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/parks-and-open- spaces/markeaton-park/mundy-play-centre/
Survey Results
Your Assignment
You will produce an Individual Management Report for the Managers of Markeaton Park about certain key operational aspects of the park and project. Your focus must be on providing knowledge about the current operations of the park and suggestions to improve some of these. In particular, Section 1 (see below) is designed for you to provide the Managers of the park with knowledge about how the park currently operates and its analysis. On the other hand, in Section 2 you will provide suggestions regarding how various aspects of the park can be improved and to what outcome. Your analysis and plans need to be underpinned by relevant ‘operations theory’ to support your arguments.
1. As an initial step, you are required to investigate and discuss various operational aspects of Markeaton Park. To do this, you will:
a) Identify and discuss what you may consider the most important:
• Inputs (including the transforming and transformed resources),
• Transformationaloperation/process,
• Outputs (pure products, a mixture of products and services, pure services) of the park’s
operations
b) Conduct the value chain analysis and define the importance/impact of different
stakeholders.
c) Identify and briefly discuss the effectiveness of the capacity planning strategy that you
consider Managers of the Markeaton Park may be following
d) Identify and briefly discuss the effectiveness of the Markeaton Park layout
As part of this section, and indeed the whole assignment, you mustcarry out some actual field research to support the ideas presented. One important piece of information currently lacking is quantitative information on where people access the park, how they move around it, congregate and use particular areas of the park. You are required to collect some data about this in a systematic way. You are encouraged to gather this information by visiting, observing and collecting data in groups*. It would be really useful if this data could be collated so that you get a good picture of how the Park is used, How the data is used is up to individuals concerned, but you must all be involved in this. (40 % marks)
2. You are required to make recommendations to improve the operations of Mundy Play Centre, Craft Village, and Markeaton Park. These recommendations could include, but are not limited to, improvements and addition of facilities, activities, and attractions. Your proposals must generate positive income for the Park. (Do not spend time writing about the things that are being done. Explore new attraction and approaches, which are not covered in their existing plans.) Your recommendations should also address the challenges mentioned in the case study description. (40 % marks)
3. Professional presentation and format – appropriate academic citations, references, etc. (10% marks)
4. Provide a 250 words description about your Skills Development during this module and specifically by undertaking the Course Work 2. (10% marks)
Assessment Criteria
In completing the assessments, you need to demonstrate all of the following skills:
• Application of academic concepts to practical situations
• Critical awareness and analysis of the ideas that you explore
• Data Analysis: Demonstrates skill in data analysis and use of relevant tools
• Problem Identification: Demonstrates an understanding of Problem Definition and
reflective analysis of research.
• Synthesis and presentation of key ideas
• Evaluation of complex matters
• Integration of ideas and practice in a cross-disciplinary manner
• Presentation of key concepts/ideas
Plagiarism and Collusion
You are reminded that plagiarism and collusion are considered serious offences and contravene. If your work is found to be plagiarized, or it has been found that you have colluded this is likely to result in failing the minimum standards and learning outcomes within the module and further action could be taken. If you are unsure of the University regulations it is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with them.