Operations Management

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

Approximately 2.5 hours of personal study per hour of class time is required to achieve a satisfactory level of performance.

Entry into the Master of Enterprise.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Topics include the role of operations; the link between strategy and operations; productivity; decisions in the operations area; planning and control of inventory, projects and the transformation process including Total Quality management, Just-in-Time, kanban and 'lean production' systems. Students will understand the principles and practice of factors which influence the capacity to compete effectively in manufacturing and service operations

Students who successfully complete this subject should:
• The overall framework of operations management as part of organisational strategy.
• How to plan capacity and facility usage.
• The managerial issues involved in introducing new projects.
• The different concepts of flexibility in service and manufacturing enterprises.
• How to generate different manufacturing strategies.
• The relationships between the manufacturing strategy of the enterprise and the competitive strategy for the business as a whole.
• The role of quality in the operations process.
• The implications for management of the differences between the various methods of organising manufacturing eg batch production, jobbing, continuous production and large project manufacturing.
• The functions within operations management in service and manufacturing industries, eg supplier management, inventory control, design, production planning, workflow management and customer service.

• Take-home exam (1000 word equivalent), due Tuesday after course delivery (20%)
• Assignment (1500 words), due four weeks after course delivery (30%)
• Field project (3000 words), due eight weeks after course delivery (50%)

Course materials are provided to all participants

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On successful completion of this subject students should have enhanced their skills in:

• Ethical behaviour in leadership and organisations
• Analysis and problem solving
• Capacity for intellectual curiosity, creativity and independent thought
• Communication of key ideas and theories within the discipline areas
• Capacity for effective teamwork and collaboration
• Information retrieval and application in relation to practical problems.