Production and operations management BA2100

Production and operations management is concerned with the design, planning and control of operating systems for the provision of goods and services. This course provides students with knowledge and understanding of the nature and characteristics of operating systems in both the manufacturing and service sectors.

Topics covered

Designing and managing the process that transforms raw materials into finished goods.
Project management techniques
The life-cycle model
Total quality management (TQM)
Quality assurance (QA)
Statistical quality control (SQC)
Capacity of operations
Location decisions
Production lines and service operations
Stock and inventory
Inventory management (material requirement planning (MRP)-based systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP))
Production control systems

Learning outcomes

By the end of this module students should be able to:

Have an understanding of the development of manufacturing and service operations management as a subject and be able to outline the strategic concerns involved in operations decisions;
Be able to demonstrate the links between operations strategy, corporate strategy and organisation performance;
Be conversant with the principles and philosophy underpinning inventory management techniques, just-in-time and MRP systems, and be able to identify limitations and problems with implementing these techniques in practice;
Understand quality management and the evolution of practice; assess the relationship between quality and capability, and between quality and competitiveness;
Be able to consider the notion of process management and its implications for practice;
Be in a position to identify the connection between organisational structures, technology, operational activities and competitiveness.

Assessment

This module is assessed by a three hour unseen written examination.

Essential reading

Paton, S., Clegg, B., Hsuan, J., and Pilkington, A., (2011), Operations Management. McGraw Hill.