1   GCU Regulations – Assessment Policy

GCU Mandatory Statement accompanying all courseworks.

At all levels, the following statement should be incorporated into any piece of coursework submitted by a student:

“This piece of coursework is my own original work and has not been submitted elsewhere in fulfilment of the requirement of this or any other award.”

Please refer to section 9.10 of the University Assessment Regulations 22-23 below:

University-Assessment-Regulations-2022-23-Post-Senate-Accessibility-Checked- Dec-22.pdf (gcu.ac.uk)

The above statement has been incorporated into the ‘Avoiding Academic

Irregularity Checklist’, located in Appendix A. Students should carefully reflect on each point within this list, acknowledge responsibility by ticking each box to complete, sign and date (a typed signature will suffice) and include this document as an appendix within your coursework submission. Failure to incorporate the above statement within the coursework submission will result in an automatic fail.

Number of Attempts at an Assignment

Students are allowed two attempts at each piece of coursework. In order to pass the module, candidates must obtain 50% or greater.

Non-Submission of Coursework

Failure to submit the assessment on the stipulated due date, or an extended deadline without prior agreement with the module leader/nominee will be deemed to have failed that submission and the non-submission being treated as an attempt.

 Important Information on Assessment Submission

This module makes use of the rubric online assessment system for summative marking on GCULearn. This means that all final coursework assignments must be submitted electronically and feedback will be provided electronically via GCULearn. This document provides details and marking guidance for the assessment for both the first and resit diet.

2   Formative Assessment (0%)

This piece of coursework is a non-credited presentation conducted during the seminars and its purpose is to help your continuous learning. Formative feedback will be provided during seminars to support you to develop and improve your summative report.

Over weeks 10-11 of the term time, students will prepare and deliver a short presentation (maximum of 3 minutes in length) with the following elements:

• What sector (e.g. manufacturing or service; public or private) will be investigated and how the strategic direction of one organisation operating in that sector impacts the way it manages its operations?
• Discuss one area of operations management and the important considerations for the chosen
• Preliminary reference list

Slides should be appropriately referenced with sources from which arguments were taken using the Harvard Referencing system. An example of a Powerpoint presentation slide will be provided on the module website to support you in this task. Presentations will take place over the weeks commencing Monday 3rd April and Monday 10th April 2023.

Formative feedback, issued after your presentation, will help you to address identified weaknesses and take on board any suggestions for improvement to ensure that you can enhance your performance in the summative (formally marked) written report assignment, due in week 13.

3   Summative Assessment (100%)

You are required to write a 3,000 word report on how the concepts of operations management apply to ONE SECTOR. Your report should draw on examples of internationally renowned organisations within your chosen sector in order to address the three sections below, with a critical assessment of the information gathered.

1. Select a sector (e.g. public or private, manufacturing or service) and critically discuss how the strategic direction of one organisation within that sector impacts the way in which its operations are
2. Critically analyse only two areas of Operations Management from the list below, considering how they might be applied by the selected organisation within your chosen sector and their importance in contributing to success. Draw on practical examples of International organisations within that sector to illustrate your points and ensure that you provide reference sources for all examples conveyed:

• 4Vs of operations and 5 Performance Objectives
• Process Design, Layout and location
• Service Design
• Managing Quality in Operations
• Lean Management in Operations
• Capacity Management, and Planning and Control
• Sustainability/Green Supply Chain
• Technological developments (e.g. AI, Blockchain)

3. Identify and critically discuss current issues and challenges for sustainable operations management within your chosen

  Writing your report; additional points to enhance the rigour of submission

Report layout: a formal report structure should be employed in accordance with reporting conventions. To help you, an example of a report template has been provided for you (please refer to Appendix B).

Executive Summary: an executive summary is NOT the same as an introduction. They serve different purposes within a formal report. An executive summary is an abbreviated version of the whole report and provides a concise summary of the main points written within the report. It should cover the report’s main discussion and key findings, conclusions and if appropriate, recommendations. It may be written in the ‘past tense’ or present tense (e.g. Findings highlighted that ….). Although it is the last piece of the report to be written, the executive summary is the first item that the reader should see and is positioned before the contents page.

Further information is available from the Learning Development Centre on what constitutes an executive summary and it is advised that students take heed of the guidance offered on how to construct an executive summary and what should be considered within a report introduction and conclusion section.

Please click into the link below for further guidance on this: What is an executive summary.docx (live.com)

Report Content: When undertaking an assignment which specifies a ‘critical discussion, analysis or critical evaluation’, you are expected to collect (and use) different sources of information from both text books and journal papers, to complete the assignment. It is important that you do not take all your information from one source as it is likely to be heavily biased.

Students are expected to demonstrate up-to-date research on the subject, and apply examples from a range of organisations across the sector to demonstrate your understanding of that subject.

A ‘critical evaluation’ requires you to analyse operations management principles and tools in terms of both benefits and challenges associated with the topic. Therefore, your assessment should encompass several arguments and/or perspectives.

You should undertake a keyword academic literature search and aim for a ‘balanced approach’ to your writing. You are expected to apply where appropriate, referenced examples of organisations which have implemented (or are currently using) the principles and tools to demonstrate your understanding. The evidence must come from findings which have been published in academic literature or sourced through available organisational documentation, with complete reference details given (using the Harvard referencing system) within the reference page. You must not rely on anecdotal evidence.

You should not spend too much time describing frameworks or theories you choose to use. While you must be explicit about those you are using, and must cite them appropriately; you can assume that your marker is familiar with them.

What the marker is looking for is evidence of your understanding through critical discussion of theory and sourced, applied organisational/ sectoral examples to underpin arguments conveyed.

 You may also wish to reflect on weaknesses in the evidence reviewed and identify any research gaps in the literature which highlights opportunity for further research.

Conclusions and recommendations section: this should summarise evidence presented within the report and from the discussions evident, recommendations should (a) suggest a way forward for organisations as to how best they can successfully implement tools and approaches to achieve more sustainable operations and avoid any implementation challenges; and (b) suggest further research that needs to be undertaken to address gaps in academic knowledge in relation to the issues researched in the organisation / sector studied.