Word Count : 3000 – 3500 words
Module Learning Outcomes Assessed:
3. Within a global context, apply the concepts underpinning the theory of manufacturing strategy from the perspective of assessing how manufacturing strategy can contribute to business performance and competitive advantage,
4. Evaluate individual elements of a manufacturing strategy, and with this knowledge/capability, be able to develop a manufacturing strategy through the use of a conceptual framework or methodology.
5. Demonstrate critical global strategic capability to potentially improve a manufacturing company’s business performance through the successful application to the assignment case study of theory, knowledge, and appropriate analytical and deductive skills developed during the module. The outcome will be justified improvements to the strategies of the case manufacturing company.
1 – QUESTION
This individual assignment requires research. Based on a company’s manufacturing site of your choice (as per accompanying instructions) you are required to design a manufacturing strategy for it. Required layout- Manufacturing Strategy Document (just a brief summary of your design decisions, and not the reasons for them), followed by the body of the assignment text based on the Terry Hill Model
1) Manufacturing Strategy Document –
To be a 1 page statement (maximum) of the final manufacturing strategy proposed for the SBU I company (summarized from the design developed in part 2, The Assignment Text, below), and to include only the decisions relating to the following elements:
a) Process choice
- i) Choice of process
- ii) Role of inventory
- iii) Make or buy
- iv) Capacity (size, timing, location)
b) Infrastructure
- i) Function support
- ii) Manufacturing planning and control systems
- iii) Quality assurance and control
- iv) Manufacturing systems engineering
- v) Clerical procedures
- vi) Salary I wage agreements
- vii) Work structuring
- viii)Organisation structure
2) The Assignment Text- This is the body of the report, and should include:
a) Refinement of existing, and/or crafting of new company objectives and strategies which, if an SBU is selected, support corporate level objectives and strategies (a stand-alone company will not have this constraint). Relating this to the Terry Hill model, the outputs of your work in this section will include Company Objectives, Marketing Strategies, Order Winners and Manufacturing Objective(s). All four will require justification, and the application of strategic concepts.
b) Based on the above, design the manufacturing strategy, to include: i) Discussion of 2 options (alternative designs) for each of the 12 elements ii) Reasons as to why you have selected one of the 2 options as the final design for each of the 12 elements. Ensure you consider the manufacturing objective(s) as part of each justification. (Evidence of application of appropriate manufacturing theory/practice in i) and ii) is required)
c) Compare your proposed manufacturing strategy with the deduced existing strategy of your chosen SBU/Company, and comment
d) Discuss the associated implementation and communication issues that will help enable your manufacturing strategy to be effectively realized.
e) Propose relevant evaluation measures for your strategy
f) Recognition of, and methods of ensuring that, this strategy remains current within a changing environment
3) ASSIGNMENT COMPANY SELECTION
A Manufacturing Company (or an SBU within a holding company) of Your Choice a. Constraints:
a) Currently trading
b) A UK, European Union, North/South American, Australian, Japanese, or Indian manufacturing SITE (location of Head Office/ownership not important)
c) Site employees no more than 1000 (total Group employees may be more than this) If information is not available regarding number of employees, it can be estimated: No. of employees (approx.) = total labour cost = 30% x estimated sales** Average yearly salary Country dependent **where estimated sales = estimated quantity sold x estimated individual price
d) Not in the automotive, mobile, or telecommunication sectors or their supply chains
e) Not high volume production, for example, process industries, or domestic appliances, where “line” or “continuous” production is specified throughout the manufacturing process. It is acceptable to select a site/product where “line” or “continuous” production is specified in part of the process.
f) In addition to the listing below, not a publicly available case study, or one referred to or used during the module.
g) You can use a company that has previously been selected or is in the Restricted Companies List as long as your chosen manufacturing site is different. If no site is indicated against a company in the Restricted Company List, then that company cannot be used again.
h) You will get ZERO marks if your company selection does not precisely meet the above criteria. b. Excluding the following companies: You are to reserve a company, and the chosen manufacturing site, for your research by posting it onto the “Coursework 2 company reservation” file and the “MS Forms” file, via the links on the last page of this Coursework Brief. The purposes of the MS Forms file are to provide a permanent
record of company/site selections and to ensure data confidentially by separating student names from SID numbers. This process is therefore as follows:
select a proposed company and manufacturing site
- access the Reservation files check if your selection has already been entered onto the Company Reservation file
- if not, insert your choice (company and manufacturing site) onto both files
- if it has already been entered onto the file you will need to make another selection.
- If you change your company and/or site, it is VERY IMPORTANT that, firstly, you immediately delete/amend the appropriate information on the “Company Reservation” file with an amendment date in the right hand column, and secondly that you email Ernesto requesting him to update your “MS Forms” document. Please ensure the company site chosen meets the constraints in section
a) above, is not already reserved by another student as per section
b) (read the Reservation file), nor listed below on the Restricted Companies List, nor is a publically available case study, and was not used during the Module. If you select an excluded company by not doing this, or by ignoring this instruction, you will get ZERO marks.
***(Please note that you take responsibility for the appropriateness of your choice in terms of meeting the constraints in a) and b).)***
4) Some data sources (for company, market, customer, competitor, and product analysis- understanding of ALL of these is important): Company Report and Accounts Kompass Emerald Business Source Complete Etc …