Write a paper on Operations Management
This assignment is based on the template Terry Hill’s Strategy Development
Framework from Chapter 3. It is designed to force you to think strategically both in
terms of operations and the organization as a whole. Hill’s framework very aptly ties
in operations strategy with the overall corporate and marketing objectives and it also
requires you to identify all of the topics covered in this course (eg supply chain
management, inventory, processes, sustainability, etc). You can never look at your
operations strategy in isolation. It always has to be interrelated and stem from the
overall corporate objectives. The end result of your project should be to highlight
how Operations Management strategies contribute to the overall mission, corporate
strategy and marketing objectives of the firm as a whole.
In selecting the firm you wish to analyze be strategic. Do not take on too big of a task
– if you select a large organization it might be useful to focus on one product line or
aspect of the company
You are to use the Hill’s Strategy Development Framework from Chapter 3 and follow
the McDonald’s example which is an exact replica/template of what I am looking for.
Where I think students might struggle is that they try to find something to put into
every bullet point in the Framework template. This is not rational or possible.
On page 61, Exhibit 3.3 you will see the first three columns help you understand the
organization’s objectives, marketing strategy and “How Do Goods and Services
Qualify and Win Orders in the Marketplace.” There are 17 bullet points under this
third column but if you look at the McDonald’s example (page 64, Exhibit 3.6) you
will see for column 3 they have only identified 6 ways the firm qualifies and wins
orders in the marketplace and they have linked these 6 methods with the corporate
objectives. They have not tried to “fit” something into each
of the 17 bullet points in the generic Hill’s Strategy Development Framework
template! So use the bullet points as guidelines as to what you should be trying to
find information on but address only those issues that apply.
You can also find other methods that are not in the list but it is best to use the
suggested guidelines from the bullet points first as these has been tried and tested
for many major corporations and are the most common guidelines or areas where
you will find relevant information.
Once you get the information gathered and can complete the first 3 columns then you
can start linking how the last 2 columns under Operations Strategy help match the
firm’s OM strategy to the overall organizational strategy. As this is an operations
course I will be looking very closely at these two columns.
If you are looking for plentiful and fast information, go to the website for the company
you have chosen. You will see in their site a location for “Investor Relations” or
“Financial Statements” or perhaps some other wording
similar to this. Find your way to the company’s financial statements and bring up the
most recent ones and you
will find significant information from the company – perhaps enough for all 5 columns
to be completed! You are not looking at the numbers in these statements per se;
rather, you are looking at all of the preamble given to shareholders by the company
CEO or President as typically these preambles very specifically outline corporate
objectives, strategies, infrastructure, etc. This is always where I go first when
analyzing a company that is public. It does not mean you cannot make phone calls or
do other analysis – in fact I encourage it as you might need to do so. But certainly
make your first analysis for this project the company’s most recent financial
statements. Keep in mind that the information in the financial statements is coming
from senior executives of that organization so it is slanted towards making the
company look favorable; however, information about the corporation is generally
accurate such as markets, growth, products, corporate objectives, etc. It is just
presented in the best light possible!
Your write-up with be in three parts. In the first part present the framework summary
as shown on page 64, Exhibit 3.6 keeping in mind what was outlined above. It is ok
to use bullet points in the framework as you will 5 have an opportunity to expand
upon your examples in part two. Just ensure you are not giving generic statements in
the framework, you need to use actual examples. In part two, introduce your selected
company and briefly identify the industry. Then, for each corporate objective and
associated marketing strategy that you have found, explain in more detail the
operational design examples and operational infrastructure examples
you have in your framework and how they support that specific corporate objective.
Repeat the process for each of the corporate objectives. Do NOT lump your write-up
all together – you MUST separate each objective with its corresponding marketing
and operational strategy or the write-up will be confusing. The final part of
your paper will be to provide a brief analysis of whether you feel the operations
strategy is a good fit with the corporate and marketing strategy (explain why or why
not).
Answer preview:
word limit:1252