Bachelor of Business Administration

LEARNING MATERIALS
OPERATIONS 1

Australian Institute of Business . V2Mar11 CD:2011:10ed

103OPER Operations 1

Subject Overview

SUBJECT OVERVIEW
How to use your study pack ........................................................................... 2
Learning from the Workplace ......................................................................... 2
Introduction to the subject............................................................................. 5
Content .......................................................................................................... 5
Resources....................................................................................................... 8
Assignment ...................................................................................................10
Online Revision Quizzes ................................................................................12

Australian Institute of Business. V7Feb13 - SCJ:2010:6ed

103OPER Operations 1

Subject Overview

How to use your study pack

Your study pack for this subject contains the following materials:
- These learning materials, including the following:
- Subject Overview (which includes the introduction, subject content, list of
resources and assignment), and
- Topics
- Sample Exams
- Articles
- Supplementary Resources (if any)
The information contained in your study pack has been designed to lead you through your
learning process.
Note that the learning materials are not a replacement for the textbook.
Learning materials for each topic in the subject are based on specific chapters in the
textbook. You should read the textbook along with these learning materials, and concentrate
your study on the issues raised.
Learning activities and/or discussion questions are included in the learning materials.
Advanced students might wish to pursue more of the discussion questions at the end of the
appropriate textbook chapters.
Note that the examiner does not expect that you to memorise all of the issues that are
discussed in the textbook or in these learning materials. It is more important in the exam to
be able to demonstrate that you understand the various concepts and to show how they can
apply to practical examples of organisations in your country or region.
Some of the topics list one or more journal articles related to that topics content. For exam
purposes, the textbook will be the primary source to answer exam questions, but if you are
able to do additional reading, information from the journal articles or elsewhere may help
you to achieve a higher grade.
Finally, online quizzes and sample exam papers are provided to help you test your
understanding of the subject.

Learning from the Workplace

Studying at the Australian Institute of Business is a unique experience. There are no artificial
boundaries between the workplace and the classroom. The world of work is never far away
from everything we do. It is no coincidence that the Institutes strap-line is The Practical
Business School. Indeed, our very mission is

Australian Institute of Business. V7Feb13 - SCJ:2010:6ed

103OPER Operations 1

Subject Overview

to provide distinctive business and management education in national and

international environments based on AIBs orientation towards work-applied
learning.
So how do we do this and how will you experience the difference? The answer is that
learning from the workplace is embedded in all aspects of your course. Let us see how this
works in practice.
Practitioner experience as entry requirement for students
For a start, most students will already have experience of the workplace and in
postgraduate programmes this is a prerequisite. This will enable you to see whether
theories make sense in practice and, in turn, to bring real-life problems to the
classroom. You will very quickly find, too, that you can also learn from each other,
sharing experiences and looking for solutions.
Academic facilitators with practical experience
Of course, all of our facilitators are required to have appropriate academic
qualifications, as well as relevant workplace experience. With this background, they
can bring interesting examples into classroom discussions. In addition, with our
international coverage we are very keen that facilitators can relate the various
subjects to conditions in different parts of the world, making it all much more
meaningful to you as the student.
Design of courses and learning materials
Work-applied research is integrated in all of our courses. This is why we include a
work-based assignment in every subject in our undergraduate as well as
postgraduate programmes. It is also why you will be asked to undertake at least one
work-based research project in the course of your studies. With the guidance of an
experienced project supervisor, you will be able to explore a topic of your own
choosing, ideally based on a problem that you want to address in the workplace.
Teaching and learning strategies
Even the way you learn will often be more like a workplace situation than a
traditional classroom. You will be encouraged to work in groups and to share your
understanding of real-world situations. As well as your own selection of case studies,
you might discuss one presented by the facilitator or perhaps taken from a textbook.
Course objectives are achieved when you relate your readings, course materials and
facilitator guidance to the workplace. It is a to and fro process, backwards and
forwards between the classroom and the workplace, reflecting on the links and
developing your own ideas.

Australian Institute of Business. V7Feb13 - SCJ:2010:6ed

103OPER Operations 1

Subject Overview

Design of course assessment

Finally, even the various forms of assessment are designed with the workplace in
mind. You will be expected not merely to describe what you observe in the
workplace, nor just to replicate what you have read in a textbook or journal article,
but rather to achieve a combination of the two. We will be looking always for a
balance between theory and practice. As you progress through your course this
should become almost second nature to you reading what others have written on
the subject but also looking at what you see in the world around you.
All of the above amounts to a distinctive approach to learning, known as work-applied
learning. You will see in the following diagram that knowledge of various aspects of business
and management is enriched through projects related to the workplace. This leads to
questioning of what you already know and ultimately to well-informed, practical outcomes
that can take you well beyond what you could find in libraries alone.
To explain a little more, the natural starting point is where you see the Q. Start by asking
questions about a problem that has to be solved through a project, which is shown as P1,
then move on to read about the existing knowledge, K, on this subject. Armed with that
material, back you go to P1 to see if the explanations make sense, and then you can achieve
project and learning outcomes, P2.
But that cycle is not the end of it because, on the basis of what you have learnt, you will now
want to return to the questioning stage and repeat the whole process. In theory, you can
repeat the cycle yet again as each time your understanding will be refined by more practical
experience. Theory and practice, as you will discover, go hand in hand and this model helps
to show how this is achieved.

Australian Institute of Business. V7Feb13 - SCJ:2010:6ed

103OPER Operations 1

Subject Overview

Learning is an adventure, a journey of exploration. At AIB we encourage you to be bold, to

cross the line between the classroom and the workplace. We will support you along the
way and our hope is that the experience will be enjoyable as well as productive. There are
no limits to what you can discover, no end to the learning process.

Introduction to the subject

Welcome to the Operations I subject in your BBA program. The study of operations
management is about designing, managing and controlling the operations and processes
that produce an organisations products and services. Operations management is a critical
activity for all businesses because it is one of the primary managerial functions. So we need
to have a good grasp of how operations and processes are managed and that is what this
subject is about. Note that this subject precedes Operations II which continues the study of
operations management into additional areas of operations and process study. You may not
be required to take Operations II in your particular major, but I would urge you to complete
Operations II as an elective so that you will be thoroughly furnished with all the necessary
skills to manage an organisation successfully.
The objective of this subject is to provide you with a depth of knowledge about the basic
concepts of operations management. It complements other subjects that you study in your
BBA program such as Marketing Principles and Practice, Distribution and Marketing Logistics,
Purchasing and Supply Chain Management, Project Management, and of course Operations
II. The subject has been clearly set out around a good textbook, so we are sure you will do as
well in the subject's assessment as you want to. Note that there is now a wealth of
information available on the Internet about various aspects of this subject. A simple Google,
or other search on any question you may have should expose a good deal of relevant
information.

Content
1. Introduction to operations management
Objective: To obtain a basic understanding of what operations management is about.
Parts:
What is operations management?
Managing processes
The different characteristics of operations processes
Activities and model of operations management
Article:
Hammer, M and Stanton, S 1999, How process enterprises really work, Harvard Business
Review, November-December.

Australian Institute of Business. V7Feb13 - SCJ:2010:6ed

103OPER Operations 1

Subject Overview

2. Operations performance
Objective: To understand operations management performance objectives.
Parts:
The importance of performance objectives.
The five operations performance objectives: quality, speed, dependability, flexibility
and cost
Trade-offs between performance objectives.
Article:
Deo, BS and Strong, D 2000, Cost: the ultimate measure of productivity, Industrial
Management, vol. 42, no. 3, May-June.
3. Operations strategy
Objective: To understand the impact of operations strategy on the successful achievement
of organisational objectives.
Parts:
Understanding operations strategy in the context of business strategy
The four perspectives on operations strategy
The process of operations strategy
4. Process design
Objective: To learn how to describe, analyse and improve operations processes.
Parts:
Introduction to process design and process design objectives
Types of processes and the volume/variety effect on process design
Detailed process design
The effects of process variability
Articles:
Hammer, M 1990, Reingineering work: dont automate, obliterate, Harvard Business
Review, July-August.
Shostack, GL 1982, How to design a service, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 16, no. 1.
5. Operations management in the design of products and services
Objective: To understand the role of operations management in product and service design.
Parts:
Introduction to product and service design and the importance of good design
The five stages of the product/service design process [Note that the product &
service design process is covered in other subjects, so it is important here to

Australian Institute of Business. V7Feb13 - SCJ:2010:6ed

103OPER Operations 1

Subject Overview

understand the links between the design process and operations and process
management.]
Benefits of interactive design

6. Supply network design

Objective: To understand the role of the supply network and its design in the overall
operations process of the organisation.
Parts:
Introduction and the supply network perspective [Note that there is no need to study
supply chain management in this topic. The later subject of Operations II covers
details about supply chain management.]
Configuring the supply network
The location of capacity
Long-term capacity management
7. Operations layout and flow
Objective: To understand the importance of process layout and flow in achieving operations
and customer service objectives.
Parts:
What is operations or process layout?
The basic layout types
Choosing an operations layout
Detailed design of the layout
8. Process technology
Objective: To understand and evaluate basic process technologies.
Parts:
What is process technology?
Understanding process technologies - materials-processing; information-processing;
customer-processing
Evaluating process technologies
Implementing process technologies
Article:
Hackett, GP 1990, Investing in technology: the service sector sinkhole?, Sloan Management
Review, Winter.
9. Job design and work organisation in operations management
Objective: To explore the design of jobs and how work is analysed and organised to achieve
operations management objectives.
Parts:
Job design

Australian Institute of Business. V7Feb13 - SCJ:2010:6ed

103OPER Operations 1

Subject Overview

Task allocation
Designing job methods method study and work measurement
Ergonomics and workplace design
Designing for job commitment behavioural approaches to job design

Articles:
Adler, PS 1993, Time and motion regained, Harvard Business Review, vol. 71, no. 1, JanuaryFebruary.
There are some core issues among the topics that should be mastered for a basic
understanding of this subject. The exam paper (that will require answers to four questions
out of six on the paper, in three hours) may cover these core issues and may also cover other
issues. These core issues are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Operations management and operations performance

The characteristics of operations processes and their implications for operations
management
The four perspectives on operations strategy
Process analysis and design
Operations management in the design of products and services
Supply network design
Operations and process layout and flow, particularly applied to service operations.
Process technology and how to evaluate alternative technologies
Job design and work organisation including ergonomics, methods improvement, and
job commitment.

Resources
Prescribed Text Book
Slack, N, Chambers, S and Johnston, R 2010, Operations Management with MyOMLab, 6th
edn, Prentice Hall (ISBN: 9780273731603)
Note that the 6th edition is not too different from the 5th edition. Students who cannot
obtain the 6th edition might be able to use the 5th edition with only a somewhat slight
disadvantage. Nevertheless, students should be cautioned that using an old edition of a
textbook could cause them to miss new concepts that may be covered in exam questions.
Required reading of journal articles
The following selected up-to-date journal articles are also shown under each relevant topic
in the contents section above.

Australian Institute of Business. V7Feb13 - SCJ:2010:6ed

103OPER Operations 1

Subject Overview

Adler, PS 1993, Time and motion regained, Harvard Business Review, vol. 71, no. 1, JanuaryFebruary.
Deo, BS and Strong, D 2000, Cost: the ultimate measure of productivity, Industrial
Management, vol. 42, no. 3, May-June.
Hackett, GP 1990, Investing in technology: the service sector sinkhole?, Sloan Management
Review, Winter.
Hammer, M 1990, Reingineering work: dont automate, obliterate, Harvard Business
Review, July-August.
Hammer, M and Stanton, S 1999, How process enterprises really work, Harvard Business
Review, November-December.
Shostack, GL 1982, How to design a service, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 16, no. 1.
Recommended reading
In general, students will not need to go beyond the set textbook for their reading in order to
pass this subject. Advanced students or those seeking higher grades may want to read more
widely than the set textbook, and the following books provide a guide to further reading and
study.
Bozarth, C and Handfield, RB 2006, Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain
Management, Prentice Hall
Davis, MM & Heineke, J 2005, Operations Management: Integrating manufacturing and
services, McGraw-Hill
Davis, MM, Aquilano, NJ & Chase, RB 2003, Fundamentals of Operations Management,
McGraw-Hill
Finch, BJ 2006, Operations Now, McGraw-Hill
Gilgeous, V 1997, Operations and the Management of Change, Pitman Publishing
Parker, S and Hall, T, 1998, Job and work design: organizing work to promote well-being and
effectiveness, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage (Recommended for general reading only and for
students wishing to delve more deeply into issues of job and work design)
Ramaswamy, R 1996, Design and Management of Service Processes, Addison Wesley
Longman
Raturi, RS & Evans, JR 2005, Principles of Operations Management, Thomson South-western
Saville, J & Reid, H 2002, Managing Effectively, Prentice Hall, Australia

Australian Institute of Business. V7Feb13 - SCJ:2010:6ed

103OPER Operations 1

Subject Overview

These texts will be contextualised to reflect the unique circumstances of the particular
industry, enterprise or student/client group especially those from overseas.
Recommended reading of journal articles
The following articles are suggested for additional reading and for the benefit of advanced
students.
Bitner, MJ 1992, Servicescapes: the impact of physical surroundings on customers and
employees, Journal of Marketing 56, April.
Hammer, M and Stanton, S 2004, Deep change: how operational innovation can transform
your company, Harvard Business Review, vol. 82, iss. 4.
Hayes RH and Pisano, GP 1994, Beyond world class: the new manufacturing strategy,
Harvard Business Review, vol. 72, no. 1.
Reference journals
Harvard Business Review
Industrial Management
Journal of Operations Management
Manufacturing and Service Operations Management
Production and Operations Management
Sloan Management Review

Assignment
Either
a) Practical application of concepts in a local organisation.
Assignment objective: To briefly describe and analyse an operations process in a local
organisation in your country or region, and to explore how this process might be improved
by applying at least one of the core concepts you have learned in this subject.
Assignment description: Find a process preferably in a local organisation in your country or
region. Describe and analyse the key tasks of the process and evaluate how well the process
operates now. This means finding out how well the process is performing particularly in
terms of the five operations management objectives. Having analysed the process, discuss
the potential improvements in the process that might result from the application of at least
one of the concepts covered in this subject. Your report should be brief, well written and
presented, and capable of being given to the manager of the business as a serious
recommendation for change. Your report should cover the following points:

Australian Institute of Business. V7Feb13 - SCJ:2010:6ed

10

103OPER Operations 1

Subject Overview

A brief overview of the organisation and the process, with a description of the operating
elements or tasks in the process, together with any available performance information such
as output or production rate, cycle time, productivity measures, etc).
A detailed flow diagram of the process showing what happens from raw materials through
to the finished product or service, including the flows of information and communication.
A brief evaluation of the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the process in terms of the
five performance objectives quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost. You should
also try to identify any problems with the process for example, layout issues, cost, quality,
bottlenecks, and job design issues and so on.
Brief analysis of the opportunity for improving the process using at least one of the concepts
covered in this subject. This might include: the design of the process, or changes to the flow
process particularly based on the four Vs; process layout; supply network configuration
(particularly if the process you have chosen is part of a supply network); process technology;
or job design.
Brief practical recommendations for improvement based on your analysis. For example, you
might summarise the improvement and briefly suggest how it should be implemented. Bear
in mind that your recommendations should be potentially cost effective i.e. you must try to
justify the improvements from the point of view of their practical feasibility.
Or
b)

Case study analysis

Your local lecturer will select a short-to-medium length case study (preferably set in your
own country or region) from your textbook, or obtain one from sites like
http://www.asiacase.com/ or http://www.caseplace.org/#. That is, the local lecturer will
select the case (although you may like to recommend one to them), your lecturer will restrict
the number of different cases used in the class to just one to increase the reliability of the
assignment marking process. In that case, identify three or four management challenges
covered in this subject, and address how those challenges can be met using the principles
developed in this subject. Be sure to cite and reference the name and source of your case as
well as other references in your assignment report.
Important Instructions
1.

Assignments must contain proper citations and referencing using the Harvard style
referred to in the AIB Style Guide, that is:
a.
citations (or in-text references) of quoted and paraphrased materials to support
your arguments/comments, and
b.
a reference list relating specifically to your in-text references.

Australian Institute of Business. V7Feb13 - SCJ:2010:6ed

11

103OPER Operations 1

Subject Overview

2.

Your grade will be adversely affected if there is no/poor citations and/or reference list,
as referred to above.

3.

Assignments of this nature normally contain between 5 and 10 relevant references

from different sources in the reference list.

4.

All references must be from credible sources such as books, industry related journals,
magazines, company documents and latest articles.

5.

You are encouraged to make use of the AIB online library which can be accessed
through the AIB website.

6.

AIB checks assignments with anti-plagiarism software. Please carefully check your
assignments before final submission to ensure that all quoted and paraphrased
materials are properly cited and referenced.

7.

The total number of words should be 2000 words (excluding your cover page, an
abstract, table of contents, list of references or appendices.) Penalties may apply when
you exceed the word limit. You can place any supporting material that exceeds this
word limit into appendices. However, a reader should not have to look at an appendix
to determine the main thrust of the points you are making in your assignment. So
make sure all your main points are in the body of your assignment and refer there to
the appendices that will support the points you are making.

8.

You are strongly advised to carefully read the AIB Style Guide for clarification of
these requirements.

9.

For guidance on how to write an assignment, please refer to AIB Assignment Guide.

Online Revision Quizzes

AIB has created various online quizzes which it makes available on its website, to assist
students in undertaking their BBA course.
There is one quiz for each BBA subject. The purpose of the quiz is to provide students with a
self-assessment tool prior to sitting their exam.
The quizzes are not assessable and are merely provided to assist students with their study of
each subject. While it is not compulsory to use the quiz, we would highly recommend it.
To access the quizzes for your BBA subjects please visit this site:
http://www.aib.edu.au/www/pages/misc/quiz/bba
We trust that you will find these quizzes useful in your studies.

Australian Institute of Business. V7Feb13 - SCJ:2010:6ed

12