Operations Plan

Operations Plan | International Trade

Assignment Tasks

This assessment will require students to develop a detailed Operations Plan for an operation relating to a product or service to be delivered across national borders. The main assignment tasks are the following:

 

1.    Identify a product or service company (or other organization) with which you are familiar. Provide a brief description of the company.

2.    Describe, in general, the key operations in this company and how these operations

relate to the company’s strategy, its competitive priorities, and the key performance

indicators used by the company

3.    Using the operations model presented in Unit 5003 Modules A, B, and C, define in detail one of these operations, clearly identifying the transforming and transformed resources, the transformation process, and the outputs and outcomes of the operation

4.    Provide a critical review of this key operation and its management that might underpin its future improvement and contribution to the company’s competitive priorities

5.    Present this in an Operations Plan for this operation (based on your analysis and review) which highlights the resources and key management decisions that might need to be made to secure improvement in the operation.

 

Developing an Operational Plan

Operational planning takes the broad strategies and objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan, turns them into specific tasks and allocates the people and other resources of the organisation to get them done. It addresses the question – ‘What do we need to do to make it all happen and know we are on track?’ It provides the staff and volunteers in the organisation with their day to day and week to week tasks, lets them know where they are going and gives them a measure of what they are expected to achieve.

It makes sense that the people who are most directly responsible for ensuring that the outcomes are achieved are included in the development of the workplans. Specific activities are nominated that are necessary to achieve the strategies and goals set by the board or management committee. Specific staff, timelines and resources are allocated to these activities which then form the basis for reporting and evaluation.

Assignment task requires a description of the allocation of resources, a timeline, and the performance indicators against which the plan will be measured and assessed. This will involve a description of:

 

·         Allocation of Human Resources (Who is responsible?)

·         Allocation of Financial Resources (How much budget?)

·         Setting Timelines (When does this happen?)

·         Setting Performance Indicators (What are we aiming to achieve?) Each of these elements is explained below:

Allocating Human Resources

Every strategy must have an "owner" i.e. somebody has to be responsible for the implementation of that strategy. If someone is not made responsible for the strategy, it is highly likely that it will not be implemented.

Human Resources Plan

Can include: Any proposed staff/volunteer changes; Professional Development Plan (including Management Committee, staff, volunteers)

 

For example:

 

Strategy	Person Responsible
Conduct series of three Clinics for Coaches	Coaching Director

 

The strategy may be allocated to just one person, or to a group of people e.g. a team of people, a sub-committee or a department.

 

Allocating Financial Resources

 

Not every strategy requires money, but most will. If people have to be paid to carry out work, then there will be financial resources needed for their remuneration. If volunteers are involved, money may need to be set aside for food and/or other necessities. Many strategies will involve administration costs in the form of telephone calls, printing and photocopying and postage. Some strategies will involve the purchasing of equipment, or materials, or promotional costs such as advertising.

 

The point is that thought has to be given to all possible costs that might be incurred if a strategy is implemented. If there is an inadequate allocation of money for the implementation of a strategy, chances are it will fail.

 

A financial plan can include:

 

·         Annual budget

·         Cash flow projection

·         Cash management plan

 

Setting Timelines

 

The implementation of any strategy needs a timeline, that is a time period during which work is performed to achieve the desired outcome. The time period can be as short as a day, or it can be several months. The time period could be in the near future, or it might be scheduled for a future year.

 

The purpose of inserting a timeline for each strategy in the Operational Plan is to give order to the many tasks that need to be carried out. There are always limited resources and therefore, at any given time, decisions need to be made as to priorities and where work effort should be focused. It is pointless focusing the work effort on strategies that don't need to be completed yet at the expense of work being performed on strategies that are urgent.

 

For example:

 

Strategy	Timelines
Submit application for Government funding of new all-weather pitch	Costing completed by 30 March 2013 Submit application by 30 June 2013

 

Set Performance Indicators

 

There are a number of reasons why it is a general practice of business planning to set performance indicators. The term 'performance indicator' may be defined as a standard or target that should be achieved. If the standard is reached or the target is achieved, then the strategy might be considered as "performed", in other words it is a success.

 

For example:

 

Strategy	Performance Indicator
Conduct series of three Clinics for Coaches	20 coaches attending each
Host an Open Day	100 visitors from the general public

 

Assignment Assessment Criteria

The following criteria apply to the assessment of assignment submissions:

a.    Quality of Argument: The submission should demonstrate an understanding of relevant facts and issues as well as appropriate Operations Management theory, models and frameworks. It should be logical, objective in style, with any recommendations being cost-conscious,

Unfounded generalisations should be avoided

b.    Submission Structure: The submission should adequately address the required tasks detailed above; be well-structured with an introduction and conclusion; and be systematic in presenting arguments and relevant issues

c.    Style and Communication: The submission should be well-written in a balanced, academic style with accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. It should be concise and precise.

d.    Referencing: Sources should be acknowledged and consistently referenced using the standard Harvard citation style. Required minimum 15 academic journals/peer reviewed articles