10.1  HSC topic: Operations

25% of indicative time

The focus of this topic is the strategies for effective operations management in large businesses.

Outcomes:

The student:

H1       critically analyses the role of business in Australia and globally

H2       evaluates management strategies in response to changes in internal and external influences

H3       discusses the social and ethical responsibilities of management

H4       analyses business functions and processes in large and global businesses

H5       explains management strategies and their impact on businesses

H6       evaluates the effectiveness of management in the performance of businesses

H7       plans and conducts investigations into contemporary business issues

H8       organises and evaluates information for actual and hypothetical business situations

H9       communicates business information, issues and concepts in appropriate formats

Content

Students learn to:

examine contemporary business issues to:

• discuss the balance between cost and quality in operations strategy     
• examine the impact of globalisation on operations strategy
• identify the breadth of government policies that affect operations management
• explain why corporate social responsibility is a key concern in operations management

investigate aspects of business using hypothetical situations and actual business case studies to:

• describe the features of operations management for businesses in a tertiary industry
• assess the relationship between operations and the other key business functions in two actual businesses
• explain how operations strategy can help a business sustain its competitive advantage
• recommend possible operations strategies for one hypothetical business

Students learn about:

role of operations management

• strategic role of operations management – cost leadership, good/service differentiation
• goods and/or services in different industries
• interdependence with other key business functions

influences

• globalisation, technology, quality expectations, cost-based competition, government policies, legal regulation, environmental sustainability
• corporate social responsibility

• the difference between legal compliance and ethical responsibility
• environmental sustainability and social responsibility

operations processes

• inputs

• transformed resources (materials, information, customers)
• transforming resources (human resources, facilities)

• transformation processes

• the influence of volume, variety, variation in demand and visibility (customer contact)
• sequencing and scheduling Gantt charts, critical path analysis
• technology, task design and process layout
• monitoring, control and improvement

• outputs

• customer service
• warranties

operations strategies

• performance objectives – quality, speed, dependability, flexibility, customisation, cost
• new product or service design and development
• supply chain management – logistics, e-commerce, global sourcing
• outsourcing – advantages and disadvantages
• technology – leading edge, established
• inventory management – advantages and disadvantages of holding stock, LIFO (last‑in‑first-out), FIFO (first-in-first-out), JIT (just-in-time)
• quality management

• control
• assurance
• improvement

• overcoming resistance to change – financial costs, purchasing new equipment, redundancy payments, retraining, reorganising plant layout, inertia
• global factors – global sourcing, economies of scale, scanning and learning, research and development