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

operations 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

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

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