Assessment 3: Engagement with a Business to Identify and Solve SOM Issues

Nature of the OM Issue in the Business

Assessment 3 – Engagement with a business you have access to, identification of an SOM issue in that business, and detailing a solution to that SOM issue.

No business is perfect, and all are open to improvement. For various reasons such improvements may be impractical to implement for the moment, but understanding their nature provides a strategic focus that can generate eventual competitive advantage.

In this assignment you will prepare a report, using a business you have access to, or that you approach, or that you will research in depth undertake the following:

a) Detail the nature of the OM issue that is occurring in the business. This will require detailing its process(es) and policies. You will also quantify the problems in business terms. You can pick any OM topic (look at the list of topics in the teaching calendar for this unit). If you are working in a service business you can still consider many aspects including service
quality.

You will provide a report on the details of this issue. You will write this report to effectively engage senior management in the business.

b) For the issue you are working on you will design a way to address (reduce the impact or avoid) the issue(s). You will clearly outline the improvements (new processes, policies, technologies, etc.) in terms of OM concepts and initiatives, include a mechanism to implement them, and outline the conditions required for its implementation. You will also outline the business benefits and opportunities that will flow from these improvements.