MAN7077 International Operations Strategy and Innovation

Learning outcomes and assessment criteria specific to this assignment:

1.Evaluate International Operations Management real world scenarios.

2.Demonstrate critical awareness of the issues, problems and practices that characterise International Operations Management.

3.Critically evaluate and appraise the role that innovation plays in the development of Operations Management techniques in different national and cultural settings

4.Critically assess the approaches for developing a culture of creativity and innovation in an organisation

The aim of this module is to explore the diverse range of activities that comprise the area of International Operations Management, innovation, new product or service development and the need for leadership when introducing change initiatives. Specifically, the module is designed to enable students to appreciate the truly international nature of the modern firm and how many processes are now undertaken across national borders. The module therefore supports the philosophy of the MSc Management and International Business degree in that it consolidates:

·The interaction of contextual forces impacting on an international organisation;

·The integrative strategic themes of the International Business pathway.

The module takes a ‘theory to practice’ approach to illustrate the theoretical positions under discussion in the classroom. This supports the Course philosophy of intellectual and vocationally relevant learning. As such, students will explore the tasks, issues and many real day to day examples and decisions that are necessary to manage processes internationally within organisations and across the supply chain. Specifically, the module is designed to enable students to gain an understanding of the strategic issues associated with managing the operations of international companies in a changing international business environment, to help them develop a critical appreciation of the operational problems of an international company from the viewpoint of the major business functions.

In addition the module is designed to provide students with a thorough grounding on how organisations might deal with various aspects of innovation and how the development of a robust strategy for innovation can lead to sustainable competitive advantage. A key thrust of this programme of study is that achieving a sustainable competitive strategy, particularly in the context of disruptive change, is dependent upon organisations and their operations fostering a culture of innovation and creativity.

Therefore this module is designed to allow aspiring international managers to improve the overall operations performance by developing an innovation capacity in their current and future careers. It will help managers to develop an understanding of how context influences performance and how organisations must change and learn as their context changes. It will identify the role that innovation and creativity plays in organisational learning and development.

The assessment for the module reflects the need for innovation in the modern organization and requires the student to undertake desk research on how an existing international organization could improve the operational performance by introducing innovative processes and practices.

Assessment outline

To assess the 4 module Learning Outcomes the assignment asks you to:

Imagine that you have been appointed as an external innovation management consultant to an international or multinational organisation that you currently work in - The list of the organisations you should consider is available on Moodle and in the Appendix section of this document.

Using the published sources such as journal articles, text books, newspaper entries and the internet, your task is to research and report to the CEO / MD with an action plan that takes into account the operational, financial and resource constraints that the organisation faces in using innovation to become more competitive. The plan must be both engaging and implementable.