The operations management practices of the chosen company and whether they were aligned with its strategic aims as per the Hayes and Wheelwright model

The Assessment 

ASSESSMENT SUMMARY: Customers’ expectations are growing according to the digitisation of products and/or (connected) services, and their impact in increasing convenience and productivity offered. Focusing on the fashion industry and a company of your choice within, discuss and evaluate on smart operations management as per the rising market demand for more sustainable trends (socially and environmentally) and digital strategies within the sector. 

DETAILED ASSESSMENT GUIDE AND STRUCTURE:

You are required to investigate a company within the sector and address the following issues

• The operations management practices of the chosen company and whether they were aligned with its strategic aims as per the Hayes and Wheelwright model
• The way the company responds to the current digital transformation needs in order to meet supply chain and market changes in the past five years.
• How LEAN and Total Quality Management can be applied in the fashion industry to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage and be potentially linked to digital strategy for enhanced performance and added customer value.

You need to demonstrate an understanding of how organizations effectively manage the range of operational functions and supply chains in an evolving business context

. Additionally, reflect on operations principles and make informed suggestions using theories and applied practices with the support of academic sources. 

Please find a link with guidance for Assessment 2

File (Westminster.ac.UK)

The report should be logically structured, making use of headings/sub-headings and paragraphs. Remember to spell check, grammar check and proofread. 

The word limit is 2000 words (maximum) (excluding title page, Executive Summary, table of contents, diagrams, tables, figures, reference list and appendices)

Format: PDF or Word file, page numbers, 1.5 line spacing, normal margins, Arial/Times Roman 12-point font

Assessment title: Digital Business & Operations Management in the Digital Era

The report should have a suitable structure and may follow the recommended structure:

• Title Page (state the title and the word count)
• Disability Statement (if applicable)
• Executive Summary
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Main Body
• Conclusions/ Recommendations
• References
• Appendices (optional)

You are permitted to upload your work multiple times before the deadline; Please ensure that you upload the correct file when you upload your work, since this will be considered to be your submission.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Statements, assertions and ideas made in coursework should be supported by citing relevant sources. Sources cited in the text should be listed at the end of the assignment in a reference list. All referencing should be in Westminster Harvard format. Charts, tables, graphs and other graphical material may be included in the main text of the Portfolio or as appendices.

Assessment criteria

The University has arrangements for marking, internal moderation and external scrutiny. Further information can be found in Section 12 of the Handbook of Academic Regulations, westminster.ac.uk/study/current-students/resources/academic-regulations 

Anonymous marking

Do NOT include your name or student number within the file name or anywhere within your submission. The submission will be subject to anonymous marking. Having logged into Blackboard the system will record your details anonymously and tutors will only see your name after the entire submission has been assessed and provisional marks have been released to all students at the same time. 

Referencing requirements for the assessment

Statements, assertions and ideas made in coursework should be supported by citing relevant sources. Sources cited in the text should be listed at the end of the assignment in a reference list. Any material that you read but do not cite in the report should go into a separate bibliography. Unless explicitly stated otherwise by the module teaching team, all referencing should be in Westminster Harvard format. If you are not sure about this, the library provides guidance (available via the library website pages).  

The deadline and submitting your coursework - checks

Unless indicated otherwise, coursework is submitted via Blackboard.

The deadline for this assessment is 24th April 2023 at 1300. This means that your work should be fully uploaded before 1300. The University would treat your submission as late if your work has not been fully uploaded and stored on the server before 1300. In order to avoid your submission being marked as late, you should upload your work as soon as possible before the deadline and must not wait until or just before the deadline to start uploading your work.

At busy times the coursework submission process may run slowly. To ensure that your submission is not recorded as a late submission, avoid submitting very close to the deadline.

To submit your assignment:

1. Log on to Blackboard at  http://learning.westminster.ac.uk;

2. Go to the Blackboard site for this module;

3. Click on the ‘Assessment 2 Report’ link in the navigation menu

4. Click on the link for the assessment;

5. Follow the instructions, ensuring that you have selected the correct file to upload.

REMEMBER

It is a requirement that you submit your work in this way. All coursework must be uploaded by 13:00 (UK Time on the due date).

If you submit your assessment late but within 24 hours or one ‘working’ day of the specified deadline, 10% of the overall marks available for that assessment will be deducted as a penalty for late submission, except for work which is marked in the marginal pass rate range (9% above the pass mark) and in this case the mark would be capped at the pass mark.

If you submit your coursework more than 24 hours after the specified deadline you will be given a mark of zero for the work in question.

Difficulties in submitting assignments on time

If you have difficulties for reasons beyond your control (e.g. serious illness, family problems etc.) that prevent you from submitting the assessment, make sure you apply to the Mitigating Circumstances board with evidence to support your claim as soon as possible. Further details can be found on the following URL: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/current-students/guides-and-policies/assessment-guidelines/mitigating-circumstances-claims

The operations management practices of the chosen company and whether they were aligned with its strategic aims as per the Hayes and Wheelwright model

If you are unsure about the above information, you should seek academic support from your module leader, personal tutor or your course leader. You will find details of your module leader in this module’s handbook and you can find the name of your course leader and personal tutor from your “My Student Records” page via the University’s student portal.

ACADEMIC SUPPORT & FEEDBACK ARRANGEMENTS  

For this assessment, there will be an opportunity for an academic support & feedback drop-in session, where you will receive support and feedback on your assessment before submission. Further details are provided in the module handbook. There will also be opportunities to receive academic support during lectures through allocated question-and-answer sessions and through the discussion board on the module blackboard site.

The way the company responds to the current digital transformation needs in order to meet supply chain and market changes in the past five years.

After submission, summative feedback will be provided online via Blackboard, where feedback takes the form of an indication of performance on the provided making grid. You will also receive a number of key points of strength, weakness and academic skills you can improve upon. We aim to provide you this feedback within 15 working days and after the feedback has been released online there will also be an opportunity to meet with a marker for oral feedback. If you are unsure about how to see your provisional marks and feedback, the following LINK will explain how you can do this - https://blog.westminster.ac.uk/blackboardhelp/marks-and-feedback/

Academic integrity

What you submit for assessment must be your current work. It will automatically be scanned through a text-matching system to check for possible plagiarism.

Do not reuse material from other assessments that you may have completed on other modules. Collusion with other students (except when working in groups), recycling previous assignments (unless this is explicitly allowed by the module leader) and/or plagiarism (copying) of other sources all are offences and are dealt with accordingly. If you are not sure about this, then speak to your class leader.

University of Westminster Quality & Standards statement

Plagiarism is a particular form of cheating. Plagiarism must be avoided at all costs and students who break the rules, however innocently, will be penalized.  It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand correct referencing practices. As a university-level student, you are expected to use appropriate references and keep carefully detailed notes of all your sources of material, including any material downloaded from the www.

Plagiarism is defined as submission for assessment of material (written, visual or oral) originally produced by another person or persons, without acknowledgement, in such a way that the work could be assumed to be your own. Plagiarism may involve the unattributed use of another person’s work, ideas, opinions, theory, facts, statistics, graphs, models, paintings, performance, computer code, drawings, quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written words, or paraphrases of another person’s spoken or written words.

Plagiarism covers both direct copying and copying or paraphrasing with only minor adjustments:

• A direct quotation from a text must be indicated by the use of quotation marks (or an indented paragraph in italics for a substantive section) and the source of the quote (title, author, page number and date of publication) provided;
• A paraphrased summary must be indicated by attribution of the author, date and source of the material including page numbers for the section(s) which have been summarized.

Regarding the rubric you can find further guidance and support on how to address the tasks in the recorded guidance notes, the recorded seminars with related academic support for the Assessment and the recorded lecture slides, all of which is available on BB.  You can also use https://libguides.westminster.ac.uk/academic-skills

our writer response :

To evaluate the operations management practices of a chosen company through the lens of the Hayes and Wheelwright model, we need to first understand the model itself. The Hayes and Wheelwright model categorizes operations management capabilities into four stages, each representing a different level of alignment between operations and strategic goals:

1. Internally Neutral: Operations are focused on avoiding mistakes but are not seen as a source of competitive advantage.
2. Externally Neutral: Operations aim to meet industry standards but still do not contribute significantly to competitive advantage.
3. Internally Supportive: Operations are aligned with strategic aims and support the overall business strategy, providing a competitive edge.
4. Externally Supportive: Operations are a key driver of competitive advantage, shaping the company’s strategy and market position.

Company Overview

• Let’s consider a company like Toyota, renowned for its operational excellence and commitment to quality through practices like Lean Manufacturing and the Toyota Production System (TPS).

Evaluation of Operations Management Practices

1. Stage 1: Internally Neutral

• Early in its history, Toyota focused on minimizing production errors and inefficiencies. This stage involved implementing basic quality controls and standardization to avoid mistakes, similar to many competitors.

1. Stage 2: Externally Neutral

• As Toyota evolved, it aimed to meet industry standards through practices like Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory management. While these practices brought efficiency, they were not unique to Toyota and reflected an industry norm rather than a competitive advantage.

1. Stage 3: Internally Supportive

• In the 1980s and 1990s, Toyota reached the Internally Supportive stage by embedding operational practices that aligned closely with strategic aims, such as continuous improvement (Kaizen) and employee empowerment. These practices supported Toyota’s strategic focus on quality and customer satisfaction, distinguishing it from competitors.

1. Stage 4: Externally Supportive

• Toyota has arguably reached the Externally Supportive stage by making its operational practices a core part of its competitive strategy. The company’s emphasis on Lean principles not only enhances operational efficiency but also contributes significantly to its brand reputation for reliability and quality. Toyota’s operational capabilities shape its strategic decisions, allowing it to respond swiftly to market changes and customer demands.

Alignment with Strategic Aims

• Quality and Reliability: Toyota`s commitment to quality through rigorous quality control systems aligns with its strategic aim of being a leader in automotive quality and reliability.
• Cost Efficiency: The implementation of Lean practices has allowed Toyota to reduce waste, thus aligning operational efficiency with cost leadership strategies.
• Innovation: Toyota’s focus on continuous improvement fosters innovation in operations, supporting its strategic aim of staying ahead in technology and product offerings.
• Customer Orientation: Operations management practices that emphasize responsiveness and flexibility allow Toyota to meet evolving customer preferences, aligning with its strategic goal of customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Toyota’s operations management practices have evolved significantly and are now closely aligned with its strategic aims as per the Hayes and Wheelwright model. From initial stages focused on error avoidance, Toyota progressed to a level where its operational capabilities not only support but actively shape its competitive strategy. This alignment has been pivotal in establishing Toyota as a leader in the automotive industry, demonstrating the critical importance of cohesive operations management in achieving strategic goals.