Assignment
You are required to produce a report/essay that considers and discusses the following statement:
"Theorists have argued that in order for service operations to be successful, they must adopt a production line approach to their delivery. There have been many counter arguments stating that due to the inherent heterogeneity of the service sector, it is not possible to take such a formulaic approach."
Discuss
In your response you should refer to journal research that substantiates or repudiates the above statement. Participants should remember that this is an Operations Management Assignment, and where possible should illustrate theoretical concepts with practical examples.
Length: 1000 words +/- 10%.
Assessment Criteria:
Your submissions should possess the following qualities:
• Submitted on time
• Comply with the word count limits
• Display evidence of understanding of relevant operations concepts, theories and issues - predominately drawn from peer reviewed journals
• Demonstrate critical application of the above
• Demonstrate collection and sound critical use of relevant information on organisations (e.g. objective analysis which illuminates issues rather than description)
• Provide a coherent and structured argument
• Conclusions should be well supported and substantiated
• Demonstrate, professional quality submission and presentation
• Provide evidence of general reading (accurate referencing and bibliography).
A checklist which may be useful to you before you submit your assignment which sets out the expectations for final year work:
1. Have you read and understood the specific assessment criteria to appreciate the requirements of the assignment and how it will be graded? Have you made sure that you have addressed each of the criteria?
2. Have you identified key themes/issues in relation to the question posed? Remember to use both theories and case examples to support the key themes.
3. Have you constructed arguments and debates which evaluate the issues clearly and in a structured way?
4. Have you used appropriate academic literature (for Part A predominantly journal articles with some text books) making sure you cite them in the text of your essay as well as in the end as a reference list, to inform your discussion and critique it? Remember to support your points using relevant empirical case studies / examples, properly referenced.
5. Have you presented your work so that issues are clearly dealt with in an organised way? Does your work flow logically, with a clear and consistent focus throughout?
6. Have you used a spell check function, and read through your work to check grammar, sense and punctuation?
7. Have you referenced your work fully, i.e. wherever you have relied on sources of any sort, and in accordance with Harvard referencing format? A guide to Harvard referencing can be found on the university library website.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.