Assessment One
Assessment: Building High Performance Organisations.
Prior Reading:
Your task is to read the below case and articles and conduct research to address the assignment brief below:
Kennedy, I., Plunkett, A., and Haider, J., (2013), Implementation of Lean Principles in a Food Manufacturing Company, in Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, Advances in Sustainable and Competitive Manufacturing Systems, pp 1579-1590
Christopher, M., & Peck, H. (2004). Building the Resilient Supply Chain. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 15(2), 1-14.
Part A - Lessons Learnt for A.F. [approx. 2,000 words]
1. Discuss the development of the philosophy, principles and process of lean in the context of its contribution to manufacturing industries and applicability in the food processing industry (tip: make sure you contextualise this discussion to the intended reader - Pat, the MD of a food processing company).
2. Critically evaluate the implications and challenges that may arise when implementing lean in the company A.F.. Pay particular attention to A.F. need to manage and mitigate risk by creating more resilient, traceable and transparent supply chain operations (i.e. as a result of "leaning-down" and/or the increasing complexity of its supply chain in a global business environment).
3. You are expected to offer a set of recommendations to the Managing Director of
as a result of your responses to questions 1 and 2 (tip: make sure these are justified, and are explicitly linked back to your discussion in the main body of your report).
Part B - Reflections within the context of an organisation familiar to you (e.g. your current or previous employer) [approx. 1,000 words]
1. Critically reflect on the five principles to Lean as described in Womack and Jones (1996) article on ‘How to Root Out Waste and Pursue Perfection' in the context of an organisation of your choice/familiar to you.
2. Critically evaluate the benefit(s) of implementing lean on business performance in the context of your response to question 1.
Please note that this section must also be underpinned by academic literature and evidence to substantiate claims need to be included. Draw on the range of theoretical concepts and principles learnt in each of the units 1 - 6 in developing your response (tip: not just lean thinking - better answers will identify linkages across the units). You will need to conduct research into the industry and to reflect the nature of the company and its context in relation to addressing the question.
You will need to briefly introduce your chosen organisation to familiarise the reader with appropriate context to address part B. There are no marks for detailed background to the company. You are being assessed on your reflections, interpretation and application of theory in practice and analytical reasoning using accepted academic practice and literature (tip: make sure you are clear with the criteria you will be assessed against on the following page).
Report Specifications
Your report should be 3000 words approximately excluding title page, references, and appendices. Sticking to a strict word limit is difficult and an important skill for you to acquire, so make sure that you write in a concise and focused manner. It should be typed font size 12 and 1.5 line spacing and must be presented in portrait format, not landscape. You should not be able to complete this task in any less than 3000 words minimum.
Attachment:- Background.rar