Topic: Business Operations in Your Organization: A Systems View
Description:
Your task is to show how the business operations in your organization, or the organization you have chosen as an exemplar, can be brought into harmony, generating the smooth flow of information and materials throughout the value network for the benefit of customers and the competitive success of the organization. A key element of the Praxis Paper is the identification and framing of an organizational problem that relates to the course topics covered in the second half of the course. Your research should lead you to identify possible solutions to the problem(s) you identify. You will apply knowledge gained in the course in order to present advantages and disadvantages of various approaches to the problem(s) with the goal of generating the smooth flow of information and materials throughout the value network in order to increase the organization’s competitive success.
This week, focus on the importance of effective logistics management in smoothing the flow of materials, reducing inventory costs and enabling responsiveness throughout the supply chain. In Weeks 6 and 7, you will complete an analysis of the outsourcing of capabilities to achieve optimal coordination of inter-functional operational processes and inter-organizational collaboration across the whole value chain and consider the need for new kinds of relationships with suppliers. In Week 8, you will conclude the paper by developing and presenting a strategy for implementing change in the organization with the objective of bringing about a transformation that will secure competitive advantage through improved performance, coordination, and innovation.
This systems perspective will allow you to formulate a strategy for the management of operational issues relevant to your chosen organization such as demand, supply, production, inventory, and logistics with a view to assessing how processes can be managed to bring about integration, coordination, and harmonization throughout the supply chain.
The Praxis Paper 2, due in Week 8, will comprise 8-10 pages in APA format. One to three diagrams and presentation slides may be included, but they will be additional to the required length of the paper. You are required to include research from at least two first-person interviews and at least two peer-reviewed practitioner or scholarly journals in addition to your weekly readings.