21231 Managing the Value Stream

Subject level: Undergraduate

Handbook description

All goods and services are delivered to customers by processes that need to be designed and managed effectively. Technological advances, particularly in electronic business, provide new opportunities in process design. There is significant opportunity for more effective design and control of all the processes involved in supplying a good or service to the end customer, in other words, value chain management. This subject provides a broad introduction to planning, design, implementation and improvement of operations with an emphasis on the value chain. Topics covered include operations strategy, various approaches to operations planning and control, quality management, performance measurement, value chain management and operations improvement.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. understand how the strategic objectives of the organisation can be translated into effective business processes that add value
2. be familiar with a number of approaches to the control and improvement of the operations in the value stream
3. apply a number of analytic methods and tools to the improvement of processes and operations
4. be familiar with important contemporary issues related to the interaction between people and technology in the systems used to control and fulfil the transactions of the business.

Contribution to graduate profile

Managing the value stream is designed to develop in students an understanding of the fundamental principles of process and operations management in a complex and rapidly changing business environment. The subject contributes to the aims of the Management major through its focus on a wide range of critical concepts and issues concerning the management of processes across a wide range of business types. The subject places a strong emphasis on ensuring students develop critical thinking and analytical skills. The subject also assures students are able to effectively communicate and maintain collaborative relationships with peers through a group assessment task.

Teaching and learning strategies

There is a commitment to the application of experiential learning strategies in this subject. Simulation exercises are used to enable the participants to develop skills in the application of the abstract concepts of this discipline. Teaching sessions are normally of three hours duration. These sessions involve lectures, workshops, video-based cases, tutorial work, student presentations and simulation exercises.

Content

• The strategic role of operations
• Process design
• Process technology
• Planning and control
• Design and control of supply chains
• Methods of measuring and improving performance of the value chain
• Contemporary issues.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Assignment (Individual)

Assessment item 2: Analysis of a value chain (Group)

Assessment item 3: Formal Final Examination (Individual)

Required text(s)

Finch, BJ, (2008), OperationsNow.com; Profitability, processes, performance, 3rd edn, Sydney, McGraw-Hill Irwin

Faculty of Business, 2006, Guide to Assignment Writing, University of Technology, Sydney

Indicative references

Anipundi, R, Chopra, S, Deshmikh, SD, Mieghem, JAV and Zemel, E, (2006), Managing business flows: Principles of operations management, 2nd edn, Upper Saddle River: Pearson

Fitzsimmons, JA and Fitzsimmons, MJ, (1998), Service Management: Operations, Strategy, and Information Technology, 2nd edn, New York: McGraw-Hill

Hines, P, Lamming, R, Jones, D, Cousins, P and Rich, N, (2000), Value Stream Management: Strategy and excellence in the supply chain, London: Pearson Education

Krajewski, LJ and Ritzman and Malhotra, M, LP, 2007, Operations Management: Processes and Value Chains, 8th edn, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey

Slack, N., Chambers, S. and Johnston, R. (2004) Operations Management, 4th edn, Sydney: Pearson Education

Slack, N, Chambers, S, Johnston, R and Betts, A, (2006), Operations and process managment, Harlow: Prentice Hall

Journals

The following list of journals is just a guide. Your project or individual assignment might lead you into a more specialised area such as supply chain management or service operations management.

• Californian Management Review
• European Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management
• Harvard Business Review
• International Journal of Operations and Production Management
• International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management
• International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management
• International Journal of Service Industry Management
• Journal of Industrial Technology
• Journal of Operations Management
• Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management
• Journal of Quality Management
• Management Science
• Operations Management Review
• Production and Inventory Management Journal (APICS)
• Sloan Management Review
• The Quality Management Journal