Question:
Assessment
The Operations Management module will be assessed by a written assignment that deals with the application of any aspect of the theory covered in the module.
The assignment is a 2,000-word essay or report focusing on an aspect of the module. The assignment appendices must not exceed 10 pages and the assignment must be submitted electronically as a single file.
HARVARD referencing and citation
Assignment aim
The aim of the assignment is to allow you to show and develop your understanding of a topic that has been covered in the module. Operations management has a very broad base of knowledge and the intention of the assignment is to take advantage of that broad base, allowing you to focus on an area that concerns you or is of interest to you in some other way. The assignment will therefore emphasise the role that operations management plays in an organisation.
Assignment task
The Operations Management module is assessed by an individual written report that deals with the application of one or more aspects of the theory taught on the course in the context of an organisation you are familiar with or of your own choice OR to discuss any of the operations management topics as it applies today. Thus your options are:
Question 1
To apply the material covered in any ONE of the operations management topics in your own sphere of influence
or
Question 2
Evaluate the utility and relevance of any ONE of the operations management topics to the contemporary business environment
Answer/Solution:
Does the Innovative Supply Chain Practices influence the Organisational Performance of Oil and Gas Companies in UAE?
Introduction
As a best practice in modern organisations, they appreciate the role of supply chain innovativeness as an integral section to guide their strategic success and long-term survival. According to Barney (2012), the supply chain innovation underpins the attainment of sustainable competitive advantage and the capacity of responding effectively to the rapidly changing markets in an organisation pursuit on being innovative irrespective of the prevailing technological uncertainties. Innovativeness can be viewed as being inclusive of a complex strategy handling the environmental and technological uncertainties for seeking and adopting fresh strategies, concepts, products and technologies to satisfy their clients. Based on the operations management theory, Van Bommel (2011) observed that enhanced innovativeness leads to the creation of more sophisticated management procedures and distinct operations in the flow of information in the supply chain process. This paper provides an explanation of the concept of the innovative supply chain practices and different strategies, the role of the supply chain practices in organisational performance and challenges faced by the marketing oil and gas companies in UAE to promote innovativeness in their supply chain for improved organizational performance.
Innovative Supply Chain Management
Adopting the definition of Pagell and Shevchenko (2014), innovative supply chain management practices are unique techniques and tools uncommon in all organisation embedded in supply chain process for handling issues such as lead-time, quality and overall cost of operation. The most popular innovations in the supply chain include the Just-in-time (Hajmohammad et al., 2013), mass customization (Yinan et al., 2014) and outsourcing (Tang & Musa, 2011). The rationale for these strategies is informed by the view that the normal supply chain practices are easily imitated but the innovations are unique and as such cannot be imitated by organisation competitors. The outcome of such a practice is leverage on competitive advantage by capitalizing on core competencies. Further, Ageron et al. (2013) observed that the innovative supply chain practices guiding an entity in creating customer value and improving the overall level of competitiveness and performance. The products and services that result from such a supply chain process have characteristics of flexibility, friendly in terms of costs and adding the overall value for meeting overall expectations of customers.
In the context of oil and gas industry in UAE, Praxis-Global (2014) report had observed that supply chain operations improvement must prioritize on the explicit prioritization of trade-offs and risks. An effective and progressive value chain assists in risk mitigation, management of inventories, logistics and transportation issues, control of supply and demand, and guaranteeing the most appropriate procurement strategy through creation of short and long-term supply chain strategies. Hussain et al. (2006) further pointed out the extremely complex nature of the petroleum industry supply chain as opposed to the other industries. In UAE oil and gas industry with ADNOC as an example, it is grouped into the upstream and downstream supply chains (An et al., 2011). the upstream supply chain is inclusive of acquisition of the crude oil as a specialty of the oil companies to explore, forecast, produce, and logistics manager to deliver crude oil for all oil wells and refineries. On the other hand, the downstream supply chain is initiated at the refinery phase where the crude oil is synthesized into the consumable products which include the specialty of refineries and oil and gas companies.
Theories of the Innovative Supply Chain Practices The theories of innovative supply chain practices include the knowledge-based view and resource-based view. Barney (2012) adopted the knowledge-based view theory in guiding the information process and knowledge creation in the supply chain performance. From the study, it was observed that the adoption of information process and knowledge development contribute to the cycle time reduction and cost reduction and as such improving their overall improved supply chain performance. In the context of the oil and gas companies in UAE, this theory is applicable in demonstrating the ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Please contact our team to receive guidance, support and tutorial services on this assessment based on your expectations level
Email adress: rankedtutorials@gmail.com