Assessment: 2. Quantitative Analysis Task This assignment consists of 3 (three) exercises and you are requested to attempt all of them. Learning outcomes be able to analyse and critically appraise an organisation's operations; be able to determine and apply appropriate tools and techniques in a variety of operations situations; be able to collect, analyse and interpret operational data;be able to establish standards and develop controls applicable to various processes; and be able to respond to changes in the business environment by deploying the appropriate operations strategy. Notes : • Limit your answer to 1400 words for the report, calculations and diagrams are not included in the word count. • For Part 1 of this question, the Precedence Diagram should be drawn using the methodology illustrated in the Interact site for this subject. Use the POM for Windows software only to confirm your calculations (i.e. to check your answers after you have drawn the network and calculated the activity times, project duration, etc). The diagram can be drawn manually, or by using some software such as MS PowerPoint. See the Interact resources for more information on how to draw a project network diagram in the form of a Precedence Diagram. • For Part 2 of the question, you do not need to re-draw the network, and can use POM for Windows. • It is recommended that you use POM for Windows (or any other software) for the calculations in Part 1. Limit your discussion on the analysed data and implications to 350 words. • Limit your answer to 500 words for Part 2. • Limit your answer to 800 words for Part 3. Question 1 - Project Management Wagga Independent Groceries (WIG) is planning to network all its departments and plants within the region that it operates. As a senior manager in the organisation, you have been appointed the Project Manager for this Wide Area Network project. After completing the major planning processes, you and your project team members have drawn up the various activities involved in the project including, their duration's and preceding activities as shown below: 1. You are requested to write a short report to senior management highlighting important planning information. Include data on project and activity times, and any other information that would be essential for planning purposes. Your report should also be accompanied with a network diagram – this should be drawn using the Precedence Diagram methodology that is offered in the Subject Outline website. (20 marks) 2. It is estimated that for every week that the project is delayed, the company will incur a cost of $30,000 (because of disrupted operations). The Systems Manager finds out that activity H (Site Installation) can be offered to a different company for an additional cost of $80,000 but the duration of the activity can be reduced to 3 weeks (instead of 7). What action would you recommend? (10 marks) 3. A number of analytical techniques are used in the overall project planning methodology. While the Critical Path Method is a popular technique, it is only part of an integrated approach. Prepare a report for senior management of WIG offering them advice on these techniques and how they can be implemented. (10 marks) Question 2 – Plant Location Wagga Class Furniture is involved in manufacturing both home and office furniture. They have a limited range of products and one of these accounts for more than half their sales (in terms of revenue). The company has hired you to help them determine the best location for their plant. It believes that in order to facilitate its strategy of responsiveness to customer need and unsurpassed quality, it is essential that the new manufacturing plant be located as near to their suppliers as possible. Suppliers for the company are mainly located within the state although some material is sourced elsewhere. As the first step to the exercise, the company has provided you the following data that offers the location of the suppliers and the number of units ordered from each of them. The 2nd and 3rd columns represent X and Y coordinates (in km) from its existing main office. 1. You are requested to write a short consultants report to the senior management of Wagga Class Furniture highlighting important plant location information relative to the suppliers. Include data on location study, and any other information that would be essential for determinning the best location of the plant. Your report should also be accompanied with a plot of the coordinates of the suppliers location and the required analysis to determine the best location for the plant. (10 marks) 2. Also, in your report explain the limitations of the above approach, what other factors you would consider and what technique or techniques you would use, and provide your recommendations to senior management of Wagga Class Furniture so that they can achieve their strategy of responsiveness to customer need and unsurpassed quality . (10 marks) Question 3 - Transportation problem Enviro Cars is a multi-site car rental company in the city offering a standard compact vehicle that is powered by electricity. These cars are charged at the depots before customers rent them. They are only used within the city perimeter. The company is trying out a new 'return the car to the location most convenient for you' policy to improve customer service. But this means that the company has to constantly move cars around the city to maintain required levels of vehicle availability. The supply and demand for these, and the total cost of moving these vehicles between sites, are shown below. 1. Find the solution that minimizes moving costs, use the Transportation module in POM for Windows. ( 10 marks) 2. You have now been asked to act as a consultant to the company. You realise that the transportation methodology is directed only at costs, and in this case, the cost of moving cars from one depot to another. Explain what other factors you would consider to create a more realistic mathematical model. Discuss also what technique (or techniques) you would use to draw up your recommendations to senior management of the company ( 10 marks) Rationale This assignment is based on topics scheduled for the first 6 teaching weeks and involves the application theoretical concepts and both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The objective is to develop skills in creating frameworks and models of typical problems and issues faced in Operations Management, analysing them and interpreting them in support of the decision making process. In more specific terms, this assignment aims to: • enhance understanding of key concepts and issues of Operations Management; • develop analytical skills required for drawing up models based on information gleaned from short case studies and other data describing various situations; • offer experience in applying contemporary and evolving operations management tools, concepts and models to a variety of situations; • develop skills in analysing models and interpreting the results for improving operations performance and for other decision making processes; • acknowledge the advantages, disadvantages and limitations of these tools; and • offer insights into how theoretical concepts, models and systems can be modified and applied in practical or realistic situations. Marking criteria Criteria FL (=<49%) PS (50-64%) CR (65-74%) DI (75-84%) HD (=>85%) Calculation Accuracy Marks are given based on the methodology used for the calculations and/or the accuracy of the data input and the results using POM for windows Explanation of the results/concepts Poor explanation, mostly inaccurate and incomplete. Limited / no evidence is provided. Explanation is partially accurate and incomplete. Limited evidence is provided. Explanation is mainly accurate. Some evidence is provided to support the explanation. Explanation is accurate but partially clear. Some evidence is provided to support the explanation. Explanation is accurate and clear with sufficient evidence provided. Problem solving/Analysis Poor / no evidence for supporting the conclusions / recommendations, and / or missing, incorrect or irrelevant. Can present limited evidence for supporting the conclusions / recommendations, but some are missing, incorrect or irrelevant. Can review and present most of the evidence for supporting the conclusions / recommendations but some evidence is missing, incorrect. Can clearly present the appropriate evidence for supporting conclusions / recommendations but lack of critical analysis and comparison. Can critically review and present the appropriate evidence (models, techniques, systems, factors etc) for supporting conclusions / recommendations. Presentation / Content Poorly presented, lacking relevant information or support materials Report is resonably presented with little formatting. Some messages are unclear with a few spelling or grammatical errors. Report is well presented with some inconsistent formatting. Some parts of the message are unclear. Report is clearly presented. Formatting is consistent throughout the report. Message is clear and presented well with few spelling or grammatical errors. Report is professional and clearly presented. Message is very clear and logical with no spelling or grammatical errors throughout the report. *You must use American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. Penalties may be applied for: 10% over word limit/failure to cite sources/referencing errors/omissions/ plagiarism (see Handbook – this carries a large penalty and is to be reported if Plagiarism) Presentation The following points are a general guide for presenting assessment items: Assessment items should be typed • Use 1.5 spacing • Use a standard 12 point font such as Times New Roman, Calibri or Arial • Left-justify body text • A 4cm margin should be left on the left-hand side of each page for and each page should be numbered. • Most importantly, always use your spelling and grammar checker. Remember this does not pick up all errors, so you must also manually and carefully edit your work. • Always cite and reference all sources of information used in assessments. • Provide a single reference list that always starts on a new page. • Indicate the number of words (do not include what is inside citation brackets or in reference list) • Assignment should be written in a report style making use of headings and sub-headings as well as short concise paragraphs. A systematic approach should be taken in the use of headings e.g. lower case bold for section headings, lower case italics bold for sub-headings, lower case italics for further sub-divisions etc. • The style of writing should be clear and concise, paying attention to sentence structure to ensure clarity of meaning. Attention should also be paid to punctuation, including the correct use of commas and the apostrophe.