MG104 2022/23 Final Assessment

An airline* has approached you and commissioned a report covering analysis of their operations and advice for the operational issues they are facing. You have agreed to provide them with a report satisfying the following conditions:

  • complying with the “Final Assessment Submission Rules”;
  • submitted no later than midday (12pm UK time) on Thursday 4 th May 2023
  • subject to a limit of 2,500 words; and
  • addressing the below areas and requirements.

I. An analysis of the four areas of operations management
You are required to collect secondary data relating to the organisation’s operations and provide an analysis of the areas (1) – (4) below. Secondary data can include information from sources such as annual report and financial statements, newspaper articles, academic readings, industry reports or any other resources relating to the organisation that you can find online or through the LSE Library. In addition to secondary data sources, you can use primary data sources (e.g., an interview or observations from a site visit) to support your arguments. However, you cannot rely solely on primary data sources for your analysis. Use of primary data sources is entirely optional. You will not necessarily get any extra credit for this. Your submissions will be judged at their own merit for the quality of the analysis and argumentation.

The organisation has provided some sample questions for each of these four areas. These questions are given to you as a guide, and you do not necessarily have to address them all. You can determine the key aspects that are critical to the organisation’s operations after your data collection and research, and focus your analysis on these key aspects within each of the four areas. Make sure you support your analysis for each of these four areas with evidence from the data you have collected and from relevant MG104 course materials.

(1) (10 marks) Operations strategy. e.g., What are the operations performance objectives of the organisation? Is the operations strategy of the organisation aligned with these objectives? Is the operations strategy sustainable?

(2) (10 marks) Operational processes. e.g., What are the key processes for the organisation’s operations? To what extent are these processes standardised? Is the design of processes aligned with the organisation’s operations strategy?

(3) (10 marks) Supply chains. e.g., What is the supply chain for this organisation? How is the supply chain organised and managed? What choices does this organisation make about managing their inventory?

(4) (10 marks) Operational improvements. e.g., Does the organisation implement any lean operations practices? Which design quality dimensions does this organisation focus on? How do they monitor and control quality?

II. Recommendations
(10 marks) Based on your analysis of the four areas of operations management, what are the TWO key operational issues (any inefficiencies or risks) for this organisation, and why?
* You can pick any airline that operates locally, nationally (in a country of your own choice) or internationally. It is part of the assignment and therefore for you to decide which airline you would like to analyse for your final assessment.

(40 marks) Make TWO recommendations for improvement to the organisation’s management, one for each of the key operational issues you have identified above. Explain the rationale for your recommendations. Your answers should be supported with evidence from your analysis and from relevant MG104 course materials.

(10 marks) Report Structure and Presentation

Further guidance for writing the report
The organisation has asked you to make sure that the following criteria are satisfied by the report:
• Briefly explain your method, i.e., make sure your report addresses why you chose to apply a specific operations management framework, model, or theory.
• Briefly explain your results, i.e., make sure your report covers what your results mean for the organisation you are advising.
• Make clear recommendations, i.e., make sure you clearly explain the aspects of their operations you suggest they should review, and why they should do this. You should also comment on what changes they should make in practice.
• Support the arguments and recommendations you make with evidence where relevant and applicable; and make sure you provide references to any data about the organisation you have identified as part of your own research, and any readings, models, theories, techniques, frameworks, or other materials from MG104.

When doing this:
(a) Always remember to critically assess the reliability of these resources;
(b) Ensure you comply with plagiarism regulations of LSE; and
(c) Ensure they are properly referenced at the end of your report.