Management Operations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Management Operations - Assignment Example It begins with an outline of the problem and its consequences, then presents a process map and a service blueprint to show the ideal processes that would lead to a good customer experience, allowing the problems areas within the process to be identified. The issues identified will be explained using operations management concepts and possible solutions presented. The report will conclude with a summary of the findings and a set of recommended actions for the college. The Problem For the past few years, further education college â€Å"Town College† has had problems with the presentation of courses for their part time degree students in the marketing discipline. Last year, during the second semester, the international marketing communications course went through three tutors in the space of four weeks, causing several problems for both the college and the students. For the students, there was the lack of continuity in terms of teaching content and style, causing inconsistencies in what was taught and conflicting information being given by different tutors. Secondly, this lack of continuity was compounded for the assessment schedule, with coursework being set and briefed by the first tutor, then briefed again by the third tutor because they would be marking the assignment; and the exam preparation having to be rushed as it was the last tutor who had to prepare it to the necessary standards having taught a single week and with no idea as to what had specifically been covered during the first part of the course. This caused further problems for the students, who were unclear as to what would appear in the exam, and whether or not they had been adequately prepared. Overall, for the students, the learning experience was extremely poor. For the final member of staff teaching the students, the additional responsibilities of marking the assignment and setting and marking the exam, above the normal weekly course preparation, caused problems as there were no records of what had been presented by the previous tutors, therefore setting the exam questions was a matter of hoping that the areas covered in the exam paper had been covered adequately during classes. It actually transpired that one area, marketing ethics, had not been covered at all, requiring some last minute remedial work to be undertaken long distance as classes had finished by the time this was brought to the attention of the tutor. In addition, availability of resources such as photocopiers, flipcharts and pens, and computer access was not as good as it should have been, with photocopiers frequently out of paper and no automatic access to them as the contract was temporary. For the college, the quality of the learning experience delivered overall was not up to standard. There were complaints from the students. There was much rushing around to complete tasks towards the end that should have been done already. Quality standards were potentially compromised, as both the tutor and exa m board had to be asked to take into consideration the circumstances surrounding the course,