Cutting-Edge Knowledge and Insights about Operations Management - Coursework Example

Operations Management: Reflective Log Introduction When I was given this assignment to write a reflective portfolio, I was a little unsure as my knowledge regarding reflective writing was limited. As a result, the immediate step taken by me was to understand the objective, purpose and method of reflective writing. Rather than relying on literatures and books, I decided to interact with fellow students, professors as well as my friends from other courses in order to gain a wide knowledge about reflective writing and its practical applications (Cottrell, 2003). After extensive readings from websites and libraries and discussions with peers and friends, I understood that basic objective of self-reflection is constant evaluation of strengths and weaknesses and working upon drawbacks for overall improvement. This self-reflective log will elaborate on my experience during the course study in a sensible manner (Boud, Keogh and Walker, 1994). Reflective Writing Though I have had some experience in operations while working as a trainee in a management consulting firm, yet practical and conceptual knowledge was largely limited. As a result, the course proved to be significantly beneficial for my future career. During this master’s program, I was in constant touch with my professors in order to obtain important feedback on my overall improvement and also for the purpose of keeping my network of connections alive and strong. At start of the course, I had undergone an extensive assessment of my strengths and weaknesses. My major strengths identified were as follows; Communication: My communication skills can be regarded as fairly decent. During my undergraduate course, I had won several awards in various debates and speeches. Apart from that, I am an active participator in various online and offline discussion forums, which has enhanced by communication skills significantly. Learning skills: I consider my learning skills to be fairly effective. I was a high ranker during my undergraduate days and was able to grasp most information imparted in the class itself. I am a quick learner and do believe that this has helped me greatly during my master’s course. A major area where I lacked was time management. While completing project, I get so engrossed in the subject matter that I failed to complete the project on time. This has happened several times and I reckon that if these issues are neglected, then I might face more difficult situations in my future, both professionally and personally (Jennex, 2006). My decision on this master program was based on various factors. Firstly, the course modules match with my career prospects. Also, for an established career in operations management, it is essential to experience a full-time course, as opposed to opting for distant learning programs or executive courses (Ven, 2002). This decision has also been supported by my experience as management trainee, where I found that candidates with full-time degree were preferred over those with degrees in long distance or executive courses. Besides that, I also realized that a full-time master program will open career avenues in operations management itself, where I can select branches or segments within operations management, according to my abilities and interest. Students applying for master’s program are in general more diverse in terms of culture and race, besides being highly knowledgeable and skilled. As a result, I developed various anxieties and concerns regarding the program as well as my expectations from the same. My first major concern was my ability to establish relationship with a widely diversified batch owing to probable occurrences of miscommunications and subsequent development of strained relationship among fellow classmates and group members (Yousofpourfard, 2010). The first module was basically introduction to the entire coursework. The objective was to understand the content as well as assignments, which we were going to undertake. A new and creative method was introduction of creative writing. This assignment was alongside other significant assignments on operations management and strategy. During initial stages, I was a slightly nervous, especially while communicating with students from different backgrounds and cultures. The articles provided during the introduction modules were extremely beneficial in evaluating country as well as economic performance. An important learning from this module was that different functions have separate expectations and goals. As a result, strategies for various departments are bound to be dissimilar. During the introduction session, a group activity as also organised. The major objective of this group activity was to form a cohort and infuse group dynamism. During this activity, I realized that different people might have varying opinions regarding a similar topic and all those opinions might not be necessarily wrong (Schön, 1991). I invited them into the group giving them the opportunity to speak. The overall group activity was well-performed and I also managed to receive positive feedback from lecturers. I also understood that an organized preparation brings better chances of success. I also ensured that this schedule is strictly followed as well as improved whenever need arise. My library session included reading core concepts from books, journals as well as newspapers and articles. I also went through extra reading provided by the lecturer during the introductory session. All the above activities boosted my confidence, helping me to understand the importance of scheduling and segregating bigger aims into smaller objectives for the purpose of better and faster productivity. An important learning from the first week was through the article ‘around the world in eight charts.’ From the article I realised that there are many techniques and means to measure a nation as well as the nation’s performance. Different cultures have different demands, patterns and requirements and as a result the strategies to understand these patterns and demands are also numerous. I also understood economic performance measures can change in a rapid manner. For instance, this article was written in the year 2008 and shortly after recession occurred which changes the economy dramatically. As a result, it can be assumed that the charts explained in the article will be very different according to present day conditions. Right from introduction of the program, I was highly motivated. As a result, my expectations from the next module were high. In order to prepare myself firsthand, I went through the slides provided. However, I could not absorb enough and realised complexity of the subject. I wanted to learn about strong theories on the design and layout during the lecture sessions. The second week started with lecture sessions on management processes as well as coordinating activities. The lectures were easy to understand as well as supplemented with practical examples, thereby helping me to connect theories with real-life applications within corporate environment. In order to infuse layout and design skills, we were asked to complete a task on Taco Bell. The task also helped in understanding synergy between the three concepts and their practical applicability. While conducting the task, I had my first interaction with other classmates and groups. Initially, I was quite sceptical while communicating with students from different races and restricted myself to interacting with local students. I believe this slightly created a negative impact on other foreign students. Since this was the first hard core subject after the introduction, I felt my skills and conceptual knowledge increase significantly (Akin, 2011). Even though my performance was appreciated by my professor, I felt that I needed to perform better so as to be among the top performers in this first task. In the third week, individuals were divided into teams. My expectations from this session were to understand team work, team management and relationship building. My hopes from this session were high as I expected to enhance my relationship and team building skills substantially. Apart from that, I also looked forward to gain knowledge regarding academic theories as well as improve my academic base. The objective of the lecture was to understand role of individuals in teams while performing strategic operations management functions. A team simulation game was played during the session. We were asked to make a Tall Tower twice. The first attempt was made with no decision time and we did not make any strategy or consensus decision on the way to make it. However, our first attempt was totally in vain and we failed to construct the tower in time. As a result, we decided to apply a strategic approach the second time. We utilised the allotted time to make a decision. I felt motivated to defeat other participants, which increased my efficiency and speed. Even so, time given was very less and we had to make an effective decision within the limited time. This helped me in understanding the importance of time management. In order to increase listening skills of students, the session involved frequent questioning. This session proved to be very effective in enhancing my soft skills as well as team management and relationship building capacities (Rossi, Lipsey and Freeman, 2003). The assignment given at the end involved examining utilization of operations management tools. Apart from browsing through libraries as well as online journals, I also formed an informal group with other students, besides my team members. In discussion with them, I was able to overcome not only the fear of offending foreign students, but also had realized that they are very friendly as well as understanding. Another important observation from my side was reaction of few students regarding the task. Many students were agitated as I had even observed group conflicts among teams. Some students after a first attempt had chosen to quit the group, leaving other group members to finish the task. I also noticed few students arguing with the professor over points and performance feedback (Stanovich and West, 2008). I understood that the level of patience and perseverance varies from person to person. Also, these qualities can be achieved only through constant practice and communication among diverse groups. As a result, I decided to include communication with diverse group members as a part of my daily tasks. This was done by participating in online and informal discussion forums, informal meetings as well as asking for feedback from other students attending the program. The lectures in the fourth week involved business functions and processes. It was a highly technical session and we were asked to prepare well in advance. Consequently, I went through textbooks and journals to gain a basic understanding. I also had the opportunity to interact with some senior students and gain a firsthand knowledge of what to expect from the session. Since my understanding on the above topics was limited, my learning approach in the present session was to ask questions and clarify my queries wherever required. My preparation before the session allowed me to easily understand the lecture slides. During the lecture, the six sigma approach used in Motorola was studied. We were given tasks to select a set of beads from a bowl. The first person had more time than the others which forced the professors to set a time limit for others. As quality increased and time increased, simultaneously the value, services and quality also increased. People, process and value added services are important for overall operational enhancement. The module also helped in understanding the strategy for improving the cost, quality and innovation of products. For this, the barriers are broken down in functional areas. Sometimes, in order to optimise the entire process, it is necessary to optimise smaller components. Quality assurance is much more critical than quality inspection. An important learning from the session was that with increase in quality, there is a simultaneous increase in time and cost too. Therefore, the concepts of TQM and six sigma are a boon in operations management, which maximises quality with minimum time and costs (Avgerou, 2002). During the session, I continued to gather my feedback and apply discussion strategy on my fellow students. During the initial period, individuals were not ready to provide any kind of feedback. However, with constant communication, I was able to break the ice and receive few positive and negative feedback. One of the negative feedback was that sometimes I become too calculative, thereby losing my track of progress (Gilson and Shalley, 2004). The most important learning point from this session was that people started perceiving me as a person who is friendly and has leadership qualities. During the lecture session as well as in discussion forums, my opinions and knowledge was appreciated. Yet, I need to start re-working on my focussing and concentration skills and prioritise work related responsibilities (Hilsdon, 2006). The level of technicality as well as difficulty in the fifth week was similar to that in week four. During this session, we were supposed to understand various operations management processes such as, MRP, JIT and Constraint theory. As a result, my preparation approach and expectations from this session were similar to that of the last. My objective during the session was to understand advantages and disadvantages of the above academic theories as well as their proper application in real life situations. The lectures and slides had helped to understand that the entire operational process is extremely connected and every function or stage is dependent on the other. An important learning point from this session was when I realized the value of time, cost, service and quality. In operations management value essentially signifies the profit or return from the tangible or intangible asset invested. For instance, a physical asset such as building provides value in the form of rent. Similarly, advanced technological tools and software will provide value in terms of higher profit margin, less work as well as minimum time spent. A catapult research paper was written during the lecture session concerning protection of the environment from industrial damages. The environmental paper helped in understanding the benefits and importance of EMS, a system for environmental management within organisations. Internal and external pressure have forced organisation to minimise their harmful impact on the environment. The paper also explored the various challenges while implementing the EMS system in a non-profit firm as these firms face a lot of constraints such as expenditure and proper research. Apart from establishing equipments and good manufacturing sites, it is also essential to enhance people skills, knowledge as well as team management qualities. An important concept, known as Kiazan, was introduced during the session held in the sixth week. According to this concept, continuous improvement approach and problem solving skills are necessary for effective operations management (Fischer, 2006). Yet, one limitation related to lecture slides was on the subject of distribution, which was restricted to manufacturing and service sector, rather than for marketing and finance. In order to achieve a successful career in this field, it is extremely important to value time and people. In addition, it is necessary to have a sound knowledge about the work along with its objective and purpose. Another important learning was the manner in which message is communicated. The lecturer used numerous real-life examples, case study situations as well as role-play simulations in order to communicate the right knowledge. I comprehended that the manner in which content is delivered is as important as quality of the content itself. It was an essential learning and I started working on my communication skills so as to render it more persuasive and engaging (Girot, 2001). Since the learning sessions had become more technical and connected by this week, I opted for a deeper study. For this, I visited libraries and browsed on previous lecture topics. Various important topics such as, functional overview and Porter’s value chain, were explained. The lectures were mostly in context of current business and had helped me in perceiving external pressures such as, technological competition and globalisation. As a result, I learned that the process of transferring and operations management should be continuously improved for better performance. An important idea gathered from the session was the amount and frequency of change. Changing or improving one function can be beneficial. Similarly, constant improvement of all functions can be of greater benefit, bringing along better and faster productivity. The major tools and techniques discussed during this lecture session were lean management, BPR and continuous improvement process. Since the lecture was highly technical, I had slight difficulty in grasping the entire lecture initially. Nevertheless, I compensated this limitation by further interaction and discussion with my fellow students, which effectively boosted my overall conceptual knowledge and understanding of practical applications. In order to further enhance my learning, I underwent a self-performance review, where I tried to recall topics, objectives, learning as well as practical applications of the previous lectures (Bolton, 2001). The topics that were difficult to recall were brushed up and re-assessed. After this performance testing, I felt more confident and was eager to take the next lecture session. The seventh week included lectures on control of operations and improvement strategies. The topics included quality costing and models of cost and statistical process control. The major objective of attending this lecture was to understand quality management of operations systems. The approach of the lecture sessions was learning through examples to understand benefits and difficulties. The major topic of discussion in this session was on sustainability and world of operations management. Various tools were explained mainly with the help of graphs such as SPC, Nagare, Poka Yoke and discussion was made on processes through which the above operational management techniques were adding value to the organisations. An important learning from the lecture session was the article on extension of process mapping for the identification of green waste. By enabling the capturing of the process knowledge, visualising the complex processes, training employees for better technical equipments handling, identification and minimisation of costs and utilisation of all available opportunities value can be added to the organisation. My discussion session with peers and fellow students enabled me to successfully recognize various issues and queries regarding academic concepts. In order to best utilise my time, I started preparing early for the given class assignment. As a result, I had ample of time during the session to interact with professors as well as students, without hampering the progress of my assignment. The most important learning from this lecture session was my time management skills, which improved drastically. Conclusion After completion of this course, I have gained cutting-edge knowledge and insights about operations management. The most important learning during the entire course was practical applications of various concepts and theoretical models. The simulation games, role plays as well as tasks assigned during the course were very useful in enhancing my overall communication, team building abilities and team management skills. I found huge difference between my learning during undergraduate course and that of the current master’s program. Finally, I am glad and satisfied that I chose this program. This program has significantly enhanced my overall knowledge of operations management and has rendered me more equipped and confident in handling decision making processes in my future career. Reference List Akin, M. C., 2011. Evaluation essentials: From A to Z. New York: Guilford Press. Avgerou, C., 2002. Information systems and global diversity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bolton, G., 2001. Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. 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F., 2008. On the relative independence of thinking biases and cognitive ability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, pp. 672-695. Ven, F., 2002. Fulfilling the promise of career development. Human Resource Management International Digest, 16(1), pp. 10. Yousofpourfard, H., 2010. Cultural intelligence: A new approach to manage teamwork in culturally diverse teams. ETD Collection for McMaster University. Paper AAINR7396. Read More