ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES

Business Operations
Spring Semester, 2021/22

Assessment 5: Business Case Study

Weighting: 60%
Date and method of submission: week 15 via NEOlms
Word count or equivalent: 1800 words (+/-10%)

Assessment 5: Business Case Study (60% of final mark)

The goal of this assessment is to assess your understanding of the concepts learnt
through the module and your skills of apply them into a real-life scenario.

You will be given a business case with information about the company and its market at
the beginning of the module (on NEOlms), as a basic starting point to start your
research and develop your analysis. Your analysis should aim to answer the following
questions stated in step 2. Please remember that you are expected to do your own
research and conduct analysis based on the information provided in the case.

● Step 1: As starting point, read the case “Belle Inc.” in detail.

● Step 2: Once you read the case and research relevant literature, you should
proceed to address the following questions:

● Is the production process of Belle Inc. lean? Reason your answer.

● Do you identify a bottleneck in Belle Inc. production process? Explain

and justify your answer.

● Provide an estimation of the cost of production per unit in 2012 and

2013. What conclusion do you get?

● Why did Charlie Reese decided to go for a lot size reduction? What was
his target? Was he successful?
 ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES

● Could you propose a different operational strategy for Belle Inc.?

All answers should be based on your reasoning and analysis, and a detailed
explanation of any proposition you make is expected.

Your work should be submitted in pdf via NEOlms by Week 15 (exact deadline date
and time will be communicated to you on NEOlms).

This assessment will be marked according to the following criteria:

o Knowledge and understanding (40%): The students should identify
the core issues of the case (whether a bottleneck analysis, a quality
problem, a planning or forecasting issue). They are expected to use their
views in a useful exploration of information sources. Their analysis
should reflect a correct understanding of concepts and theories seen in
the module.
o Cognitive Skills (20%): The students are expected to bring an
innovative approach to key issues identified in the case (capacity
planning, forecasting, quality, supply chain management). Concept
linkage between different operational approaches (lean vs. theory of
constraints, zero defect vs. total quality management) will be especially
valued.
o Practical and professional skills (20%): Students will need to research
the main issues in the case and provide the necessary evidence to
support their analysis.
o Transferable and key skills (20%): Students will need to explain the
main concepts of theory of constraints, six sigma or lean manufacturing
in a concise, clear way. They should also use valid references and cite
works and literature properly using Harvard Referencing system.