COLLEGE OF LAW AND MANAGEMENT STUDIES

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY &

GOVERNANCE
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT: MAY 2021

COURSE AND CODE: OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN

MANAGEMENT (SCMA301)

INTERNAL EXAMINER: DR RH SALISBURY

EXTERNAL EXAMINER: MR INDRASEN MOODLEY

1
 SCMA 301 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT – ASSESSMENT 3 (ESSAY TEST)

READ THE PASSAGE BELOW AND WRITE SHORT ESSAYS TO ANSWER

ANY TWO (2) OF THE THREE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW

Management of the Dube AgriZone facility that is part of the Dube TradePort of King
Shaka airport is seeking expressions of interest from parties willing to invest in
agricultural projects that will exploit the opportunities offered by this agrizone. There is
potential for flowers grown on farms in the Midlands of KZN to be successfully exported
and auctioned on the flower markets of Europe. Flowers could be processed in a facility
within the Dube AgriZone and then air freighted to various centres in Europe before
delivery to market.

Although there are a number of different flower varieties grown commercially

(influenced by season and demand), typically, processing involves removing dead leaves,
cutting the stems to the correct length, grading the flowers and then wrapping them into
bundles of six blooms secured with a rubber band. Bunches of flowers are packed into
cardboard boxes and, to extend their shelf life, they have to be maintained under climate-
controlled conditions until reaching the market.

Processing the flowers is done by hand and it is estimated that a typical flower processing
facility would have a seasonally influenced labour requirement varying from 60 to 110
semiskilled staff working 5 eight hour days per week, producing between 14,000 and
32,000 bunches of flowers per week.

2
QUESTION 1: (20 marks)

1, a. Where would you site the flower processing facility and what factors influenced
your decision? (7 marks)
1, b. What potential disadvantages could result from this decision at some stage?
(3 marks)
1, c. What would be a good flower processing facility layout and what would be the
objectives of this layout? (10 marks)

QUESTION 2: (20 marks)

2,a. How would you measure productivity of this enterprise? How could you contribute
to improving the productivity variables? (10 marks)
2,b.With reference to the OM decisions you have studied to date, how could appropriate
changes to these OM decisions contribute to increased productivity? (10 marks)

QUESTION 3: (20 marks)

A flower processing facility employing 60 to 110 semiskilled staff working 5 eight hour
days per week performing manual repetitive tasks is probably going to experience a range
of labour problems that adversely affect productivity and performance. Provide a clear,
detailed account of how you would go about motivating and managing the workforce to
improve and maintain high levels of productivity and happiness.

TOTAL MARKS 40