Introduction to Operations Strategy

PCL for Operations Strategy

Paruh I

Week 1:  

Topic: Introduction to Operations Strategy

1. What’s strategy? Why does every company need a strategy? Explain

2. What is operations? And why is Operations importance? Explain
3. What is operations strategy? Explain

4. What are the main differences between operations strategy and operations management?

5. How can an operations strategy create a competitive advantage of a company? Explain
6. What are the four perspectives on operations strategy?
7. Operations strategy reconciles the market requirements with the operations resources capabilities. Explain, what does it mean?

Week 2:

Topic: Business Strategy and Operations Strategy

1. What is the competitive strategy – the positioning view? And what are the three generic positions in the positioning view? Explain
2. Explain a popular approach to strategy development that arises from the competitive strategy view.
3. Discuss the weaknesses of the competitive strategy view!
4. What is resource-based view of strategy? Explain
5. Mention 4 phases of developing a firm’s capabilities.
6. Which one is better, the positioning view or the resource-based view, in developing a firm’s strategy? Explain
7. How is a realized strategy made? Explain
8. Mention and explain business and operations strategy performance dimensions.
9. Mention and explain operations decision categories

Week 3:

Topic: Vertical Integration

1. What is vertical integration? And what is value chain?
2. Compare upstream- and downstream-activity characteristics!
3. What is backward integrating and forward integrating? Explain.
4. What is horizontal integration? Explain
5. Mention and explain the four sets of factors to be considered in making a vertical integration decisions.
6. Besides focusing on ownership as the key variable in making vertical integration, mention & explain some other alternatives to vertical integration which may provide of the benefits of vertical integration while avoiding the inherent risks of a capability outright.
7. Mentions pros and cons of vertical integration strategy!
8. When should we integrate and when should we disintegrate? Explain and give examples.

Week 4:

Topic: Process Technology

1. What is ‘process’ technology in a manufacturing company and in a service company?
2. How can process technology provide significant competitive advantage? Explain and give example.
3. What is experience curve? The existence of the experience curve effect has a number of important implications. Explain
4. What is product-process matrix? And explain its implications in choosing process technology.
5. What is service-process matrix? And explain its implications choosing process technology.
6. To what degree should the process be automated, how flexible should it be, and what economies of scale should it be able to achieve? Explain.
7. When the firm should be a leader or follower in process technology? Explain
8. When should a firm buy or make its process technology? Explain

Week 5:

Topic: Capacity Strategy

1. What is capacity? How to measure capacity?
2. Explain types of capacity.
3. Managing capacity is considered a strategic decision, explain why?
4. Long term capacity planning is difficult to do. Explain why and give example.
5. Mention the three strategic options for managing long-term capacity. Explain the advantages & disadvantages of each strategic option.
6. Discuss the seven steps capacity planning process!

Week 6:

Topic: Facilities Strategy & Globalization

1. What are the benefits of managing the configuration of facilities for a global company such as Motorola? Explain.
2. What are the challenges for any given player in the supply chain in creating a facility strategy? Explain
3. What are the purposes of developing SC models? Explain
4. Mentions and explain the two types of supply chain models.
5. Flow material within the supply chain is  a major input in the development of the facility strategy. Explain why?
6. How to determine the appropriate size of a facility? Explain
7. Explain the factors to be considered in facilities location decisions.
8. Discuss the five steps facilities planning process.

Week 7:

Topic:

• Presentation of Existing Operations Strategy for each group
• Overview week 1 to 6