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The overall objective of the Operational Audit is to prepare a 1,500 words Operational Audit report on an aspect of the operations of an organisation selected by the individual

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The overall objective of the Operational Audit is to prepare a 1,500 words Operational Audit report on an aspect of the operations of an organisation selected by the individual.

The study must concentrate on the operational aspects of the operation identified. While there may be marketing or strategic issues involved, it would not be appropriate to devote all the analysis to the development of marketing or strategic plans.

The aim of the assignment is not only to demonstrate an understanding of how the operation supports or hinders the attainment of the organisation's objectives, but also to identify any outstanding operational problems, and make recommendations for improvement, focussed at Board level.

BISM7807 (INT) Operations Design

Semester 1, 2017

Assignment 2 Brief

Operational Audit Report

 

Type: Individual Study

Learning Objectives Assessed: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Due Date:  16:00 26 Jun 2017

Weight: 30%

 

Task Description:  

The overall objective of the Operational Audit is to prepare a 1,500 word Operational Audit report on an aspect of the operations of an organisation selected by the individual.

 

The aim of the assignment is not only to demonstrate an understanding of how the operation supports or hinders the attainment of the organisation's objectives, but also to identify any outstanding operational problems, and make recommendations for improvement, focused at Board level.

 

Criteria & Marking:

Operational Audit Reports will be assessed on a rubric, based on the UQBS Case Study Rubric, attached. 

 

Any type of organisation or process may be selected, but choice of a very simple or wellknown situation limits the student’s ability to demonstrate the level of analysis and problemsolving required for higher grades.  Be careful though to ensure you do not choose something too complex.  It is better to do something simple well, than something complex, poorly.

 

The audit must concentrate on the operational aspects of the operation considered. While there may be marketing or strategic issues involved, it would not be appropriate to devote all the analysis to the development of marketing or strategic plans. 

 

The aim of the assignment is not only to demonstrate an understanding of how the operation supports or hinders the attainment of the organisation's objectives, but also to identify any outstanding operational problems, and make recommendations for improvement. If it is your view that there are no outstanding problems or issues, this view must be justified in terms of the analysis of the objectives and the operations you have examined (unlikely).

 

How to get started:

As a preliminary step, each student should prepare a proposal for the conduct of the audit.  That should include how the scope will be determined, identification of the stakeholders involved, the methods employed, any data collection required, and how that data will be analysed. 

 

A good starting point is to take the framework adopted in the text - namely to consider the strategy of the organisation and its operational strategy, the design of the productive system, and the operation of the productive system. For examples of analyses, you may consult the text, the on-line Web studies, and the references listed. For ideas on process characteristics it is worthwhile reviewing the relevant chapters of Russell & Taylor or other Operations Management texts to identify the operational category of your examination. It should be recognised though that not all real processes fall neatly into one of the standard categories described in your texts. However, the framework should still be used to help identify major issues of managerial concern and the typical characteristics of such a process. It is essential also that consideration is given to the objectives, or method of obtaining competitive advantage, adopted by the organisation.

 

Audit Report

The objective is to prepare an Audit Report for the Audit Committee (usually comprised of a subset of board members), not exceeding 1,500 words (excluding references and appendices), on the completed project (penalties will apply for exceeding the word count).  Ensure that written expression is concise, and make appropriate use of good communication strategies.  The word numbers shown are just a rough guide. The report should include the following:

• Executive Summary: Brief one-page overview of the study together with your findings/recommendations, justification, and implementation plan. − 200 words
• Introduction: Introduce the topic/case study including why this topic is relevant to the business/performance of the organisation.  You need to specify the objectives and scope of the audit.  You also need to identify the stakeholders, the methodology you will use, any data you need to collect, and how that will be analysed – 150 words.
• Conduct of the study:  Outline what you did, who you spoke to, and any other sources of data that were used.  Include a brief description of the business or organisational objectives and context including its method of obtaining competitive advantage.  Detail what you found.  Include any literary research you found relevant to the topic − 350 words.
• Analysis of the processes or operations involved:  Compare and contrast with best practice.  Identify any problems encountered.  Did anything go wrong?  Identify the risks: Explain the risks if this issue is not adequately addressed by the organisation − 350 words.
• Recommendations:  What recommendations are you making to the Board?  Justify these in terms of corporate strategy, cost/benefit, mandatory activities or processes.  Ensure your recommendations are doable. Include an implementation plan (give the board something to recommend that is justified, doable, and includes a way forward) − 350 words. 
• Conclusion: put the study into perspective, in the context of the objectives, demonstrating whether or not they have been met. − 100 words. 
• References: List any articles/Websites you explicitly refer to in your report (APA or Harvard preferably) (likely to be between 5 – 15).

Submission:

This report is to be submitted via TurnItIn and the Blackboard Online Submission Folder (additionally, you may wish to email the report to the lecturer). 

 

Students should be aware of the University’s guidelines regarding the issue of plagiarism and citation of sources. 

 

 

Weight and assessment criteria:

This assessment is marked out of 30 marks. The assessment item “Individual Operational Audit Report” is assessed on a rubric, based on the UQBS Case Study Rubric, attached to this overview. 

 

The overall grade is assessed in accordance with the Course Grading noted in the Course Profile. Feedback provided to students will consist of the rubric, the marking guide, an overall mark and qualitative feedback by way of comments. 

 

Note that items for which no extension has been granted submitted after the due date and time incur a late submission penalty. The penalty is at the rate of 5% (0.4 of a grade) of the total available marks for that particular piece of assessment, for each calendar day or part thereof that the item is overdue. 

 

Students are encouraged to discuss this assignment with the lecturer to clarify its requirements should students be unclear on any details. 

 

Jon Heales

BISM7807 Coordinator

June 2017

          

Operational    Audit   Report

Assignment    Marking          Guide 

          

Student          No.:_______________________                   Name:________________________________                                

          

	Beginning  3	Developing 4	Competent 5	Accomplished           6-7	Total
Organization  of            Ideas.  Specification  of            Audit   Scope  and      how            Audit   was            conducted            20%	Paper   is            not            logically           sequenced.            Poor            paragraph            structure.            Objectives       and            Scope            unclear.	Objectives       and            Scope            provided,            but            paragraphs            need    to            be            related            more            clearly.                        Paragraph            structure            evident,            but            needs            more            internal            cohesion            to            show            sequence            of            ideas.	Objectives       and            Scope   clear.   Paragraph            structure            is          sound.                          More   cohesion            required.	Clear   opening           Objectives       and            Scope.            Paragraph            structure            coherently            supports            arguments.                  Cohesion            is          evident            in         lexical            cues.
	(0-9)	(10-12)	(13-14)	(15-20)
Subject            Knowledge            20%	Little    evidence            of            research.            Content           lacks            relevance            to         topic.	Some   evidence            of            research.            Content            needs   to            be            more            relevant            to         the            topic.	Displays            evidence            of         sound            research.            Content            is            relevant            to         topic.	Writing            is            based   on            excellent            research.            Content           is            relevant            to         topic.   Evidence          used            effectively            to         support            proposition.
	(0-9)	(10-12)	(13-14)	(15-20)
Analysis,            Issues            Identified            20%	Issues   not            Identified.            Poor            standard            of            analysis.	Some   Issues   not            Identified            Analysis            is            shallow            and/or            incomplete.	Issues   clearly            Identified            Analysis            of         the            issues   is            sound   and            complete.                    More   in-depth   issues   are            not            covered.	Issues   clearly            Identified            Analysis            of         the            issues   is            sound   and            complete.                    Insights            into      hidden            aspects            of         the            task      are            provided
	(0-9)	(10-12)	(13-14)	(15-20)
Recommendations            20%	Recommendations            are       non-existent           and            bear     little            or         no            relation            to         the            topic    or            analysis	Recommendations            are            poorly            thought            through.                        They            sometimes            bear            little            relation            to         the            analysis.	Recommendations            follow  on            from    the            analysis.                        They    are            generally            based   on            sound   and            logical            argument.	Sound  management  strategies        are            recommended            relating           to         the       future  benefits/opportunities.                        They            follow  on            from    the            analysis            and      are            based   on            sound   and            logical            argument.
	(0-9)	(10-12)	(13-14)	(15-20)
Mechanics        15%	Grammar:            excessive            errors.             Punctuation:            excessive            errors. Spelling;            excessive            errors. Referencing:            excessive            errors.	Grammar:            occasional            errors.             Punctuation:            occasional            errors  Spelling:            occasional            errors  Referencing:            textual and            list            errors	Grammar:       one            or         two            errors. Punctuation:    one            or         two            errors. Spelling:            virtually            no        errors  Referencing:   textual            or         list            errors.	Grammar:       excellent                        Punctuation:    excellent            Spelling:          excellent            Referencing:   excellent
	(0-7)	(8-10)	(11-12)	(13-15)
Professional   Presentation         5%	Vocabulary      is            limited and            needs   to            be            developed.            Paper   presentation            is          not            sufficiently            professional            looking.	Vocabulary            could   be            further            developed.            Paper           presentation            could   be            more            professional            looking.            Basic    Executive            Summary	Vocabulary      is            appropriate            for       this            level    of            writing.            Paper   is            professionally            presented.       Executive            Summary            with       recommendations	Vocabulary      and            paper            presentation            are            professional            standard.            Well     written            Executive            Summary            with     well            justified           recommendations
	(0-2.5	(2.6-3)	(3-4)	(4-5)
Total   Marks  (/20)