The module aims to:

Introduce the key concepts of operations (both internal and external) of an organisation;

Identify decisions at the organisation’s operations level and understand the factors that can influence those decisions;

Enable students to develop an understanding of the principles and role of business analytics for operations decision making;

Critically analyse different types of business analytics and their implications for competitive advantage;

Impart knowledge of how organisations use business analytics to formulate and solve business problems and aid in managerial decision making, using techniques such as pattern discovery, classification, clustering, regression, intuitive data display, etc.

(LO1) Students will be able to demonstrate a critical appraisal of the key concepts of operations (both internal and external) of an organisation.

(LO2) Students will be able to identify the decisions at the organisation’s operations and supply chain level and understand the factors that can influence those decisions.

(LO3) Students will be able to evaluate the role of business analytics in creating and sustaining competitive advantage.

(LO4) Students will be able to explain the role of business analytics in managerial and operations decision making.

(LO5) Students will be able to apply basic planning and analysis techniques to particular cases.

(S1) Problem solving
Through activities (case studies, and/or scenario analysis) when the learnt frameworks, approaches and techniques will be applied to dilemmas experienced by managers of operations.

(S2) Commercial awareness
Through analysis of case studies and online available information to appreciate the critical role played by operations and supply chains backed by analytics in developing and delivering commercial outcomes for organisations.

(S3) Communication
Through group work in assessment and classroom discussion in seminars.

(S4) International awareness
Through analysing case studies and scenarios experienced by businesses and organisations whose operations and supply chains span from being within a geography to that of being spread across multiple continents.

(S5) Ethical awareness
Through understanding the challenges of decision making which involve trade-offs and appreciating the importance of data/evidence to drive decisions.

(S6) Numeracy
Through analysis of data from case studies/scenarios.

(S7) IT skills
Through the implementation of analytics and on-line research to undertake assigned activities.

The module will be delivered over twelve weeks, comprising ten teaching weeks plus two enhancement weeks. The approach to teaching and learning will combine the use of large group in-person and asynchronous lectures, small group seminars (or workshops), scheduled seminar preparation sessions, and cross-programme contemporary issues sessions.

Lectures (total of 14 hours) - Each week will include at least a one-hour scheduled lecture, except for four weeks (scheduled at the beginning, mid-points and end of the module), which will be delivered as two-hour, in-person, live lectures. One-hour lectures could also be delivered live and in-person but may alternatively be provided online or asynchronously (including appropriate scaffolding and online supporting material) at the discretion of the module teaching team.

Seminars (total of 12 hours) - Each module will include six two-hour seminars. These seminars will be interactive small-group in-person workshops.
Seminar preparation (total of 6 hours) - Each seminar will also include a scheduled one-hour preparation session, enabling students to engage in relevant preparation activities, as deemed necessary by the module teaching team.

Contemporary Issues Sessions (total of 4 hours) - The module will also include two two-hour contemporary issues lectures or events that are directly relevant to the module and broader programme of study. These may include a lecture from a member of faculty on their research, an external industry speaker or a member of the advisory board and will be organised by the Director of Studies in coordination with module teams.

Self-directed learning (total of 164 hours) – Students will engage in self-directed learning in a wide variety of ways throughout the programme. This will include engaging in scaffolded independent learning tasks set outside the classroom on the virtual learning platform, independent reading from essential and recomm ended sources (e.g., journal articles, textbooks, industry reports, practitioner publications), assignment development and preparation, formative online quizzes, case study analysis, simulation-based tasks, and self-directed group activities. Staff responsible for the module will also provide weekly office-hours and dedicated assessment and feedback sessions for students to seek individual support and formative feedback on their independent learning and progress.

Introduction to operations and supply chain decision-making;

Inventory management;

Lean and agile operations;

Transportation mode and choices;

Digital technologies;

Business analytics for competitive advantage;

Application of business analytics to support operations decision making;

The planning, development and evaluation of methods for pattern discovery, classification, clustering, regression, data display, etc;

The personal and organisational competencies necessary to deploy analytics.