MO9411 - Supply Chain and Operations Study and Consultancy Skills

This module aims to provide you with the skills and abilities to tackle real life logistics, supply chain and operations management business problems and projects.  This module takes an experiential learning approach and as such, you will learn by doing as much as by reading and listening. You will work extensively in a team and will have to apply your knowledge and understanding to different supply chain and operations challenges in order to explore and critically determine supply chain and operations management solutions that foster and promote, business ethics, sustainability, climate impact reduction, equity, diversity and inclusion as cornerstones of best professional practice.

The module is supported by a Teaching and Learning Plan which outlines the structure of the sessions. The module’s e-learning portal will provide you with the main module material content, consisting of webinar-based lectures, class-based seminars, a Teaching and Learning Plan, assessment strategy and information on further reading. You will learn through a range of webinar-based lectures, interactive class-based seminars and independent learning.

This module focuses, through contextualisation of the discipline of supply chain and operations management, on the development of key skills and behaviours to support your academic and professional practice with an emphasis on the following:

Group/Teamwork skills (Teamwork)

Research Skills (Information Literacy)

Problem Solving Skills (Project Management)

Communication Skills

Self-Directed Learning.

As part of a team you will independently identify, demonstrate and apply an understanding of relevant theory/practice to a ‘real’ issue within the discipline of supply chain and operations management.  This module will introduce you to a live client brief from industry which will detail a supply chain and/or operations management problem that your team will respond to by developing a range of appropriate recommendations.

Webinar-based lectures will cover the main content of topics through a series of linked live virtual lectures. Lectures will explore the principal theoretical and practical applications of supply chain and operations management knowledge in a broader consultancy study skills context.

The interactive class-based seminars will include working in teams, collaboration, creating knowledge through experience, applying and developing solutions to business problems. Seminars will blend directed and independent learning to case studies, helping to assess your participation and understanding, from which you will receive formative feedback.

Seminars will stimulate interactive learning relevant to individual case study analysis, interactive team-based discussion, journal article analyses, with guided and facilitated activities. You will develop theoretical, research, practical and personal skills useful for academic studies both for teamwork and independent learning.

Directed learning will include a range of activities including pre-reading, preparation for seminars and preparation for presentations and reflection. Independent learning time is set aside for learning activities, self-identified by you, to gain a deeper and broader knowledge of the subject matter.

Employability

You will develop wider employability skills across the levels starting with this Level 4 MO9411 – Supply Chain and Operations Study and Consultancy Skills module. This module provides the skills and abilities to tackle real life business problems, become an effective collaborator, team player and further develop self- directed, lifelong learning skills. Introduction to NOVUS, a dedicated CILT backed prestigious employment placement scheme for the logistics and supply chain sectors will be provided through this module.

Support will be provided to you by a Module Tutor and teaching team. A team of academic staff are allocated to practical and seminar groups of about 25 students, providing closer, more personal academic support. The seminar groups are based on a programme-specific cohort of students , so you will be taught alongside fellow members from your specific programme.

Your module is supported by an e-learning portal, which houses lecture materials, practical and seminar tasks, alongside assessment details and various support facilities such as recordings of certain lectures and details on the module reading list.

Support will be provided to encourage you to become active and independent learners through an experiential approach to the co-creation of knowledge through engagement and enquiry which will prepare you for higher levels of academic rigour.

Assessment

The module assessment consists of two components which will be communicated at the beginning of the semester. You will receive a Supply Chain and/or Operations problem from industry and be charged with working together in a team to propose a series of suitable, sustainable and ethical business recommendations. The two components of assessment are formative and summative. These include a mid-term group (presentation) and end of module individual (1,500-word report) assessment. Both formative and summative components are intended to enhance your knowledge and understanding as you progress through the module. All tasks are designed to allow you to develop and showcase your academic and industry-specific skills in order to transform you into a work-ready Placement Student and prepare you for your onward journey into graduate employment.

The module summative assessment contains assessment support such as a marking guide, marking rubric, assessment briefing and assessment surgery. Seminar time will be dedicated to assessment briefings and associated formative feedback. There will be electronic recordings of the guidance for both assessment components.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:

Demonstrate understanding and application of the role of Supply Chain and Operations Management Study, Consultancy Skills and Experiential Learning. [MLO1]

Identify and apply supply chain and operations management theories and concepts to a supply chain and operations management related business project. [MLO2]

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:

Develop team working and communication skills in examining logistics, supply chain and operations management case studies, developing skills through experiential learning and presenting solutions to a real business problem [MLO3].

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

Undertake effective research-based project work in the context of supply chain and operations management. [MLO4]

Develop an awareness of the cultural and ethical contexts relating to Supply Chain and Operations Management and related consulting projects [MLO5].

Formative Assessment:

Formative feedback will be given to you, both individually and as part of your group during the seminar sessions with respect to both weekly activities and to support the preparation and development of your project and before and after your assessed group presentation. This will be a key part of your interactive, class-based seminars. Feedback will be provided by the Tutor alongside a discussion around how the key issues relating to the presentation can be progressed to the next stage of the assessment (post-presentation and pre-individual assessment) as a means of feedforward.

Summative Assessment:

Summative assessment will consist of two stages.

The first stage is a group presentation (20%) and will be assessed during the seminar sessions. This is based on the supply chain-related project that the group has undertaken.

This component will address MLO1 and MLO3.

The second part of the assessment (80%) consists of an individual report (1,500 words) submitted during the assessment period and based on the consulting project undertaken.

This component will address MLO2, MLO4 and MLO5.

None

None

Supply Chain and Operations Study and Consultancy Skills will provide a starting point in the development of your knowledge of logistics, supply chain and operations management theory to equip you with the skills to determine viable solutions to real world business problems. As a practical module, you will work in teams on live business projects. This module is designed to not only advance your collaborative teamwork, interpersonal and analytical skills, but seeks to generate greater critical awareness and understanding of global and local commerce, sustainability and responsible business. As such, this module encourages you to think independently, enables you to apply subject-centric knowledge to complex problems/opportunities, communicate findings (presentation and report) and collaborate with others to create new knowledge and understanding of contemporary issues within your disciplinary field, namely supply chain and operations management. This module directly complements the ‘Introduction to the Marketing and Supply Chain Management Interface’ module which focuses on the applied and often integrative principles of logistics, supply chain, operations and marketing management.