The assignment will address both the marketing and operations disciplines. The assignment will have three elements:- Element Target Word Count Weighting Integration 500 20% Marketing 1,000 40% Operations 1,000 40% You are expected to employ suitable published material that should be referenced using the Harvard style to support the assignment. You will need to select a product or a service. This needs to be chosen such that it provides the necessary scope to allow all elements of the assignment to be undertaken. Furthermore, the product/service needs to be known to the group and the general public. Using this product/service, compile a report of 2,500 words that includes the following three elements. Examples of potential products/services could include:- • A particular type of mobile phone • A particular type of car • A particular type of laptop/tablet • A train service • A supermarket Assignment Brief 2016/17 Faculty of Business and Law • An on-line retailer • An insurance company • A restaurant or leisure outlet or chain Unit Learning Outcomes Assessed. 1. LO1. Demonstrate practical knowledge of marketing principles and basic operations Management. 2. LO2. Evaluate the applicability of marketing and operations techniques to particular realworld situations. 3. LO3. Identify the links and planning processes that enable the coordination of the marketing and operations functions. Assignment Details and Instructions. Element 1 – Integration 1. Using a sample of people drawn from friends, family and fellow students, survey how the operational performance of the chosen product/service (it its existing form), compares to the market requirements. You should briefly explain how you collected and analysed the data. The results should be presented on a polar diagram (i.e., experience vs expectations). This is the most important part of element 1. 2. In addition to part 1 above, briefly discuss, in general terms, how the operation and marketing functions will relate to one another for the product/service selected. This element of the assessment can be marked by any of the tutors. Element 2 – Marketing Using the product/service selected above, identify how you would create enhanced competitive advantage and/or a unique product or service offering for that product, focusing on augmentation and differentiation. This should include: ? An introduction to the product or service overviewing its current position as determined by element one. ? An analysis of the marketing issues the organisation currently faces, presented as a PEST and SWOT in the form of a table and including appropriate objectives. ? An explanation of your augmentation idea and how it could be implemented, set out using appropriate marketing theory and models such as ONE of the marketing mix, the service marketing mix or Porters 5 forces, as appropriate. ? A further analysis of the opportunity created by your augmentation idea utilising relevant marketing theory such as ONE of either the BCG Matrix or the product life cycle. This element of the assessment will be marked by a specialist marketing tutor. Element 3 – Operations Critically discuss one key piece of operations management theory (taken from the list below) that would typically be important for the type of organisation addressed in elements 1 and 2. The discussion should indicate why the theory selected is important for the product/service. The areas of theory from which you should select are:- ? Quality Management ? Forecasting/Capacity Management ? Inventory management ? Just-in-time and Lean Thinking ? Scheduling and/or sequencing It is expected that you will illustrate this element by referring to the organisation that produces/provides the product/service used for element 2 – Marketing. To illustrate the fundamental nature of the organisation chosen, you should include an Input-TransformationOutput diagram in your report. Early Career/ World Class Professional Skills (PLOs) being assessed or developed/assessed. PLO 2. Demonstrate communication skills at the appropriate level. Note: No PLOs are directly assessed in this assignment. Rationale: All jobs require communications skills. There are obvious benefits of acquiring these skills at the earliest possible stage of a professional’s career.