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ISO2029 : Operations Strategy and Management

  • Offered for Year: 2025/26
  • Available for Study Abroad and Exchange students, subject to School approval at module registration
  • Module Leader(s): Dr Paul Lewis
  • Co-Module Leader: Professor Christian Hicks
  • Owning School: Newcastle University Business School
  • Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Semester 1 Credit Value: 20
ECTS Credits: 10.0
European Credit Transfer System
Pre-requisite

Modules you must have done previously to study this module

Code Title
BUS1001Introduction to Management and Organisation
BUS1015
Pre Requisite Comment

For students on LN12 the second pre-requisite is ECO1010

Other students will need to have taken a module in business management, for example, accounting and finance, management and organisation or another general business management module.

For Incoming study abroad and exchange students:
- Students will need to have taken a module in business management, for example, accounting and finance, management and organisation or another general business management module.
- Good academic writing and communication skills.

Co-Requisite

Modules you need to take at the same time

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

Effective management of operations is critical to the success of organisations right across business and industrial sectors, the service sector, the public sector and the ‘not-for-profit’ sector. Organisations that produce products and/or deliver services have operational systems at their core. Well-designed, robust operational systems that align with an organisation's strategy and are managed consistently well are central to sustaining high levels of organisational performance.

This module provides a broad introduction to the Operations Strategy and Operations Management discipline with a focus on topics that are particularly relevant to practice. The aim of the module is to provide the foundations and frameworks to understand and analyse key issues of relevance to the management of operations in contemporary organisations. It also aims to offer an insight into the contemporary issues of the subject of operations strategy and its importance for an organisation.

Outline Of Syllabus

This module covers four key themes in Operations Strategy and Management:
1. Operations strategy
2. The management of operations (steering operations and processes)
3. Operations improvement
4. Planning and controlling operations

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities
Category Activity Number Length Student Hours Comment
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion160:0060:00Time for students to complete formative and summative coursework & assessments
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesLecture112:0022:00PiP lectures
Guided Independent StudyDirected research and reading166:0066:00Estimated based on 3 hours per teaching week (not necessarily to do in that week)
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesSmall group teaching61:006:00PiP seminars
Guided Independent StudyIndependent study143:0043:00Balance to equal 200 overall
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesScheduled on-line contact time31:003:00N/A
Total200:00
Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The module includes lectures, exercises, readings, cases and discussions. The lectures will be formal sessions. Opportunities will be made available for discussions and Q&A. Lectures provide the concepts and frameworks. These contribute to the module’s intended knowledge outcomes. The seminars and other interactions allow responses to questions giving students the opportunity to use the concepts and frameworks. These contribute to the module’s intended skills outcomes.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Exams
Description Length Semester When Set Percentage Comment
PC Examination1801A100N/A
Formative Assessments

Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.

Description Semester When Set Comment
Written exercise1MGroup discussion and a problem solving session. Feedback is offered during the seminars and also on VLE.
Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Formative feedback is provided throughout the module in order to help students check their understanding of the teaching material to help prepare for the exams. Once a student has attended the lecture and undertaken the essential reading they can check their understanding through taking an online test. Where numerical concepts have been covered, students can undertake multiple exercises to test their understanding of these concepts. The assignment and exam assesses students’ breadth and depth of understanding of the key concepts and techniques in operations strategy and management. The examination is an appropriate way to assess the theoretical underpinning and problem solving skills associated with operations management in order to identify what is important and how to think critically. The semester exam assesses concepts and techniques covered across the module and also assesses numeracy skills associated with application of basic techniques in operations strategy and management.

Reading Lists

Timetable