School of Management, Unit Catalogue 2006/07

MN50306 Strategic supply: concepts and implementation

Credits: 6

Level: Masters

Modular: no specific semester

Semester: 2

Assessment: CW 100%

Requisites:

Aims: To examine the principles, concepts and approaches employed in strategic procurement and supply management.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this unit, the student should be able to:
* Critically evaluate emerging concepts and principles of supply chain and supply network management and strategy
* Analyse the components of supply strategy at different inter-organisational levels
* Apply appropriate frameworks, models and techniques for developing outsourcing and inter-organisational relationship
* Critically evaluate the concepts and techniques of lean and agile thinking in supply networks, including models of supplier development
* Evaluate the particular challenges of managing procurement and supply in complex public and service sector supply networks
Skills:
Intellectual skills
* Ability to critically evaluate and compare different theories and practices used in strategic supply management (T and A)
* Ability to conceptualise purchasing and supply frameworks and methodologies that enables the student to link theory and practice meaningfully and the ability to appraise critically both theory and practice (T and A)
Professional Practical skills
* Analytical ability to assess and improve the position of purchasing and supply management in a particular organization (F)
* Ability to operate effectively as part of a team (F and A)
* Ability to produce case study analysis under conditions of time pressure (F and A)
* Ability to produce professional, critical business reports using appropriate referencing formats (T, F and A)
* Ability to make presentations in front of an audience (F and A)
Transferable/Key Skills
* Ability to conceptualise the inter-connections between intra- and inter- organisations systems and processes (T and A)
* Ability to conduct in-depth research into business and management issues. (F and A)
* Ability to critically evaluate the significance of different research methodologies and the implications of these on theories and models (T and A).
Content:
The field of purchasing and supply management is becoming increasingly important in today's complex business environment. Whereas purchasing only two decades ago was a purely tactical function it is now rapidly becoming a key strategic responsibility. The recognition of supply chains and networks as vital parts of commercial survival has led to a greatly increased interest in strategic supply management amongst both academics and practitioners.
The 'Strategic Supply: Concepts and Implementation' module aims to evaluate the principles, concepts and approaches employed in strategic procurement and supply management. The focus of the module is especially on analysing and evaluating key inter-organisational issues. When managed strategically, supply relationships can be a critical source of value and innovation. However, in many organisations relationships continue to hide immense amounts of waste due to outdated modes of operation. Consequently, our interest is on how supply relationships can be developed, managed and assessed. Furthermore, the focus is on understanding how relationships are inter-connected within complex supply networks and the problems and opportunities these may provide.

University | Catalogues for 2006/07