School of Management, Unit Catalogue 2010/11 |
MN30475: Sustainable operations management |
 Credits:
| 6 |
| Level:
| Honours |
| Period: | This unit is available in... |
| Semester 2 |
| Assessment:
| CW100 |
| Supplementary Assessment: | Supplementary assessment information not currently available (this will be added shortly) |
| Requisites:
| Before taking this unit you must take MN20017 |
| Description:
| Aims: * To provide students with the tools and skills that can be used to assess the operations of an organisation from the point of view of environmental opportunities and threats. * To provide students with the tools and skills that can be used to profitably manage products, processes, and operations in light of environmental opportunities and threats. Rationale: Sustainability is a long-term challenge which requires drastic changes to be made in the way organisations look at operations. The crucial step is to address the apparent trade-off between sustainability and profitability in creative ways that allow organisations to improve both measures. Learning Outcomes: At the end of this unit, students should: * be able to assess the operations of an organisation from the point of view of environmental opportunities and threats. * be aware of (and be able to evaluate the appropriateness of) different strategies for managing products, processes, and operations in light of environmental opportunities and threats. Skills: * Carbon footprinting (taught & assessed) * Process mapping & Environmental life cycle assessment (taught & assessed) * assessment and selection of suppliers (taught & assessed) * Frameworks for integrating sustainability into inventory management and innovation (taught & assessed). Content: Week 1 - OM and Sustainability * Why important? (resource/stakeholder issues) * Sust. as performance objective * Sust. as competitive advantage * Trade-offs * Individual and corporate carbon footprinting * Structure of course Skills - Individual carbon footprinting (leading to discussion about corporate carbon footprinting) - difference between 'warm glow' and compliance. Week 2 - Rs * World as supplier * How to choose solutions for decreasing resources e.g. recycling, remanufacturing etc * Natural Capitalism Skills - Weighing up choices relating to the Rs (could have more concrete corporate carbon footprinting here). Week 3 - Process Mapping and Green Design * Product-process-supply chain. * Mapping and analysing impacts Skills - Process mapping; LCA. Week 4 - Process Mapping and Green Design - Product-process-supply chain. - Mapping and analysing impacts Skills - Process mapping; LCA. Week 5 - Inventory * Inventory assessment * Lean/ agile/ leagile * Matching supply and demand Skills - Framework for comparing choices. Week 6 - Waste Management * Waste management/ assessment * Packaging choices Skills - Waste management assessment. Week 7 - Green Procurement * SCM and green procurement * Supplier selection Skills - Green/ ethical supplier assessment. Week 8 - Environmental Management Systems * what is EMS * Certification * Regulation Skills - ISO 14000 etc; EMS design. Week 9 - Implementation * Integration of sustainability into strategy (internal stakeholders, trade-offs revisited, cases of successful/unsuccessful implementation) Week 10 - Green Innovation * Incremental vs radical improvements in light of changing regulation and stakeholder needs Skills - Framework for evaluation of options for green innovation - innovation 'trajectory'. Week 11- The Future * Trends and implications for OM * Preparing for zero emissions * Social issues Skills - Scenario planning for sustainability. |