Advanced Operations Management

Assignment 2: Required Assignment 2—BPR Case Study

For this assignment, you will create and present a case study based on the information gathered for your literature review developed for RA 1. You may also include any other resources that you consider relevant. Your case study should demonstrate the impact of information technology (IT) on business process reengineering (BPR) processes and illustrate the relationship between the two in international operations. Write a 10–12-page report that addresses the items listed under the Directions section. Background:

A business process includes activities and tasks that cross functional or organizational boundaries. BPR is a structured approach to analyzing and improving fundamental activities such as manufacturing, marketing, communications, and other major elements. It is expected from the redesign of the business processes to foster sustained improvements in quality, cost, service, lead time, flexibility, and innovation. BPR delivers radical and incremental business improvements through the identification and removal of waste and inefficiency. IT is the most important factor to enable newly redesigned processes; however, BPR does not refer to automating poor processes.

Directions:

1. Revisit the literature you synthesized in RA 1, taking into account the feedback received from your instructor. Identify at least five other relevant articles that will help you develop your BPR recommendations.
2. Identify a company with international operations for which you will be developing your case study and the business process(es) in need of improvement.
3. Your case study should provide the context for BPR by discussing all of the following aspects of the business:
   1. Facilities, location(s), and capacity (including corporate headquarters, satellite facilities, warehouses, etc.)
   2. Business strategy
   3. Types of products or services offered
   4. Target markets
   5. Supply chain characteristics
4. Analyze the business process(es) that need improvement. Refer to the following:
   1. The place in the value chain and the importance to the organizational performance
   2. Current operations and performance
   3. Human resources
   4. Current technology as it is related to the addressed business processes
5. Identify and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of at least two options for improving business performance through BPR and associated technology needs.
6. Recommend a technology for improving business performance based on your case analysis. Consider the human resource implications of your solution. Justify your recommendation.

Write a 10–12-page paper in Word format. Use at least five scholarly articles in addition to those used in RA 1 to complete your research. Your writing should be clear, concise, and organized; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of resources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M7_A2.doc. For example, if your name is John Smith, your document will be named SmithJ_M7_A2.doc.

By Wednesday, March 1, 2017, deliver your assignment to the M7: Assignment 2 Dropbox.

Grading Criteria