Operations (BUSA90228)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

You’re viewing the 2025 Handbook:
Or view archived Handbooks

Overview

Availability
February
FeesLook up fees

In fiercely competitive global and dynamic environments, companies face increasing pressures to exceed customer expectations along multiple performance measures, such as cost, quality, flexibility and innovativeness. To outperform their competitors, many firms make the mistake of mimicking their rivals, rather than focusing on developing the organisational capabilities that competitors will find difficult to match over the long term. And although operations are at the core of a firm’s value adding activities, few firms have sought to build a sustainable competitive advantage around these capabilities.

The focus of the course will be to highlight how firms should design, manage and continually improve their business and operational processes to better manage the mismatch between supply and demand. It aims at providing some of the core concepts in operations that are essential for appreciating how operational capabilities can help organisations achieve sustainable competitive advantage. This course provides a logical and rigorous approach to plan and control process structure and managerial levers to achieve desired business process performance.

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of the subject, students should have a good understanding of the following:



  • Core fundamentals behind process analysis
  • Taxonomy of process types
  • The link between operations and finance
  • Role of inventories in organizations and managerial levers for controlling the investments in inventories
  • Variability and its adverse effect on process performance and ways of mitigating its negative effect
  • Quality of management, statistical process control techniques and fundamentals behind six sigma initiatives
  • Lean productions and core principles governing Toyota production system
  • Importance of collaboration and cooperation in supply chain management
  • Sustainable operations

Last updated: 4 March 2025

Eligibility and requirements

Prerequisites

All of

Code Name Teaching period Credit Points
BUSA90061 Data Analysis
March (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
BUSA90480 Leadership
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
March (On Campus - Parkville)
March (On Campus - Parkville)
September (On Campus - Parkville)
June (On Campus - Parkville)
 6.25
BUSA90481 Managerial Ethics & Business Environment
September (On Campus - Parkville)
March (On Campus - Parkville)
April (On Campus - Parkville)
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
June (On Campus - Parkville)
 6.25

Corequisites

None

Non-allowed subjects

None

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.

Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home

Last updated: 4 March 2025

Assessment

DescriptionTimingPercentage

Class Contribution equivalent of 500 words individual

  • 500 words (equivalent)
Throughout the teaching period10%

Quizzes staggered through the teaching period

  • 1000 words (equivalent)
Throughout the teaching period20%

Syndicate assignment equivalent of 1,000 words individual

  • 1000 words (each)
During the teaching period20%

Simulation game equivalent of 500 words individual 

  • 500 words (equivalent)
During the teaching period5%

End-of-semester examination

  • 2 hours
Hurdle requirement: Students are required to pass the final exam to pass the subject		During the examination period45%

Last updated: 4 March 2025

Dates & times

  • February
    Mode of deliveryOn Campus (Parkville)
    Contact hours3 hours of teaching sessions x 10 sessions
    Total time commitment170 hours
    Pre teaching start date13 January 2025
    Pre teaching requirementsstudents are required to complete approximately 40 hours of readings to prepare for the subject during the pre-teaching period
    Teaching period13 February 2025 to 16 March 2025
    Last self-enrol date20 January 2025
    Census date14 February 2025
    Last date to withdraw without fail21 February 2025
    Assessment period ends16 March 2025

What do these dates mean

Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:

  • Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
  • And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
       -  Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
     

    Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.

Additional delivery details

This subject is only available to students admitted to GD-BA, MC-BAPT, MC-BAPTME, or students with permission of the MBA Course coordinator

Last updated: 4 March 2025

Further information

  • Texts

    Prescribed texts

    There are no specifically prescribed or recommended texts for this subject.

  • Subject notes

    This subject is only available to students admitted to GD-BA, MC-BAPT, MC-BAPTME, or students with permission of the MBA Course coordinator

  • Related Handbook entries

    This subject contributes to the following:

    TypeName
    CourseMaster of Business Administration
  • Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students

    This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.

Last updated: 4 March 2025