ASSIGNMENTS, Vol. 9, 2015

ASSIGNMENTS, Vol. 9, 2015
Printed in New Zealand. All rights reserved.
ISSN 1172-8426
© 2015 College of Sciences, Massey University
1
MASSEY UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF SCIENCES
Paper Number and Title: 240.753 Supply Chain System Analysis
Assignment Due Date – Refer Course Calendar on the Stream site for the paper
Internal & Extramural students – This assignment must be saved as a Word document
(pdf’s will not be accepted). You must submit your assignment on Stream. Once
submitted the document will automatically be sent to Turnitin.com and the text of the
assignment is compared with other material available on the internet. The similarity
score indicates the amount (%) of text matching with other materials. For this
assignment a 20% (or below) match would be acceptable. Higher than this there may
be a case for plagiarism that may need to be investigated further. It is therefore
important that you cite references correctly and paraphrase as much as possible. You
can get help from the library (details on the template below).
To access Stream http://stream.massey.ac.nz; please use your 8 digit Massey
Student ID and 4 digit PIN to log into Stream. Your Stream homepage will have the
name of this paper. Click on the name to enter the course. If you’re new to Stream
click on the “Student Guide to Stream.”
ASSIGNMENT 1
Your task is to discover the current academic thinking and research in the area of production
systems, which is a vital part of end-to-end supply chains.
You must be able to clearly demonstrate that you understand the current research
developments in this field. Your report may cover such issues as:
• The interface between the market and production (through sales and operation
planning, “pull” systems, time-based competition)
• The trends in making production systems market led
• The trends within Lean Thinking and Theory of Constraints (TOC) philosophies being
used to ensure that manufacturing organisations remain competitive in the global
market
• The overlap of TOC and Lean with Agile
• The integration of TOC, Lean and Six Sigma
This list is not exhaustive; you do not have to use all of them, they are included for guidance;
so if you find other areas that are being focused on please include them.
To do this research assignment you must do a review of the literature published since 2007.
Your literature search must be mainly focused on academic journal papers, although a few
books or articles from internet websites may also be cited (particularly if focused at
professional practitioners describing case studies of implementation in industry). Journals
such as: Journal of Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Management: An International
Journal, European Journal of Operational Research, Journal of Operations Management and
the International Journal of Production Economics, could be a good source of research
articles.
ASSIGNMENTS, Vol. 9, 2015
Printed in New Zealand. All rights reserved.
ISSN 1172-8426
© 2015 College of Sciences, Massey University
2
You must present your findings in the form of a fully referenced journal article. You must use
the template in APPENDIX 1.
The report must be structured as follows:
Abstract
Introduction
Key Findings
Discussion
Conclusion
References (Please use either APA Format for citing bibliographic references)
MARKING SCHEME ASSIGNMENT 1
This assignment contributes to the learning and assessment of the following paper learning
outcome:
1. Describe how to enhance product flow through a supply chain containing production
elements, using Theory of Constraints and Lean Methodologies and demonstrate an
understanding of the compatibilities and contradictions
Percentage Value – 50 % of Total Paper Mark
The following areas will be graded:
Variety of literature sources searched & referenced
• Quality of Journal papers used
• Evidence that a thorough search has been done (expect to cite a minimum of 12
sources)
• Literature post 2007
Clarity of topic
• Clear definition of topic and its scope
• Clear definition of outcomes – i.e. what you are seeking to find out and conclude
• Relevance to supply chain analysis
Integration of information & critical analysis
Abstract
• Summarises whole report.
Introduction
• Is the topic provided with background information and wider context?
Key Findings
• Are individual sources summarised?
• Are sources grouped logically and integrated?
• Are key findings logically presented?
• Are issues raised current and relevant?
Discussion
• Includes own opinions and thoughts.
• Does report have insight & originality?
• Is constructive, critical & own work?
• Comments on quality of sources and gaps in information base
Conclusion
• Targets/draws out the key issues covered in report.
ASSIGNMENTS, Vol. 9, 2015
Printed in New Zealand. All rights reserved.
ISSN 1172-8426
© 2015 College of Sciences, Massey University
3
Presentation
• Report written in own words
• Correct citation of references
• Grammar, spelling, legibility
• Well structured – e.g. Abstract, Introduction, Key findings, Discussion, and Conclusion
• 10 page limit (including tables/diagrams)
• Follows template in Appendix 1
APPENDIX 1: A TEMPLATE DOCUMENT FOR THE ASSIGNMENT JOURNAL
Abstract: This paper describes the use of Microsoft Word® as a template for the ASSIGNMENT
journal, published by the College of Sciences at Massey University. In its electronic form this paper
also embodies the template. Features of the template are discussed and examples given. An
Instructions to Authors section is included to explain aspects of journal paper writing and
submission details to student authors.
Keywords: Projects, Template
1 INTRODUCTION
The ASSIGNMENT’S journal (published by
College of Sciences, Massey University) is a
forum for the reporting of a literature review
by logistics and supply chain students in
journal form. The students writing these
papers, some of whom may be embarking on
careers in research, may have little experience
in paper writing and presentation. The form of
the ASSIGNMENTS journal has been
developed to closely reflect the style of
mainstream publications.
To publish a professional journal publishing
houses develop and maintain a house style
consistent for all papers published, typesetting
them from submissions made by authors.
Obviously this is an expensive undertaking
beyond the available time and financial
resources of anything but publishing houses.
This is true of conferences which publish
papers in a proceedings or transactions. Most
conferences accept papers camera-ready from
the authors and publish them without any
more effort than retyping titles and adding
page numbers. The authors are given a list of
specifications for the various styles that, in
some cases, can be very detailed. A better
option, given the proliferation of computers
and the compatibility of word processors
between platforms, is to provide an electronic
template which has all the styles etc. and
which merely requires that the authors enter
their content into it.
This last is the approach taken for the
ASSIGNMENTS journal and the reason for this
template. It represents what is arguably the
best method for improving the uniformity and
professional image of the ASSIGNMENTS
journal. It provides a means of easing the
burden of authors who can now concentrate
solely on the paper and provides a uniform
style for submitted papers that requires a
minimum of effort to edit before publication.
In the remaining sections of this paper
instructions for the submission of papers are
given and the individual elements of this
template are explained with examples of their
use.
2 INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS
This section instructs authors in the use of the
template, details on submitting papers and
general notes on the writing of journal papers.
2.1 USE OF THE TEMPLATE
This template document contains definitions
for a number of styles for use in the
production of this paper and has also been
A Template Document for the ASSIGNMENTS Journal
4
given a definite structure. Alterations to the
styles and structure of the document should
not be necessary and should not be
considered. Additionally, care should be taken
to prevent accidental changes to either which
may cause lost time and wasted effort.
It is recommended that a copy be made of this
document in which this information can be left
intact and which can be used to correct any
unintentional changes to styles and structure.
Use of the template is compulsory.
2.2 SUBMISSION
The deadline for submission of papers is 5pm,
on Monday 12th November 2012.
Papers must be submitted as an electronic
copy of the paper in Microsoft Word® format
(no pdf’s will be allowed) and submitted via
Stream.
An abstract of less than 200 words is required
and is included in the total page limit.
Papers not exceed TEN (10) pages (three
double-sided sheets) including abstract, charts,
graphs, diagrams and all other illustrations.
2.3 GENERAL NOTES
This section contains some general notes to
authors on various areas of paper style and
format.
Paper Title
This should be a one-line title that succinctly
states the content of the paper.
Abstract
This is a summary of the paper content. This is
skimmed by readers to ascertain the
desirability of reading further. The Abstract
should stand alone and not leave the reader in
the air. The readership level is that of a
Tertiary graduate (polytechnic or university).
The closing sentence should be a positive
statement of intent, any results and
conclusion.
Often selection of papers for inclusion in
conferences is based on the Abstract. It should
therefore be a concise and accurate
representation of the paper content and be
targeted at the intended audience. The
relevance of the paper to the theme or subject
content of the conference should be obvious or
clearly stated.
Paper Content
As first-time authors students are advised to
obtain copies of journal papers. Perusal of
these can quickly provide an idea of the usual
preparation structure and style. Some titles are
referenced as good examples [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Authors should not make the mistake of trying
to cram too much material into the journal
paper. A journal paper presents a single theme
which will stand alone and does not contain
too much material (or too little) for the ten
page limit. Remove material that is only of
peripheral interest to the main theme.
Remember that the purpose of journal papers
is to impart information to readers. Their
background is usually technical and/or
scientific. The paper should be easy to read
and actually assist the reader to understand
and assimilate what may be unfamiliar or
technically difficult content. Clarity of prose
and simplicity of layout are desirable features.
Any emphasis in the text should assist the
flow of information not impede it.
Figures and Tables
Figures and tables should be placed in the
paper body as close to where they are
referenced as possible. If this cannot be done
then they may be placed at the back of the
paper and clearly referenced.
The figures and tables should be clearly and
simply captioned. The title and captions
should provide enough information so that the
informed reader can understand the figure
without having to refer back to the text. This
becomes critical if they are not placed adjacent
to the related text.
References
These are an important part of any technical or
research publication. Sufficient information
must be provided to make it easy for readers
to check the validity of any quotes or
referenced material which the author has
noted to support the paper’s content or to lend
validity to opinions or arguments stated in the
paper.
The references must be directly relevant to the
paper content and as such may also lead the
interested reader to further material to assist
their understanding.
To find relevant references for this Journal
article you can get help from the library
http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/research/
library/help-and-instruction/help-andinstruction_home.cfm
Here you will find access to the key journal
databases. You can also request an
appointment with a librarian to help you
search for appropriate literature.
You can also find help about academic writing
at http://owll.massey.ac.nz/
There are many different reference systems
available and the actual system used varies
from journal to journal. The system for the
ASSIGNMENTS journal is APA style
A Template Document for the ASSIGNMENTS Journal
5
referencing. Details about how to do this can
be found at
http://owll.massey.ac.nz/referencing/apastyle.php
3 HOW TO USE THE TEMPLATE
If used properly this template will allow a
paper to be written with a minimum of effort
and which is completely in accord with the
ASSIGNMENTS style. The following
paragraphs describe the process.
The title and authors are overwritten with
those of the paper. As with all such instances
where text is overwritten when using the
template, only the text of the paragraph is
selected and deleted; the paragraph marks
should not be deleted. (Paragraph marks
contain all the formatting information for the
paragraph.) If these are deleted the formatting
for the paragraph, and the paragraph style, are
removed.
The title and authors should also be
overwritten in the headers of the second and
third pages. Subsequent headers will change
automatically.
The abstract and keywords are overwritten in
the same way as for the title and authors,
overwriting only the text. The words
‘Abstract:’ and ‘Keywords:’ should be left bold
while the rest of the paragraphs are Roman
(plain text).
The body of the paper is probably best
produced by using the ‘Outline’ mode, laying
out the sections and sub-sections of the paper
and then filling in the text. All body text
paragraphs will be in Normal style and will
need to be changed to text style afterward.
Figures and tables are best added by copying
one of the four different examples in the
template document, including its title. They
can then be modified by overwriting, pasting
new graphics, or adding extra table columns
and rows etc. Both double-column figures and
tables are placed at the top or bottom of the
page using frames.
References are included after the last line of
the paper. If a section, such as a glossary, is to
go after the References section then the
reference citations and bodies must be entered
manually, i.e. without using the endnote
feature of Word. Elements of the Template
The individual elements of the template are
described here.
3.1 STYLES
The bulk of the formatting for the template is
stored in various styles. A full list of the styles
defined is given in table 2 (previous page).
Styles are used in Word to define paragraphs
that have common formatting elements.
3.2 TITLE AND AUTHORS
The title and author paragraphs that appear on
the first page should be overwritten with the
Table 2: Template styles
Style Section Description
abstract Abstract paragraph
author List of authors
figure 1 & 2 Single- and double-column figures
figure title 1 & 2 Single- and double-column figure titles
footer Style of page numbers
endnote reference Reference citation style
end note text Reference body style
header First page header style
header centred Subsequent page headers
heading 1, 2 & 3 Title, section and subsection styles
indent Indent for lists etc.
invisible One point high line
keywords Keywords section style
quote Small, double indented paragraph
table 1 & 2 Single- and double-column table body
table heading 1 & 2 Single- and double-column table column heading
table title 1 & 2 Single- and double-column table title
text Body text style (All others based on this)
A Template Document for the ASSIGNMENTS Journal
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real title and author names. These should also
be overwritten in the headers of the second
and third pages of the paper.
The list of authors should contain:
1 the student’s name
The author’s name should use leading initials
with spaces between and no full stops, as
shown in this paper.
3.3 FIGURES
Two types of figure styles have been defined
to accommodate both small and large figures.
The figure 1 style (see figure 1 right) can be
used for figures which can fit into one column
of text. This style has been defined as ‘in-line’
and will appear within the text where you
place it (as opposed to the double-column
figure described below).
Figure 1: The Massey logo as an example of a
single column figure.
The figure title 1 style is used to title the figure.
It should appear directly below the figure.
The figure 2 style is used for those figures
which are larger than the text column (see
figure 2). The figure spans the full two
columns. It will appear at the top or bottom of
the page rather than in-line with the text.
The figure title 2 style is used to title the figure.
It should appear directly below the figure.
Some of the attributes required to define the
double-column figure cannot be incorporated
into a Word style but are incorporated into the
elements of the figure instead. For this reason
a copy of the double-column figure (Figure 2)
should be pasted into your paper and the
graphic insert replaced by your figure. The
figure title should be replaced without
deleting the paragraph mark.
The figure can be placed at the top or bottom
of the page by selecting the figure and its title
and changing the ‘frame’ to vertical top or
vertical bottom relative to the margin.
3.4 TABLES
Tables are similar to figures in that there are
two styles defined, one for a table small
enough to fit in one column and one which
spans both columns (See Table 2, page 2, for a
double-column table and Table 1, right, for a
single-column table.) Both types of table have
attributes that cannot be incorporated into a
Word style and therefore copies of these
should be pasted into the paper in the
appropriate places. (Note: Both types of table
contain an extra row at the bottom to add
white space between the table and the
following text. Make sure that this is also
selected when performing the copy.)
Tables may have table columns or rows added
or removed from them to suit, however, the
following points should be noted;
• only insert or remove entire rows or
table columns,
• insert or remove rows or table columns
from the middle of the table only (the
first and last rows of the table have
borders associated with them) and
• after inserting or deleting table columns
adjust the table column widths and
positions so that the table is centred
within the text column or page margins.
Both types of table have a number of styles
Figure 2: Black body radiation curves at various temperatures as an example of a two-column figure.
Eb?
?
Peaks move to shorter wavelength
with increasing temp
Increasing temp
A Template Document for the ASSIGNMENTS Journal
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associated with them. Style names containing
the number 1 belong to the single-column
table while those containing the number 2
belong to the double-column table.
The table 1 and table 2 styles are used in the
table body. They are defined as left justified
but table columns of figures may be centred if
required.
Table 1: Single column table
Heading Heading
Text Text
Insert here Insert here
Text Text
The table1 heading and table 2 heading styles are
used for the column headings in the table.
They are slightly larger than the table body
text.
The table 1 title and table 2 title styles are used
for the titles of the table that will appear above
the table.
The double-column table can be placed at the
top or bottom of the page by selecting the table
and its title and changing the ‘frame’ to
vertical top or vertical bottom relative to the
margin.
3.5 REFERENCES
The best method of implementing references is
to use the endnote feature of Microsoft Word.
When this is done the citation of the reference
in the text will be in endnote reference style.
Word will place the reference body in the
References section at the very end of the
document. The last line of the paper contains
the References section heading which
therefore precedes the references.
An example of a journal article:
Castles, F. G., Curtin, J. C., & Vowles, J. (2006).
Public policy in Australia and New Zealand: The
new global context. Australian Journal of Political
Science, 41(2), 131–143.
An example of a paper published in conference
proceedings:
Bowker, N., & Tuffin, K. (2002). Users with
disabilities’ social and economic development
through online access. In M. Boumedine (Ed.),
Proceedings of the IASTED International Conference on
Information and Knowledge Sharing (pp. 122–127).
Anaheim, CA: ACTA Press
A Template Document for the ASSIGNMENTS Journal
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