Understanding supply chain performance management issues

  Understanding supply chain performance management issues Order Description   LO5. Contrast and critically discuss different ways of assessing organizational and Supply Chain performance. LO1. Critically assess the strategic impact of Supply Chain Management, and organization competitiveness in different industrial contexts. LO2. Apply knowledge and critical evaluation of organizational strategic direction to the development of Supply Chain and operations resources and capabilities. This assignment requires you to write a 2300 word original essay answering the following question: Background A number of challenges are faced by performance management specialists. These include, for example, the frequency with which new technologies are emerging, the changing social and environmental landscape around which businesses operate, increasingly complex supply chains and supplier relationships, and changing consumer behavior and preferences. These influence the way in which performance is perceived and the way in which it is managed. The purpose of this assignment is for you to engage more comprehensively with the topic of supply chain performance. Students are required to critically analyse ONE journal article which covers this topic. Instructions to students Select a journal article (NOT PREVIOUSLY CHOSEN) covering any aspect of the topic of supply chain performance. Provide a critical review of the topic making sure to draw on your own views concerning the topic as presented by the authors of the article, as well as insights from other published journal articles and/or more general sources such as textbooks. The article can be found in any operations management, supply chain management, and operations research journals. You need to support your arguments by referring to other journal articles where necessary. The minimum of 10 academic references are required Possible Journal: You may consider the followings journals, but are not limited to them. 1. Journal of purchasing and supply management 2. International journal of physical distribution & logistics management 3. Supply chain management 4. International journal of transport management 5. European journal of purchasing & supply management 6. Journal of Business Logistics 7. International Journal of Operations and Production Management 8. Harvard Business Review Consider the following questions as a guide when reading the chosen article and preparing your response: 1. What are the objectives of the paper, what are the motivations behind the study and how do the authors argue that their work is important? 2. What are the research questions authors try to answer? 3. How do authors answer research questions? What research method(s) do they use to answer research questions? What are the assumptions considered in the paper? 4. What are the strengths and weakness parts of the research work? 5. What are the main findings, and how widely applicable are they according to (a) the authors and (b) you? IMPORTANT: the goal of your essay is not to answer the above questions directly but rather to provide a critical review of the selected article. These questions only provide a guide on how to interrogate and appraise the given article. Make sure to draw on your own views concerning the topic as presented by the authors of the article. Further guidance on your critical review In your critical review of the article you may choose to provide one of the following: a) A critical challenge to one or more aspects of the focal article, arguing for a position other than that taken in the focal article; b) An elaboration or extension of the position taken in the focal article, basically sympathetic to the position taken in the focal article, but pushing the argument further; c) An application of a theoretical perspective that sheds light on the issues addressed in the focal article Please be aware of University guidelines on plagiarism, in all its forms. Once you have thought about the assignment and started some research, we would be happy to discuss with you your choice of journal article and topic. Please use a word guide of 2500 words (with a standard 10% tolerance either way in line with University standards), in an essay format, using the Coventry University Harvard style of referencing. In order to secure a mark in a good range, a candidate must submit an good answer that could hardly be bettered. In addition to the criteria identified below for a mark the work should show an excellent level of understanding and critical/analytic skills and originality. For example, such an answer would include new insights into Quality Management which are not drawn from the literature but from the student's own critical thinking, and which add something to the existing literature. An essay in this range will demonstrate a strong understanding of theories, concepts and issues relating to Quality Management. There will be evidence of wide-ranging reading from a variety of valid sources (as described and presented in the marking criteria for 60-69%). The assignment must be written in a clear, well-structured way with a coherent and seamless flow and show evidence of independent, critical thought. It must show extensive relevant reading on the subject and intelligent use of the material to present a well-balanced and well-argued assignment. For example, the student will have considered a range of relevant issues and be able to assess the strength and weaknesses of various approaches/arguments and put forward a confident and articulate view of their own.