Programme Specification for the 2024/5 academic year
MSc Operations Management
1. Programme Details
| Programme name | MSc Operations Management | Programme code | PTS1SBESBE53 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study mode(s) | Academic year | 2024/5 | |
| Campus(es) | Streatham (Exeter) |
NQF Level of the Final Award | 7 (Masters) |
2. Description of the Programme
The MSc Operations Management (MSc GOM) aims to redefine operations management to address the emerging challenges in supply and demand. It tackles real world issues arising from global trading environments and offers solutions using the latest thinking from an operations perspective. MSc GOM covers world-leading practice and theory, exploring the latest innovations in supply chain decisions, operations control, sourcing, inventory management, digital communication technology, sustainability and corporate responsibility. As such it is an important addition to the Management programme portfolio and aligns to the department’s academic expertise.
Operations management in the past was often confined to firm level analysis, which was typically manufacturing orientated, whereas this programme explores the full range of issues in global supply networks. It makes the connection between all stakeholders involved in the design and delivery of goods & services, from supply of raw materials and components, through assembly and distribution, to delivery to consumers. In this MSc you will explore the specific roles played through digitalisation, enabled by artificial intelligence-based operations, which fulfil orders on demand and within shortest possible lead-times. Also explored is how firms collaborate together long-term, using project management skills to procure complex performance on major capital projects (e.g. defence, construction). As the world emerges from the Covid pandemic, this MSc reveals the opportunities for emerging operations strategies such as systems resilience, going beyond ideas of mass production or customization, towards sustainable models of consumption involving more carbon neutral, circular supply chains, and service-based delivery systems.
On this MSc you will start by studying material familiar to traditional operations managers (e.g. operations strategy, inventory management, logistics), then exploring the boundaries of new concepts, tools and strategies that face the challenges of future. Rather than presenting an international supply chain perspective, it tackles core questions which underpin the field of operations & supply chain management today. For example, whether firms ‘make, buy, or ally’, source goods globally or locally, and how value is created and recaptured through closed loop systems. Ultimately, it asks how operations will address the needs of the 21st century, and what combination of strategy, skills & technology can most effectively deliver them. Getting these factors right in an organisation often results in a competitive advantage and can be the difference between success or failure. The importance of operations management and associated roles within an organisation therefore cannot be over-stated, and graduates of this MSc will be equipped with the skills to make a critical difference in business performance and achieving long-term success.
3. Educational Aims of the Programme
This programme aims to meet the academic, professional, and career needs of business and management graduates who wish to increase the depth and scope of their knowledge in the area of global operations management, together with the essentials of management theory and practice. Delivered exclusively by the University of Exeter Business School, the programme is able to call on teaching and research expertise in all aspects of business management, and operations management. Operations management is increasingly becoming a vital part of global trade, requiring individuals with sufficient understanding of both business and problem solving and analytical techniques to address and solve complex multi-dimensional problems, for example: outsourcing decisions, global versus local sourcing, inventory & warehouse management. As a result of undertaking and successfully completing the programme, students will:
• Have the management knowledge in purchasing, operations & supply, and logistics to approach group situations in industry across the world with confidence and an awareness of the needs and problems that can arise within and between organisations;
• Understand how industry standard concepts and tools in operations management are applied in both a theoretical and practical context, utilising these concepts and tools in new situations;
• Be able to apply theoretical concepts to practical problems and identify solution procedures from the perspectives of both operations management and management science;
• Develop skills of analysis using tools and techniques based on an interdisciplinary approach, which includes management, mathematics, systems modelling, corporate responsibility, and sustainable supply chain management;
• Be able to integrate a number of disciplines to form an approach to the solution of global operations & supply chain management problems, for example related to strategy and implementation of improved, low carbon logistics, inventory-based performance, and recapturing value through circular supply chains.
4. Programme Structure
The MSc Operations Management is a 12 month, full-time programme of study at National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 7 (as confirmed against the FHEQ). The Programme will consist of 3 terms of active taught content.
5. Programme Modules
The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual programme review of this programme.
The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual review of this programme. Details of the modules currently offered may be obtained from the College website:
www.exeter.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/business/global-operations-management-msc/
You may take optional modules as long as any necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, where the timetable allows and if you have not already taken the module in question or an equivalent module. These optional modules will change regularly and cannot be guaranteed.
Stage 1
Compulsory Modules
105 credits of compulsory modules:
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| BEMM783 | Supply Chain Analytics | 15 | No |
| BEMM784 | Operations Management | 30 | No |
| BEMM785 | Operations Project | 45 | No |
| BEMM126 | Purchasing and Supply Chain Management | 15 | No |
Optional Modules
*Students must choose 2 out of 4 of these modules (choose 30 credits from 60 credits in Term 1)
** Students must pick 3 out of 4 of these modules (choose 45 credits from 60 credits in Term 2)
*** Students can only select BEMM462 if they have previously done BEMM460 in Term 1.
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| BEMM116 | Principles of International Business * | 15 | No |
| BEMM178 | Innovation Management * | 15 | No |
| BEMM223 | Operations and Project Management * | 15 | No |
| BEMM460 | Statistics and Mathematics for Business Analytics * | 15 | No |
| BEMM786 | Service Design and Innovation ** | 15 | No |
| BEMM462 | Operations Analytics ** | 15 | No |
| BEMM071 | Leadership and Global Challenges ** | 15 | No |
| BEMM114 | Managing Operations ** | 15 | No |
| BEMM114 | Managing Operations ** | 15 | No |
6. Programme Outcomes Linked to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods
Intended Learning Outcomes
A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
1. Articulate the core concepts of operations management and how they apply to managing business operations; | A variety of teaching methods are used including lectures & seminars, class exercises, case studies, tutorials and electronically mediated work using ELE. BEMM126 uses a number of industry cases of global corporate brands to demonstrate best practice in supply chain management. BEMM784 and BEMM783 use quantitative methods to solve practical problems, with worked answers worked through in class. Students have the opportunity for one-to-one supervision with a member of academic staff during the operations project / dissertation (BEMM785).
| Assessment techniques will include traditional examinations (e.g. BEMM783), and assessed coursework such as a written 3,000 essay or assignment (e.g. BEMM126). These assessment methods will be supplemented by smaller projects and formative assessment designed to give feedback in class. Other assignments mainly take the form of case studies or other reality-based exercises for discussion in class (e.g. BEMM784). |
Intended Learning Outcomes
B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
4. Evaluate the global business environment, international context and historical aspects of operations management; | Compulsory modules, typically in term 1, provide the contextual basis for global operations management. For example: BEMM784 Operations Management (which also forms the spine or backbone of the programme), Purchasing & Supply Chain Management BEMM126, and BEMM783 Supply Chain Analytics. Analysis tools such as qualitative classifications (e.g. BEMM784) and quantitative approaches (e.g. BEMM460) are taught across all modules. A particular emphasis is put on the field of analytics, such as BEMM462 Operations Analytics. These provide students with the appropriate tools & frameworks for the analysis of complex, data driven situations. ICT skills and role of digital technologies feature strongly in modules such as Digital Business Models BEMM129 and Operations Analytics BEMM462, also the practical application of such technologies in supply chain environments (e.g. Digital Business Models BEMM129, Purchasing & Supply chain management BEMM126). | Assessment techniques will include traditional examinations and assessed coursework, and the final project comprising a 10,000 word dissertation. These will be supplemented by smaller projects and formative assessment designed to give feedback. Assignments mainly take the form of case studies or reality-based exercises. |
Intended Learning Outcomes
C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
10. Confident Communicator: Able to adapt and adjust both written and verbal communication styles, to meet the needs of diverse audiences. | In addition to developing their own individual learning skills, students will also be encouraged to organise into groups for specific assignments. This will often involve learning to work with people from other cultural backgrounds, often with many members working in English as a second language. Assignments will often be of a problem-solving nature especially where case study scenarios are used (e.g. BEMM126). Criticality will be applied when using textual materials in modules such as the Operations Project (BEMM785). Students from varied backgrounds will be made aware of the need to consider context and outlook when dealing with academic literature. This will prove useful in the project dissertation. Students will be supervised and have access to staff on a regular basis, and supervisors will provide coaching on writing and referencing style in addition to sessions on research methods in the Operations Project module (BEMM785). Students will be encouraged to read throughout the MSc programme and to review, discuss and critically reflect on these readings in class, both amongst their peers and with module leads. | Digital skills will form part of the marking scheme for the Operations Project, as well as other assignments where aspects such as the clear presentation of data and retrieval of articles using online search engines and electronic archives will be required. A particular emphasis will be on the interpretation of data using analytical techniques (BEMM783, BEMM462), as well as the discussion, analysis, and critical reflection of qualitative case-based operations information (e.g. BEMM126, BEMM071, BEMM178). |
7. Programme Regulations
Classification
Full details of assessment regulations for all taught programmes can be found in the TQA Manual, specifically in the Credit and Qualifications Framework, and the Assessment, Progression and Awarding: Taught Programmes Handbook. Additional information, including Generic Marking Criteria, can be found in the Learning and Teaching Support Handbook.
8. College Support for Students and Students' Learning
Personal tutoring
All student will be allocated a personal tutor. The role of personal tutors is to provide you with advice and support for the duration of the programme and extends to providing you with details of how to obtain support and guidance on personal difficulties such as accommodation, financial difficulties and sickness.
Our Module Leads and teaching staff are also available to support you with specific module content and concerns. All staff hold regular office hours, allowing you to speak 1:2:1 with any of our team.
Student/Staff Liaison Committee
This committee enables students & staff to jointly participate in the management and review of the teaching and learning provision.
9. University Support for Students and Students' Learning
Please refer to the University Academic Policy and Standards guidelines regarding support for students and students' learning.
10. Admissions Criteria
Undergraduate applicants must satisfy the Undergraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.
Postgraduate applicants must satisfy the Postgraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.
Specific requirements required to enrol on this programme are available at the respective Undergraduate or Postgraduate Study Site webpages.
11. Regulation of Assessment and Academic Standards
Each academic programme in the University is subject to an agreed College assessment and marking strategy, underpinned by institution-wide assessment procedures.
The security of assessment and academic standards is further supported through the appointment of External Examiners for each programme. External Examiners have access to draft papers, course work and examination scripts. They are required to attend the Board of Examiners and to provide an annual report. Annual External Examiner reports are monitored at both College and University level. Their responsibilities are described in the University's code of practice. See the University's TQA Manual for details.
14. Awarding Institution
University of Exeter
15. Lead College / Teaching Institution
Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy (ESE)
16. Partner College / Institution
Partner College(s)
Not applicable to this programme
Partner Institution
Not applicable to this programme.
17. Programme Accredited / Validated by
0
18. Final Award
MSc Operations Management
19. UCAS Code
Not applicable to this programme.
20. NQF Level of Final Award
7 (Masters)
21. Credit
| CATS credits | 180 |
ECTS credits | 90 |
|---|
22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group
[Masters] Business and Management
23. Dates
| Origin Date | Date of last revision | 19/01/2022 |
|---|
