STUDENT DETAILS Student Name 1. Student .docx

STUDENT DETAILS
Student Name
1.
Student ID
2.
3.
INSTRUCTION FOR SUBMISSION OF HARD COPY (PRINT)
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Read and sign your cover sheet.
2. Attach this sheet to the front of your assignment.
3. Your assignment should be submitted to the relevant lecturer.
ASSIGNMENET DETAILS
Program Name
BS in Management Information Systems

BS in Business Management
BS in Accounting
Course Code MGT 214 Course Name Operations Management
Assignment/Project Assignment 1 Lecturer’s Name Ms. Dalal
Bamufleh
Due Date 18/ March / 2014 Date submitted
REQUEST FOR EXTENSION
All work must be submitted by the due date. An application to
extend the due date on the basis of special
consideration must be authorized by the course lecturer.
Cheating and assisting to cheat are offences under the Yanbu
University College’s policy.
STUDENT’S STATEMENT
I have read and understood the information provided on this
assignment cover sheet and in the college’s
policy relating to cheating and assisting to cheat, collaboration
and plagiarism. I certify that the attached
work is entirely my own except where work quoted is duly
acknowledged in the text; that I have not
worked with another person or persons except where
specifically permitted by the lecturer, and that this
work has not been submitted for assessment by myself or any
other person in any other time. I have
retained a copy of my work.
Students Signature

Date
Mark/Grade
Assessed by & Date
MANAGEMENT SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Assignment Cover Sheet
Page 2 of 8
The cover page should carry the following:
of every member of your group (maximum
THREE students in a group)
The assignment must be:

rejected)
o and grammatical errors
- 11
– Times New Roman
– 2 spaces
OBJECTIVES:
CLO PLO Total marks Marks awarded
4 PS4, AS6 30
Assignment Format 5
TOTAL MARK AWARDED 35
Page 3 of 8

Categories
90-100%
(Level 4)
80 -89%
(Level 3)
70-79%
(Level 2)
60 - 69%
(Level 1)
Problem
Solving
Student demonstrates a
higher level of problem
solving, Learner provides
a strategic approach in
presenting examples of
problem solving, while
drawing logical
conclusions which are not
immediately obvious.
Student provides well-
supported ideas and
reflection with a variety
of current and/or world
views in the assignment.
Student presents a
genuine intellectual
development of ideas
throughout assignment.

Student exhibits a good
command of problem
solving skills in the
presentation of material
and supporting
statements. Assignment
demonstrates the
student’s above average
use of relating concepts
by using a variety of
factors. Overall, student
provides adequate
conclusions.
Student takes a common,
conventional approach in
guiding the reader
through various linkages
and connections
presented in assignment.
However, student
presents a limited
perspective on key
concepts throughout
assignment. Student
appears to have
problems applying
information in a problem-
solving manner.
Student demonstrates
beginning understanding
of key concepts, but

overlooks critical details.
Learner is unable to
apply information in a
problem-solving fashion.
Student presents
confusing statements
and facts in assignment.
No evidence or little
semblance of critical
thinking skills.
Analytical
Skills
Demonstrates a
sophisticated understanding
of the topic(s) and issue(s).
Presents an insightful and
thorough analysis of all
issues identified and
demonstrates complete
command of the strategic
concepts and tools studied.
Demonstrates an
accomplished
understanding of the
topic(s) and issue(s)
Presents a thorough
analysis of most issues
identified and
demonstrates good

Demonstrates an
acceptable understanding
of the topic(s) and issue(s)
Presents a superficial
analysis of some of the
issues identified and
demonstrates limited
Demonstrates an
inadequate
understanding of the
topic(s) and issue(s)
Presents an incomplete
analysis of the issues
identified and makes
little or no connection
between the issues
identified and the
strategic concepts
studied in the reading.
Page 4 of 8

INTRODUCTION
Portakabin is part of the Shepherd Group. This is family
company supplies modular buildings
nationwide. The Portakabin brand is the most widely recognized
brand in modular construction in the
UK and its modular buildings provide high quality working
environments for many businesses and
organizations, for example, offices, schools, hospitals or
hospitality suites.
Most businesses operate in competitive markets: they have to
'take on' and 'see off' rivals. Each

organization must decide for itself how best to try and do this.
Not all firms come up with the same
answer and for good reason. Firstly, there are several different
ways of gaining competitive
advantage. Secondly, businesses need to play to their strengths
and not all businesses have the same
strengths. Thirdly, many markets are segmented and what is
important to one set of customers may
be less important to another set. So businesses need to decide
which segments of the market they
are targeting. Ways of seeking to gain competitive advantage
include:
ower prices
service
This case study focuses on how Portakabin has set about gaining
a competitive advantage in the hire
and sale of temporary or permanent accommodation by
concentrating on quality. Portakabin has
A Portakabin Case Study
Page 5 of 8
positioned its products at the top end of the market: it looks to
provide high levels of quality at
premium prices.

Quality is associated with consistency. A customer who is
happy with the first buying experience
needs and wants to be equally happy on each further occasion.
Portakabin has the motto 'Quality -
this time - next time - every time'. The company believes that
clients who really care about quality are
willing to pay that bit more to obtain it and see 'the extras' as
worth the additional expense. Today
the company operates in a range of European countries as well
as the UK.
WHAT IS QUALITY?
Quality relates to 'appropriate use': how well a product does
what it is intended to do.
Portakabin's 'Ultima' building illustrates quality well. The
Ultima specification includes:
and fitting of the building to clients' requirements
Allied to:

The 'appropriate use' quality comes from two sources. One is
internal to the company. Portakabin has
developed its range of buildings around its own market
research, which discovers customers' precise
needs. The company knows how important it is to offer optional
extras, such as high quality carpeting,
fitted furnishings and climate control systems to provide a
quality working environment.
Simultaneously being able to offer not only the building but
also the aforementioned accessories,
gives the customer a quality 'one-stop-shop' service.
The other source of quality control is external e.g. national
building requirements and standards.
Portakabin's products, whether interim or permanent, comply
fully with all appropriate building
regulations. They also meet the demands of ISO 9001: Quality
Management Systems. This is an
internationally recognized standard which acts as a form of
guarantee that everything the company
does is managed to the highest quality standards.
The group's Quality Systems Manager (QSM) is responsible for
ensuring that Portakabin has in place
systems that guarantee quality throughout the Group. To
manage quality, the QSM has created an
electronic system that all PCs throughout the whole company
can access. One of the system's key
features is the 1-page Quality Manual that defines the
requirements of the Quality Management
System. This is easy to communicate both within the
organization and also to customers.
QUALITY PRODUCTS
The term 'product' covers not only goods but the services that

support them. Portakabin offers a
range of tangible products e.g. Lilliput (a modular nursery
building) and Titan (a modular building for
Page 6 of 8
office applications). The company also offers key services e.g.
Total
Solution
s, a planning and project
management service for customers wanting to hire modular
buildings. Portakabin also offers a wide
range of support services to clients for whom a modular
building is part of a larger plan. If requested,
Portakabin will take on the customer's project from start to
finish. This includes managing planning
applications, project management and providing health and
safety advice, as well as providing access

for the disabled.
Product quality also relates to how well a product meets
changing demands. In modular buildings,
technologies are increasing the range of what is possible. At the
same time, customers are becoming
more particular about their own requirements. For example, they
want building solutions that are
safe and clean, which minimize disruption, save time and
guarantee quality. Quality involves keeping
pace with these demands.
Modular construction involves manufacturing a building off-site
in a controlled factory environment.
For example, the steel modules used to construct Ultima
buildings are fully fitted out with all electrics,
plumbing, heating, doors, windows and internal finishes before
they leave a Portakabin production

center. This enhances their quality and also reduces program
times.
Being registered as meeting the requirements of ISO 9001 is
very important to Portakabin. This is
because many customers will deal only with organizations that
can demonstrate they meet this
rigorous standard. All of Portakabin's products meet with
modern standards and requirements, and
this enhances consumer confidence. To reinforce this quality
system, Portakabin has a 'zero tolerance'
quality checking system (see section 4) in place, so that no
building may leave the production site
until it has been checked against, and complies with, demanding
customer standards.
Furthermore, because of their high quality standards, Portakabin
are the only modular building

company to offer quality guarantees in the form of 5 and 20
year warranties.
The standards required are wide ranging. For example, the
recently ratified Kyoto Protocol requires
industrialized nations to limit their production of gases that are
harmful to the environment.
Portakabin takes this requirement very seriously. As a result, all
of its buildings are thermally efficient
to minimize energy use. Following Kyoto there are a range of
new building requirements and these
are particularly important for Portakabin's public sector
customers such as hospitals and schools.
QUALITY PROCESSES
Any form of production activity involves sets of interlinking
processes.
Portakabin's factory-based production process combines

standardization with customization. The
modules to be assembled come in standardized sizes and shapes.
However, the way they are put
together and their interior design depends on clients' individual
specifications. For example, modules
that are assembled for Sainsbury's to train new checkout staff
are different from those designed for
an easy-Jet office.
Page 7 of 8
To ensure that all customers get what they want, Portakabin
deploys the Quality Systems approach
referred to earlier. A Corporate Quality Team (comprising
senior managers) is responsible for ensuring
that individual teams understand quality processes.
Communication takes place by means of process charts. These
are clear illustrations that set out the
processes involved e.g. in creating a new set of school
classrooms or laboratories.
The essentials of the Quality System are:

1. Say what you do
By studying the Quality Manual, teams working on a particular
process know what the job requires. If
in doubt, they can ask team leaders. This process enables
everyone involved to understand and state
the process and their role within it.
2. Do what you say
Once they understand the process, team members are able to
implement it e.g. by constructing a new
building for a specific client.
3. Record what you have done
Construction teams record all actions taken, so that all those
involved know the current position,
what has gone on before and what still needs to be done.
4. Review what you have done
Records are regularly reviewed both to ensure delivery targets
can be met and to identify any
problem areas.
5. Take remedial action where necessary
If problems or potential problem areas are identified, steps are

taken to eliminate or reduce these.
6. Then start the process again
This procedure is followed for each stage in each process to
ensure that everyone benefits from
solutions to problems, which have already been devised.
These essential steps can be illustrated in the form of a
hierarchy of quality processes:
An essential part of improving quality is to identify problems as
and when they occur. These can then
be addressed and resolved immediately. This is what Portakabin
mean by 'zero tolerance'. To address
any issues, Portakabin deploys a 'commando team' as part of its
Quality Team. This team scrutinizes
products and processes from the customer's viewpoint. On one
occasion the team found blistering on
the walls of a particular building, a quick 'alert' to the
manufacturing team led to the fault being
eliminated before it became a problem for the customer. Teams
complete quality reports with the
purpose of:

ng changes to prevent the problem reoccurring.
Page 8 of 8
QUALITY SERVICE
Providing customer service is another vital part of Quality
Management. See steps 6 and 7 in the chart
below.
The company believes that providing exceptional levels of
customer service is as important as the
quality of the products it makes. To support this commitment, it
has developed a number of initiatives
aimed at continuously improving service. Portakabin:
that customers of its Hire

Division can expect to receive. This charter includes the pledge
where Portakabin will
recompense the customer if it fails to deliver a building on time
s a complete plan, design and build service, whereby a
client can choose simply to accept
the keys and open the doors on completion
month.
CONCLUSION
In a competitive market, businesses stay ahead by offering
products that are different and/or superior
in ways that matter to customers. Portakabin has positioned
itself at the top end of the modular
buildings market in terms of quality, whilst at the same time
providing value-for-money products that
fully meet key standards set out in IS0 9001. The most recent

external audit of Portakabin's practices
showed that the company is meeting the required standards in
all aspects of quality. This outcome is
the result of a great deal of thought, careful planning and
ongoing education and training of a skilled
and dedicated workforce.
QUESTIONS:
Please read the case study and answer the following questions:
1. What are the products and/or services that Portakabin
Company produce and deliver? (5 marks)
2. How does Portakabin Company define quality?
(5 marks)
3. What are the quality management techniques that Portakabin
use? Demonstrate how
Portakabin apply them?
(10 marks)

4. Explain how Portakabin deals with production quality
problems? And analyze how does this
contribute with company overall quality?
(10 marks)
REFERENCE:
http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/portakabin/the-importance-of-
quality-in-creating-competitive-
advantage/what-is-quality.html#axzz3T3lQZYzM
quality-in-creating-competitive-advantage/what-is-
quality.html#axzz3T3lQZYzM
quality-in-creating-competitive-advantage/what-is-
quality.html#axzz3T3lQZYzM
Business Studies A BUS140

Academic Year 2014-2015
Coursework: Group Activity: 30% of total mark for module
Submission
Coursework Deadline: 12 noon on 19th March 2015
Coursework should be submitted to Student Support on
Cookworthy Level 3 on or before the deadline. Work submitted
late will receive a zero mark. Module staffs are unable to give
students extensions to deadlines. The group member submitting
the work must show Student Support staff their own student
card and a photocopy of the student card for each group
member, without this the coursework cannot be accepted.
If you have a valid reason for late or non submission, you will
need to complete an extenuating circumstances form. For more
information on what constitutes valid extenuating circumstances
and the extenuating circumstances procedure, please see
http://intranet.plymouth.ac.uk/acregsc/acadregs/intranet.htm.
Assignment
As a group you are required to write a short business report to
the Trustees of the locally based Theatre Royal. The report
should analyse the current business environment and the
competitive position of the organisation and make
recommendations for the future of the business based on this
analysis.

Notes
· You are expected to make use of at least a PESTLE, SWOT
and Porter’s 5 Forces for the analysis.
· As part of your analysis, you are expected to identify at least 5
current business drivers and to make at least one
business/management recommendation for each business driver.
· A Business Driver is something in the current business
environment which will effectively ‘drive’ the business in the
forthcoming period. It may be either positive or negative, but it
will have a significant impact on the business and therefore
requires action to either capitalise on the opportunity it
presents, or mitigate the threat it poses.
· The minimum requirement is 5 business drivers and 5
recommendations.
· More information on Plymouth’s Theatre Royal can be found
at www.theatreroyal.com . You are NOT permitted to contact
the theatre direct – you should use their website and any
information from secondary sources such as newspapers etc for
any research. You may of course visit!
· You should refer to your text book, lecture notes and any other
sources of information you feel are appropriate to back up your
arguments

· All models, theories etc. should be referenced using the
Harvard Referencing Systems; for more information refer to
referencing notes from the library.
Marking Scheme
Clarity & Succinctness
10%
Structure & Presentation
10%
Analysis of the business and competitive environment

40%
Recommendations appropriateness and viability
40%
The assignment must be structured as a business report and
should be clear and easy to read and understand. It should also
be succinct and to-the-point – you MUST stick to the 2500 word
limit (+/- 10%). Diagrams and tables should be included in the
word count. Judicious use of appendices is allowed.
Working in Groups
This coursework must be completed as part of a group of 4
(max) people. Smaller or larger groups may be necessary, but
should be the exception rather than the rule. Smaller groups will
have to work harder to produce the minimum requirement.
Larger groups will be expected to show a greater amount of
analysis and number of recommendations but stay within the
word count.
To facilitate getting the groups together you may use the
discussion area on the portal to advertise for group members or
to find a group to join. Once you have finalised your group
composition, you MUST pass a paper document to the lecturer

or an e-mail with the title ‘Final Group Confirmation’
confirming full names of group members and student numbers.
The way you organise the group is up to you. For example, you
may decide to work on each element of the report together, or to
divide it up so each group member works on a single element.
Alternatively, one or two people could write the report, while
the others collect the data for each element. However, please
note thatyou will be assessed as a group, which means that you
will receive one mark for the entire piece of work.
If you feel that the contributions of each group member differ
significantly, you need to offer proof. You may then decide, as
a group, to split the mark according to contribution, by
specifying on the submitted coursework the percentage
contribution by each group member (see example below). The
group mark will then be split using the following formula:
(Group Mark x No of Group Members) / 100% x Percentage
Contribution = Individual Mark
For a group of 4, the percentage contribution by each member
would constitute 25% each of the total contribution – i.e. 100%
/ 4 people. Therefore, if the overall group mark is 60%, the
individual marks would be:

(60 x 4) = 240
240 / 100 = 2.4
2.4 x 25 = 60 …so each member will receive 60%.
However, if you agreed that two group members had made a
significantly higher contribution than the other 2 group
members and decided to split the marks so those 2 members get
30%, with the other two members receiving 20%, if the overall
group mark is 60%, the students that made the higher
contribution would receive 72%, as follows:
(60 x 4) = 240
240 / 100 = 2.4

2.4 x 30 = 72
Whilst the other 2 group members would receive 48%, because:
2.4 x 20 = 48
Every group member is required to sign a statement on the
submitted work stating that either you are happy for the overall
mark to be allocated equally to each student or that you wish
the marks to be divided according to the specified percentages.
Feedback
Feedback for coursework assignments will be included on the
marking sheet, which will be available for collection when the
coursework is returned. Module staff will normally aim to
return all coursework within 4 working weeks of submission,
via the student support office in Cookworthy.
Plagiarism
Academic offences, including plagiarism, are treated very

seriously in the Faculty of Social Science and Business. A
student who is proven to have committed an academic offence
may be placing his or her degree in jeopardy. It is your
responsibility as a student to make sure that you understand
what constitutes an academic offence, and in particular, what
plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
Read through the information in the Faculty Undergraduate
Programmes Handbook under ‘Assessment and Examinations
Offences’, including the penalties for offences. If you still do
not understand what constitutes an academic offence, please
consult the Student Support Office, your personal tutor or your
programme manager.
Page 3 of 3

STUDENT DETAILS Student Name 1. Student .docx

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