Part -1:
Corus is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, part of the giant Indian conglomerate. Tata Group includes businesses in many industries such as chemicals, automotive, telecommunications, leisure and consumer goods (e.g Tetley Tea). Tata Steel acquired Corus in 2007 as part of a strategy of international expansion.
Continuous Improvement or CI involves making continual small improvements to a process rather than big changes at irregular intervals. This requires close monitoring and control, changes to the uses of manpower, machinery, methods, materials and money to improve business efficiency. Continuous Improvement is often referred to by the Japanese word 'Kaizen', a concept adopted by Corus as part of it continuous improvement process.
This case study focuses on the process of Continuous Improvement (CI) at the CCI steel plate manufacturing mill at Scunthorpe. It will show how Corus is finding new ways of achieving its objectives from existing resources. Analyse the given case study in your own words and answers the given questions;
- What is Continuous Improvement? Who would be involved in this process and what would they be doing to enable improvements? Support your answer with examples from the case.
- Describe the type of culture Corus is developing. How will the vision plan help to develop this culture?
- Analyse how achieving its KPIs will help Corus to give its customers satisfaction.
- Evaluate the key benefits of CI in helping Corus to become a more innovative and customer focused organisation.
Concepts used in this case study closely link with theoretical concepts covered in concurrent sessions. Ensure that you have familiarised with key CI concepts and theories while you undertake this case study. As this is a formative exercise, you will have an opportunity to improve your responses based on your assessor's feedback and suggestions.
You may also visit company's website and gather more information on its culture, values and processes to support your answers. Answers should be concise and within the scope of the case situation; contained within 3-4 paragraphs each.
Assessment Criteria
The following assessment criteria will be used for marking this assessment task. Ensure that you have addressed all of the criteria in your work.
- Responses to the case study shows case comprehension and an understanding of the concept the basic principle of continuous improvement
- Answers are within the context of the given case and drawn from the given case contents and the organisation (e.g. website)
- Defined continuous improvement and its relevance to the given case
- Identified and described key stakeholders and participants in the continuous improvement process and cited examples from the case
- Discussed the concepts of waste management and lean production
- Analysed the innovation culture at the company and explained how the strategy drives a culture that is conducive to innovation
- Described the innovation environment at the company
- Demonstrated an understanding of KPIs related to business processes and improvements
- Described the impact of company's KPIs on customer satisfaction
- Analysis of CI at the company shows how it is finding new ways of achieving its objectives from existing resources
- Described how continuous improvement helps Corus gains a more committed workforce which helps to drive further improvement
- The case analysis is structured and integrates a number of external sources and analyses with the case study
- Cited external sources using an appropriate referencing system
Part -2:
You and your team will be required to develop an innovative idea on how the lawn mower can be transformed into a more functional and innovative product. Remember that, to be called an innovation, an idea must be replicable at an economical cost and must satisfy a specific need.
You team will need to assume the role of a project team employed by a relevant research and/or technology oriented organisation that is looking at ways to revolutionise the current market with innovative products and/or services. Company's approach in this instance can be described as continuous innovation as it is using an existing product for innovation. However, you team has the flexibility to come up with an entirely new product using a new technology or method which could be disruptive (e.g. discarding the use of rotary blades and devising a new technology).
Your tasks will be to develop a project proposal and;
- Define the product and describe its current role/use, mapping the way product has evolved since its first invention/innovation
- Establish a need/reason/justification for innovation
- Brainstorm the ideas within the team
- Shortlist at least two separate ideas for trial
- Conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each one of them
- Analyse risks and develop strategies to mitigate the risks
- Highlight and discuss any sustainability issues (e.g. impact on the environment, waste)
- Strategies and resources for implementing the new idea(s)
- Key action items/tasks and time frames for implementation
- Impact of change and consequences for people within the organisation
- A communication plan for communicating new initiatives within the organisation
- Performance measures for measuring success of the new product
- Testing and trialling process including a pilot run
In addition, your project proposal will include a detailed description of the team process that includes;
- Team goals and objectives
- Team norms
- Tasks and responsibilities
- Team performance goals
- How creative ideas were encouraged and gathered
- How interaction within the team or team process resulted in generation of new ideas
- How the ideas were evaluated and short-listed
- Failures or setbacks and how they impacted on the process
This is an extensive project and teams will need to maintain a high degree of efficiency, productivity, communication and documentation throughout the process.
The proposal should be written as a formal business document with appropriate structure including an executive summary.
Once you have completed the project, present a project summary to the class. Assessment Criteria
The following assessment criteria will be used for marking this assessment task. Ensure that you have addressed all of the criteria in your work.
- Successfully formed the team and set team norms and expectations
- Defined roles and responsibilities of each team member
- Team objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound
- Identified and itemised project tasks
- Delegated tasks to team members based on their skill and knowledge sets
- Team performance goals are aimed at performance improvement and creativity
- Team interaction was engaging and conducive to creative ideas
- Team process identified and shortlisted creative ideas
- Team recognised and tested new ideas
- Team learned from mistakes and overcome barriers/constraints in developing the final solution
- Team statement and observation from in-class session demonstrates contribution from all team members
- Developed an organisational context for the project and linked the new innovation ideas to organisational goals
- Product is researched and analysed for its current role and use in the marketplace
- Need for innovation is established and articulated
- The reasons for innovation are justified and satisfy the stated need
- Two distinct ideas are shortlisted for the project
- A cost-benefit analysis is conducted for each idea
- The cost-benefit analyses predict outcome of costs and benefits over relevant time period
- KPIs or other performance measures are developed to evaluate business performance of the proposed new products in the market
- Project risks are identified and strategies are developed to mitigate the risks
- Risk management approach is adopted in analysis using a risk matrix
- Identified the impact of new innovations on environment and addressed relevant issues
- Developed an implementation/action plan that identifies specific tasks, resources and time lines for delivery
- Impact of proposed changes is estimated and strategies developed to communicate and implement the changes within the organisation
- Project proposal include provisions for testing and trialling the products and estimates the budget for the same in the cost-benefit analysis
- Proposal is prepared in a formal style using appropriate structure with headings and subheadings
- The proposal is organised and coherent with an easy content flow that leads to the final project recommendations
- Presented the project to the class
- Presentation was structured, concise and covered all critical aspects of the project
- All the group members presented and explained their part
- Maintained a group portfolio and retained evidences of all the completed works
Part -3:
Description:
Tata Steel is the second largest steel producer in Europe and has its main steelmaking plants in the UK and Holland. It supplies steel and related services to major industries, such as construction, vehicle production and packaging. The European operations are a subsidiary of Tata Steel Group, one of the world's top ten steel producers. The combined Group has around 80,000 employees.
Business ethics means 'taking the right course'. Acting ethically takes into account all the factors of doing business. These include production, business processes, and the company's behaviour with its customers and the communities in which it operates. Sustainability is about meeting the challenges of ensuring that future generations can enjoy the same kind of lifestyles people enjoy today. The Tata Steel definition of sustainability is 'an enduring and balanced approach to economic activity, environmental responsibility and societal benefit'
This case study shows how Tata Steel upholds its commitment to sustainable and environmental practices as part of its overall aim to act responsibly. It shows commitment and progress towards key targets of sustainability as well as encouraging sustainable decision-making in its customers and within their markets.
Analyse the given case study in your own words and answers the given questions;
- Describe what is meant by 'ethical business practice'
- Explain how sustainable practice can help a business to compete
- Analyse why LCA is a more accurate type of analysis than just looking at the carbon footprint of the 'usephase' of a material
- Evaluate the contribution of Tata Steel to sustainable and ethical business practices
Concepts used in this case study closely link with theoretical concepts covered in concurrent sessions. Ensure that you have familiarised with key sustainability concepts and theories while you undertake this case study. You may also visit company's website and gather more information on its culture and values to support your answers. Answers should be concise and within the scope of the case situation; contained within 3-4 paragraphs each.
Assessment Criteria
The following assessment criteria will be used for marking this assessment task. Ensure that you have addressed all of the criteria in your work.
- Responses to the case study shows case comprehension and an understanding of the concept the basic principle of ethics and sustainability
- Answers are within the context of the given case and drawn from the given case contents and the organisation (e.g. website)
- Defined business ethical practice drawing from theory and the case contents
- Defined sustainability and explained how company's sustainability practices enhances its competitiveness
- Defined company's priorities linked to sustainable practices
- Explained the concept of Life Cycle Assessment and illustrated the process for the steel industry
- Analyse the case of automotive industry as an example of company's contribution to sustainable and ethical business practices
- Analyse the case of construction industry as an example of company's contribution to sustainable and ethical business practices
- Analyse the case of the packaging industry as an example of company's contribution to sustainable and ethical business practices
- Discussed how measurements of sustainability are taken over the entire life cycle of a product, not just the use-phase
- The case analysis is structured and integrates a number of external sources and analyses with the case study
- Cited external sources using an appropriate referencing system
Submission Guidelines
This task must be prepared and submitted in a word-processed layout. Handwritten documents cannot be accepted for this task.