Course Assignment, UOM, Singapore: The cross‐functional nature of the value adding process at work in the modern business

Assignment Task:
“The cross‐functional nature of the value-adding process at work in the modern business cuts across departmental boundaries with an interdependent relationship between marketing and operations, requiring that they communicate, share their knowledge and experience to inform what the organization produces and delivers to the customer.” (Piercy, 2007)

Critically examine the role of operations and marketing within your chosen
organization in terms of how it helps the organization to build and maintain
a competitive advantage. You need to examine from both a marketing and operations perspective. Some areas that you might consider, but you are not limited to, include:

• Examine the extent to which operations and marketing work together to develop competitive advantage. What are the benefits of this interface in helping to develop a competitive advantage?
• How successful is the interface between the organization’s marketing and
operations strategies to develop/maintain competitive advantage? Where and how can improvements be made to these strategies?
• Consider if there are any conflicts/challenges that occur between the two
functions in developing and maintaining competitive advantage. How have these conflicts/challenges been overcome (or how might they be overcome)?

NOTE:
(1) You are required to write concisely to transmit your analysis. Please note the weighting set for Part B – i.e. 60% of this assignment task. Therefore, the length of your answer for Part B should reflect this (i.e. approximately 1800 words). The introduction should be no more than 200 words and should clearly and concisely set the context for your answer to Part B.

(2) In your answer, make full use of the range of material available in this course (including academic and industry sources). For Part B, we would expect to see a minimum of 6 academic references in addition to the core course textbooks (i.e. Kotler, Keller, Chernev & Slack, Brandon-Jones and Burgess) to support your answer.

(3) Make sure that you use clear and relevant examples to illustrate both marketing and operations elements.