With increased globalisation, companies are facing stiffer competition and successful companies cannot afford to harbour inefficiencies if they are to be competitive. Furthermore, customers are becoming more demanding. Business processes must be designed to ensure that they are effective and meet customer requirements. A well-designed process will improve efficiency and deliver greater productivity.
This unit will survey the analytical tools that can be used to model, analyse, understand and design business processes. Students will also gain hands-on experience in using simulation software as a tool for analysing business processes.
Upon completion of this unit students should have acquired: an understanding of business organisations, their functional structure and the advantage of considering the process oriented view of organisations; a thorough knowledge of business processes, their structure and how processes fit in to the overall organisation objectives; knowledge of the analytical tools that can be used to model, analyse, understand, and design business processes; and skills to use simulation software as a tool for analysing business processes.
Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:
(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:
(b.) Additional requirements (all students):
See also Unit timetable information
ETC2490, BUS3502
Completion of 24 points at level 1 from FIT or BusEco
Yen Cheung
Consultation hours: Appointments by email
Peter Huynh
Consultation hours: TBC
Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) survey. The University’s student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
For more information on Monash’s educational strategy, see:
www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/ and on student evaluations, see: www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html
Based on previous evaluations of this unit the following changes have been made:
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp
| Week | Activities | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0 | |
| 1 | Introduction to Business Processes and Process Modelling | |
| 2 | Business Process Re-engineering and Six Sigma Process management | |
| 3 | Process management | |
| 4 | Business Process Simulation 1 | |
| 5 | Process Modelling Tools | |
| 6 | Guest Lecture | Assignment 1 due 13 April 2015 |
| 7 | Queuing systems and business process design | |
| 8 | Analysing processes | |
| 9 | Managing processes | |
| 10 | Business Process Simulation 2 | |
| 11 | Process Modelling with Petri nets | Assignment 2 due 22 May 2015 |
| 12 | Unit Review and Summary | |
| SWOT VAC | No formal assessment is undertaken in SWOT VAC | |
| Examination period | LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/ academic/education/assessment/ assessment-in-coursework-policy.html |
*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.
Examination (2 hours): 70%; In-semester assessment: 30%
| Assessment Task | Value | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1 - Process Modelling | 15% | 13 April 2015 |
| Assignment 2 - Process Simulation | 15% | 22 May 2015 |
| Examination 1 | 70% | To be advised |
Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/assessment-hurdles.html)
Academic Integrity - Please see resources and tutorials at http://www.monash.edu/library/skills/resources/tutorials/academic-integrity/
Monash Library Unit Reading List (if applicable to the unit)
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html
Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are:
Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.
You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html
Students are not allowed to resubmit any of the assignments unless they have been requested to do so by the lecturer.
It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/student-academic-integrity-managing-plagiarism-collusion-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an electronic submission). Please note that it is your responsibility to retain copies of your assessments.
If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the learning system for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.
Please check with your lecturer before purchasing any Required Resources. Limited copies of prescribed texts are available for you to borrow in the library, and prescribed software is available in student labs.
ExtendSim Software (installed in the designated laboratories for this unit).
Limited copies of prescribed texts are available for you to borrow in the library.
Laguna and Marklund. (2013). Business Process Modelling, Simulation and Design. (2nd Edition) CRC Press.
Wisner and Stanley. (2008). Process Management - Creating value along the supply chain. (2nd Edition) Thomson Publishing.
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monash’s Education Policies at: www.policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html
Important student resources including Faculty policies are located at http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/students/
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at http://www.monash.edu.au/students. For Malaysia see http://www.monash.edu.my/Student-services, and for South Africa see http://www.monash.ac.za/current/.
The Monash University Library provides a range of services, resources and programs that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. At Malaysia, visit the Library and Learning Commons at http://www.lib.monash.edu.my/. At South Africa visit http://www.lib.monash.ac.za/.