LOG510 Value Chain Analysis (Autumn 2023)

About the course

There are several explanations for why some companies perform better than others, or why some companies succeed while others fail. One of these explanations is that successful companies do an excellent job of creating and optimizing unique value chains. Such firms develop and coordinate unique activities to create, deliver and capture more value than their competitors. Therefore, everyone who wants to work in business or run their own business must know how to plan, organise, control, coordinate and manage a value chain. LOG510 will give you the management-oriented knowledge and skills required to carry out these tasks effectively.

A high-performance value chain requires collaboration across departments, and coordination with partners outside the organization. But tearing down "silos" in a company to create a proper cross-functional way of thinking is difficult. Therefore, it is not enough to tell someone how a value chain works - you have to experience it yourself. However, it is almost impossible to convince a company to let students take over an entire organization and experiment with it. Fortunately, we have business simulation games that allow us to experience different types of business challenges, where we can make decisions and see the impact of each decision we make, not just in our own "silo", but across the business. LOG510 provides a unique opportunity to learn using a business simulation game that allows students to put complex theories into practice.

In addition to short lectures, participants in this course will engage in an innovative online business simulation game, "The Fresh Connection". Playing in teams, participants will represent the functional roles of "Vice President Purchasing", "Vice President Operations", "Vice President Supply Chain" and "Vice President Sales". The teams will be confronted with various real-world dilemmas, and cross-functional understanding and collaboration will be essential to improve performance.

The course is connected to the following study programs

• Bachelor in Logistics and Supply Chain Management
• Bachelor in Economics and Business Administration
• Individual Study Courses/Part- time studies
• Bachelor in Petroleum Logistics and Economics
• Bachelor in Marine Logistics and Economics

Recommended requirements

Basic knowledge of supply chains, production planning and purchasing

It is an advantage to have had SCM120 Principles in value chain management, as the course uses the same simulation tool, but you can take the course without SCM120. Value chain analysis is an advanced version of SCM120 where more advanced modules are used in the simulation tool.

Basic knowledge of statistics (e.g., MAT110 Statistics 1) is an advantage.

Reduction of Credits

This course’s contents overlap with the following courses. A reduction of credits will occur if one of these courses is taken in addition:

Course	Reduction of Credits
LOG510N – Value Chain Analysis (online)	7.5

The student's learning outcomes after completing the course

Knowledge:

After passing the course, the student will have knowledge about:

• key theories that explain differences in firm performance

• trade-offs involved in value chain management and the need for value chain adaptation

• the impact of individual components of a value chain on firm performance

• volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity affecting value chains and how they should be managed

 

Skills:

After passing the course, the student should be able to:

• identify problems in value chains

• solve problems in value chains

• coordinate with others in a value chain setting

General competence:

After passing the course, the student should have the following competencies:

• ability to develop strategies and execute plans

• ability to reflect on own practice and develop strategies for improvement

• ability to solve problems in cooperation with others (collaborative problem solving)

Forms of teaching and learning

• 2 hours of lectures per week (Streaming/recording of the teaching is offered)

• Work with the simulation software - 2 hours each week

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

• Compulsory work requirement: Assignment

• Number of work requirements: 1

• Required work requirements: 1

Examination

• Form of assessment: -
• Proportion: 50%
• Duration: 1 semester
• Grouping: Group
• Grading scale: Letter (A - F)
• Support material: -

• Form of assessment: School assessment
• Proportion: 50%
• Duration: 4 hours
• Grouping: Individual
• Grading scale: Letter (A - F)
• Support material: Only general dictionary in mother tongue/Norwegian/English in paper version