B203A Business Functions TMA 2016-17

This document outlines a Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA) for the course Business Functions in Context I (B203A) at the Arab Open University. The assignment focuses on the Dabbawala service in Mumbai, India, and requires students to analyze its operations, dependability, and potential threats. The assignment includes three discussion questions, each with specific word count and marking criteria. Students are expected to write their answers in an essay format, use Harvard referencing, and cite at least three sources from the e-library. The TMA contributes 20% to the total course grade and has a specific cut-off date. The document also emphasizes the importance of individual work and avoiding plagiarism.

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Arab Open University
Faculty of Business Studies
Business Functions in Context I
B203A – First Semester 2016-17
Tutor Marked Assessment
Dabbawalas hit 99.9999% dependability
Mumbai is India’s most densely populated city, and every working day its millions of
commuters’ crowd onto packed trains for an often lengthy commute to their workplaces. Going
home for lunch is not possible; so many office workers have a cooked meal sent either from
their home, or from a caterer. It is Mumbai’s 5,000-strong dabbawala collective that provides
this service, usually for a monthly fee. The meal is cooked in the morning (by family or
caterer), placed in regulation dabbas or tiffin (lunch) boxes and delivered to each individual
worker’s office at lunch time. After lunch the boxes are collected and returned so that they can
be re-sent the next day. ‘Dabbawala’ means ‘one who carries a box’, or more colloquially,
‘lunch box delivery man”. This is how the service works:
7am–9am The dabbas (boxes) are collected by dabbawalas on bicycles from nearly 200,000
suburban homes or from the dabba makers and taken to railway stations. The dabbas have
distinguishing marks on them, using colours and symbols (necessary because many dabbawalas
are barely literate). The dabbawala then takes them to a designated sorting place, where he and
other collecting dabbawalas sort (and sometimes bundle) the lunch boxes into groups.
9am–11am The grouped boxes are put in the coaches of trains, with markings to identify the
destination of the box (usually there is a designated car for the boxes). The markings include the
rail station where the boxes are to be unloaded and the building address where the box has to be
delivered. This may involve boxes being sorted at intermediary stations, with each single dabba
changing hands up to four times.
10am–12midday Dabbas taken into Mumbai using the otherwise under-utilized capacity on
commuter trains in the mid-morning.
B203A – TMA –First 2016-17 Page 1

11am–12midday Arrive downtown Mumbai where dabbas are handed over to local
dabbawalas, who distribute them to more locations where there is more sorting and loading on
to handcarts, bicycles and dabbawalas.
12midday–1pm Dabbas are delivered to appropriate office locations.
2pm Process moves into reverse, after lunch, when the empty boxes are collected from office
locations and returned to suburban stations.
6pm Empty dabbas sent back to the respective houses.
The service has a remarkable record of almost flawlessly reliable delivery, even on the days of
severe weather such as Mumbai’s characteristic monsoons. Dabbawalas all receive the same pay
and at both the receiving and the sending ends, are known to the customers personally, so are
trusted by customers. Also, they are well accustomed to the local areas they collect from or
deliver to, which reduces the chances of errors. Raghunath Medge, the president of the Bombay
Tiffin Box Supply Charity
Trust, which oversees the dabbawallas, highlights the importance of their hands-on operations
management.
‘Proper time management is our key to success. We do everything to keep the customer happy
and they help in our marketing.’ There is no system of documentation. The success of the
operation depends on teamwork and
human ingenuity. Such is the dedication and commitment of the barefoot delivery men (there
are only a few delivery women) that the complex logistics operation works with only three
layers of management. Although the service remains essentially low-tech, with the barefoot
delivery men as the prime movers, the dabbawalas now use
some modern technology, for example they now allow booking for delivery through SMS and
their web site.
Slack. N., Stuart, C., and Robert, J. (2010) Operations Management. Harlow, England: Financial
Times Prentice Hall.
II. Discussion Questions
Question 1 (400 words, 40 marks)
Taking the example of the Dabbawala service as an example, discuss the five performance
objectives of an operation.
Question 2 (300 words, 30 marks)
Why does the Dabbawalas’ service offer such an amazing dependability?
Question 3 (300 words, 30 marks)
What do you think are the main threats to this service?
B203A – TMA –First 2016-17 Page 2

General instructions for students:
This TMA should be written by students individually.
TMA weight: 20% of total course grade.
Cut-off date: Check LMS
Plagiarism: It’s imperative that you write your answer using your own words. Plagiarism will be
penalized depending on its severity and according to AOU plagiarism policy.
Format: you are expected to write your answer in an essay format: introduction, body
paragraph(s) and a conclusion. Failing to do so could result in the deduction of up to 4 marks
from your total TMA mark.
Word count: your answer is expected to be within the specified word count range. Not adhering
to specified word count could result in the deduction of up to 4 marks of your total TMA mark.
Referencing: You are expected to use the Harvard referencing style for in-text referencing and
list of reference at the end. Failing to do so could result in the deduction of up to 4 marks of your
total TMA mark.
E-library: You are expected to use E-library sources to support your answers. A minimum of 3
sources is required. Failing to do so could result in the deduction of up to 4 marks of your total
TMA mark.
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