I have just completed teaching a unit in SCM for undergraduate students (my first in this area) and I am concerned about the ability of students to connect what they have "learnt" in the classroom with what actually happens once they enter the workforce.
The problem seems to be a lack of experience – many students have not worked at all before taking this course. In order to bridge this gap I would like to provide a common background to students so that they have a consistent context within which to discuss the concepts. This term I often used examples of how the University copes with SC problems to provide this context, since the students are familiar with many of the decisions / trade-offs that the University makes. However, I am looking for a better solution.
Ideally I would like fairly comprehensive description (including financials) of a Supply Chain that students can easily relate to, and that I can give to students at the beginning of the term. We could then use this as a continuing case study as we move through the syllabus. Commercial confidentiality would appear to be the major stumbling block. It seems that Health Care might be a viable area in which to search, but if you are familiar with any resource, irrespective of industry classification, that might help I would be grateful to know about it. I would be happy to "edit" a longer industry / government study into a suitable format for my purposes.
There are a number of good textbooks available, so this is not a concern. However, I find the "case studies" at the end of chapter are often to superficial and not useful.
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Michael B Cohen
Senior Lecturer in Management,
Deakin Business School,
Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125.
Australia
Room lb5.222; Ph: +613 92445441
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