Supply Chain Sourcing Game: A Negotiation Exercise

We develop a single-class period learning game for the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) improvement cycle. The experiential activity walks teams through the PDSA problemsolving process as they create paper American footballs and improve their performance using each step of the cycle. The game is one of the first to focus on PDSA. Key benefits include increased student attention, engagement, and learning. Empirical tests show that participant pre-and post-test scores regarding their understanding of each phase of PDSA improved 21.2% after completing the game. Additionally, the treatment group performed 16.6% higher than the control group. In participant perception questions, 85% of participants felt the game was more effective than lecture or reading, 93% felt the game was fun, 95% felt the game improved their understanding of PDSA, and 98% felt the game was engaging.

Section: Game-based Experiential Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Plan‐Do‐Study‐Act (PDSA) in a Supply Chain Context: A Paper Football In‐Class Activity

Brau

Gardner

Webb

et al. 2019

“…Within supply chain management, there is the classic Beer Distribution Game (Sterman, 1989) that enables participants to experience the bullwhip effect. Other supply chain games focus on such specific topics as sourcing alternatives (Ashenbaum, 2008), negotiation (Gumus & Love, 2013), and integration (Harnowo et al 2016).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patio Swings Intermodal Shipping Competition: An Inquiry‐Based Partial Information Exercise

Snider

Southin

Cole

2019

Rather than providing all the required information as classroom exercises typically do, this international purchase and intermodal transportation competitive in‐class exercise intentionally holds back selected supply chain details. This inquiry‐based learning (IBL) approach simulates a real‐world Distribution Requirements Planning scenario by requiring students to identify what information they need and seek out those details from the instructor while competing with fellow student groups. In this 20‐30 minute exercise students are challenged to identify the all the necessary supply chain activities required to effectively ship patio swings from a supplier in China to a national retail chain in time for a spring sale. Generating the benefits of improved critical thinking in a fraction of the time required for traditional IBL, the approach is best described as a Partial Information Exercise. A student survey (n = 310) found that students strongly supported the inquiry approach, it generated significantly increased interest in global supply chain management roles and responsibilities, and over 91% of participants recommended the exercise continue to be part of the introductory operations and supply chain management course.

“…Developing effective team assignments can be particularly challenging for instructors teaching courses where disciplinary content is not grounded in teamwork theory and practice. While there is a robust stream of literature on team effectiveness in psychology, social psychology, and organizational behavior (Choi & Cho, ; Curseu, Boroş, & Oerlemans, ; French, Raven, & Cartwright, ) and reports of the efficacy of team exercises in a variety of courses (Dhumal, Sundararaghavan, & Nandkeolyar, ; Gumus & Love, ; Williams & Anderson, ), there is a limited, but growing, amount of research on how to structure classroom team assignments to enhance the development of team skills (Keyton & Beck, ; Oakley et al, ; Rico, Sánchez‐Manzanares, Antino, & Lau, ; Riebe, Roepen, Santarelli, & Marchioro, ; Tseng & Yeh, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continuous Improvement of Team Assignments: Using a Web‐Based Tool and the Plan‐Do‐Check‐Act Cycle in Design and Redesign

Morgan

Stewart

2017

The purpose of this brief is twofold. First, it describes a useful template for business instructors to improve teamwork assignment design and efficacy; and second, it provides an example of how to use data collected and analyzed from a Web‐based tool, Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness (CATME). Though CATME has been the subject of research regarding its impact on team effectiveness, less common is a clear description of its use for continuous improvement by instructors in the classroom. In this brief, we combine the well‐known continuous improvement framework of Deming's wheel—the plan‐do‐check‐act (PDCA) cycle—with CATME. We provide a template for systematic pedagogical adjustment to improve team assignments in the classroom and to ultimately impact improvement in team skills and behaviors. First, the CATME tool and its capabilities are introduced. Next, we provide a demonstration of how an instructor used the PDCA cycle and the CATME data to design, evaluate, and analyze team processes within her classroom and the actions planned to redesign her team assignment.