IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/proeco/v225y2020ics092552731930430x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Building integration skills in supply chain and operations management study programs

Author

Listed:
  • Pekkanen, Petra
  • Niemi, Petri
  • Puolakka, Tiina
  • Pirttilä, Timo
  • Huiskonen, Janne

Abstract

The modern business world requires, in addition to substance knowledge, an extensive set of more practical and generic skills from engineering graduates. Supply Chain and Operations Management (SCM/OM) experts often work as business process developers. This requires skills related to for example cross-functional coordination and the ability to comprehend the big picture and dynamics of supply chains and operation environments. Sharing experiences of generic skill descriptions and teaching methods would facilitate the translation of generic skills into different engineering education disciplines. The aim of the paper is to present a way of describing and categorizing the focal SCM/OM generic skills and to analyze how the skills can be adopted and implemented in SCM/OM study programs. The paper is based on an empirical case analysis of a SCM/OM study program. The main generic skills related to the SCM/OM discipline are described and categorized into two skill areas: the ability to design feasible improvement solutions and the ability to carry out improvement work in organizational networks. These described skill-sets are named integration skills. Teaching integration skills in SCM/OM study programs should be fully integrated with the teaching of substance knowledge, and integration skills should be developed progressively in stages throughout the studies using activating teaching methods. In teaching integration skills, the recognized and analyzed pedagogical methods are the use of increasingly challenging real-life assignments and empowering working processes for students. A combination of the methods in teaching sets gradually increasing requirements for students in learning both integration skills and substance knowledge.

Suggested Citation

  • Pekkanen, Petra & Niemi, Petri & Puolakka, Tiina & Pirttilä, Timo & Huiskonen, Janne, 2020. "Building integration skills in supply chain and operations management study programs," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:225:y:2020:i:c:s092552731930430x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.107593
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092552731930430X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.107593?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pal, Raktim & Busing, Michael E., 2008. "Teaching operations management in an integrated format: Student perception and faculty experience," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 594-610, October.
    2. Heijke, Hans & Meng, Christoph & Ris, Catherine, 2003. "Fitting to the job: the role of generic and vocational competencies in adjustment and performance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 215-229, April.
    3. Chikan, Attila, 2001. "Integration of production and logistics -- in principle, in practice and in education," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 129-140, January.
    4. Holweg, Matthias & Bicheno, John, 2002. "Supply chain simulation - a tool for education, enhancement and endeavour," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 163-175, July.
    5. Kakehi, Munenori & Yamada, Tetsuo & Watanabe, Ichie, 2009. "PLM education in production design and engineering by e-Learning," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(1), pages 479-484, November.
    6. Lewis, Michael A. & Maylor, Harvey R., 2007. "Game playing and operations management education," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(1), pages 134-149, January.
    7. Heijke, Hans & Meng, Christoph & Ris, Catherine, 2003. "Fitting to the job: the role of generic and vocational competencies in adjustment and performance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 215-229, April.
    8. Knight, Louise & Tu, Yi-Hsi & Preston, Jude, 2014. "Integrating skills profiling and purchasing portfolio management: An opportunity for building purchasing capability," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(PB), pages 271-283.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ileana Gloria Pérez Vergara & María Camila López Gómez & Igor Lopes Martínez & Jesús Vargas Hernández, 2021. "Strategies for the Preservation of Service Levels in the Inventory Management During COVID-19: A Case Study in a Company of Biosafety Products," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 22(1), pages 65-80, June.
    2. Delke, Vincent & Schiele, Holger & Buchholz, Wolfgang & Kelly, Stephen, 2023. "Implementing Industry 4.0 technologies: Future roles in purchasing and supply management," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Othman Joumady & Catherine Ris, 2005. "Performance in European higher education: A non-parametric production frontier approach," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 189-205.
    2. Lola C. Duque & Maria Pujol-Jover & Carme Riera-Prunera, 2015. "Society needs and university teaching: is there a gap?," Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación volume 10, in: Marta Rahona López & Jennifer Graves (ed.), Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación 10, edition 1, volume 10, chapter 31, pages 617-634, Asociación de Economía de la Educación.
    3. Elisabet Moles-López & Fanny T. Añaños, 2021. "Factors of Prison Recidivism in Women: A Socioeducational and Sustainable Development Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Natalia Shmatko, 2013. "Graduates’ Competencies For The Innovation Labour Market," HSE Working papers WP BRP 13/STI/2013, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    5. Zon, Adriaan van & Antonietti, Roberto, 2005. "Education and Training in a Model of Endogenous Growth with Creative Destruction," Research Memorandum 010, Maastricht University, Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    6. Andries de Grip & Inge Sieben, 2005. "The effects of human resource management on small firms' productivity and employees' wages," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(9), pages 1047-1054.
    7. Meng,Christoph & Heijke,Hans, 2005. "Student time allocation, the learning environment and the acquisition of competencies," ROA Research Memorandum 001, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    8. Zhifei He & Zhaohui Cheng & Hang Fu & Shangfeng Tang & Qian Fu & Haiqing Fang & Yue Xian & Hui Ming & Zhanchun Feng, 2015. "Factors Associated with the Competencies of Public Health Workers in Township Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Chongqing Municipality, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-16, November.
    9. Humburg, M. & van der Velden, R.K.W., 2014. "Skills and the graduate recruitment process: Evidence from two discrete choice experiments," ROA Research Memorandum 002, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    10. Lex Borghans & Bart Golsteyn, 2007. "Skill transferability, regret and mobility," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(13), pages 1663-1677.
    11. Smits, W., 2007. "Industry-specific or generic skills? Conflicting interests of firms and workers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 653-663, June.
    12. Mireille Bruyère, 2012. "Les rôles de la formation initiale et de l'expérience dans la hiérarchie des salaires des jeunes," Post-Print halshs-00835948, HAL.
    13. Marcel GERDS, 2010. "Which characteristics of workers are important for employers in Northeast Germany?," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 56(11), pages 449-507.
    14. Humburg, Martin & van der Velden, Rolf, 2015. "Skills and the graduate recruitment process: Evidence from two discrete choice experiments," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 24-41.
    15. Adriaan Zon & Roberto Antonietti, 2016. "Education and training in a model of endogenous growth with creative wear-and-tear," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 33(1), pages 35-62, April.
    16. Semeijn,Judith, H. & Velden,Rolf,van der & Heijke,Hans & Vleuten,Cees,van der & Boshuizen,Henny, P.A., 2005. "Competence indicators in academic education and early labour market success of graduates in health sciences," ROA Research Memorandum 003, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    17. Fanti, Lucrezia & Guarascio, Dario & Tubiana, Matteo, 2019. "Skill Gap, Mismatch, and the Dynamics of Italian Companies’ Productivity," MPRA Paper 95694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Lex Borghans & Bart Golsteyn, 2007. "Skill transferability, regret and mobility," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(13), pages 1663-1677.
    19. Fengliang Li & Liang Wang, 2020. "An Empirical Study on Distance Education and Job Match," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-10, January.
    20. Philippe Lemistre, 2007. "Diplômes et emplois occupés par les jeunes. Une correspondance à revoir," Post-Print halshs-00131770, HAL.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:225:y:2020:i:c:s092552731930430x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpe .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.