Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Graeme Heron
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
Purpose: Our research sets out to investigate student performance as members of Kaizen groups required to gather primary data to analyse an organisation’s approach to its supply chain strategic focus. The work is assessed as part of a 20 point final year module. A review of the extant literatures revealed research around teaching of operations management to students and teaching of Kaizen in the workplace. Notwithstanding these, there is a research gap in the application of Kaizen practices promoting collaboration and innovation amongst students reading for undergraduate logistics and supply chain degrees.Research Approach: We adopt an action research approach as teaching practitioners, facilitators and researchers, analysing both quantitative and qualitative data in our scrutiny of student group member profiles, group marks and individual assignment marks supplementary to the group work requirements. Further, we also interview alumni currently employed in industry, as well as three students who are now reading for PhDs. Findings and Originality: The research is ongoing, yet in addressing the aforementioned research gap, we reveal transferability of archetypical workplace strategy, interpretation and technical learning paradigms through a process of acculturation of continuous improvement prevalent in equal participatory Kaizen, thereby contributing to enquiry based learning. Ceteris paribus, we find that a diverse student profile including full-time students, direct entry students and part-time working students derive broadly equal benefit. Pedagogically, we find good progression through this module relies upon total commitment from students and tutors, both in the delivery of teaching, support away from the classroom and regular formative feedback or intervention as a group progresses.Research Impact: The research led output resultant of a group’s enquiry based analysis of primary and secondary data extends beyond the module itself. The nature of the Kaizen group’s structure overcomes barriers between different student profiles, ages, experiences and cultural predisposition of receiving didactic pedagogy in non-European students. This is important as it allows engagement without patronisation, which is particularly relevant for Hong Kong and Singapore, where we have many part-time students working in industry.Practical Impact: Benefits of this module’s Kaizen structure extend to preparedness for dissertations and students more closely aligned with the requirements of industry, thus shortening the ‘bedding in’ phase and closing the gap between industry wants and pedagogical processes in higher education. Experience has shown that some organisations see this approach as a form of consultancy; a trade off for accepting the students interview requests. There are many success stories of industry adopting group research leading to supply network reconfiguration, new logistics models etc. Importantly, this has occurred across a range of organisations from those with global brands to micro sized companies, clearly underpinning our previous assertion that value lies within the depth of the Kaizen group’s research, not organisational scale.
Author(s): Bennett D, Heron G, Yuen S, Swamy M
Publication type: Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)
Publication status: Published
Conference Name: 19th Annual Logistics Research Network Conference and PhD Workshop
Year of Conference: 2014
URL: http://www.ciltuk.org.uk/AboutUs/ProfessionalSectorsForums/Forums/LogisticsResearchNetwork/LRN2014.aspx
