A cross-functional curriculum for supply chain education at Michigan State University

Journal of Business Logistics, 1999 by Closs, David J, Stank, Theodore P

A recent concern among logistics academics is the increasing irrelevance of the traditional functional perspective used in business higher education. Changing economic forces, well documented in research publications, have mandated that industry abandon the vertical, functional organizational structure characteristic of traditional procurement, manufacturing, and physical distribution operations in favor of a more horizontal, cross-functional structure that emphasizes process management. Integration of these activities to achieve coordinated planning, implementation, and control of goods, services, and information flows through a firm is recognized today as logistics. Extending logistical integration to include management of logistics networks both within and across company boundaries to generate cost savings and/or better customer service over the total chain of organizations involved in supply, production, and delivery of final goods for consumption is termed supply chain management (SCM).1 Clinton et al. provide evidence of this shift when they report strong agreement (mean of 4.4 on a 1 to 5 scale) with the following statement: "My firm has increased its organizational commitment to a more comprehensive integrated supply chain during the past two years." In a related question, more than 34 percent of the sample firms reported that they now have an executive position with the words "supply chain" in the title.

Supply chain organizations require individuals who can effectively comprehend and manage integrated operations both within enterprises and between supply chain partners. The World Class Logistics Study at Michigan State University (MSU) reports that senior logistics managers cite access to individuals trained in integrated SCM-the systematic coordination of activities/processes that procure, produce, and deliver products and/or services in a manner that maximizes value to end customers-as their major concern for the next five years. A recent article in Traffic World more bluntly states: "It's been very, very clear that demand has been chasing a short supply of supply-chain people. It's one thing to understand one mode. It's another to understand how those modes relate to each other."4

While the demand is apparent, most of academia still operates within the constraints of "functional silos." Faculty in purchasing, production/operations management, and logistics/ transportation operate independently, often duplicating teaching, research, and outreach efforts. These functional silos are influenced by a combination of departmental structure and performance measures (student credit hours), which in turn drive faculty lines. Furthermore, separate programs prohibit students from understanding critical elements of SCM in favor of in-depth knowledge in one area. At the same time, faculty who design curriculum for majors complain that there are not enough credit hours to permit investigation into current topics with sufficient detail. Finally, faculty members are uncomfortable about teaching in areas beyond their expertise, and classroom materials are not integration oriented. The result is a strong impetus for curriculum to remain functionally focused, even as industry is looking for individuals with a broad supply chain perspective.

Purchasing, production/operations management, and logistics/transportation faculty, with a history of close ties to industry and a fundamental understanding of cross-functional business activities, are uniquely positioned to lead the way in integrating SCM. This paper describes the development of an integrated program in SCM at MSU that focuses on horizontal line management processes. It was designed to optimize teaching, research, and outreach efficiency and effectiveness in purchasing, production, and logistics.

BACKGROUND

The concept of SCM has been developing for many years as companies and industries have come to realize that focusing on the value-creation process in isolation from suppliers and customers is not sufficient. Once firms began to integrate internally, it became evident that the greatest opportunity for cost and service improvements lay in the coordination of activities and processes between supply chain firms. The demand for professionals who can think in terms of integrated activities and processes has grown as implementation of SCM has validated its ability to reduce total costs, minimize supply risks, and enhance service levels to customers. Currently, the supply of graduates with skills that allow them to manage processes that cut across functional areas and create and maintain partnerships with vendors, customers, and service providers is limited.6

Academic programs capable of producing such individuals have been slow to adapt. Arjay Miller, former dean of Stanford Business School has noted that getting faculty to change is "like trying to move a cemetery." Specific barriers include historical faculty lines, entrenched courses and programs, limited availability of integrated teaching material, and traditional performance measures related to credit hours taught. Supply chain faculty is often split between marketing and operations, and there is limited motivation for the two departments to work together. This is particularly true when each is allocated faculty based on credit hours taught. Discussions about joint teaching and course content often become "battles" between administrators who are trying to keep existing positions or justify new ones.