IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/orited/v23y2023i3p196-209.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Designing and Assessing a Multidisciplinary Service-Learning Course in Supply Chain Management

Author

Listed:
  • Malini Natarajarathinam

    (Department of Engineering Technology & Industrial Distribution, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843)

  • Shaoping Qiu

    (Department of Engineering Technology & Industrial Distribution, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843)

  • Wei Lu

    (Department of Engineering Technology & Industrial Distribution, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843)

Abstract

In this paper, we describe an innovative design for a multidisciplinary service-learning course on supply chain management in the industrial distribution program housed in the College of Engineering at a large research university in Texas. The purpose of this course was to increase students’ technical expertise and build a mindset and skills needed to tackle current societal issues, raising their social responsibility and enhancing civic-mindedness. The course combined curricular learning with community service, applying the content of academic disciplines to practice. It brought students from industrial distribution and sociology together to help food pantries to improve their operational efficiencies so that the food pantries can serve more people and work toward their goal. In this project, student groups identified the specific needs of community food pantries. They recommended solutions to improve operational efficiency so that they could use their technical skills to address the challenges and make an impact on the communities. In addition, student groups interacted with partner agencies via technologies that aided distance communication, which facilitated partnerships in remote locations. We also evaluated this project. The results reveal that this project had an impact on students’ personal and professional development as well as the community.

Suggested Citation

  • Malini Natarajarathinam & Shaoping Qiu & Wei Lu, 2023. "Designing and Assessing a Multidisciplinary Service-Learning Course in Supply Chain Management," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 23(3), pages 196-209, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orited:v:23:y:2023:i:3:p:196-209
    DOI: 10.1287/ited.2022.0280
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/ited.2022.0280
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/ited.2022.0280?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ashley L. Carreras & Parmjit Kaur, 2011. "Teaching Problem Structuring Methods: Improving Understanding Through Meaningful Learning," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 12(1), pages 20-30, September.
    2. Michael J. Fry, 2008. "Teaching Problem Solving Techniques to MBA Students Through Supply Chain Management," INFORMS Transactions on Education, INFORMS, vol. 8(2), pages 65-74, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Arunachalam Narayanan & Brent B. Moritz, 2015. "Decision Making and Cognition in Multi-Echelon Supply Chains: An Experimental Study," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 24(8), pages 1216-1234, August.
    2. Siebert, Johannes Ulrich & Kunz, Reinhard E. & Rolf, Philipp, 2021. "Effects of decision training on individuals’ decision-making proactivity," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 294(1), pages 264-282.
    3. Parmjit Kaur & Ashley L. Carreras, 2021. "Hearing the Participants’ Voice: Recognizing the Dimensions of Procedural and Interactional Justice by Enabling Their Determinants," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 743-773, August.
    4. Shaw, Duncan & Smith, Chris M. & Scully, Judy, 2017. "Why did Brexit happen? Using causal mapping to analyse secondary, longitudinal data," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 263(3), pages 1019-1032.

    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:inm:orited:v:23:y:2023:i:3:p:196-209. 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: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    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.