Teaching Operations Management Research Articles

Including gender dimension in operations management teaching

Purpose: This paper aims at introducing the importance and the relevant concepts and tools for including gender dimension in teaching, with a special focus in the Operations Management knowledge field.Design/methodology/approach: The methodology is based on a literature review and on the knowledge and experience of the authors in teaching in the field of Operations Management and designing and implementing trainings and pilot programs for including gender dimension in teaching and.Findings: Even if there already exist some general guidelines for including gender dimension in teaching and in some countries the law requires the inclusion of gender dimension in high education, the effective inclusion of gender dimension in teaching is still in a very preliminary stage. Moreover, there are not specific studies focused on the Operations Management field.Research limitations/implications: Even if the authors have wide experience in the field, the proposals have not been applied to many courses so there is no empirical evidence of the achieved results.Practical implications: The paper can be useful for people teaching in Industrial Engineering and Operations Management courses’, as it gives not only some general guidelines and concepts but also specific examples that can be directly applied to their courses.Social implications: Including gender dimension in Industrial Engineering and Operations Management courses, which are still male dominated, can help achieving the SDG 5, which is focused on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Specifically, including gender dimension in teaching allow breaking stereotypes, changing the image of the knowledge field, empowering female students and giving both men and women tools for including the gender dimension in their professional careers.Originality/value: There exist some general guidelines for including gender dimension in teaching but, to the best of our knowledge, there is no any specific work that is focused on the Operations Management knowledge field.

Designing experiential learning activities with generative artificial intelligence tools for authentic assessment

Purpose This article investigates the application of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in experiential learning for authentic assessment in higher education. Recognized for its human-like content generation, GenAI has garnered widespread interest, raising concerns regarding its reliability, ethical considerations and overall impact. The purpose of this study is to explore the transformative capabilities and limitations of GenAI for experiential learning. Design/methodology/approach The study uses “thing ethnography” and “incremental prompting” to delve into the perspectives of ChatGPT 3.5, a prominent GenAI model. Through semi-structured interviews, the research prompts ChatGPT 3.5 on critical aspects such as conceptual clarity, integration of GenAI in educational settings and practical applications within the context of authentic assessment. The design examines GenAI’s potential contributions to reflective thinking, hands-on learning and genuine assessments, emphasizing the importance of responsible use. Findings The findings underscore GenAI’s potential to enhance experiential learning in higher education. Specifically, the research highlights GenAI’s capacity to contribute to reflective thinking, hands-on learning experiences and the facilitation of genuine assessments. Notably, the study emphasizes the significance of responsible use in harnessing the capabilities of GenAI for educational purposes. Originality/value This research showcases the application of GenAI in operations management education, specifically within lean health care. The study offers insights into its capabilities by exploring the practical implications of GenAI in a specific educational domain through thing ethnography and incremental prompting. Additionally, the article proposes future research directions, contributing to the originality of the work and opening avenues for further exploration in the integration of GenAI in education.

Experiential Learning for Circular Operations Management in Higher Education

This research-to-practice article delves into novel learning experiences for operations management education, involving the circular economy and experiential learning. Higher Education academics are required to develop effective learning that actively and impactfully helps nurture in students the essential competency to face sustainable development demands. In operations management education, one possibility is to integrate real-world circular economy challenges into learning activities that address issues concerning solid waste generation in business processes and operations. This type of innovative learning experience involves both conceptual understanding and practical implementation. Accordingly, experiential learning is considered a suitable pedagogy for this purpose in this work because of its hands-on applications, critical thinking, and active engagement. To illustrate this proposition, this paper presents a case study concerning an operations management undergraduate course at a Mexican university. The case study indicates how to translate a situation of solid waste generation in a business into relevant disciplinary experiential learning. The results show that students regarded the learning experience as motivating, interesting, and relevant while widely accomplishing their learning objectives. However, limitations did exist regarding experiential learning, the methodological approach, data collection, and implementation challenges. Future work points to the need for further learning experiences and to improve research reliability, transferability, and validity.

Immersive Learning with Virtual Field Visits: Spherical Video-Based Virtual Reality of Factory Environments

The authors develop, use, and evaluate a spherical video-based virtual reality (SVVR) app for teaching operations management. The app contains a 360-degree photo-realistic copy of real factory environments with blended information and gamified exercises. To solve a learning assignment, students virtually immerse themselves in the factory using the app on their smartphones with virtual reality headsets, tablets, or computers. The authors developed the SVVR app together with an industrial partner, implemented it in a graduate-level course on production and operations management, and evaluated it by drawing on app user data, assignment grade scores, and an evaluation survey. The results show that students reported an overall positive learning experience and that students who engaged more in the SVVR app performed better on the assignment. This paper contributes to the literature on SVVR with evidence of the learning effects of SVVR in an operations management curriculum. It provides an example of how SVVR enables virtual factory visits, integrates gamification elements, and can be integrated into teaching. Funding: This work was supported by the ETH Zurich Innovedum.

Enhancing critical thinking in operations management education: a framework with visual-based mapping for interdisciplinary and systems thinking

ABSTRACT An instructional intervention was introduced to enhance critical thinking skills, in the aspects of interdisciplinary and systems thinking, in an undergraduate Operations Management course at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The intervention included a newly developed visual-based mapping tool to induce deliberate divergent-convergent thinking (imagination and judgement). It was supported by a design-based problem as a formative assessment, with learning outcomes underlined by a set of assessment rubric. To evaluate its effect on the students’ critical thinking abilities, a quasi-experimental study was conducted with data collected from survey instruments, semi-structured interviews, and academic scores. The survey results indicate improvements in students’ abilities in consciously monitoring their cognitive activities, reflecting on their reasoning, and making self-assessment (self-regulation) as well as in assessing credibility, relevance, and logical strength of information (evaluative reasoning). Results from the interviews and academic scores complemented the survey findings. The largely positive results suggest the effectiveness of the intervention.

Operations Management teaching practices and information technologies adoption in emerging economies during COVID-19 outbreak

The objective of this article is three-fold. First, it aims at identifying the main teaching practices and information and communication technologies (ICTs) used to teach Operations Management (OM) in emerging economies during COVID-19 outbreak. Second, it investigates the effect of contextual characteristics on the adoption level of those teaching practices and ICTs. Third, this study examines the relationship between the adoption of ICTs and OM teaching practices during COVID-19 outbreak. Expectedly, schools around the world have pivoted to online learning and digital classrooms. Thus, OM lecturers and professors located in emerging economies that have been teaching during COVID-19 outbreak were surveyed. The collected data was analyzed through multivariate techniques. Findings indicate that lecturers and professors have been remarkably adopting specific teaching practices and ICTs to teach OM. Nevertheless, when considering the contextual characteristics of the universities, departments, and lecturers/professors, the adoption level of those practices and ICTs may significantly vary, especially depending on subject type and teaching experience. Moreover, we empirically verified that ICTs positively relate with OM teaching practices in emerging economies, although in a much less extent than expected. This research provides OM instructors guidelines to better plan their courses and subjects in face of extreme disruptive moments, such as the one caused by the COVID-19. Understanding how the concurrent utilization of ICTs and teaching practices helps OM programs to continue developing their activities is particularly important for universities located in emerging economies, since they are more likely to struggle with resources scarcity and more financially humble students.

Using Concept Maps in Teaching Operations Management Courses

ABSTRACTTeaching quantitative subjects such as operations management (OM) can be quite challenging. In this article, we present a novel approach that uses simplified concept maps for teaching OM. This application of concept maps was investigated to determine if it helps students to answer questions and to solve OM problems more effectively. Our study used a controlled experimental design with students divided into two groups, one taught using concept maps and another group taught using traditional techniques. Student learning was measured with pre‐ and posttests consisting of both multiple‐choice and constructed‐response items. The performance of the two groups was compared using an independent samples t‐test and analysis of covariance to control for the covariate “pretest.” The results indicate that use of simplified concept mapping significantly improved student learning of OM course material. We therefore recommend its adoption as an active‐learning pedagogical technique that can lead to positive change in the OM classroom.

Specific factors influencing operations management courses taught in English in Spanish business degrees

Purpose: The objective of the present study is to analyze the effects of the transition to English Medium Instruction on lecturers in Spanish universities in one specific area, namely Operations Management courses taught in Business degrees.Design/methodology/approach: we present an overview of research so far into the effects of English Medium Instruction (EMI) on teaching and learning Operations Management in Business degrees of Spanish universities. Empirically, a survey was administered to 20 EMI lecturers in the area of Operations Management, and s the results in the light of both the bibliography on EMI and the empirical results were discussed. Using online questionnaires, information was obtained from a sample of EMI lecturers in thirteen Spanish Universities.Findings: Most professors report that they initially reacted negatively to the idea of having to teach in English, but now realize that most of their fears were ungrounded. They emphasize that it is very important to invest time in training seminars and the exchange of experiences. Other relevant findings are the perceived lack of incentives to teach in English, the need to use tools and techniques to improve the interaction with students, and the considerable amount of time needed for class preparation.Originality/value: The results of this small-scale study of EMI in OM are consistent with previous research in the area of EMI in other fields, but also provide some ideas that may pave the way for further research and development.

Bridging the Gap between Practice and Undergraduate Teaching of Operations Management: The Case of Public Liberal Arts Colleges

Bridging the Gap between Practice and Undergraduate Teaching of Operations Management: The Case of Public Liberal Arts Colleges

Teaching Operations Management With Virtual Reality: Bringing the Factory to the Students

Recent developments in virtual reality (VR) technologies offer new opportunities for teaching management courses. The objective of this article is to present one way to use VR to teach operations management. In partnership with a global manufacturer, we integrate virtual environments of the manufacturers’ real factories in a course assignment. The assignment was used in two graduate operations management courses. Theoretically, we draw on the concept of immersion. To evaluate the effects of VR on students’ learning experiences, we use focus groups and a survey. We find that VR can be implemented cost-efficiently in operations management courses and present one way to do it. Considering effectiveness, we find that students generally perceive that VR improves their learning experience. The presented VR assignment provides students a guided discovery learning, which is active. However, we also find several limitations with the current technology, which can be overcome in future implementations. Teachers can use the idea and findings presented here to innovate their own teaching by the means of readily available and low-cost VR technologies.

Improving teamworking competence through action learning. Experiences in operations management education

ABSTRACTTeamworking competence is essential in many operations management environments and can be developed through formal education and practice-based experiences. The main objective of this paper is to describe and to reflect on how to facilitate students in their development in teamworking competence through action learning in Operations Management education. The research design is built around action learning research undertaken by faculty members enquiring into student action learning cycles. What emerges is an understanding of a contingent connection between the classic Tuckman teamworking stages and educator interventions where the nature and timing of the interventions differ as the team evolves.These new practice-based insights illustrate the co-development of students’ teamworking competence and educators’ capability to facilitate learning in action about teamworking. They can be used as a guide for educators and practitioners involved in the development of teamworking competence to design and implement an action learning-based educational initiative.

The Importance for Colleges and Universities Teaching both Marketing and Operations Management Courses to Effectively Link the Material with a Course in Supply Chain Management

The Importance for Colleges and Universities Teaching both Marketing and Operations Management Courses to Effectively Link the Material with a Course in Supply Chain Management

An evidence-informed guided problem-based learning approach to teaching operations management

An evidence-informed guided problem-based learning approach to teaching operations management

Using Simulation to Teach Operations Management to First- and Continuing-Generation Students

Leveraging a popular operations management simulation, we examine how team interaction, students' previous software experience, simulations' ease of use, team leadership, and instructors' guidance affects students' comprehension. Respondents completed a 27-item survey designed to assess individual comprehension. To illustrate the various affects, we use structural equation modeling to compare first-generation and continuing-generation undergraduate populations. The results indicate software's ease of use and instructors' guidance affects both groups, while team interaction to comprehension is present for only first-generation students. We also find that the strength of the various relationships depends on the population of students being studied. As simulations continue to grow in popularity, educators need to recognize how these pedagogical tools affect different student populations.

Continuous innovation: interrogating the intersections and gaps between theory and practice for enhanced undergraduate learning and teaching in operations management

To ensure that graduates are adequately prepared for the demands of rapidly changing industry and labour market contexts tertiary institutions need to engage in a process of continuous curriculum renewal and innovation. Using operations management (OM) teaching practice as a case study this paper explores the tensions and gaps between the pedagogical approaches underpinning dominant approaches to tertiary teaching and contemporary operations management practice. Drawing on the extant literature, academic teacher perspectives and student feedback the challenges and opportunities associated with providing tertiary learners with meaningful opportunities to engage with and test OM theories in authentic applied contexts are illuminated and explored. The conclusions and recommendations offered are valuable as OM has characteristically been taught from pedagogical perspectives where students are provided with insufficient curriculum opportunities to practically apply empirical concepts and ideas. This research can provide a foundation from which tertiary educators and degree programs can benefit by contributing to a culture where continuous innovation in curriculum design and practice is better enabled and valued.

Continuous innovation: interrogating the intersections and gaps between theory and practice for enhanced undergraduate learning and teaching in operations management

Continuous innovation: interrogating the intersections and gaps between theory and practice for enhanced undergraduate learning and teaching in operations management

How mode of delivery affects comprehension of an operations management simulation

PurposeThis study aims to understand how mode of delivery, online versus face-to-face, affects comprehension when teaching operations management concepts via a simulation. Conceptually, the aim is to identify factors that influence the students’ ability to learn and retain new concepts.Design/methodology/approachLeveraging Littlefield Technologies’ simulation, the study investigates how team interaction, team leadership, instructor’s guidance, simulation’s ease of use and previous software experience affects comprehension for both online and face-to-face teaching environments. Survey data were gathered from 514 undergraduate students. The data were then analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsFor the face-to-face population, this study found that team interaction, previous software experience, instructor’s guidance and simulation’s ease of use affected student comprehension. This differed from the online population who were only affected by the simulation’s ease of use and instructor’s guidance.Originality/valueUnderstanding how the mode of delivery affects comprehension is important as educators develop new online teaching techniques and experiment with innovative technologies like simulation. As demand for online education grows, many instructors find they need to refine their methods to ensure students comprehend the concepts being taught regardless of modality.

Decision-Making in a Real-Time Business Simulation Game: Cultural and Demographic Aspects in Small Group Dynamics

Simulated virtual realities offer a promising but currently underutilized source of data in studying cultural and demographic aspects of dynamic decision-making (DDM) in small groups. This study focuses on one simulated reality, a clock-driven business simulation game, which is used to teach operations management. The purpose of our study is to analyze the characteristics of the decision-making groups, such as cultural orientation, education, gender and group size, and their relationship to group performance in a real-time processed simulation game. Our study examines decision-making in small groups of two or three employees from a global manufacturing and service operations company. We aim at shedding new light on how such groups with diverse background profiles perform as decision-making units. Our results reveal that the profile of the decision-making group influences the outcome of decision-making, the final business result of the simulation game. In particular, the cultural and gender diversity, as well as group size seem to have intertwined effects on team performance.

Operations Management Outside of the Classroom: An Experiential Approach to Teaching Enabled by Online Learning

This paper describes the design of an experiential approach to teaching operations management (OM) at New York University Stern School of Business. OM students study the design and management of the supply side of business, including how products are produced and how services are supplied. The course discussed in this paper is unique in that students learn operations while visiting real companies and organizations. The foundational concepts are not taught in classroom lectures, but through video minilectures, demonstrations, group work sessions, and practice problems that are available online and can be accessed at any time. This allows for classroom time to be spent interacting with OM leaders in companies throughout NYC. The city becomes the classroom, and students witness the OM processes of real companies through direct onsite observation and discussions with field experts and professionals as well as with their own peers.

Optimal Mix of Operations Management Contents for a Blended Course for Teaching Healthcare MBA Students

Use of technology is rapidly advancing in online teaching, especially in working-professional MBA programs. MBA programs for special student categories are continuously trying to customize content delivery methods to suit student lifestyles, while meeting accreditation requirements. This paper develops a mathematical model that helps to devise an efficient use of a mixture of classroom and online platforms for covering the necessary Operations Management material for a specialized group of healthcare students. The primary contribution of this paper is not a new use of technology in teaching Operations Management, but an elegant method to organize the materials for teaching a course in an innovative setup that better fits student lifestyles. This method is generic and can be applied to other disciplines.