The evolution of customised executive
education in supply chain management
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the evolving nature of supply chain management customised executive education over the past
decade and present a conceptual framework for curriculum development and design.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a combination of methods utilising both in-depth interviews with academics and practitioners
and a single longitudinal case study based on records of 197 customised executive education programmes delivered since 2000.
Findings – The findings show that the needs of practitioners have evolved from acquiring competency-based training to obtaining support for wider
strategy deployment and change management programmes within organisations. Moreover, the design and delivery of programmes have developed
over the period considering the requirements for experiential learning, project work involving deeper faculty engagement, pre- and post-course project
activity, supported by internet-based learning portals.
Research limitations/implications – The authors’ research provides evidence that the nature of supply chain executive education has changed and
that further research is needed to explore the implications for the delivery of programmes.
Practical implications – The adoption of the framework will provide course directors and programme managers involved in supply chain
management executive education with insights for successful design and execution of programmes. Similarly, the framework can support decisionmaking processes conducted by organisations commissioning customised executive education programs.
Originality/value – Although there is a body of research relating to curriculum development and design generally, there is little empirical research
focusing on supply chain management executive education.
Keywords Supply chain management, Executive education, Training, Adult learning, Andragogy
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
role that supply chain programmes have in supporting
organisational change.
In this paper, we focus on the relationship between the
emergence of SCM as an integrating discipline within
organisations and the customisation of executive education
programmes to support the successful implementation of
SCM change programmes. More specifically, the paper
addresses two research questions:
The field of supply chain management (SCM) has emerged
over the past decade from a functional perspective whose
central focus was the management of the physical distribution
of goods, to a multidisciplinary concept where supply chains
compete as a whole utilising global networks (Christopher,
2010). This has produced significant changes in
organisational culture, structures, information systems
capability and operating planning processes. Many
organisations have relied on executive education programs
to help drive these changes (Büchel and Antunes, 2007; Kets
de Vries and Korotov, 2007; Freeman and Cavinato, 1992;
Giunipero et al., 2006; Carter et al., 2006).
Although there is clear evidence in the literature of the
growing importance of SCM, there is a dearth of empirical
research reporting on the changing role of executive
education. Through the use of case study research and
expert interviews, we seek to explore the engagement of
providers of supply chain executive education to support the
delivery of strategy and behavioural change and the emerging
RQ1. How has supply chain management executive
education changed in the last decade?
RQ2. What are the implications of contextual changes for
providers of executive education in supply chain
management?
To address these questions empirical data have been used to
develop a framework that maps three key stages in the
evolution of executive education in SCM and details the key
relational, educational and design characteristics of
programmes in SCM.
Following this introduction we present a literature review
discussing executive education in SCM. The methodology
section discusses the research design and the methods for data
collection and analysis. The findings section presents the
results obtained from the analysis of the records provided and
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1359-8546.htm
Received July 2012
Revised October 2012
November 2012
Accepted November 2012
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
18/4 (2013) 440– 454
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1359-8546]
[DOI 10.1108/SCM-07-2012-0262]
440
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
the interviews, focusing on three illustrative programmes to
exemplify the different educational characteristics. The
discussion section presents the “Supply Chain Management
Executive Education Framework” which was developed
inductively, based on the findings. Finally, we discuss the
conclusions, limitations and opportunities for further
research.
that to learn we start with concrete experiences, followed by a
period of reflection. Reflection in turn leads to a
conceptualisation of the experience which can be used to
make decisions and act on them. Participants in executive
education courses already have concrete experiences to build
on, but often lack the time and space to reflect on them and
develop conceptualisations. Executive education can provide
time and space for practitioners, helping them to solve
pressing problems and improve their performance at work
(Garvin, 2007).
Another important consideration in executive education,
and indeed in any other form of education, is to recognise that
students have different learning styles. Honey and Mumford
(1982), classify learning styles into four categories:
1 activists;
2 reflectors;
3 theorists; and
4 pragmatists.
Literature review
Teaching and learning in executive education
Executive education programmes serve needs at both the
individual and organisational level. For individuals, the goals
can include acquiring knowledge and understanding of a
particular subject, improving performance at work, and
finding help to resolve specific problems (Garvin, 2007). For
organisations
commissioning
executive
education,
programmes represent drivers for change (Kets de Vries and
Korotov, 2007), “both the nuts-and-bolts of change and the
leadership of change” (Büchel and Antunes, 2007, p. 403).
Central to both individual and organisational goals of
executive education is the process of learning. Learning is a
complex construct because it involves a range of different
activities such as understanding, recognising, remembering,
mastering, reasoning, debating, and developing behaviour
(Fry et al., 2003). These activities ultimately lead to meaning
and can potentially change the way we perceive and
understand the world (Morton and Booth, 1997).
One of the most prominent theories of learning is
constructivism (Piaget, 1950; Bruner, 1960, 1966), which
proposes that people learn by continuously building and
amending structures and constructs as new experiences are
assimilated (Fry et al., 2003). If these structures do not
change, learning will not take place. The constructivist
perspective promotes the use of reflection, understanding and
experiential learning and opposes more traditional methods of
teaching that focus on passive learning and memorisation
(Fry et al., 2003).
The use of experiential learning or action-learning methods
is particularly relevant in an executive education context,
where most course participants are mature students with
business experience and good understanding of organisational
realities and management practices (Garvin, 2007; Newman
and Stoner, 1989). Often what they look for in executive
education is a larger framework or theory from which they can
make sense of their own experiences (Garvin, 2007). The use
of teaching and facilitation methods that promote actionlearning such as simulations, case studies, specific problems
and projects is common in many business schools (Beaty,
2003). Furthermore, in executive education, action-learning
programmes have shown to enhance both individual and
organisational outcomes compared to traditional formats
(Tushman et al., 2007).
Experience alone will not necessarily lead to better
understanding and learning. If experiences are to generate
learning it also is important to reflect on them and assimilate
them (Beaty, 2003). Kolb (1984, 1993) conceptualised a
model of experiential learning based on the learning models of
Lewin, Dewey and Piaget (Kolb, 1993). His model proposes
It is impossible to box business executives into any of these
categories, and their preferred learning style could combine
elements of several categories. Nevertheless, Garvin (2007)
asserts that participants in executive courses often have a
more pragmatic approach to education, have specific
problems in mind when attending courses and are less
motivated by intellectual concerns. This would indicate that
they tend to be more pragmatists or activists, rather than
reflectors or theorists. Recognising and understanding these
learning styles can support the design of courses that can cater
for all these learning styles ensuring individuals are not being
left behind.
Executive education participants are mature students and
they tend to approach learning in different ways (Fry et al.,
2003). The concept of andragogy, defined by Knowles (1984)
as the “art and science of helping adults learn” is very relevant
in an executive education context. Knowles (1980)
characterises adult learners as:
.
being mature and self-directing;
.
bringing learning situation resources from their previous
experience and training that is a rich resource of one
another’s learning;
.
being task-centered, problem-centered and life-centered
in their orientation to learning;
.
being intrinsically motivated to learn.
Knowles (1974) contrast the traditional model for child
education (i.e. pedagogy) with that for the education of adults
(Andragogy) and argues that the inherent differences in the
learner require a different model of education. For adults, he
advocates a process model rather than a content model; a
model that is “concerned with providing procedures and
resources for helping learners acquire information,
understanding, skills, attitudes, and values” (Knowles,
1974, p. 117).
The andragogical approach, according to Knowles (1974,
1979), requires changing the assumption that education
consists of transmitting knowledge, and accepting that adult
education represents a process of acquiring skills, attitudes
and values, as well as knowledge (Knowles, 1979). This also
requires the educator to change its approach and become a
441
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
facilitator of learning and a resource provider (Knowles,
1979).
Understanding the goals of executive education students,
their learning styles, and the general characteristics of adult
learners are important elements in designing, delivering and
assessing courses to meet specific requirements. In the case of
customised education it is also necessary to take into
consideration the needs of the organisation, which will often
include a transformational agenda (Kets de Vries and
Korotov, 2007).
Executive education in supply chain management combines
the challenges of general executive programmes with the
technical complexities of the subject matter. The following
section concentrates on the literature of SCM education and
its implications for executive education.
required are technical (e.g. transport, logistics, network
design, inventory management). However, Giunipero et al.
(2006) argue that supply chain management has taken a more
strategic role in organisations creating a need for more
strategic skills (e.g. leadership, influencing, planning). Table I
categorises the different skills required from SCM
professionals as purported in the literature:
Freeman and Cavinato (1992) evaluate an executive course
in procurement and argue that executive education is
frequently used as a mechanism to transform a functional
area “from a reactive stance to one that fulfils a critical role in
the strategic management of the firm” (Freeman and
Cavinato, 1992, p. 25). This transformational role requires
practitioners to build on their technical/functional skills, to
develop more general management skills and ultimately
leadership and strategy skills. In this respect, Table I could be
interpreted as a staircase in which executive education is
designed to move participants upwards.
Supply chain management executive education
Supply chain management (SCM) is a nascent field which
started to be incorporated into syllabi during the 1990s
(Johnson and Pyke, 2000), and research into SCM education
is relatively scarce. Existing research tends to focus on
undergraduate and postgraduate courses (e.g. Johnson and
Pyke, 2000; Rock Kopczak and Fransoo, 2000; Carter et al.,
2006; Birou et al., 2008; van Hoek et al., 2011), overlooking
executive education. Educational research is more developed
in subjects that are closely associated with SCM, such as
logistics, transport and procurement. For the purpose of this
paper we have decided to take a unionist perspective (Larson
and Halldorsson, 2004) and draw on educational
developments in all of these subjects to create a broader
picture of SCM education
The literature proposes various models to describe the
knowledge and competencies that supply chain professionals
apply – see McKevitt et al. (2012). Gammelgaard and Larson
(2001) suggest a three-factor model of supply chain
management skills, which they interpret as interpersonal/
basic managerial skill, quantitative/technological skill, and
core SCM skills, while Mangan and Christopher (2005), in a
survey of supply chain professionals, rank their skills as
communication followed by people management and problem
solving. Gravier and Farris (2008) conducted a review of the
educational literature in logistics from the 1960s through to
2008, and identified 81 relevant articles. They categorised the
publications in three primary themes: content and skills,
curriculum development and delivery methods. Of these three
themes, curriculum has received the most attention, with 60
per cent of the papers, however, teaching methods, which
accounted for 21 per cent of the papers, did not emerge until
the 1990s and has received substantial attention since then
(Gravier and Farris, 2008). The categorisation of Gravier and
Farris provides a useful structure for discussing education in
the broader field of SCM and has been used to structure the
remainder of this section.
Curriculum development
The literature on curriculum development for executive
programmes in supply chain management is practically nonexistent. However, a number of studies have analysed and
recommended curricula for supply chain education, mainly
with a focus on undergraduate studies (e.g. Johnson and Pyke,
2000; Lancioni et al., 2001; Myers et al., 2004; Wu, 2007;
Gravier and Farris, 2008; Birou et al., 2008). The main focus
of undergraduate and even post-graduate courses tends to be
on technical/functional areas, with general management, and
strategy and leaderships receiving lesser attention. van Hoek
et al. (2002), highlight a similar issue, claiming that teaching
in supply chain management tends to focus on technical
aspects and overlook the human aspects. They argue for
education that is more strategic and more sensitive to
emotional aspects.
In one of the few publications on open executive education
in a field related to SCM, Freeman and Cavinato (1992)
evaluate the “Strategic Purchasing Management Program”
delivered at Penn State University (USA). They argue that to
give a new perspective it is necessary to provide not just a
programme, but an “educational experience” to teach the
participants the “language and culture of general
management”. Further, they claim that to deliver this
objective the content of the course has to focus on general
management subjects such as: strategic management, finance,
organisational structures, international business, and
communications (Freeman and Cavinato, 1992). It appears
that while undergraduate and postgraduate students with
limited work experience require a heavy load of technical and
functional courses, executives need a different balance with
greater emphasis on general management, finance, leadership
and strategy.
Delivery in executive education in SCM
The differences between undergraduate/postgraduate and
executive education also affect delivery methods. Freeman
and Cavinato (1992) argue that executive educational needs
are to be highly interactive and include case studies,
discussions and simulations to help participants understand
the implication of their decisions on the competitive
Content and skills
Supply chain management education is often targeted at
developing professionals that can apply their skills and
knowledge in organisations. Hence, it is important to
understand the skills demanded by the profession as a
starting point to develop the curriculum. Many of the skills
442
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
Table I Skills in supply chain management
Theme
Skills
Sources
Leadership and strategy
Strategy formulation, influencing, leading change, negotiation, compromising, team
building facilitation, innovation, entrepreneurship
Freeman and Cavinato (1992);
Giunipero et al. (2006); Carter et al.
(2006)
Financial
Accounting, activity based costing (ABC), total cost analysis, break even analysis,
writing business cases
Giuinipero and Handfield (2004);
Giunipero et al. (2006)
General management
Goal setting, decision-making, problem solving, creative thinking, execution,
communication (writing, presentation, listening), project management, change
management, information systems, time management, risk management, human
resource management
Carter et al. (2006); Giunipero et al.
(2006); Gravier and Farris (2008);
Myers et al. (2004)
Technical/functional
Transport, logistics, procurement, supplier selection, network design, materials
management, Inventory/JIT, operations management, quality and service, simulation
and modelling
Giunipero et al. (2006); Gravier and
Farris (2008)
lead to the same learning as resolving a real problem for an
organisation.
Carter et al. (2006) provide one of the few publications
discussing customised executive education in supply chain
management. The key difference in customised education is
that a single organisation, with specific needs, reaches out to
the academic community for a program to educate their
executives. Based on reflections over a three year executive
education program for IBM, Carter et al. (2006) offer advice
to organisations looking to buy executive education
programmes in supply chain management. They propose
seven prescriptive recommendations summarised in Table II.
The recommendations offered by Carter and colleagues are
useful for academics because they give an indication of what
customers of executive education in this field are looking for.
This has implications for course design, delivery methods and
faculty expertise and skills. For instance, point 1 implies that
educational institutions might need to look for partners, to
landscape of the organisation. Furthermore, they argue that
executive education should equip participants with the tools
to lead transformational change (Freeman and Cavinato,
1992, p. 30).
Rock Kopczak and Fransoo (2000) provide a good example
of how to improve the understanding of the “soft” issues
through the use of global projects with global project teams.
They describe how Master level students from Stanford,
Eindhoven University of Technology and Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology would form teams
and companies that resolve specific problems. This approach
helps students learn about general management issues in a
supply chain and although not applied to executive education,
elements of this problem-based learning approach should be
applicable to practicing executives. A less expensive and time
consuming way of embedding “insights from industry” in
supply chain programmes is to use guest lecturers as argued
by van Hoek et al. (2011), although it is unlikely that this will
Table II Recommendations for executive education programmes in SCM
Recommendation
Rationale
1. Consider drawing from multiple providers
To include diverse expertise and perspectives to avoid groupthink ant to
benefit from a broader selection of faculty
2. Include some element of project work or action planning
This will help to facilitate knowledge and skill transfer when participants
return to their organisations
3. Incorporate some aspect of experiential learning such as case study
or simulation
To enhance involvement of participants and help them to visualize the links
between strategy and decision making
4. Ensure that providers can incorporate a strong global component
Most supply chains are global and this should be reflected in the design of the
programme
5. Integrate the design of the programme with the evaluation and
advancement programme
To ensure programme is used to support the career development of the
participants
6. Programme coordinators should monitor the results for the action
plans
Organisations want to see changes in performance from participants
7. Measure deliverables against programme objectives
Organisations went to know if the programme is delivering against an initial
set of objectives
Source: Developed by authors based on Carter et al. (2006)
443
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
satisfy the clients’ needs. Points 2 and 3 call for case studies,
action learning and experiential learning materials as well as
faculty with appropriate facilitation skills and technical
knowledge. Point 4, could be handled in different ways,
including collaboration with institutions in other parts of the
world as well as international faculty who can provide a global
perspective. Finally points 5, 6 and 7, indicated that a
substantial amount of work might be required after the course
to evaluate performance and support participants’ action
plans.
The studies by Freeman and Cavinato (1992) and Carter
et al. (2006) may have methodological limitations because
they focus on single cases. However, they are useful because
they provide a clear indication that executive education in
SCM, and particularly customised education, is substantially
different from traditional education and places different
demands on the faculty designing and delivering this type of
course. Both studies provide stepping stones to continue
investigating this relatively unexplored subject.
phenomenon and its surrounding context (Voss et al., 2002;
Meredith, 1998). Furthermore, the mixed methods approach
improved the reliability, as well as the internal and external
validity of the study.
Selection of case study and interviewees
The academic institution selected for the case study provides
a unique setting for the research because it has been involved
in executive education in the field of supply chain
management, logistics and transportation for over 25 years.
Detailed records of programmes including learning objectives,
number of participants, programme duration and timetables
are available providing a rich source of longitudinal data to be
analysed. In total, 197 programmes with 49 different
organisations, accounting for 4623 delegates during the
period 1st January 2000 through to 31st May 2012, were
included in the study.
Two types of interviewees were involved in the research:
practitioners and academics. Focus groups had been
considered as they may have afforded more interaction but,
due to the geographies involved, were not feasible. Interviews
with practitioners were selected on either the basis of holding
a senior supply chain role or a senior role within a human
resource function with direct involvement in SCM executive
education. Eight interviews with practitioners were conducted
within three different organisations. These three organisations
are used as illustrations of customised programmes in the
findings section.
Academic interviewees were selected on the basis of their
involvement on executive education with particular emphasis
on supply chain programmes. Seven interviews with
academics from five different institutions in the UK
(Cranfield and Oxford), the USA (MIT and Babson) and
France (HEC Paris) were conducted. All of the academics
interviewed have at least ten years’ experience in executive
education and two of them have over 40 years’ experience.
Two of them are currently heads of executive education in
their respective institutions and two of them are former heads.
The remaining three have acted as course directors for
numerous executive education courses. The purpose of these
interviews was to understand changes in the executive
education market and the response of academic institutions
to these changes in andragogical terms.
Methodology
This study investigates changes in customised executive
education in supply chain management. Given the
exploratory nature of the research, we decided to use a
mixed methods approach (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004;
Leonard-Barton, 1990) combining a single longitudinal case
study using archival data and a series of 15 interviews with
academics and practitioners. These methods are both
complementary and synergistic and help to overcome some
of the weaknesses of using each of the methods independently.
The longitudinal case study involved the analysis of a
population of 197 archival records of supply chain customised
executive programmes delivered by a single UK-based
academic institution since 2000. Each individual
programme was treated as a unit of analysis providing a
basis of comparison. The benefit of this approach is that it
allowed unique access to unique factual data that has been
systematically recorded over a long period of time. This helps
increase the study’s internal validity by allowing the
investigation of causal links (Leonard-Barton, 1990).
Semi-structured interviews with both academics delivering
executive education programmes and practitioners involved in
acquiring customised executive programmes. The interviews
helped to understand the contextual changes in the executive
education market, the changing needs of organisations and
supply chain practitioners, and the educational approaches
used by institutions to satisfy the needs of executive education
clients. Semi-structured interviews provided flexibility to
explore an under-researched phenomenon (Oppenheim,
2001; Bryman and Bell, 2007) and provided an opportunity
to investigate the phenomenon from the perspectives of both
the consumer and the educator (Burgess, 1982, p. 107, in
Easterby-Smith et al., 2008). These interviews strengthen the
external validity of the research by allowing triangulation and
allowing the investigation of the phenomenon from different
vantage points.
The combination of methods and data helped gain rich
empirical results and a deep understanding of the research
Analysis of archival records
Four main sources of archival records were analysed.
Information was retrieved from the electronic accounting
system to provide transaction data including, company name,
programme title, programme duration, number of delegates,
delegate names, and whether the programme was run on-site
at the academic institution or off-site. Further analysis
relating to course content was undertaken by reviewing the
individual course timetables and course presentation media.
The timetables contained the title of each individual session,
the duration and the facilitators’ name(s). The detailed course
content was retained in the Powerpoint presentations used in
the programmes that were stored on the University databases.
Finally, the course appraisal sheets were also used to gather
information on delegate feedback. The appraisal forms were
444
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
not stored electronically but were archived at the University’s
store rooms.
Purposeful sampling was used to select only executive
education programmes that were solely based on supply
management themes. As a consequence, a significant number
of general management programmes, where supply chain
concepts were an element of the overall course specification,
were omitted from the analysis.
Despite the increasing maturity some of the interviewees have
also acknowledged that there is a skills and knowledge gap
and that education is still required.
The need for skills is greater than it’s ever been.
Globalisation
Many supply chains were global a decade ago. The process of
globalisation has continued, creating more complex and
interconnected supply chains. One of the interviewees has
noted:
Analysis of interviews and secondary data
Interviewees were initially contacted by e-mail and provided
with a background to the research and the semi-structured
interview protocol in advance of meeting. Following
agreement to take part, the duration of interviews ranged
from thirty minutes to two hours. To supplement the
interviews, secondary data was also collected including
company documentation and archival records specifically
concerning the objectives, design, delivery and appraisal of
programmes. Combining primary and secondary sources of
data provided validation through triangulation (Yin, 2008).
Notes were taken during the interviews and the data
analysed through the identification of emergent patterns
(Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Yin, 2008). Following the data
analysis the initial findings were e-mailed to the participants
to verify that their views had been correctly interpreted.
We’re managing global supply chains and there is a need to understand the
intricacies of global logistics. Many of these skills now live in large logistics
companies.
This globalisation process also has implications for education
as practitioners around the world have access to the same
knowledge. One interviewee has commented:
The world is flat, distance in learning opportunities is smaller. We have more
access to knowledge; now it’s about how we use this knowledge.
Competition
Most of the interviewees have noted that competition in
executive education has increased substantially over the last
ten years. Academic institutions have strengthened their
offerings and some have developed a global reach, but the
greatest challenges have come from other types of
organisations, such as, consultancies, professional
organisations and small niche players. The following quotes
exemplify this trend:
Findings
10 years ago there were few universities doing SCM. Now every university
has a programme.
To answer the first research question “How has supply chain
management executive education changed in the last
decade?” we initially looked for general trends in the
archival data. Table III shows the total number of
programmes considered in the study, detailing the location
of the program and the average number of participants.
Table IV shows the average number of days per programme
since January 2000 and Figure 1 presents a breakdown of the
programmes by industry sector showing a wide variety of
industries involved, with logistics and service providers being
the dominant sector, followed by retail, home and personal
care and food and drink.
The interviews with academics provide much greater depth
concerning the contextual factors that have affected
customised executive programmes in recent years. Based on
these interviews five key trends affecting supply chain
management education over the past decade were identified:
maturity, globalisation, competition, technology, and change
management. Each of these is briefly discussed below:
Other organisations, such as, CIPS and CILT have also entered the market,
covering specific subjects such as warehousing, etc.
Consultants have always been in the frame, but now they are doing more
knowledge into action. . .
This trend has pushed universities to be more competitive in
terms of their offering. One of the interviewees has claimed:
We are really being pushed on the value; consultancies coming into the
marketplace, start-up organisations and small “niche” players and other
challengers of ideas from outside business schools.
Change management
Another trend that has been consistently recognised by
interviewees is that customised programmes are being used
for transformational purposes. They are often part of a larger
change management agenda in which education is used partly
to provide knowledge and skills and partly to legitimize the
change initiative. The following quotes support this view:
Today companies have very specific requirements, normally around a
significant change management programme.
For customised programmes it’s important to clarify the “real” objectives,
which are often beyond supply chain training.
Maturity
Supply chain management has developed substantially over
the past decade. Practitioners are now familiar with the
terminology and companies accept it needs to be managed.
Increasing maturity has implications for the depth and
breadth of programmes. The following quotes exemplify these
changes:
These changes are also affecting the design of programmes,
the educational approaches used and the relationship with the
clients. This is evident from the following quotes:
10 years ago it was about awareness rising. Now it’s moved to addressing
specific business problems and resolving them. It’s more how-to and
implementation.
Before, action learning would be on the job. Now the runway is shorter and
it requires a different kind of executive education. We need much more
action learning and experiential learning.
Courses are targeted at changing hearts and minds and supporting the new
strategy. The university is used to gain external credibility.
445
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
Table III Number of organisations and executive education programmes – 1 January 2000 to 31 May 2012
Total number of organisations
Total number of individual
programmes
Number on-site
Number
off-site
Average number of delegates
per programme
197
164
33
23
49
Table IV Average number of days per programme 2000 to 2012
Average number of days/programme
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
3.2
3.3
3.6
3.8
3.6
3.5
4.6
5.8
7.1
4.7
3.3
3.4
2.3
Figure 1 Companies by sector
Programmes are highly customised, taking up to a year or longer to develop
and pilot material. These require a much greater level of intimacy with the
client.
A classification of programmes
From the coding of the programme objectives, timetables and
company documentation three main themes emerged:
.
Knowledge gap/sheep dip programmes.
.
Specialist technical programmes.
.
Strategic support programmes.
Technology
Changes in technology have affected both the content of
programmes and the tools used in education. Although
technological changes are perhaps obvious and natural it’s
important to recognise the changes they can bring. One of the
interviewees has noted that technology was very influential in
SCM at the turn of the century, but technology is less
significant today. He claimed that:
Knowledge gap/sheep dip programmes
These programmes are designed to cover a broad spectrum of
general supply chain concepts and technical subjects with the
objective of raising the overall awareness of supply chain
theory and bridge a knowledge gap within an organisation. As
an example, it was noted in our interviews that in a response
to customers increasing needs or more complex supply chain
services, the logistics service provider (LSP) sector had
recognised a need to raise the standard of their organisations
overall supply chain knowledge. Several major LSP’s had
therefore used knowledge gap/sheep dip programmes as part
of this initiative.
These programmes often have a number of iterations (or
cohorts) that repeat several times per year over several years to
immerse or “sheep dip” a large number of personnel within
an organisation. Typical objectives for these programmes
included:
At the turn of the century there were technological advances, such as, ebusiness that dominated the agenda, now the need is organisational change.
The impact of technology is also significant for the
educational process as new tools such as webinars and
podcasts have become popular. One of the interviewees has
noted:
10 years ago it was mainly class, now there is more pre-learning, webinars,
on-line exercises, filming, podcasts.
The changes outlined above have affected both the content
and the design of programmes. In the following subsection
we’ll classify different types of programmes before illustrating
the impact of these changes using specific programmes.
To expose delegates to the latest in supply chain thinking.
446
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
planning. Delegate numbers range between 18- 30 and the
length of programmes were typically 3-5 days.
To support a consistent and integrated approach to supply chain
management across the business.
To embed a common “language” within the supply chain functions.
Specialist/technical programmes
Specialist/technical programmes have a narrow subject focus
or emerging theme. They typically involve teaching
practitioners in more operational roles and provide a
detailed examination of the subject matter often with hands
on training. They are normally shorter in duration than skills
gap/sheep dip programmes and have a smaller number of total
delegates due to the specialist nature of the training –
between 10 and 20. Examples of programmes include:
.
Warehousing.
.
e-Procurement: from strategy to value.
.
The changing role of logistics service providers in Europe.
.
Inventory optimisation – tools and techniques.
.
Supply chain mapping.
.
Design of distribution centres
The curriculum for this kind of programme would exhibit a
high level of commonality. The educational approach
combined traditional lectures with experiential learning,
mainly through published case studies, business simulation
games, exercises and activities.
Extracted from the timetables, Table V illustrates the most
highly used supply chain concepts, case studies, business
games and exercises used for these programmes.
The analysis revealed that as the influence of the Supply
Chain Councils’ SCOR framework (Supply Chain Council,
2010) has increased, the structure of programme timetables
have increasingly been aligned to their key of “Plan, Source,
Make, Deliver and Return” process model. A mixture of
learning methods would be deployed in support of more
formal lectures including, cases studies, business simulations
and games and exercises. Delegates would be exposed to short
buzz sessions, group exercises and break-out sessions, open
debate, reflection periods, journal writing, and general action
Strategic support programmes
From the analysis of the data contained in the programme
objectives and timetables, a clear trend was established.
Between 2000 to 2005, the majority of programmes were
knowledge gap/sheep dip programmes or specialist/technical
programmes with a small number coded as “Others” (for
example, senior management briefings/workshops and
company annual conferences) forming the remainder. From
2006 to 2012 strategic support programmes emerged and
now form the majority of programmes as illustrated in
Figure 2.
These programmes require a highly customised design
whose purpose is to support the delivery of strategy
deployment and business transformation for companies.
Archival records show that these programmes demand
significant engagement between the client and the academic
institution, ranging between 6-18 months prior to the
commencement of the first programme running.
Knowledge gap/sheep dip and specialist/technical
programmes in supply chain management are, for the most
part, well established and the mechanisms for their design and
delivery are well understood. Conversely, there is little in the
literature that explores the characteristics of strategic support
programmes. The next section seeks to bridge this gap by
presenting empirical data from three illustration programmes.
Table V Knowledge gap/sheep dip programmes: repeating themes,
SCM concepts taught, cases studies, business games and exercises
SCM concepts
Introduction to supply chain concepts
Managing global supply chains
Agility/lean and leagile supply chains
Forecasting and inventory management
Manufacturing operations in a supply chain context
Strategic sourcing and procurement
Distribution and warehouse operations
IT and software selection
Supply chain finance
Lean and time compression
Collaboration
Supply chain performance measurement
Outsourcing and third party logistics
Sales and operations planningj
Change management
Case studies
Dell
Marks & Spencer
Li & Fung
Super models – time compression
Zara – fast fashion
Finn Forest
Scotts
Hewlett Packard
Mattel and the Toy Recalls
Illustration programmes
Illustration programme Alpha
Alpha is one of the world’s leading international oil and gas
companies. Its main activities include the exploration and
extraction of oil and gas, moving and making fuels and
products and providing its customers with fuel for
transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and
petrochemical products for everyday items.
To maximise the value of its operations, during 2008 the
company embarked on a major restructuring of its global
refining, logistics, retail and marketing functions around a
business strategy called fuels value chain (FVC). The concept
was to integrate all the elements of the business into a single
value chain to meet customer demands and enhance
profitability. The company also set about changing the way
Business games Supply chain game – manual simulation of a multi
echelon supply chain
Supply chain game simulation – computer based
simulation with costs and service objectives
Exercises
Demand forecasting
Inventory management
Lean and time compression
Network design
447
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
Figure 2 Percentage of programmes delivered 1 January 2000 to 31 May 2012
electronic presentation media, including, strategy reports,
examples of commercial defined practices, and “the way we
work” report.
It took nine months to develop the first pilot programme.
To ensure the quality of the programme, a “dry run” was
performed at the company’s head office where the material
was “walked through” and final amendments were identified.
The programme was finally delivered by seven subject
experts, one external practitioner expert and four senior
managers from the company over three days.
of operating and implementing a series of initiatives based on
ensuring a more “systematic” way of working across all FVCs.
This programme extended to covering major planning
processes, such as sales and operations planning (S&OP),
operating procedures, such as, safety and a new performance
measurement system. The strategy was supported by the
central supply chain team who set the standards and
published a series of “commercial defined practices” and a
capability framework.
Historically, the company developed and delivered most of
their training in house. In a break from this trend they looked
to an external provider to support the development needs for
the FVC initiative. After the initial tendering process the
academic institution was selected as the supplier in June 2011
and the first pilot executive programme ran in March 2012.
The company had a very clear set of objective and the
programme content needed to be highly customised to
address these. They were:
.
To embed the mindset and behaviours necessary for a
systematic management approach.
.
To provide a comprehensive understanding of the
philosophy, components and processes leading to a
systematic management approach through lectures, best
practice examples, games, case studies and discussions.
.
To provide executive development and education in
supply chain excellence, commercial business
management, performance measurement, change
management, project management, and knowledge
management.
Illustration programme Beta
Beta is a builders’ merchant and one of the largest suppliers to
the UK’s building and construction industry. They provide
more than 100,000 products to trade professionals and offer
tool and equipment hire services.
The company has two main themes to their supply chain
strategy: “the language of profit” and “easy to do business
with supplier”. The “language of profit” strategy was to
embed a culture focussing managers on the goal of profit.
This was explained as either growing the business or taking
cost out of the business. As the Director of Supply Chain
expressed:
[. . .] our company is essentially a supply chain business, we have great
opportunity to find ways to improve the bottom line by working better across
our various businesses.
The company’s supply chain senior management team (SMT)
worked with the academic institution for six months to
develop a programme relevant to colleagues from supply
chain, from other functions and from the Group’s trading
businesses. The challenge was to design a programme that
would support the business strategy by equipping delegates
with concepts, methods and techniques that would benefit
managers in a wide range of roles, that would promote crossfunctional working and that could demonstrate a clear
payback. One of the interviewees commented:
Initial meetings were held with senior supply chain executives,
including, the Commercial VP – Refining and Marketing and
the Global Head of Supply Chain Management, and
representatives from the Central Learning and Development
function to scope out the core of the programme. A team of
academics worked with the central supply chain team,
members of the learning and development group and
specialists within the company, to create the detailed lesson
plans, learning outcomes and develop course materials. The
company also provided numerous internal documents and
25 per cent of the material was customised and this was supplemented with
examples from us and tailoring of the business games, for example, the
supply chain game was adapted to better reflect our supply chain operations.
448
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
The programme was designed for managers across the whole
organisation, to develop an understanding of supply chain
strategy, best practice and its impact on the business,
ultimately delivering strategic benefits of improved customer
service, competitiveness and cost and capital control.
A significant element of the course was related to
supporting post-course project work. Delegates were
assigned in groups to pre-defined projects identified by the
SMT. The course was specifically designed as a facilitator for
the projects in several ways. First, the knowledge transferred
during the programme was grounded in relevant supply chain
management concepts. Second, it contained tools and
techniques for change management and project
management. Time was dedicated to the delegates during
the programme as “a conscious decision was taken during the
design of the course to allow them to work on their projects
using tools and templates provided to create their project
charters, stakeholder analysis and identify inhibitors and
facilitators”. The group working would then be presented
back to representatives of the SMT and the academic team
and get “agreement and sign off to proceed”.
Two months after the programme, the delegates returned to
the academic institution for a further development day. They
were exposed to additional supply chain improvement tools
and reported against the progress of their projects. Finally,
after six months, project teams presented their findings to the
SMT. Overall, approximately 50 per cent of the programme
time was dedicated to facilitating projects.
The company saw the programme as part of a deeper
engagement with learning and development through
sponsoring selected staff for graduate programmes, and also
membership of the supply chain research forums. Beta viewed
their relationship as a strategic collaboration, going far beyond
the provision of courses.
The leadership team spent four days at the academic
institution in a strategy development workshop to develop a
five year transformation plan. To be successful the company
recognised two key objectives:
1 A passionate and rigorous approach to putting complex
key account customers at the centre of everything we do
and building an organisation to deliver this vision.
2 A recognition that these key account customers will
require exceptional supply chain knowledge/capability
from the organisation/people – and a raising of the bar to
have consultant level knowledge and thinking when
dealing with board level people in our customers
operations.
The programme was seen as central to the delivery of the
strategy and the curriculum was specifically designed to
integrate a series of modules to support a successful
transformation. The content included:
.
Strategic account management
.
Value selling and account management.
.
Supply chain and logistics management.
The company put in place a balanced scorecard to monitor
the success based on a number of key milestones.
Discussion
Commonalities across programmes
The programmes evaluated in this research came from
organisations in different sectors, and each had its own
distinctive strategy. However, some common themes for their
executive education programmes emerge. In all cases,
programmes were not seen as a discrete learning and
development activities but as part of a wider organisational
strategy deployment; an argument that has been highlighted
in the literature (e.g. Freeman and Cavinato, 1992; Garvin,
2007; Kets de Vries and Korotov, 2007).
The programmes were sponsored by senior management
within the organisations; for example, Global Head of Supply
Chain Management (Alpha), Group Supply Chain Director
(Beta) and National Key Accounts Manager (Gamma). The
anticipated outcome for these programmes was to have an
immediate and effective behavioural change towards the new
strategy with demonstrable results. Care was taken by the
companies in selecting managers that would be able to affect
change and become advocates of the strategy when they
returned to their respective part of the business. It is
important to acknowledge that this type of programs have an
implicit political agenda within the business involved and the
educational institutions play a role in this agenda.
Acknowledging this role can help educators decide how they
want to engage with the business.
Engagement with the companies involved was significant
and required the academic institution to have a high level of
contact to develop the desired level of intimacy with the
company and to have empathy with the delegates. The
institutions’ staff made visits to the companies and “buddy
up” with nominated company experts to assure the
congruence between the strategy and the material being
developed. Further, the companies provided internal reports
Illustration programme Gamma
With 7,000 people and a global network, Gamma is one of the
world’s largest freight management companies. They provide
customers with integrated supply chain solutions that deliver
cargo by sea and air. They operate in several sectors including
high-tech, pharmaceuticals, textiles and automotive products
and also specialise in marine logistics, industrial projects and
other niche markets. They have a network of offices and air
and ocean hubs in over 50 countries with a strong presence in
Europe, the Americas and the Asia Pacific region. They also
have offices in the Middle East and in Africa.
In 2008, the company acquired a competitor to gain access
to some larger customers and to enhance shipping capability
for the UK operation. This integration gave rise to several
objectives to be met by the management including:
.
Manage a successful integration of two organisations with
minimal loss of customers.
.
Establish the new UK Brand as a market leading supply
chain and logistics provider.
.
Significantly increase supply chain capability within the
organisations customer facing personnel.
.
Deliver aggressive growth targets in a competitive market
place.
449
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
and PowerPoint presentation media relating to their strategy,
operating procedures and other material that would provide
relevant background information.
The course design also had common elements. Pre- and
post-course activity was a significant element for all
programmes. Pre-course questionnaires, data collection and
some analysis was a pre-requisite along with pre-course
reading of case material. Course material was a blend of
theory and examples supplemented with company analogies
and case vignettes. It was important to all companies that the
delegates attending the course should be able “to relate the
theory to what’s happening...we are used to doing this
ourselves and our people will expect to see lots of our own
examples....to some it won’t be normal to get an outside view
so we need to be sensitive to this” (Alpha). It was also evident
that care was taken so that delegates could immediately see
the alignment with their company’s strategy and reflect this
directly back to their “day to day” jobs. Examples of this came
from the timetables and lesson plans where each company had
workshops designed to explore the link between theory and
the company.
This argument may partly explain the emergence of strategic
support programmes as companies look to develop and
deploy business wide supply chain strategies. Moreover,
companies are looking for external providers who can offer
external legitimacy to their strategy so that “the course is not
seen as another centre driven initiative....we want to get an
external perspective to show how others are doing it and
what’s best in class.”
It was seen as essential for Strategic Support programmes
that the institution needed to have a high level of
understanding of the company’s strategy direction and its
culture and to “keep our academic integrity but also act in
many ways as extension of their own business”. Institutions
will need to consider the change in relational forms between
delivery of more traditional programmes and strategic
supporting programmes. It should also be noted that we
found that these relationships can become quite entrenched.
As noted by one academic expert, “I can remember working
with a company and I felt we had almost gone native and
when I heard things were not going their way I felt it too”. As
a consequence, strategic support programmes may need a
more comprehensive approach to the contract negotiations
and careful budgeting to take account of the development
period and post-course support. Moreover, the legal aspects
for the contracts between the parties may also be more
complicated, for example, to take account of the intellectual
property from co-developed material, handling and
confidentiality of company documentation.
Customers of strategic support programmes may also be
seeking a deeper relationship with the provider and a broader
service offering. Our findings show that many of the
companies who received strategic support programmes also
engaged in additional service offerings as part of a wider
“framework agreement”. Services included, consultancy,
memberships to research forums, sponsorship for graduate
programmes and support for thesis projects. Consequently,
the course director for these programmes acted as relationship
manager.
Differences across programmes
Although a high commonality can be seen among
programmes there are some notable differences.
Surprisingly, the level of post course activity varied
significantly. For one programme, it was a significant
component. Cross functional teams of five delegates worked
on post course projects and applied their learning to a real
business issue within the company. Half-way through the
project (a period of six months) the teams returned to the
academic institution for a one-day workshop to report on
progress and made a final presentation of the results to the
supply chain senior management team. For another company,
there was no formal post-course activity. The delegates were
asked to consider the learning from the programme, to
identify further development needs and to present what they
will do differently after the course.
Our findings build on the literature relating to supply chain
executive education (Carter et al. 2006; Freeman and
Cavinato, 1992; Rock Kopczak and Fransoo, 2000).
Although the literature covers a range of facets pertaining to
undergraduate and post-graduate education and general
executive education, there is no framework that delineates
supply chain executive education programmes and their
dimensions. The first contribution of this paper is to present a
framework for supply chain executive education, illustrated in
Table VI, which identifies two dimensions:
1 relational form; and
2 education and programme design.
Programme design
The implications for programme design and for the overall
educational approach are significant for strategic support
programmes. The use of experiential and action learning (Fry
et al., 2003; Beaty, 2003; Carter et al. 2006) is consistent with
other types of programmes, but Strategic support
programmes rely more on problem-based and project-based
approaches that focus on existing situations, as well as
customised case studies based on the organisation’s current
challenges. On the other hand, traditional lectures take a back
seat as experienced practitioners “resent being told the facts
of life” (Newman and Stoner, 1989, p. 133) and prefer to
look for practical applications. These approaches would tend
to favour activist and pragmatist learning styles (Honey and
Mumford, 1982). In terms of Kolb’s learning cycle (Kolb,
1984, 1993), practitioners already have a wealth of
experiences to draw on, but often lack the time to reflect on
these experiences and close the cycle.
Course materials for strategy support programmes,
although based in theory, are co-developed and highly
The results indicate that there are several implications for
providers of supply chain executive education programmes.
First, interviews with academics revealed a recurring
observation that the discipline of supply chain had matured
over the past decade as implied in such quoted statements:
[. . .] supply chain management has now evolved from a functional operation
about trucks and sheds and distribution strategy to be a strategically
important area to many companies today and they are looking for
management schools to deliver more than just training.
450
Knowledge gap/sheep dip programmes
451
Personal action plans
None or limited
Joining instructions, course objectives, pre-read
material
Delegate post-course work
Post course contact with delegates
Information support requirements
Delegate pre-course work
Deployment of tools and techniques
None or limited
Joining instructions, course objectives, pre-read
material, data collection
Low – expertise exists within the academic
institution
Pre-reading/data collection
Embed deep technical skills and expertise to a
focussed target group
Experiential learning
Cooperative learning
Case-based learning
Game-based/ simulation-based learning
Lecturing
Semi customised building on established
concepts/theory
1-3
Functional experts
Provide wide dissemination and knowledge
within a wide target group
Experiential learning
Cooperative learning
Case-based learning
Game-based/ simulation-based learning
Lecturing
Based on established theory/concepts and
delivery mechanisms
2-5
Middle to senior executives
Medium – material is adjusted to suit
organisational context
Pre-reading
Low for both company and institution
Fee with limited obligations
Single transaction
Low level of interfaces between institutional and
company personnel; sign off made by a single
entity
Follow on support for specific technical support
Learning and development function
Low
Programme design and material content led by
institutional provider
Specialist/technical programmes
Low for both company and institution
Fee based with limited obligations
Single transaction
Low level of interfaces between institutional and
company personnel; sign off made by a single
entity
None or very limited
Pre-course development time
Typical programme duration/days
Delegate type
Programme content
Main educational approaches
Resource commitment
Contract terms
Range of services
Programme design
Programme objectives
Post course contact with delegates
Institution/company organisational
relationships
Relational form
Company sponsorship
Learning and development function
Intimacy with company strategy and culture Low
Programme design process
Programme design and material content led by
institutional provider
Factors
Table VI Supply chain management executive education framework
Pre-reading, attitudinal surveys, personal learning
objectives
Individual/group based projects
Multifaceted support
Joining instructions, pre-learning, pre-read
material, delegate questionnaires, personal
objectives
Support and influence behaviours towards
business transition programmes
Experiential learning
Cooperative learning
Case-based learning (customised)
Problem-based and project based learning
Coaching
Highly customised applying theory and concepts
within the company context
3-5
Managers able to impact on business change
within the organisation
High – material is highly customised
Continued support for delegates and access to
academics and institutional facilities
High for both company and institution
Complex cost structure and legal structuring
Part of a wider portfolio of services
Senior supply chain
High intimacy across the full academic team
Deep collaboration and intimacy with client
company – Co- development of material and
high number of design iterations
High level of interfaces between multiple actors
in the institution and company
Strategic support programmes
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
customised to have relevance within the company context.
Strategic support programmes include a higher degree of
workshops and discussion sessions focussing on the
implications for theory and the business strategy and
facilitators and barriers to change management within the
organisation. This is in line with the presence of a
transformational agenda in customised programmes
discussed by Kets de Vries and Korotov (2007). The
theoretical input, combined with the opportunity to discuss
and interact with peers give participants the space and time to
both reflect and conceptualise (Kolb, 1984, 1993), allowing
them to learn from their experiences.
The inclusion of company based information and case
examples takes significant time to generate. The analysis of
timetables showed that a number of company specific cases
were presented by company experts. These cases give
participants
an
initial
opportunity
for
active
experimentation, closing Kolb’s (1984, 1993) learning cycle.
For one programme this was nearly 30 per cent of the total
class time. From the academic course director’s perspective,
the benefit was the first hand experience offered by the
external presenters, however assuring the consistency and
quality of these sessions was often problematic.
The nature of post-course delegate work varied but where it
was a major component of the programme, significant
planning was required to ensure the project work was
managed. This included, defining the projects in advance of
the programme, assigning delegates to appropriate projects
with sufficient skill sets, providing access to online
information and learning systems, and interim and final
presentation feedback days. This level of post-course
involvement is consistent with the recommendations of
Carter et al. (2006) in terms of measurement of deliverables
and monitoring of results. Furthermore, these projects allow
participants another opportunity for active experimentation
(Kolb, 1984, 1993) in order to consolidate the learning cycle.
These changes also have important implications for faculty.
For Strategic support programmes the traditional lecture is
less relevant, and skills like facilitation and coaching are much
more important. As one of the interviewees has put it:
For practitioners it provides evidence documenting the
changing requirements of supply chain executive education.
The framework shows how educational programmes can
support a transformational agenda and provides guidance that
can help commission, design and manage executive education
programmes.
For academics the framework can help to evaluate the
changes affecting customised executive education in SCM, to
design and deliver programmes for clients requiring
customised programmes, and to articulate the relationship
with existing and prospective clients. The framework also
contributes to the educational literature by highlighting the
changing educational needs in specialist subjects, such as,
SCM; trends that might affect other domains.
The evolution towards strategic support programmes also
present challenges for SCM academics, because it calls for
greater understanding and better engagement with industry.
Furthermore it requires academics to accept that at least some
of the “students” might be subject experts in their own right.
Hence, academics not only need to have command of their
subject matter, but also have the humility to learn from course
participants. Ultimately this two-way learning process is likely
to benefit both academics and practitioners.
The research design aimed to mitigate the limitations of
both methods used in terms of reliability and internal as well
as external validity. Despite the efforts of the authors, the
work still suffers from limitations which could be overcome
through further research. For instance, a wider evaluation of
trends in different industries and different regions could help
to understand if the trends identified here are applicable in
other countries and other institutions. The authors propose
undertaking a quantitative survey of customers and providers
to validate and further develop the framework. They also
propose further exploration of the relationships between
academic institutions and customers of executive education.
This could lead to a better understanding of the types of
customer-supplier relationships operating in this arena and
the factors that affect the success of these relationships. This
would benefit both customers and suppliers of executive
education.
Faculty who believe they are the sole repository of knowledge are seriously
deluded. Now we have to help practitioners execute on knowledge and
promote their curiosity. We have to be experts on the process of learning as
well as on the subject matter.
References
Beaty, L. (2003), “Supporting learning from experience”,
in Fry, H., Ketteridge, S. and Marshal, S. (Eds),
A Handbook for Teaching & Learning in Higher Education:
Enhancing Academic Practice, 2nd ed., Routledge-Falmer,
London, pp. 134-147.
Birou, L., Croom, S. and Lutz, H. (2008), Global
Benchmarking Study SCM Syllabi: Topics, Reading
Assignments, Assignments and Course Requirements,
DSI, November.
Bruner, J.S. (1960), The Process of Education, Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Bruner, J.S. (1966), Towards a Theory of Instruction, Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007), Business Research Methods,
Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Büchel, B. and Antunes, D. (2007), “Reflections of executive
education: the user and provider’s perspective”, Academy of
Conclusions and future research directions
Based on the empirical results, this paper makes two
contributions. First, it contributes to the extant literature by
bridging the gap in exploring the evolving nature of executive
education programmes. It presents a conceptual framework
documenting the relational form, andragogical education and
programme design for three different types of programmes:
1 knowledge gap;
2 specialist/technical; and
3 strategic support.
Second, it uses the framework to explore the implications for
practitioner and for providers of executive education.
452
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
Management Learning and Education, Vol. 6 No. 3,
pp. 401-411.
Carter, J., Closs, D.J., Dischinger, J.S., Grenoble, W.L. and
Maxon, V.L. (2006), “Executive education’s role in our
supply chain future”, Supply Chain Management Review,
September.
Christopher, M. (2010), Logistics and Supply Chain
Management, 4th ed., Financial Times/Prentice Hall,
Harlow.
Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe\, R. and Lowe, A. (2001),
Management Research: An Introduction, 2nd ed., Sage
Publications, Newbury Park, CA.
Freeman, V.T. and Cavinato, J.L. (1992), “Fostering strategic
change in a function through executive education: the case
of purchasing”, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 11
No. 6, pp. 25-30.
Fry, H., Ketteridge, S. and Marshal, S. (2003),
“Understanding student learning”, in Fry, H., Ketteridge,
S. and Marshal, S. (Eds), A Handbook for Teaching
& Learning in Higher Education: Enhancing Academic
Practice, 2nd ed., RoutledgeFalmer, London and New
York, NY, pp. 9-25.
Gammelgaard, B. and Larson, P.D. (2001), “Logistics skills
and competencies for supply chain management”, Journal
of Business Logistics, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 27-50.
Garvin, D.A. (2007), “Teaching executives and teaching
MBAs: reflections on the case method”, Academy of
Management Learning and Education, Vol. 6 No. 3,
pp. 364-374.
Giuinipero, L.C. and Handfield, R.B. (2004), Purchasing
Education and Training II, CAPS, Research Report, Tempe
Arizona.
Giunipero, L., Handfield, R.B. and Eltantawy, R. (2006),
“Supply management’s evolution: key skill sets for the
supply manager of the future”, International Journal of
Operations & Production Management, Vol. 26 No. 7,
pp. 822-844.
Glaser, B.G. and Strauss, A.L. (1967), The Discovery of
Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, Aldine
Publishing Company, Chicago, IL.
Gravier, M.J. and Farris, M.T. (2008), “An analysis of
logistics pedagogical literature: past and future trends in
curriculum, content, and pedagogy”, The International
Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 233-253.
Honey, P. and Mumford, A. (1982), The Manual of Learning
Styles, Peter Honey, Maidenhead.
Johnson, M.E. and Pyke, D.F. (2000), “A framework for
teaching supply chain management”, Production and
Operations Management, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 2-18.
Johnson, R.B. and Onwuegbuzie, A.J. (2004), “Mixed
methods research: a research paradigm whose time has
come”, Educational Researcher, Vol. 33 No. 7, pp. 14-26.
Kets de Vries, M.F.R. and Korotov, K. (2007), “Creating
transformation executive education programs”, Academy of
Management, Learning & Development, Vol. 6 No. 3,
pp. 375-387.
Knowles, M.S. (1974), “Human resources development in
OD”, Organization Development, March/April, pp. 115-124.
Knowles, M.S. (1979), “Speaking from experience: the
professional organization as a learning community”,
Training and Development Journal, May, pp. 36-42.
Knowles, M.S. (1980), “How do you get people to be selfdirected learners?”, Training and Development Journal, May,
pp. 96-101.
Knowles, M.S. (1984), Andragogy in Action: Applying Modern
Principles of Adult Learning, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
Kolb, D.A. (1984), Experimental Learning, Prentice Hall,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Kolb, D.A. (1993), “The process of experiential learning”, in
Thorpe, M., Edwards, R. and Hanson, A. (Eds), Culture
and Processes of Adult Learning, Routledge/OUP, London,
pp. 138-155.
Lancioni, R., Forman, H. and Smith, M.F. (2001), “Logistics
and supply chain education: roadblocks and challenges”,
International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics
Management, Vol. 31 No. 10, pp. 733-745.
Larson, P.D. and Halldorsson, A. (2004), “Logistics versus
supply chain management: an international survey”,
International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications,
Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 17-31.
Leonard-Barton, D. (1990), “A dual methodology for case
studies: synergistic use of longitudinal single site with
replicated multiple sites”, Organization Science, Vol. 1 No. 3,
pp. 248-266.
McKevitt, D., Davis, P., Woldring, R., Smith, K., Flynn, A.
and McEvoy, E. (2012), “An exploration of management
competencies in public sector procurement”, Journal of
Public Procurement, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 333-355.
Mangan, J. and Christopher, M. (2005), “Management
development and the supply chain manager of the future”,
The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 16
No. 2, pp. 178-191.
Meredith, J. (1998), “Building operations management
theory through case and field research”, Journal of
Operations Management, Vol. 1 No. 6, pp. 441-454.
Morton, F. and Booth, S. (1997), Learning Awareness,
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.
Myers, M.B., Griffith, D.A., Daugherty, P.J. and Lusch, R.F.
(2004), “Maximizing the human capital equation in
logistics: education, experience, and skills”, Journal of
Business Logistics, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 211-232.
Newman, W.H. and Stoner, J.A.F. (1989), “Better vision for
old dogs: teaching experienced managers”, Proceedings of the
1989 Annual Academy of Management Meeting, pp. 132-136.
Oppenheim, N.A. (2001), Questionnaire Design, Interviewing
and Attitude Measurement, Continuum, London.
Piaget, J. (1950), The Psychology of Intelligence, Routledge and
Kegan Paul, London.
Rock Kopczak, L. and Fransoo, J.C. (2000), “Teaching
supply chain management through global projects with
global project teams”, Production and Operations
Management, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 91-104.
Supply Chain Council (2010), Supply Chain Operations
Reference (SCOR) Model – Overview – Version 10.0,
available at: http://supply-chain.org/f/SCOR-OverviewWeb.pdf (accessed 19 July 2012).
Tushman, M.L., O’Reilly, C.A., Fenollosa, A., Kleinbaum,
A.M. and McGrath, D. (2007), “Relevance and rigor:
executive education as a lever in shaping practice and
research”, Academy of Management Learning & Education,
Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 345-362.
van Hoek, R., Chatham, R. and Wilding, R. (2002),
“Managers in supply chain management, the critical
453
The evolution of customised executive education in SCM
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal
Mike Bernon and Carlos Mena
Volume 18 · Number 4 · 2013 · 440 –454
dimension”, Supply Chain Management: An International
Journal, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 119-125.
van Hoek, R., Godsell, J. and Harrison, A. (2011),
“Embedding ‘insights from industry’ in supply chain
programmes: the role of guest lecturers”, Supply Chain
Management: An International Journal, Vol. 16 No. 2,
pp. 142-147.
Voss, C., Tsikriktsis, N. and Frohlich, M. (2002), “Case
research in operations management”, International Journal
of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 22 No. 2,
pp. 195-219.
Wu, Y.J. (2007), “Contemporary logistics education:
an international perspective”, International Journal of
Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 37
No. 7, pp. 504-528.
Yin, R.K. (2008), Case Study Research: Design and Methods,
4th ed., Sage Publications, New York, NY.
management development programmes as well as directly
supporting the development of individual senior company
personnel. Apart from lecturing on postgraduate courses at
Cranfield, Mike regularly teaches at academic institutions
across Europe and Asia. As a supply chain specialist, Mike
also engages in consultancy projects with organisations across
a broad spectrum of industries.
Carlos Mena is Director of the Centre for Strategic
Procurement and Supply Management and head of the
Executive Procurement Network (EPN). The EPN is a joint
initiative with the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and
Supply (CIPS) to develop a vibrant network of procurement
professionals engaged in a collaborative effort to create and
disseminate thought leadership in the field of procurement.
Carlos has been responsible for more than ten research
projects in supply chain-related fields such as global sourcing,
sustainable supply chains and collaboration. In these projects,
he has collaborated with world-leading organisations such as
ASDA (Wal-Mart), British Airways, Coca-Cola, Ford, M&S,
Tata, Tesco and P&G. He regularly presents at international
conferences and lectures in a variety of subjects including
procurement, supply chain management, lean manufacturing,
operations strategy and sustainability. Carlos received his
doctorate degree (EngD) from the University of Warwick, as
well as an MSc in Engineering Business Management. He
also holds a BEng in Industrial Engineering from the
Iberoamericana University in Mexico. Carlos Mena is the
corresponding author and can be contacted at:
carlos.mena@cranfield.ac.uk
Further Reading
Biggs, J. (1987), Student Approaches to Learning and Studying,
Australian Council for Education and Research, Hawthorn,
Victoria.
About the authors
Mike Bernon is Executive Development Director - Supply
Chain and Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Logistics and
Supply Chain Management, Cranfield School of
Management. As Executive Development Director, Mike
works with global companies to design and develop senior
To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com
Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
454