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INTERNATIONAL ISSUES ROBERT E. MARKLAND, Feature Editor, College of Business Administration, University of South Carolina
A Survey of Operations Management Programs in New Zealand Universitiesby David J. Robb, Department of Management Science and Information Systems, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
In recent years, Production and
Operations Management has consolidated its position as a vital
functional area in contributing towards the survival and prosperity
of many enterprises. This trend is also apparent in the emergence
of a variety of new Operations Management (OM) offerings within New
Zealand universities. This paper presents the current level of
interest and activity in OM education, with the hope of encouraging
further curriculum/program development, as well as cooperative
ventures in advanced education and industry.
For the purpose of the survey, OM is viewed as a functional field
of management involving "the design, operation and improvement of
the production systems that create the firm's primary products or
services" (Chase and Aquilano, 1995). Thus, there is both a
distinction (in terms of breadth and managerial focus) as well as
an overlap (in terms of application of mathematical models) with
the field of OR/MS.
Survey data sources include faculty from the seven universities
(see note 1), 1996 university calendars, departmental Internet home
pages (see note 2), and the New Zealand Ministry of Education.
Academic positions typically involve a teaching load of three
courses per year (a course typically requiring a total of 36 or 48
lecture hours). One half of the positions are at the level of
senior lecturer (equivalent to associate professor in North
America), with only three at higher levels (cf. 20%
university-wide).
Based on enrollment figures in OM courses, a measure of the
magnitude of OM can be calculated for each institution in terms of
Equivalent-Full-Time Students (EFTS) (see note 3). These figures
appear in Table 1 and Figure 1 (the latter providing breakdown by
level). Although 60% of OM EFTS are associated with undergraduate
courses (which themselves comprise 9% of undergraduate commerce
EFTS in NZ), there is a significant proportion in executive
programs (in particular, the MBA at Massey and the Diplomas in
Business and Management at Auckland). The interest in adult
education may well be attributed to the increased competition
resulting from the deregulation of the NZ economy (see Everett,
1995; Heyl, 1996), as well as competition from a growing number of
undergraduates (output doubling over the past decade).
Courses for research-based graduate students in OM comprise less
than 3% of total OM EFTS. This, coupled with a scarcity of OM
doctoral students (4 out of a total of 2356 across all programs in
NZ (Ministry of Education, 1996), is cause for concern, both in
terms of research and faculty recruitment.
The introductory/core OM undergraduate courses are second-year
courses on all programs except the four-year BTech at Massey and
BMS at Waikato (where they are third-year). A wide variety of texts
are used, the most popular being Chase and Aquilano (1995), used in
three universities.
The considerable breadth of OM courses is illustrated in Exhibit 1,
which classifies some 89 courses by program and institution. Among
the elective offerings, there is a strong representation of courses
in Quality and Operations/Manufacturing Strategy. Given recent
trends (e.g., Australian Manufacturing Council, 1994; Campbell-Hunt
and Corbett, 1996; Hyde et al., 1995) it is disappointing that
there are few courses dedicated to areas such as time-based
competition, flexibility, new product/service development, process
improvement, project management, and international OM.
Waikato University is well-known in the business community for its
four-year Bachelor of Management Studies. It also has the largest
total enrollment in OM courses contributing to research-based
masters degrees.
At Massey University, OM is taught in both the Department of
Management Systems (where teaching is predominantly in the Year 1
of a large MBA program), as well as the Department of Production
Technology, where many students enrolled in the BTech program
options of "Manufacturing and Industrial Technology" and
"Engineering and Automation" take 5 to 10 OM courses. There is wide
use of non-traditional (i.e., non-lecture) methods in teaching, and
an emphasis on the Theory of Constraints.
Case studies and applied projects play a key role in most OM
courses at Victoria University. A Master of Management Studies
(Decision Sciences) has been recently introduced, with a required
course in "Quality Management and Continuous Improvement."
Lincoln University's commerce program has experienced rapid growth
in recent years. A new BCom (Manufacturing and Technology
Management) has been established in conjunction with the Canterbury
Manufacturers' Association and linked to NZPICS and the CPIM
certification program.
The University of Canterbury engages a systems view of OM in its
courses, with a second year undergraduate P/OM "Methods" course
followed by "Modelling" and "Managing" courses in the final year
(the Managing course making extensive use of case studies).
Otago University has a large undergraduate offering, and employs
case studies in all courses. A new third-year OM applications
course in 1996 has been specifically targeted to Accounting
students. Applied projects are part of the MBA core course in OM.
University faculty are clearly conscious of, and are responding to,
demands of employers for skills in modelling, analysis, problem
solving/creative thinking, and strategic thinking, as well as the
ability to communicate and work in groups. Graduates are
increasingly expected to be familiar with new technologies,
practices, and applications software, as well as being well-versed
in the management of operations in both manufacturing and service
environments. This trend clearly supports a recent call by the
Manufacturing Advisory Group for increased managerial skills in the
manufacturing sector and increased interaction between the sector
and education providers (Manufacturing Advisory Group, 1993).
For the future, there remains considerable scope for enhancing OM
education in NZ through such means as:
2. Links to these sites are provided at the following URL:
http://www.business.auckland.ac.nz/faculty/staff/DRobb/drobb.htm
3. Differences in units of measurement between
programs/institutions have been accounted for by defining the
number of courses constituting full-time enrollment. There is no
extra weight for higher-level courses as may arise in funding
formulae. Several part-OM courses have discounted weights.
4. OM data from the Departments of Management Systems and
Production Technology are combined.
Campbell-Hunt, C. and Corbett, L.M., A Season of Excellence? An
Overview of New Zealand Enterprises in the Nineties, NZ
Institute of Economic Research (Inc), Wellington, 1996.
Chase, R.B. and Aquilano, N.J., Production and Operations
Management: A Life Cycle Approach, 7th Ed., Irwin, Homewood,
IL, 1995.
Everett, A.M., "From Mutton to Mungo: Revitalizing the Management
of New Zealand," Decision Line, 1995, 26(5), 4-6.
Heyl, J.E., "Well, Mate, There's a Little More to It Than That!",
Decision Line, 1996, 27(1), 6-7.
Hyde, A., Basnet, C. and Foulds, L., "Progress Towards World Class
Manufacturing In New Zealand: A Survey of Current Practice," New
Zealand Journal of Business, 1995, 17(1), 41-58.
Manufacturing Advisory Group, Manufacturing for GrowthþThe
Strategic Agenda 1994, 1993.
Ministry of Education, Education Statistics 1996, Ministry
of Education, Wellington, 1996.
Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education Statistics 1995,
Ministry of Education, Wellington, 1995.
New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee, Graduate Employment in
New Zealand, New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee,
Wellington, 1995.
Turner, R. and Radford, R., "The New Zealand Production Executive,"
New Zealand Journal of Business, 1981, 3, 105-125.
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