Category Archives: Operations and Supply Chain Management

School of Management Student Receives Prestigious Women in Defense Award

By Alexis Menard On December 4, 2019, 10:15 am

Alexandria Thompson speaking at the Women in Defense gala on November 8, 2019

UM-Flint School of Management student, Alexandria Thompson, received the distinguished HORIZONS scholarship from the Women in Defense – Michigan Chapter. The scholarship is given to encourage women to pursue careers related to national security and defense fields in the United States. Thompson is a U.S. Air Force veteran and will be receiving her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Supply Chain Management in December 2019. She will be graduating with honors from UM-Flint on Sunday, December 15, 2019.

Thompson received the scholarship at the 11th Annual Women in Defense gala on November 8, 2019, at the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester, MI. “It was an incredibly special night because I got to bring my mom as my date,” said Thompson, “My mom is a U.S. Air Force veteran with ten years of active duty service. Being able to celebrate women who are often underrepresented in their defense and military careers, alongside my mom, was an absolute dream.” 

Pictured left to right: Dee Thompson (Mother), U.S. Air Force veteran, and Alexandria Thompson, U.S. Air Force veteran

Previously, Thompson worked combat supply operations for an F-16 fighter squadron in various countries such as Japan, Jordan, Djibouti, and Singapore. Thompson said that the traveling made it difficult to pursue a degree, “I separated and began pursuing my degree at UM-Flint [and] it allowed me to pursue my education from one of Michigan’s top tier schools without having to move again.”  

Thompson said, “The Supply Chain Management program at UM-Flint provides a global perspective on business, logistics, and management that promotes the skills and objectives that directly apply to what is required of a civilian to support our military members on the front lines.” Thompson added, “Courses such as Project Management, International Management, and Operations Management have taught me abilities in planning and developing strategies outside of national boundaries.”

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/SW7og2Lj3My15Q3Eo_DRNuGf4X5OgFtwGoNLFRIW2ayFCyci8BA_bC1VQEBUp5Qk5gOWlBPiEThqVIqfU6Q9TyhwDelicWzQLaZ6e5Nv3ThM62EHSgR9HxXV681ZQblI_EsZeye7
HORIZONS Scholarship Award Certificate

One of the obstacles Thompson had to overcome to attend UM-Flint was getting back into the academic mindset after being out of school for so long. “I struggled very much in the beginning, especially in math-related subjects. I spent every spare minute I had in the math tutor lab getting help,” said Thompson. Thompson credits her achievements to Larry Nichols, School of Management Lecturer, for writing her a letter of recommendation for the HORIZONS scholarship. “Mr. Nichols is a rare educator that genuinely cares about his students’ success,” said Thompson. 

Thompson is currently working as a Student Contracting Trainee for the U.S. Army at the Detroit Arsenal. After graduation, Thompson will be working towards becoming a Contract Specialist and will continue her career with the U.S. Army. “I knew after my military service that I would like to pursue a career within the Department of Defense. I think it is important to have pride in what you do and the military offers a sense of pride unlike any other.”

Operations Management Course Provides Insight to Students on the Process of Forecasting and Research in the Business World

By Alexis Menard On July 29, 2019 11:15 am

During the 2019 winter semester, students in traditional and online Operations Management courses completed a semester long group project, led by Dr. Sandun Perera, former Assistant Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management. The focus was on forecasting methods used in excel to project how successful they were in finding the correct method to analyze what the data appeared to do in the past as well as to predict the future. Students were tasked with researching a firm of their choice that recently made a key decision to demonstrate data such as stock value, profit, sales, or other figures. Common themes included a new product launch, mergers, and acquisitions, alteration to distribution channels, or utilization of new delivery methods. In previous semesters, hot picks centered around Amazon and the buyout of Whole Foods, Meijer and its partnership with Shipt delivery service, and Wine in the evening at Starbucks.

One group comprised of two graduating seniors, Kyle Arrowood (BBA ’19 Accounting) and Peter Millar (BBA General Business ’19), as well as one senior that will graduate in December of 2019, Raymond Kusch (BBA ‘19 Entrepreneurship and Innovation), and one junior, Brant Beck (BBA ’20 International Business), exceeded expectations on this project. The group project focused on analyzing the acquisition of Dr Pepper Snapple Group by Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. that occurred in the summer of 2018.

As a member of the research group, Raymond Kusch, said about the project, “Do not just take things at their face value. It is worth the extra effort to investigate the root cause of the business problem in order to find out any underlying factors that may exist.” This dynamism lead to the group presenting at the Meeting of the Minds (MOM), an undergraduate research conference, alongside students from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Oakland University on May 10, 2019. Between the three universities, seventy-nine presentations took place at UM-Flint in the Riverfront Banquet center and School of Management classroom area. Twenty-eight individual projects were presented by UM-Flint students spanning several academic interests, such as Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, English, Mathematics, Management, Physical Therapy, Psychology, Social Work, and Theater/Dance.

Each group requires a faculty sponsor and Dr. Perera motivated his students to present and publish their findings. Beck spoke out about Dr. Perera and said “[He] was a tremendous help with the project. If you make it known that you are willing to put in the work, he is willing to help you make the project as good as it can be.” Currently, the SOM group is in the process of submitting their paper for peer review and publication. The group agreed that this experience demonstrated that the world is an ever-changing platform that requires every firm to be adaptive, as well as to think about their future for success in an increasingly demanding market setting. They also added that they look forward to applying the knowledge they learned in this class to other classes, as well as their careers.