Graduate Review Committee Proposal

Isis Quiñones Sánchez

Professional Studies (MS)

Samuel McQuade III

Fall 2011

Executive Summary1

The intent of this document is to propose a graduate plan of study that will lead to

a Master’s of Science Degree in Professional Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology.

This document presents a personal introduction, a literature review, a proposed plan of study,

a program learning objectives and a preliminary capstone project idea, supported by a

reference list of cited sources.

The concentrations of my multidisciplinary studies are Project Management (PM)

and Supply Chain Management (SCM). The motivation for these fields is because I have

experienced the opportunity of working in the area of project management when I was

accomplishing an internship in the Organization of American States (OAS). I collaborated as

a Human Resource assistant in the introduction of a new technology software system titled

“Performance Evaluation System (PES)” in order to improve the efficiency of the evaluation

performances of the difference OAS staff members. This was a combine project of new

technology introduction and reengineering process in order to adapt OAS organizational

standards within the international standards. During my participation in the design and

implementation phases of this specific project I redeveloped my career objectives focusing in

PM as a desire and potential field of study.

My second concentration is SCM which I consider as an enormously supportive

skill for Project Managers. During my participation in PES project I experienced the

challenges of scarce resources, lack of logistics, pressure to finish project before planned time

and on budget. Throughout this project experience I realized that SCM is an essential

instrument in order to efficiently and effectively manage resources and risks.

A possible Capstone Project will include the study of how PM can facilitate to

overcome the different SCM problems related with risk management, planning, supply chain

control activities and developing contingency plans.

The purpose of this document is to gain support and approval of the RIT

administrators to pursue the presented Master’s of Science Degree program.

Introduction

2

Being born in the center of a unified family and having my parents next to me

gave me the opportunity to be educated with precious values and motivations that today allow

me to be the person I am. I have started setting goals and objectives since I was a little girl.

After accomplishing my bachelor degree in Business Administration, I decided to apply for a

scholarship position offered by the Korean Government to study in Kyung Hee University

where I recently completed my Master in International Business.

My dream is to become a member of a prestigious and ethical organization where

I can develop my critical thinking, problem solving and integrative communication

capabilities. After achieving a M.S. in Professional Studies I wish to become an

interdisciplinary professional managing the fields of International Business, PM and SCM.

My vision is to have the opportunity to build up innovative strategies to help organizations

manage the adverse effects of globalization while also taking advantage of this phenomenon.

My interest is to be able to travel and study foreign markets in order to develop approaches to

deal with global SCM, customer relationship management, diversity workforces, cross

cultural negotiations, currency fluctuations/risks and develop strategic relationships among

organizations’ stakeholders. My contributions will support the organization to accomplish a

global leading position through my effective management approach.

I would like people to talk about me as a courageous person who always

established goals and objectives to accomplish her personal vision. It is significant for me to

be remembered as a person who cares about her family, friends and co-workers. In the

professional aspect I would like to be distinguished as an ethical and successful professional

who adapted her leadership and management style to different situations in accordance with

her emotional intelligence. The MS in Professional Studies Degree is unique in allowing me

to pursue these dreams with course concentrations of particular interest and importance to the

world as I see and experience it.

Literature Review

3

These days it is surprising how easily a person can find Coca-Cola brand

beverage, a McDonald’s restaurant, or Starbucks coffee shop among many other kinds of

products or retail outlets. This is true in the U.S. and increasingly throughout the world as

products and services expand to overseas markets. Marber (2009) expresses that as a result of

globalization effects we have more technological advances, free trade agreements, economic

integration processes and free movement of labor, which has smooth the speed of global

business including the global SCM. According to Heizer and Render (2006), SCM consists of

a combination of actions to ensure that needed “materials” can be processed into final

products and delivered to end users. SCM is a holistic process that represents a planned

mechanism for strategic relationships management across different places, contributors and

functions (e..g. product designer, production, sales, marketing, logistics, finance and

information technology) (Tang, 2006). The topic of SCM has been considered by scholars in

many different ways, being Risk management one of the most discussed problematic due to

the increase number of cross-border activities among firms and the challenges that this

represents.

Since the 2007 financial crisis many companies around the world are constantly

experiencing huge increases in their production costs due to different unfavorable

consequences and unstable economic scenario across countries. In short, markets are

expansive, intertwined and difficult to control or manage. This crisis situation represents one

of the great motivations as to why companies with cross-border activities are now evaluating

their different SCM strategies in order to reduce costs and become more efficient. United

Parcel Service (UPS) (2005) expressed that they needed to develop a SCM strategy more

aligned with their business process strategy in order to improve profits by reducing costs. The

aligned SCM strategy developed by UPS clearly establishes a formalized work process with

the different SCM stakeholders and more interconnected relationships with business

processes, information technology systems and cross-border activities.

According to Zygiaris (2000) SCM is a novel outstanding source that companies

are strategically using in order to develop a “Competitive Advantage (CA)” To support this

idea Burgess, Singh and Koroglu (2006) also classify SCM as a “young field”.

Companies are able to start an internationalization process when they have a

specific CA which differentiates them from competitors. Some companies’ CA could be a 4

specific know-how, distinctive business processes customer focused strategy, etc. However, it

is important to realize that today’s global management of supply chain represents an

important milestone of companies’ CA that enable them to become international, being risk

management one of its principal constraints. According to Manuj and Mentzer (2008) there is

not a clear definition that explicitly define risk taking into account all the different aspects of

global SCM. When the SCM becomes global the relationships among the different

stakeholders represent a major risk due to cross-borders activities uncertainties (e.g.

recruitment of native human resources, quality of local resources available in host country,

transportation risks, infrastructure, cultural differences, exchange rates, logistics constraints,

level of technologic development, government regulations etc.)

Similar to Manuj and Mentzer thesis, Thung and Hoenig (2011) state that there is

lack of “empirical research” that could support the Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM),

which is defined as “the management of supply chain risks through coordination or

collaboration among the supply chain partners so as to ensure profitability and continuity’’

(Tang, 2006, p. 453).

Project management risk assessment and review techniques can support the

SCRM with an innovative and formalized risk managerial process creating solutions and

contingency plans to effective control risk. Larson and Gray (2011) recommend that project

managers develop a risk management process including risk identification, assessment,

response development, opportunity management, contingency planning, funding, and a

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) simulation to effective and efficiency

control risk.

Doing business globally implies global risk, especially when manufacturing or

distribution processes are centrally located in a given geographic area. To exemplify this idea

consider the Japan earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. This tragedy involved loss of

human lives, infrastructure and resources that effectively stopped various organizations from

doing global business, in some cases for extended periods of time if not permanently.

Consequences are described in the Congressional Research Service Report for

Congress about Japan’s Earthquake and Tsunami: Economic Effects and Implications for the

United States. For example, “Two Japanese plants accounting for 25% of the world’s supply 5

of silicon wafers for computer chips were closed” (Congressional Research Service, 2011 p.

6) However, which Nissan used to import engines from a factory in Fukushima mitigated

and overcame risk by importing them from their plant in Tennessee. Hence, redundant and

distributed SCM capabilities are important to overcoming natural as well as potential

business disasters. And professionals who specialize in supply chain/logistics management

and project management have key roles to ensuring business continuity and risk management.

The Japanese catastrophe demonstrates how broad risk management is and how

unmanageable this could become.

In addition, Brindley and Ritchie, (2007) expressed that managers are becoming

more familiar with different SCM difficulties that are arising due to the diverse challenges

presented in the numerous opportunities that cross-border activities mean for organizations.

Similar to Zygiaris (2000), Burgess, Singh and Koroglu (2006), expresses that SCRM is

without doubt a new problematic presented in “operational and more strategic levels”.

To exemplify this situation, we can examine Japanese subsidiaries in the U.S.

where local managers became disturbed because they did not see any top managerial level

promotion opportunity in the organizational structure of these international organizations.

This situation was known as “Bamboo Ceiling” which created high level of turnovers

because local managers used Japanese subsidiaries as a bridge to find better job opportunities

in the future. When LG electronics started its process of internationalization to become a

global leading company they decided to recruit people from different disciplines and

geographies to manage their supply chain activities. Stamping out of “Bamboo Ceiling” LG

also recruited host country native human resources into their top management level positions

to manage cultural differences. LG encouraged cross-innovative problem solving attitudes

among their local and international managers. Manuj and Mentzer (2008) explain the

necessity of international organizations in formulating global management groups. It is

important to formulate a diverse group including native SCM host country professionals and

also international personnel. This strategy could represent a CA because of information

exchange across the different locations, gaining from cross-cultural professional’s activities,

mentoring, feedback processes and enhancement of an outstanding information sharing

process across functions to effectively manage risks.

As the research shows Brindley and Ritchie, (2007) essential tools in the 6

development of their SCRM framework are the processes of communication, confidence,

structures, individual arguments and interaction among different managers, staff members

and functions. They also express the importance of developing a closer interaction between

SCM contributors and the improvements of solid “relationships”.

How can PM and SCM be used in an interdisciplinary manner to address the

SCRM problematic? The answer is: the interrelationship and similarity between PM and

SCM of having a “ . . . precise beginning, defined ending, scope, time associate, precise

inputs, systems view, customer focused . . .” (Henrie, 2007, pp. 3) allow us to develop a joint

beneficial interconnected relationship among these two fields of study. In other words, there

are synergistic and symbiotic connections between PM and SCM that goes toward increasing

professionalism of these fields. I wish to be part of this, and that is why I am proposing the

following plan of study.

An important point is that these two field are very influence by the different

globalization effects in terms of trade (e.g. import/export duties), finance (e.g. currency

exchange, interest rate), and culture (e.g. cross-cultural business negotiations) these are some

of the issues where PM and SCM could work in collaboration to obtain gains from

interdisciplinary relationship.

The strong relationship between PM and SCM is what has motivated me to

selected my plan of studies. In my opinion Supply Chain Managers need to acquire the

essentials tools, methods, techniques and knowledge of PM’s information system, in order to

effectively allocate SCM resources in a timely and under budget manner. On the other hand I

consider that Project Managers also need those technical SCM skills (e.g. logistics, networks,

procurement) to enhance projects’ coordination and allocation of resources.

Plan of Study

7

Required

0699-705 Context & Trends 4

Concentration A: Project Management

0681-710 Intro to Project Management 4

0681-711 Advanced Project Management 4

0681-712 International Project Management 4

Concentration B: Supply Chain Management

0106-782 Statistics for Decision Making 4

0106-401 Ops & Supply Chain Mgt. 4

0106-745 Quality Control & Improvement. 4

0102-741 Managing Organizational Change 4

Electives:

Transfer Applied Economics 4

Transfer Economics of Regional Integration 4

Transfer Multinational Corporations 4

Co-Op 4

Required:

0699-775 Capstone Project 4

Total 48

Plan for Accomplishing Required Program Learning Objectives

As a graduate student pursuing a M.S. in Professional Studies concentration in

PM and SCM my expectation is to obtain a meaningful learning experiences by acquiring

8

innovative knowledge and new skills related to my areas of concentration. The purpose of

this interdisciplinary program is to develop five specific learning objectives: integrative

professional oral and written communication, integrative learning, critical thinking, problem

solving and ethical reasoning. For my future career development, I also expect to increase my

networking while interacting with Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.) students, faculty,

alumni and staff members.

These program learning objectives will be developed by combining theory with

practice. This combination is possible thanks to my actual position as a graduate assistant in

the office of career service and cooperative education. Through this graduate assistantship I

have the extraordinary opportunity of coming into contact with real work scenarios that will

enhance and aid me in developing these five learning objectives through real life practice.

According to the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU)

“Oral communication is a prepared, purposeful presentation designed to increase knowledge,

to foster understanding, or to promote change in the listeners' attitudes, values, beliefs, or

behaviors.” During my time in graduate school, I will be required to prepare essays,

presentations, and projects through the different courses (e.g. Context and Trends, Managing

Organizational Change, etc.). Such courses will allow me to develop my written and oral

English communication skills. At the end of my Master Degree I will be able to articulate

myself when making presentations or written communications using (e..g. references,

quotations, statistics, analogies, etc.) In addition, the interactions that I will experience while

preparing and doing presentations in my courses will empower me to manage speech delivery

techniques in order to feel more comfortable while speaking or writing in English. Moreover,

working as a graduate assistant in the office of career services and cooperative education, I

will also be able to develop integrative professional communication because my job activities

require me to interrelate with the different students, employers and partner agencies allowing

me to practice what I have learned in the classroom.

AACU defines critical thinking as a “habit of mind” consisting in broadly

exploring the different thoughts, opinions, beliefs before admitting them or developing your

own point of view. During my first quarter at R.I.T., I have already developed certain critical

thinking skills. While taking Context and Trends class I have been demanded and motivated

to improve my critical thinking capabilities. I believe that the different courses that my plan

9

of study presents will further enhance this ability. It is important to mention that this learning

objective will be developed with different resources available to all R.I.T. students, such as

journals, databases, books, newsletter, and magazines accessible through the Wallace

Library. It is important to evaluate information from different sources in order to be able to

develop a contrastive analysis and identify different perspectives (e.g. In Context and Trends

class we watched a video titled “China Inside Out” and this video presented interdisciplinary

perspectives of how China is helping through development cooperation some developing

countries like Angola, Cambodia, Brazil, etc. countries that could offer them back certain

resources that they will need in the close future) I watched the video but I did not rely entirely

on the information I received from that source, moreover I am highly motivated in looking

for other sources of information to prepare a contrastive analysis and develop my own

thinking about this situation. In summary, critical thinking skills will be developed

throughout my plan of study by researching and evaluating positions from different sources.

Integrative Learning is define by the AACU as an “understanding and a

disposition that a student builds across the curriculum and co-curriculum, from making

simple connections among ideas and experiences to synthesizing and transferring learning to

new, complex situations within and beyond the campus.” The M.S. in professional studies

permit us to develop a plan of study connecting two or three different concentrations, this

special characteristic allow us to develop a integrative plan of study being able to

interconnect two or three different fields of study. In my case, PM and SCM courses let me

develop interdisciplinary connection while also coming with solutions for problems situations

in these two fields. Preparing a Capstone Project will enhance my integrative learning skills

by requiring me to identify a real problem situation, analyzed it and develop solutions

through the application of my interdisciplinary capabilities. In order to acquire this learning

objective I will become an active member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and

also I will enroll the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals in order to get in

contact with my colleagues and consult with them different issues related with the

development of my Capstone Project. Using Social Media websites like LinkedIn has already

helped me to interchange ideas with different professionals of my field of study being a quick

and easy manner to access to information that you could use as starting point for further

research.

10

Problem solving learning objective consists in the ability of maximizing practical

thinking in order to develop innovative solutions to obtain the desired outcomes. One of the

most important purposes of M.S. in professional studies is to develop interdisciplinary

thinking capabilities which allow me to use the interconnection or relationship between

different fields to come with outstanding solutions to actual problems. Problem solving is

without a doubt a central part of this plan of study because it is the outcome we attain to

achieve by doing two or three concentrations. In order to develop this objective, is important

to use the different approaches or frameworks that we will learn throughout our plan of study

courses. In order to become an effective problem solver I need to be able to evaluate the

different contexts of the problem using an interdisciplinary approach and presenting

reasonable and realistic solutions for those problematic situations.

Ethical Reasoning is related with my own ethical values and the capacity of

identifying what is correct or incorrect. Professional integrity is one of the characteristics that

must be followed by R.I.T. students; we are encouraged to maintain our values and beliefs in

a top position. I consider ethics as want of my more values skills. While living in South

Korea I learned that “values” make the difference, this is my credo and this would help me to

manage ethical dilemmas in my future career.

My plan of study also intends to accomplish a cooperative education (co-op)

experience and a capstone project. This two will help me to acquire the five learning

objectives discussed in this section. Accomplishing a co-op will offer me the opportunity to

gain experience in PM or SCM fields of study in order to become more familiar with the

different real problems that I may encounter while working in the future. This work

experience will also help me to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Moreover the capstone project which consists in recognizing, examining and solving

problems facing my fields of studies would definitely enhance my integrative learning

experience and develop problem solving skills at the same time of increasing my integrative

learning communication.

11

Capstone Project Proposal

While taking Context and Trends class, I have the opportunity to learn about the

movie starring Lester Brown, titled Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to save Civilization. Brown’s

thesis is that climate change is caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide, lack of civilization

awareness and poverty. It is important to study the problem of climate change as Brown

presented it in this movie to understand that poverty is a contributing factor to climate

change. It is also true that poverty contributes to horrible living and working conditions, and 12

unjust child labor such as practiced in my country, the Dominican Republic (DR).

I would like to concentrate my efforts in preparing a capstone project for

eradication of child labor in the DR, in order to alleviate poverty and global climate warming.

The main causes of child labor are poverty and lack of child labor injures awareness. This

could be illustrated in the insufficient household income perceived by families to satisfy basic

life needs due to poor education and unequal job opportunities. My idea is to get involved

with the different organizations currently working to eradicate child labor (e.g., World Bank,

United Nations, Korean International Cooperative Agency, etc.) in order to learn how and in

which ways they are addressing the problem. Applying my research and critical thinking

skills I will understand the underlying reasons of child labor in order to develop a sustainable

solution and be able to develop my problem solving skills.

The approach to be used is focused in the preparation of an innovative

development project proposal where I have the opportunity to select a specific region of the

DR with this problem and evaluate the possibility of interrelating the private sector,

governmental authorities and a potential donor in some innovative way. As a project manager

I would be able to design, plan and coordinate the different activities needed to implement the

project. My knowledge of SCM would enable me to effectively manage the different

resources and logistics strategies needed for project activities implementation.

Definitely the outcomes are concentrated in the empowerment of women giving

them access to job opportunities, implement a child labor awareness program and secure

access to education for those children working in the DR.

References

Burgess, K., Singh, P. J., & Koroglu, R. (2006). Supply Chain Management: a Structured

Literature Review and Implications for Future Research. International Journal of

Operations & Production Management, 26(7), 703-729.

doi:10.1108/01443570610672202

13

Henrie, M. (2006). Project Management Supply-Chain Challenges [Essay]. Retrieved

October 11, 2011, from American Society of Advancement of Project Manager

website: http://www.asapm.org/asapmag/articles/PMSupplyChain.pdf

Henrie, M. (2007). Project Management: The Supply Chain View. Retrieved October 9, 2011,

from http://www.asapm.org/asapmag/articles/PM_WorldView.pdf

Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2011). Project Management: the Managerial Process (11th

ed.). New York, NY, 10020: McGraw Hill . (Original work published 2003)

Manuj, I., & Mentzer, J. T. (2008). Global Supply Chain Risk Management Strategies.

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 38(3), 192-

223. doi:10.1108/09600030810866986

Marber, P. (2009). Understanding Globalization from Trunk to Tail. Hoboken, New Jersey:

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Nanto, D. K., Cooper, W. H., & Donnelly, J. M. (2011, March 25). Japan’s 2011 Earthquake

and Tsunami: Economic Effects and Implications for the United States (Rep. No.

R41702). Retrieved from http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/161324.pdf

Ritchie, B., & Brindley, C. (2007, April 4). An Emergent Framework for Supply Chain Risk

Management and Performance Measurement. Journal of the Operational Research

Society, 58, 1398-1411. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602412

Tang, C. S. (2006, March 2). Perspectives in Supply Chain Risk Management. International

Journal of Production Economics, 103, 451–488. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2005.12.006

Tang, O., & Musa, N. (2010, July 3). Identifying Risk Issues and Research Advancements in

Supply Chain risk Management. International Journal of Production Economics,

133, 25-34. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2010.06.013

14

Thun, J.-H., & Hoenig, D. (2009, October 27). An Empirical Analysis of Supply Chain Risk

Management in the German Automotive Industry. International Journal of Production

Economics, 131, 242-249. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2009.10.010

United Parcel Service of America.(2005). Supply Chain Strategy: The Importance of Aligning

your Strategies (White Paper WP.SCS.CS.638). Retrieved from http://www.ups-

scs.com/solutions/white_papers/wp_supply_chain.pdf

Zigiaris, S. (2000, January). INNOREGIO: Dissemination of Innovation and Knowledge

Management Techniques. Retrieved from B P R Hellas S A website:

http://www.urenio.org/tools/en/creativity.pdf

15