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1) As stated in last year assessment of the course, I have continued to make this course industry relevant without diminishing the theoretical knowledge I believe is required for students to be able to take decisions concerning sourcing and develop recommendations on how to evaluate potential costs, risks and benefits. Thus, the student-group in F2023 were "exposed" to a higher level of industry interaction, than previous year's, were industry partners came and held a seminar. This year, the students had to visit the industry and conduct 3 interviews covering risk aspects to gain a deeper understanding of how what they learn can be applied or perhaps should not be applied. 2) In three lectures, I have invited guest lecturers, and these lectures are mandatory for all students. If the students cannot attend the lecture they should submit a 2-pager on the subject that are to be lectured and it cannot be a sum-up of the PPTs. Last year the reference group mentioned that this was perceived as : "unfair and as too much workload" They also stated that: "on an masters level students should feel responsible for their own success and should therefore be able to decide themselves what is best for them". For F2023 everyone seemed fine with this requirement, in fact, it was only on one occasion that 1 student did not attend the mandatory session. Despite not being mentioned in the reference report, during lectures and after guest lecturers were finished, many of the students expressed that they were happy with the invited guests. Thus, I will continue with this "rule". But I wish to explain why: I have this requirement since we are paying external professors to come and lecture special topics that are important and highly relevant for the students. This is a helping hand, a favour, it is a benefit that these students are offered. Secondly, the course is based on a rather high numbers of classical and contemporary articles, thus it is important that students are up to date for the industry/working-life and also prepared for the exam. The mandatory requirement is also a good thing for our guests. More so, this is a course on masters level, reading four articles and write a 2-pager is not too much to ask for if the students miss their mandatory class, which hence, only can happen for the three mandatory lectures.

According to the course evaluation conducted by the course representatives the learning outcomes were achieved. Below I provide the objectives/ learning outcomes for the course as described in the course description followed by the response from the students. Learning outcomes;The goal of the course is to introduce participants into the research field of global sourcing and supply chain/network management. After completing the course the student should be knowledgeable about important research problems, theories and methods that are applied in research ininternational business. Participants should be able to familiarize themselves with the field of global sourcing and hence, be able to apply the theories and methods as well as develop an ability to analyze complex strategic issues in a global business context. Student response;"The course description accurately reflects the course content and learning objectives.The learning outcomes were successfully met through engaging in class discussions and relevant lectures. The group project was particularly beneficial, allowing for a deeper exploration of the subject and its practical applications, which was directly relevant to the course’s learning objectives. The syllabus and subject literature were comprehensive, up-to-date and also carefully chosen to align with each topic. The flexibility in article selection for class discussions was great, as all provided articles were relevant and enriched our understanding during discussions in class regardless of the which article was read beforehand."

In previous year's the students have had a home/group exam where they select an international company from any country preferred and conduct an investigation of the company’s current sourcing strategies. The data/information they gathered was based on secondary data, such as company websites, consultancy reports, industry and country matrixes as well as newspaper articles. Based on their findings the students were asked to develop recommendations for alterations in the chosen company's location choice, based on insights from lectures and course syllabus. This exam accounted for 40% of their final result. This year I aimed to encourage more industry relevance and interaction by altering the format, however, without risking weakening the theoretical knowledge. Thus, this year the students had to choose a company that either was Norwegian or operates in the regional cluster, however with the criteria that it also operated in additional countries (i.e., company who operates internationally). Instead of mainly relying on secondary data, the student had to contact the chosen company and arrange a minimum of 3 interviews with strategic personnel handling decisions concerning global sourcing and international operations. To make the exam relevant for the time we are living in, they were asked to explore how their chosen company handled unforeseen events during the recent disruptions (e.g., COVID 19 and the invasion of Ukraine). They needed to get a better understanding of how companies could navigate such environments from a Global sourcing and supply network management perspective. based on their obtained company-insights they were then asked to actively use a minimum of 8 academic articles, and writing a academic report which should include a clear discussion and preferably also suggesting new strategies on this matter.  This exam format was very positively received by the students as indicated in the following quotes. “The lectures were particularly impactful, providing a solid foundation. However, the group project stood out in terms of practical learning. Conducting interviews with companies provided valuable insights for the course content in practice and for our master thesis. The hands-on experience and practical application involved in the group project offered a higher learning outcome.” However, I understood that the students would benefit if this exam would be evaluated as 60% instead of 40%, due to the amount of work they put into it. But before I made up my mind about it, I chose to inform them that I would probably change it to 60% next year, and asked about their opinion. This too was positively received by the students as indicated below: “Recognizing that this course is going to adjust the weightage for the exams for next time is a positive change for aligning assessment methods more closely with the learning outcomes.”

NTNU:TIA:REST

Department of International Business

Institutt for internasjonal forretningsdrift

Hjelpemidler iht. emnebeskrivelse

Engelsk

Faglig innhold

Emnet undervises på engelsk. Se engelsk versjon for emnebeskrivelse.

Global sourcing and supply network management

Økonomi og administrasjon

Master i økonomi og administrasjon

Samfunnsøkonomi - masterstudium

Entreprenørskap - masterstudium

Finansiell økonomi - masterstudium

Industriell økonomi og teknologiledelse - masterstudium (5-årig)

Master in International Business and Marketing

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1) As stated in last year assessment of the course, I have continued to make this course industry relevant without diminishing the theoretical knowledge I believe is required for students to be able to make, plan and evaluate sourcing decisions. Thus, the student-group in F2022 were also "exposed" for the industry insights session. In the 2021 report, I also mentioned that I will try my hardest so that the students could get the opportunity to present their group-report (which is graded) as was done for the 2019 student group. Thus, I reintroduced this action and in order for them to get some additional comments and reflections I also invited a colleague to attend these presentations and provide feedback to the students. In 2019, I received very good response on this, in 2020 the students asked for it themselves, however due to the pandemic we could not conduct the presentations, but we shared all the presentations in Black Board, and the response were that they learned a lot from their classmates despite only reading/looking at their slides. Compared to the previous years, this student-group felt that the presentation part also should have been graded. I understand that this can be a valid point to raise, however, the presentations are ment as a dissemination to their fellow students. It is ment to be used as a knowledge exchange channel, to show how the different groups had solved their tasks. Hence, the other students were also invited to ask questions and come with reflections, which some of them also did. I am a strong believer in different type of interactive tasks, not only between me and my students, but also among the students themselves. Thus, next year I will communicate this much clearer when describing the purpose of the presentations. 2) In three lectures, I have invited guest lecturers, and these lectures are mandatory for all students. If the students cannot attend the lecture they should submit a 2-pager on the subject that are to be lectured and it cannot be a sum-up of the PPTs. Earlier years this has not been reported/ aired as a problem for the students, however this group have mentioned that it was perceived as : "unfair and as too much workload" They also stated that: "on an masters level students should feel responsible for their own success and should therefore be able to decide themselves what is best for them".They further state that: "However, as this regulation has its benefits in terms of enhancing the students’ performance, it could be a good deal to meet in the middle and to reduce the extend to one page."But at the same time they are also expressing that this requirement is somehow good when stating: "It is a great way to appreciate the guest lecturer’s efforts." The regulation of mandatory guest lectures was a fair instruction for the students. It is a great way to appreciate the guest lecturer’s efforts. In addition, it placed pressure on the absent students to keep up with what the rest of the class had learned".  I have this requirement since we are paying external professors to come and lecture special topics that are important and highly relevant for the students. This is a helping hand, a favour, it is a benefit that these students are offered. Secondly, the course is based on a rather high numbers of classical and contemporary articles, thus it is important that students are up to date for the industry/working-life and also prepared for the exam. The mandatory requirement is also a good thing for our guests. More so, this is a course on masters level, reading four articles and write a 2-pager is not too much to ask for if the students miss their mandatory class, which hence, only can happen for the three mandatory lectures. Thus, I will continue with this "rule".

According to the course evaluation conducted by the course representatives the learning outcomes were achieved. Below I provide the objectives/ learning outcomes for the course as described in the course description followed by the response from the students. Learning outcomes;The goal of the course is to introduce participants into the research field of global sourcing and supply chain/network management. Aftercompleting the course the student should be knowledgeable about important research problems, theories and methods that are applied in research ininternational business. Participants should be able to familiarize themselves with the field of global sourcing and hence, be able to apply the theories and methods as well as develop an ability to analyze complex strategic issues in a global business context. Student response;"The class seemed well organized and structured. It was on the one hand a strict, and on the other hand a supportive and friendly learning environment which demonstrates a good balance. The students gained a lot of new knowledge and skills as a learning outcome according to the corresponding course description. The students enjoyed participating the classes and the entrepreneurial presentation skills of the professor. "

Regarding the guest lectures I received less positive statements about one person last year which was not mentioned in the student report, so I assumed that this was a personal preference from one student. This year the students explicitly mentioned this guest lecturer again in their report ( I have deleted this persons name here and in the students own report) but seem to be pleased with the other two when stating : "The guest lectures gave interesting and useful insights matching the course content. We only received less positive feedback about one of the guest lectures that was perceived as “not-value-adding” and “boring”." Thus I will I will reach out to another professor when preparing the course for the 2023 semester

Alle trykte og skrevne

Ingen trykte eller håndskrevne hjelpemidler tillatt. Bestemt, enkel kalkulator tillatt.

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Last year i received the following suggestion from the reference group;  The project assignment can be changed into a portfolio submission containing 2-3 smaller assignments. Feedback on each of these assignments will hep the students to understand the concepts better when they apply it to solve practical cases. I understand that this could be beneficial for the students, however, since I have ten different modules and introduce both experts and industry partners as well as having a comprehensive hand-in which accounts for 40% of their grade, I find it almost impossible for me to be able to have time to give them proper feedback. Another issue is that this would probably mean that the smaller assignments most likely would have to be graded as pass or fail. My experience is that the student do not put too much effort in such assignments. In 2019 the student also had to give an oral presentation of this assignment, however due to the pandemics it was difficult to include this. I received the same comment this year. Thus to accommodate this I will make sure that the oral presentation must take place, were constructive feedback will be provided by me. If the situation with the pandemic continues next year I will book video meeting with each group to assure this being conducted. Since I started to teach and plan this course I have work hard to try to show how the knowledge obtained from this course has industry relevance. Last years student evaluation indicated that I was close to that. This year however, I finally received a more explicit conformation about it. The report states; This is one of the few courses which we think are highly work related. It provided an understanding of how theory can be applied and contribute to strategic decisions in a real work situation. Thus I will continue to work with this aspect.

According to the course evaluation conducted by the course representatives the learning outcomes were achieved. Below I provide the objectives/ learning outcomes for the course as described in the course description followed by the response from the students. Learning outcomes; The goal of the course is to introduce participants into the research field of global sourcing and supply chain/network management. After completing the course the student should be knowledgeable about important research problems, theories and methods that are applied in research in international business. Participants should be able to familiarize themselves with the field of global sourcing and hence, be able to apply the theories and methods as well as develop an ability to analyze complex strategic issues in a global business context. Student response; The course was well organized and conducted in accordance with the description given on the course page. The students appreciated that a schedule was provided at the beginning of the semester, outlining learning activities, guest lectures, and mandatory attendance.  The course literature provided students with a solid theoretical background. By encouraging students to read at least one relevant article before lectures, the students were able to participate in discussions and be interactive. Even if some of the students prefer one-way communication in lectures, we believe that this positively contributed to the learning outcomes and learning environments for all students by ensuring continuity in reading course literature as well as preparing students for future studies and work life.  Relevant guest lecturers provided students with more in-depth knowledge about the topics. The students experienced that guest lecturers could provide more in-depth knowledge about certain themes and found the sessions very interesting. Mandatory attendance is not appreciated by all students, but we want to acknowledge the importance of participation in these sessions due to the time and resources spent arranging this by both the course coordinator and the guest lecturer and recommend continuing this.  The learning activities provided the achievements of learning objectives.

This year the students recommended that the exam should be changed to a home exam. However, I believe this to be unfortunate as I believe that they will miss to show their individual results, since all materials are available. Furthermore, the former assignment is a group exam -students from 2019, 2020 and this year all say that they appreciate that and wish to continue with that. Thus, my opinion is that the course also should continue with the school exam format.

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Global sourcing and supply network management - AM510512