Introduction
Understanding Step One in PBL
When faced with a problem, people usually jump quickly to trying to find solutions to the problem. This is a natural reaction, but it is just that: a reaction. It is not a responsive, systematic approach to solving the problem. In problem-based learning, we purposefully take one step at a time to solve the problem. Step One in PBL requires identification and investigation of the problem. Identifying the problem means clearly stating it in its simplest form. Investigating it means systematically examining it to better understand it. The goal of the team for Step One is to establish what is known about the problem.
The Context of the Problem
To give you a sense of real-world context, the problem in this course is set in a hypothetical organization. The problem has been carefully crafted to prompt learning in the areas of virtuous leadership and global-based teams.
You work for a company that has enjoyed more than seventy-five years of leadership in manufacturing and marketing of an exclusive product sold in upscale outlets throughout major cities in the developed world. Over the past decade, the rising cost of high-quality materials and transportation and the unionization of skilled craftsmen have caused a severe decline in the profit margins. The company’s president and CEO, who is the grandson of the company’s founder, with the assistance of the CFO adopted fraudulent practices that misled stockholders and the board members to believe that the company was not at risk and was a sound investment. After investigations by the federal authorities, the company’s two key leaders are under criminal indictment, and the company’s dirty laundry has flooded social media and the business news outlets worldwide. The Board of Directors has been reorganized, and it has concluded that the sullied company name and its profitability will never recover in its original niche. Therefore, it has proposed changing the company strategy to one that mass produces inexpensive products to market in box stores that serve a moderate to low income clientele. Your global taskforce must provide the Board of Directors with information about the soundness of parts manufacturing and possibly assembly in low-cost countries for the proposed new product lines and avoidance strategies or practices for rumored pitfalls in offshore outsourcing. Operating with integrity and producing a solid bottom line are primary goals.
The Problem
Problem Question: How can companies use strategic and operational strategies as mitigations for the effects of uncertainties in outsourcing to low-cost countries?
Problem Statement: The problem could also be stated as: Effects of low-cost country global supply chain uncertainties must be mitigated to ensure your company’s integrity and financial success.
Investigating the Problem
Since the problem has already been identified, you and your PBL team must work together to investigate the problem. You must work collectively and individually to conduct an investigation of what is known about the benefits and risks involved in offshore outsourcing to low-cost countries, and are the mitigation strategies to offset the risks? Each member of the team must contribute to the investigation process and the deliverable. This investigation will build on your prior knowledge and experiences. Remember that you are not trying to solve the problem yet.
Low-cost countries are defined for the purpose of this course as generally underdeveloped countries with abundant resources in the forms of raw materials and/or cheap labor as well as limited restrictions on manufacturing practices.
Consider the following questions to begin your investigation:
What are political and cultural factors in low-income countries that are strengths or challenges for their outsourcers?
What are the drivers of global supply chains such as facilities, inventory, transportation, information, pricing, etc.?
What are other threats to outsourcing such as fluxing currency values and fuel costs, natural disasters, sustainability of natural resources and the planet, and customs and local agent issues?
What are potential ethical challenges in the low-cost country outsourcing strategy?
What are strategies to mitigate the challenges inherent in outsourcing to low-cost countries and accompanying global supply chains?
The deliverable(s) for this step are:
Problem Question: How can companies use strategic and operational strategies as mitigations for the effects of uncertainties in outsourcing to low-cost countries?
Problem Statement: The problem could also be stated as: Effects of low-cost country global supply chain uncertainties must be mitigated to ensure your company’s integrity and financial success.
Resources
Online Campus Library Resources (OCLS)
Problem Investigation Template (Optional)
PBL Team Resources
IWU Norms of Collaboration
Instructions for Deliverable
The teamwork section will be graded for each team member, and the individual student’s quantity and quality of participation in the team process will be reflected in his or her score in other assignment criteria.
As a team learning project, the individual’s participation in the processes of the team is as important as the product produced by the team. Therefore, it is very possible that team members will earn different scores for the assignment due to individual differences in the team process. It is important to understand that low performance in the team processes has a ripple effect on the student’s contributions to the product’s development and its quality affecting scores in product related portions of the rubric. This grading approach provides the ethical principle of equity in the assignment’s grades.
Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade. You can learn more about the specific skills being assessed by reviewing the links in Problem-Based Learning Resources.
It is recommended that the team begin this problem-solving adventure with the end deliverables in mind. Therefore, it is a good idea to review the PBL deliveries’ rubrics in workshops four and five to ensure that you will have appropriate knowledge base to complete your Risks/Mitigations Guide and Board of Directors Report with recommendations.
Meet as a team to ensure you have a shared understanding of the requirements for this step. As a team, use your PBL plan to outline how you will all meet the requirements individually and collectively.
It may be to your advantage to begin zeroing in on a potential low-cost country or cluster of countries to investigate specific, potential ethical, political, social, cultural, etc. challenges or risks that may threaten the success of your company should it outsource there.
Individually, conduct your own independent investigation of the problem. Document your work per your team’s plan/template. An optional template is provided in the Resources section above.
As a team, collect your findings from the investigations and present them as an organized summary of what is known about the problem. Clearly indicate the contributions of each team member.
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