A Teacher In Pursuit of an Education....

A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others...Source Unknown...

I am creating a new course for the upcoming spring semester, titled 'Global Business Process Management.' My vision is to educate juniors and seniors about business processes, and using technology and other tools to achieve operational and strategic excellence. I created a rough draft of the syllabus and sent to some former students who are currently working in large successful firms to get some feedback. One replied "It looks like you will be summarizing in this course much of what I learned during my internship/1st year of employment. This introduction to business process management/improvement will not only help students interview better but lower their learning curve once on the job. Much of what you have planned to discuss I learned on the job by translating classroom discussions into business applications. (This looks like a course I would have enjoyed!)..." Another former student said " Thank you for the opportunity to review your syllabus. From an overview read, it looks like you've included most arms of a manufacturers' organizational chart. New hires who could talk/relate in these terms would certainly have a competitive advantage. Jack Welsh, GE, 6 sigma, ...these are things I learned in grad school! Week X, balanced scorecards/dashboards, is something I deliver monthly
to our VPs of grocery sales. My firm introduced a score carding standard in 2008 and I am the source of distributing it out to the sales teams. I would be happy to guest lecture on this topic..."

In a department where innovation in the curriculum is minimal, I have been pushing the envelope in creating material that will help students navigate these treacherous times. But I have to be in touch with 'reality' as defined by the 'outside' world....A tough task.