[MBA-FT-Students] Department of Management Supply Chain Management Distinguished Speaker Seminar Speaker: Professor Anita Tucker, Harvard University

[Jamie Patterson]

Dear Students:

Anita Tucker of Harvard University will be coming to Clemson on Friday April 27, 2012.  Professor Tucker is an expert in health care operations will be presenting her most recent work (see abstract below). You are cordially invited to join the Department of Management Supply Chain Management Distinguished Speaker Seminar on Friday April 27, 2012, 10:00 am-11:00 am (Reception following talk) on campus at Sirrine Room 382 (formerly 364).



Professor, Anita L. Tucker, Harvard University

Readiness through interconnectedness: A Qualitative Study of Hospitals' Internal Supply Chains

Abstract

We examine the internal supply chains at two hospitals. Through in-depth qualitative research, including observations and interviews of 76 individuals from 6 medical/surgical units and 8 ancillary support departments (AD), we find that a lack of interconnectedness among departments-rather than errors or execution issues-leads to disruptions in the internal supply chains.  Furthermore, we find that nurses spend 12% of their day compensating for internal supply chain problems, which is a disproportionate amount of time compared to the other departments.  We suggest that the burden of correcting disconnected internal supply chains falls to nursing because they are the only department to have both the ability to translate patients' clinical orders into requirements for materials and the responsibility for securing these materials.
We define interconnectedness as four conditions of an internal supply chain: a focus on system-rather than individual department-performance; routines within departments that are connected to current customers' needs; knowledge is translated across departmental boundaries to enable efficient response; and infrastructure exists for daily management and continuous improvement of the chain's performance.



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