Mr Omid Haass from the Department of International Business and Asian Studies had his postgraduate students enjoying a game of mix n match cards in their Sustainable Supply Network Management for the Next Decade lecture at the Griffith University South Bank campus. Students learned to apply their communication, strategy, negotiation and problem solving skills by bargaining and bartering their half cards with other groups. Mr Haass said, ‘the team building activity was recommended to me by a colleague and the students found it both fun and enlightening.’
‘The game is designed to hone communication and negotiation skills, and make participants think on their feet.’
Omid Haass uses a card game to engage students’ problem solving skills.
Each small team is given a set of mixed card triangles. The aim is to negotiate and barter with other teams in order to match as many of their cards as possible within the allotted period of time.They were even given the opportunity to form a merger with another team and later asked to discuss how the mergers changed each team’s strategies and actions.
Students were then asked to explain their strategy and answer questions about the negotiation process, such as what worked, what didn’t, and what influenced their choice of strategy.
The course explores relevant evolving managerial issues in the networked business context, presenting frameworks, methods and tools that will equip managers to anticipate and prepare their supply networks for an increasingly dynamic business environment.Students learn how to design and manage sustainable and resilient supply networks, taking into account relevant collaborative human resource approaches, technologies, and management principles.
They also undertake a case study where they are able to engage in managing an exemplar supply network that is beset by a number of relevant challenges including, for example, the impact of natural disasters and the loss of a key element of the network.
