August 2000 Issues in Education Building Blocks of Education By Henk ten Wolde One of first things students in the Logistics & Economics program at Hogeschool Drenthe Univesity [Netherlands] experience is a simulation game using Lego bricks called Legostiek Management. The objective of the program is to prepare students for executive management positions. The emphasis is less on what the students learn and more on how they gain the relevant knowledge. The focus is, therefore, primarily on the learning process. Games and simulations are effective tools for enhancing the learning process and for providing practical hands-on experiences. They often increase students' motivation and improve their grasp of important concepts. Legostiek Management is presented to students in three parts over three full days. These parts are further divided into focus sessions with a total of six sessions in the game. The game is played in teams of 14 to 20 students. Students assume different roles in the organization, such as customer, manager of raw material and accountant, in order to gain different perspectives. Part I Legostics: building blocks of logistics. In this part, students are introduced to logistics terminology and the basic concepts related to the flow of goods and information. By the end of the day, students have a better understanding of terms like bill of material, lead-time, finished goods inventory and purchasing. They also experience various aspects of operations and logistics. Part I consists of three focus sessions. In the first introductory session, students assume the production of a single product, "A-Tower" (a four-level tower of Lego blocks). The team performs in a functional organization where workers are grouped according to the tasks they perform. To gain initial experience and familiarity with terms and concepts, students concentrate on the process of production and distribution of this single product and pay little attention to planning. A-Tower The second session focuses on production planning. A three-model family of products (A-, B- and C-Towers) is introduced. Students now need to consider developing and revising a production schedule and a material requirement plan. In the third session, the nature of the organization is changed from a functional organization to a product organization where groups are formed for each product model. This enables students to experience a different aspect of operations and develop a better understanding of the difference between the two types of organizations. Part II Legostics Management: building blocks of logistics management. In this part, students develop an understanding of the importance of information in managing product and cash flow. To gain insight into the cash flow, we introduce currency represented by Lego parts. Part II consists of two focus sessions. In session 4, the focus is on cash flow and accounting issues. Accountants must prepare financial statements. The rest of the team evaluates their company's statement and articulates the reasons for their successes and failures. In the first four sessions the product is produced to order. Session 5 introduces the requirement of predicting demand. Before students start with session 5 they have to perform a forecast of demand. In this session, teams are allowed to revert to a functional organization in order to improve performance. Part III Integral Legostics Management: building blocks of integrated logistics management. In this part, the key roles of suppliers and customers are introduced. Students now must negotiate the terms of their operations. Part III consists of a single, final focus session. In this part of the game, the emphasis is on the customer's role in logistics. Customer-specified products are introduced, and an innovative concept in inventory management, known as the customer order decoupling point (CODP), is described. The CODP represents the penetration of the customer order into an organization. In this case, forecasting no longer controls the flow of goods, and students must directly consider the needs of the customer. The information and theory relevant to the focus of each session are presented to students in lectures and supporting readings and assignments prior to the scheduled game day. While playing the different roles, students learn to apply their knowledge in a thorough and timely fashion. Legostiek Management is a very effective teaching tool. One of its major strengths is that through its various components students are allowed to gradually discover the building blocks of logistics. Henk ten Wolde is a professor at the Northern Academy of Logistics, Hogeschool Drenthe University, in Emmen, Netherlands, and the chairman of the logistics trade group. He can be reached at h.ten.wolde@hsdrenthe.nl This is a regular column sponsored by INFORMED, the INFORMS Forum on Education. Contact Salwa Ammar at ammars@palm.lemoyne.edu Table of Contents OR/MS Today Home Page OR/MS Today copyright © 2000 by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. All rights reserved. Lionheart Publishing, Inc. 506 Roswell Street, Suite 220, Marietta, GA 30060, USA Phone: 770-431-0867 | Fax: 770-432-6969 E-mail: lpi@lionhrtpub.com URL: http://www.lionhrtpub.com Web Site © Copyright 1999, 2000 by Lionheart Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.