Interviews

This course utilizes two interviews to provide you an opportunity to interact with real-world professionals within the areas of business related to your course topics. These interviews should not be confused with your other unit journals which are based on your experiences in this unit. These interviews require face-to-face interaction with your selected professional.

It is an exciting time, living in the 21^st Century! While the intent of the interviews is that you attempt to interview a professional face-to-face in your local community, if this is difficult due to factors such as living in a rural area, you can find a professional online, coordinate via email, and meet using Google Hangouts to accomplish the interview assignments.

Keep in mind, in either method, your professionalism reflects upon yourself and our institution; make us proud.

A few other important notes. Due to technical limitations with our learning platform, you may see these items listed as Journal: Interview. These are not to be confused with your normal journals, as they are very different. Consider them as interviews, and ensure you review and read their specific instructions.

Also, as you review your Gradebook during Unit 1, look at the timing of the interview and the related topics of the units towards the end of the term. Know the late policy, and your own work schedule. Schedule the interview to maximize your opportunity while mitigating risk of non-completion. Do not procrastinate. Your emergency is not your selected professional's emergency. Plan accordingly to ensure you are not limited by schedule and ensure a buffer and contingency so that your selected professional is not pressured by your time constraints. It is advisable to have a backup time and date planned, in case you need it, to accomplish the interview. If you need to switch to a different professional, due to availability, that is also appropriate within the same area of business.

This is a realistic business opportunity. One of the positive elements of Interviews as learning opportunities is that they also open you up to networking opportunities. The role of professional networking in a business career cannot be understated, it is key towards success. Additionally, if you research career sites, you will see much advice towards the concept of an informational interview. You may want to research informational interviews from this perspective prior to your two actual interviews.

MT435-5: Evaluate the purpose of forecasting and inventory management within operations management.

This journal is different than many journals you may have encountered during your time at university. In fact, it is better to think of it as an interview than a journal.

Part of learning about business is networking. This interview is to get you motivated and networking with business professionals in your local area. If you want, you can also set-up an online interview using Google Hangouts; however, you should make an effort in your local area if at all possible for this experiential learning opportunity to conduct a face-to-face interview.

You will conduct a 30-minute interview with a business professional who has experience with

forecasting and inventory management.

During the interview, ask permission to submit their first name, last name, and email address as elements of your interview summary, in case your professor wants to check-in with them on their thoughts of the interview.

As the person conducting the interview, you should dress professionally for the interview, and be prepared with some initial research of the person you are interviewing (review their LinkedIn profile) as well as, their organization (online research, corporate website, etc.). The point is to show up as a business professional, and to be properly prepared and engaged for the interview. You will be asking the questions, and you should be prepared to be an active listener and to ask pertinent follow-on questions.

The three main question sets you are to ask, allowing about 10 minutes of discussion each, are:

Question Set 1: (Forecasting)

Does your organization use both qualitative and quantitative forecasting methods? What methods do you use to support your business with forecasting (examples: regression analysis, Delphi Method)? Is there a special team focused on forecasting, or is it a responsibility of each professional within your organization?

Question Set 2: (Inventory Management)

How does your organization implement inventory management? What types of information systems does your organization utilize to support effective inventory management? Does your organization implement JIT, Just-In-Time, or some other form of lean applied to inventory?

Question Set 3: (Reflection on Operations Management)

Take a moment to share and reflect, with the professional you interview, on what you have learned during our term, focused on operations management. After reflection, continue to discussion with the following questions. How does operations management ensure the "mission happens" for a successful organization? How does the "puzzle pieces" of various traditional areas of business connect within your organization? Does your organization have a vertical (mechanistic) or horizontal (organic) organizational structure? Do you have a top "lesson learned" related to effective operations for a business?

To successfully accomplish this interview, review the rubric prior to the interview and ensure you cover all required elements. However, in general, it will be composing of meeting minute format summary of the interview, highlighting who you selected to interview, their contact information, the three responses, any other follow-on questions or key points, and then close with a summary and its reflection on what you learned in relation to the course topics.