Chronicle of Higher Education
"U. of Texas Course Takes Students to the Birthplace of Consumer Products"
July 10, 2011

It's one thing to study inventory models and shipping strategies in class, but students in Michael Hasler's operations management class travel to China to see it firsthand. The class recently won a runner-up prize from the 2011 Southwestern Business Deans’ Association Bobby G. Bizzell Innovative Achievement Award, which recognizes business programs that have demonstrated innovative excellence.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on this year's trip and asked students to share their experience via email from China:

For six weeks this summer, 28 students from the University of Texas at Austin traveled backward through a supply chain to learn how three products—a 26-inch mountain bike, a pair of mediumwash boot-cut jeans, and a Texas Instruments calculator—made their way from three factories in China to a Target store in Texas.

The garment factory had fewer machines, relying largely on human workers—a difference the students attributed to the need to keep up with changing fashions. "Seeing the clothes I buy in malls being made right in front of me was the biggest reality check of my life," said Elaine Posluszny, a rising sophomore. "This trip has really opened my eyes to think about how all our stuff actually gets to America."

At the calculator factory, the students saw young workers standing only inches apart. "Within about 100 meters we saw the transformation of tiny pieces of plastic and metal into a calculator we use all the time in school," Ms. Posluszny wrote.

Students also learned firsthand how businesses in the United States are affected by the growing trade imbalance with China. "One of our professors told us that there has been an increase in empty shipping containers making their way back into China because they aren't importing as much as they were in the past," [rising junior Chelsea Pace] said. "This is affecting supply chains because it increases their shipping costs by moving empty containers."

"I think students are better able to understand the concepts we explore in this class because they see firsthand how they are used in a real-life situation," Mr. Hasler said.

Read the full article at the Chronicle of Higher Education website (subscription required).