Supply Managers for the Twenty‐First Century: The Learning Imperative

As supply managers maneuver through the myriad and complex maze of factors that directly and indirectly impact performance, attention is increasingly focused on the appropriate survival strategies. These strategies emerge from a well-honed repertoire that reflects how these professionals were socialized in organizations in general and the discipline of supply management in particular. The strategies and responses chosen to accommodate an increasingly dynamic environment mirror a rather static and staid approach to change management. Given the velocity of change confronting supply managers, traditional modes of behavior fail to adequately fill the void in transporting managers from where they are to where they need to go. One option that has comprehensive merit is the design and cultivation of a learning-based supply management organization. A learning-based focus allows purchasing managers to extend their perspectives on performance enhancement. Research has shown that individuals with a "performance orientation" focus on the positive elements of performance evaluation by their supervisors - and are sometimes reticent about pursuing new approaches or experimental situations. However, those with a "learning orientation" welcome the process of discovery and challenge.[1] This finding is consistent with the results of an earlier study that concluded learning organizations outperform those that are purely performance based.[2] In today's environment, purchasing professionals must also embrace the merits of discovery and challenge and move beyond the single-minded concentration on narrowly defined performance measures. Learning is one route to that end. Learning procurement organizations accommodate and in fact anticipate change in a meaningful and substantive way. They provide for almost constant resource mobilization to handle a barrage of change, with little need to overhaul the entire system with the ebb and flow of internal and external environmental factors. In fact, a learning-based procurement team is an automatic blueprint for change. CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING-BASED SUPPLY MANAGEMENT TEAMS. Team Members Have a Shared Vision Learning-oriented teams in procurement have a collective vision that is the beam of light guiding the ship. This vision is a communal conscience regarding the essence of supply management in the organization. Where, how, and why does supply management contribute to organizational effectiveness in the broadest possible sense? Responses to these questions compel enlightened thinking on the part of primary and secondary participants in the procurement process. Organizational and procurement visions change. As the two symbiotically evolve, learning is both an input and a byproduct of the process. Shared visions for procurement or for firms do not occur arbitrarily; they are shaped, molded, and fashioned in an insightful manner over time. The vision must simultaneously reflect where the firm is and project where it ought to be. As supply managers forge ever closer ties to the strategic efforts of the firm, their capacity to actively engage themselves in the "visioning process" will be much more evident. Conflict Can Be Constructive All dynamic organizations experience dissension and conflict. However, learning-dominated groups consider certain types of friction constructive and valuable. In fact, it is encouraged and promoted. It leads to tension that forces constant reassessment of both the internal and external landscapes. Thus, continuous learning is a natural outgrowth. Constructive conflict is a substantive dimension of all cross-functional teams. As the teams mature, they shift to different levels of conflict that in turn demand the learning of new means to manage situations and resources. In learning organizations, certain forms of chaos are reinforcing and invigorating. However, participants in these environments clearly must possess coping mechanisms for the challenges posed. …