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Online
Logistics
Degree
and
Supply
Chain
Management
Certification |
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Today’s organizations today are faced with the challenge of delivering training that capitalizes on the knowledge, skills and experience of a new generation of worker to create high-performance teams. An evolution in learning through the four generations has occurred: From traditional, through baby boomer and Gen X and to Gen Y’er. Yet much of conventional business training has remained traditional. Members of each generation possess unique attitudes, values, characteristics and skills based on their experiences. Paradigm differences between them are evident in the workplace, where employee motivation, loyalty, and level of engagement all differ. Not only do generations have distinct attitudes and values, but they impact team and organizational collaboration, creativity, and innovation in different ways. Optimizing performance in this dynamic environment requires innovative approaches to training and the latest workers, those of generation Y, are demanding quality and flexibility in training as never before. Consider traditional learning when teachers had all the answers, low tech solutions were all that there was, and those who paid their dues won the race. Now compare that with the outlook of the "Y'ers" who believe you don't have to be old to make money; anything older than 6 months is probably out of date; and technology is the answer, now what was the question? So while traditional training approaches may still work for some, most students now will only come to class if it is worth their while; they'll send one of their peers to get the information for the team or just try to pick it up from the internet. Achieving more effective training in this context requires a new teaching philosophy; one that gains the respect of today’s students. To be effective training now needs to:
It is within this context that George Brown migrated its Logistics and Supply Chain Management Programs to online, not surprisingly, online training is a perfect fit with logisticians. From a full-time, in class program that was an orphan & facing elimination, it grew 400% in its first year online, 75% in its second year and continues to grow by double digits. The other reasons? Flexibility & interactivity. Flexibility eliminates of travel time, schedule constraints from travel & shift-work so common with logisticians and the transferability of logistics solutions means access to discussions with others around the world provides real value. It is a perfect fit. Effective business education is now about the efficient facilitation of problem solving in the workplace by providing tools to capitalize on opportunities and the George Brown Logistics Program succeeds. So while traditional learners remain imprisoned in their bricks and mortar & luke-warm to the idea of online learning, it has proven a perfect fit for a growing number of practicing (and many aspiring) logisticians. Perhaps it is perfect for your organization and you. Discussions & Teamwork An important key to meaningful learning is discussing what you are learning with your fellow students and teachers. The principles in Logistics and Supply Management are highly transferable and students have found this perhaps the most valuable aid in solving problems at work. We facilitate discussions using "asynchronous" learning as follows:
This way of
discussing
generates more
activity than a
classroom,
often over
dozens of
threads and
over a hundred
comments. In a
physical
classroom, many
people don't
speak up
because they
are shy, or
overweight, or
have a stutter,
etc. but on the
internet -
nobody knows!
In this format
people do
participate
more. Also, you
have more time
to think about
your answer so
the quality of
responses is
infinitely
higher. And you
may read
another
student's
comment late at
night and want
to respond but
be too tired -
so you respond
in the morning
when you are
refreshed.
There is time
to research and
formulate your
answers. Courses delivered over the internet are indeed different. And yes, they do place more responsibility for learning on the learner but after all, that freedom and flexibility is what is demanded by today's students. And for logisticians this fit is perfect. We're dealing with an ambitious and motivated group so it has proven an effective and rewarding experience for those who embrace it. For more information on the nature of the subject matter of the program content follow these links to find out "What is Logistics?" and "What is SCM?". And to learn more about this and other George Brown online programs please visit the Distance Education Program Homepage. Hope to see you in class. "Flexible, Online & Interactive Logistics Training"
Michelle Lee,
Program
Coordinator
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