skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Title: Supply Chain Strategies in Virtually Distributed Supply Chain Project Teams During and Post-COVID-19
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of employees transitioned into virtually distributed supply chain project team environments for the first time in their careers due to shelter-in-place and social distancing mandates that impacted industries around the world. With project managers implementing processes and procedures remotely to employees fielding calls from home while caring for children, the world entered into an unprecedented time and an unknown unknown. As the pandemic required organizations to implement agile practices, project managers within various industries had to adjust operational processes, while at the same time had to ensure project team needs were addressed. In an effort to mitigate the risk of transitioning back to conventional management approaches, a qualitative survey method was performed in this study to understand supply chain project team member experiences during this transition period. The results of the survey uncovered that the creation of a supply chain uncertainty management plan, demonstrating the benefits of virtual supply chain project teams, and the continuous integration of collaborative technology tools may contribute positive outcomes from the COVID-19 pandemic.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2028612
PAR ID:
10443607
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
International Supply Chain Technology Journal
Volume:
6
Issue:
11
ISSN:
2380-5730
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. COVID-19 resulted in health and logistical challenges for many sectors of the American economy, including the trucking industry. This study examined how the pandemic impacted the trucking industry, focused on the pandemic’s impacts on company operations, health, and stress of trucking industry employees. Data were collected from three sources: surveys, focus groups, and social media posts. Individuals at multiple organizational levels of trucking companies (i.e., supervisors, upper-level management, and drivers) completed an online survey and participated in online focus groups. Data from focus groups were coded using a thematic analysis approach. Publicly available social media posts from Twitter were analyzed using a sentiment analysis framework to assess changes in public sentiment about the trucking industry pre- and during-COVID-19. Two themes emerged from the focus groups: (1) trucking company business strategies and adaptations and (2) truck driver experiences and workplace safety. Participants reported supply chain disruptions and new consumer buying trends as having larger industry-wide impacts. Company adaptability emerged due to freight variability, leading organizations to pivot business models and create solutions to reduce operational costs. Companies responded to COVID-19 by accommodating employees’ concerns and implementing safety measures. Truck drivers noted an increase in positive public perception of truck drivers, but job quality factors worsened due to closed amenities and decreased social interaction. Social media sentiment analysis also illustrated an increase in positive public sentiment towards the trucking industry during COVID-19. The pandemic resulted in multi-level economic, health, and social impacts on the trucking industry, which included economic impacts on companies and economic, social and health impacts on employees within the industry levels. Further research can expand on this study to provide an understanding of the long-term impacts of the pandemic on the trucking industry companies within the industry and segments of the trucking industry workforce. 
    more » « less
  2. Practice and research collaborations in the disaster domain have the potential to improve emergency management practices while also advancing disaster science theory. However, they also pose challenges as practitioners and researchers each have their own culture, history, values, incentives, and processes that do not always facilitate collaboration. In this paper, we reflect on a 6-month practice and research collaboration, where researchers and practitioners worked together to craft a social media monitoring system for emergency managers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges we encountered in this project fall into two broad categories, job-related and timescale challenges. Using prior research on team science as a guide, we discuss several challenges we encountered in these two categories and show how our team sought to overcome them. We conclude with a set of best practices for improving practice and research collaborations. 
    more » « less
  3. null (Ed.)
    This research project examines the relationship between teleworking cybersecurity protocols during the COVID-19 era and employee’s perception of their efficiency and performance predictability.  COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus and it has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Since March 2020, many employees in the United States who used operate onsite, have been working from their homes (teleworking) to mitigate the spread of the virus through social distancing. The premise of this research project is that teleworking can transform these employees into unintentional insider threats or UITs. Iinterviews were conducted through video conferencing with nine employees in Virginia, USA to examine the problem. This is an interdisciplinary research project which brings together the disciplines of sociology and computer science. Narrative Analysis was used to unpack the interviews. The major findings from the research efforts demonstrate that employees are trusting of the cybersecurity protocols that their organizations implemented but they also believe they are vulnerable, and that the protocols are not as reliable as in-person working arrangements. While the respondents perceived that the cybersecurity protocols lend to performance predictability, they seem to think it disrupts their efficiency. 
    more » « less
  4. In this article, we ask whether macro-level changes during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic relate to changes in the levels of discrimination against women and Black job-seekers at the point of hire. We develop three main hypotheses: that discrimination against women and Black job-seekers increases due to a reduction in labor demand; that discrimination against women decreases due to the reduced supply of women employees and applicants; and that discrimination against Black job-seekers decreases due to increased attention toward racial inequities associated with the Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020. We test these hypotheses using a correspondence audit study collected over two periods, before and during the early COVID-19 pandemic, for one professional occupation: accountants. We find that White women experience a positive change in callbacks during the pandemic, being preferred over White men, and this change is concentrated in geographic areas that experienced relatively larger decreases in women's labor supply. Black women experience discrimination pre-pandemic but receive similar callbacks to White men during the pandemic. In contrast to both White and Black women, discrimination against Black men is persistent before and during the pandemic. Our findings are consistent with the prediction of gender-specific changes in labor supply being associated with gender-specific changes in hiring discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic. More broadly, our study shows how hiring decision-making is related to macro-level labor market processes. 
    more » « less
  5. null (Ed.)
    The outbreak of 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has forced schools and universities around the world to adopt online learning. However, many educators are facing challenges because they do not have prior experience with online teaching and the transition happened rapidly. One effective way to keep students engaged and improve their learning is by using online simulation games. Simulation games provide opportunities for feedback and learning and can promote interdisciplinary and collaborative working styles. This research develops internet-based multi-player interactive simulation games to teach manufacturing and supply chain concepts. The players in the supply-chain games include a customer, a manufacturer, an assembler, and a supplier. The simulation games are structured into three different parts: the backend server that handles the game logic, the client server that takes user input, and the database which stores the input information. The simulation involves producing car toys that satisfy customer requirements. A group of high school and community college educators tested the simulation games and provided feedback for improvement. The simulations were then deployed in the practice of high school and undergraduate classrooms. Feedback from teachers and students indicates that online simulations can improve effectiveness of teaching and learning. 
    more » « less