Achieving Excellence InGlobal sourcing is anincreasingly.docx

Achieving Excellence In
Global sourcing is an
increasingly popular
business strategy, but
it's not easy to execute.
There are seven typical
characteristics of
organizations with
outstanding global
sourcing.
Robert J. Trent and
Robert M. Monczka
As organizations search for new and better ways to compete,
global businessstrategies will continue to receive increasing
attention. One area in whichglobalization can move from
concept to practice is global sourcing, anadvanced approach to
sourcing and supply management that involves inte-
grating and coordinating common materials, processes, designs,
technologies and suppli-
ers across worldwide buying, design and operating locations.

Since most organizations do
not have well-developed global sourcing strategies in place,
improvement opportunities
in this area are attractive and as yet largely unrealized. Shifting
from a narrow cost-reduc-
tion emphasis to an emphasis on globally integrated and
coordinated sourcing strategies
should improve an organization's competitiveness.'
Our research suggests that many executive managers,
particularly at large U.S.-based
manufacturing companies, clearly desire to obtain the benefits
available from more
advanced sourcing approaches. The reality, however, is that
most companies currently lack
the understanding, capability or willingness to operate at such
demanding levels. This can
have serious consequences when companies have competitors
that truly understand how to
integrate and coordinate their worldwide activities. Companies
that produce and sell world-
wide should no longer view global sourcing as an emerging
strategy.
From our research, we have identified key features that
characterize leading global

sourcing organizations. These characteristics will help
executives understand what an
effective global organization looks like and compare their
progress and practices against
global sourcing best practices. The participants in our research
were primarily large,
North American-based multinationals, involved largely in
manufacturing rather than
services. (See "About the Research," p. 26.) Given the size and
location of participating
companies, we make no claims about whether the results of the
study can be generalized
to a broader population of companies, particularly to small and
medium-sized compa-
nies, or to companies headquartered outside the United States.
Global Sourcing Defined
"International purchasing" and "global sourcing" are terms that
have very specific meanings
in our research. Although many researchers and practitioners
interchange the terms, funda-
mental differences exist between them. International purchasing
involves a commercial trans-
action between a buyer and a supplier located in different
countries. Global sourcing, on the

other hand, involves integrating and coordinating common
items, materials, processes, tech-
nologies, designs and suppliers across worldwide buying, design
and operating locations.
The progression from domestic buying to international
purchasing and then to global
sourcing can be visualized as movement along a continuum
through five different levels.
Robert J. Trent is Supply Chain Management Program director
and Eugene Mercy Associate Profes-
sor of Management at Lehigh University. Robert M. Monczka is
Distinguished Professor and ISM Pro-
fessor of Supply Chain Management at W.P Carey School of
Business, Arizona State University, and
director of strategic sourcing and supply chain research at
CAPS: Center for Strategic Supply
Research. Contact them at [email protected] and
[email protected]
24 MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW FALL 2005
Global Sourcing
(See "Five Levels of Sourcing,' p. 28.2) In moving from
domestic
purchasing to international purchasing, organizations must con-
tend with longer distances, increased rules and regulations, cur-
rency fluctuations, customs requirements, and language, cultural

and time differences. Companies that then go on to pursue
global
sourcing must contend with the operational issues that affect
international purchasing while also managing a higher level of
cross-functional and cross-locational coordination.
The reasons behind the progression from domestic to inter-
national purchasing have been well studied, along with the
issues
associated with the progression.3 Organizations that practice
strictly domestic purchasing (Level I) often progress toward
international purchasing (Level II) because they are con-
fronted with a requirement for which no suitable domestic
supplier exists or because competitors are gaining an
advantage due to their sourcing practices. Level I compa-
nies may also find themselves driven toward interna-
tional purchasing because of a supply disruption,
rapidly changing currency exchange rates, a declining
domestic supply base, inflation within the home mar-
ket or the emergence of new supply sources. Interna-

tional purchasing at Level II is usually limited or
performed on an ad hoc or reactive basis.
Companies often start making international
purchasing part of their sourcing strategy (Level 1i1) once they
recognize that purchasing internationally can lead to a range of
performance improvements. However, strategies at this stage
are
not well coordinated across worldwide buying sites or locations
and usually focus on price improvements. More companies in
our sample currently operate at Level III than at any other level.
The fourth level, the first of two global sourcing levels in our
model, features integrated and coordinated sourcing strategies
across worldwide buying or site locations. Operating at this
level requires worldwide information systems, personnel
with advanced knowledge and skill sets, extensive coordina-
tion and communication mechanisms, an organizational
structure that supports global integration and an executive
leadership that can clearly articulate a global vision. The
strategy integration that occurs at Level IV is primarily

among buying locations and mainly considers the develop-
ment of global sourcing agreements. (A global sourcing agree-
ment or contract is one that applies throughout an entire
company, usually with a supplier that has global capabilities.)
An organization at this level may have wide discrepancies in
FALL 2005 MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW
25Illust,At-o: 9o Qr,pbdl Laird/-mge--,o
terms of the extent of coordination in various major purchase
categories. It may be progressive in coordinating its sourcing of
capital equipment purchases across its locations but fail to coor-
dinate raw material requirements. Or it may excel at
coordinating
the sourcing of facility support services but not pursue opportu-
nities within other service areas. The challenge is to move from
having pockets of excellence to addressing global opportunities
wherever they exist.
Two primary distinctions separate companies operating at
Level IV and Level V. In companies at Level V, the highest
global
sourcing level, integration and coordination occur not only
among worldwide buying locations but also across functional
groups, including operations, marketing and engineering. This
integration, which often involves the coordination of design and
procurement activities, occurs during the development of new
products and technology as well as during the sourcing of items

or services to fulfill existing demand. In addition, Level V com-
panies focus on more than simply developing global agreements
or contracts; they also work to standardize their supply manage-
ment processes and practices worldwide.
Most participants in our research, and probably most compa-
nies in general, expect to progress toward a more advanced
sourc-
ing level. However, most lack the ability, the willingness or
even
the need to operate at Levels IV and V. For some, a progression
toward Level IV would be a major accomplishment. For others,
particularly smaller and medium-sized companies with limited
geographic reach and capabilities, Level III might be a more
real-
istic option. Part of a company's strategic planning process
should include determining an appropriate sourcing level.
Despite the complexities associated with global sourcing, the
process offers advantages. 4 During the quantitative portion of
our research, respondents evaluated the degree to which they
have realized 16 separate benefits from their sourcing efforts.
Companies that engage in global sourcing realize every benefit
to
a greater extent than companies that merely engage in interna-
tional purchasing. In fact, the average rating for all benefit
areas
was 32% higher for companies that have achieved some level of
global sourcing than for those companies that pursue interna-
tional purchasing. Certain benefits, such as greater sourcing
con-
sistency among locations or better management of total supply
chain inventory, are only available once an organization takes
an

integrated approach to its global strategies and practices.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., an Allentown, Pennsylvania,
company that designs and operates industrial gas and chemical
facilities in dozens of countries, has experienced the benefits of
advanced global sourcing. After three years of experience with
the
process, Air Products has more than 100 global sourcing agree-
ments in place, which are yielding average unit cost savings of
The conclusions presented here are part
of the Global Sourcing Research Project,
an exploratory project that investigated
the development of global sourcing
processes and strategies. This project
included an extensive review of previous
research, information obtained through
site visits to 15 leading companies and
quantitative data collected from execu-
tives responsible for the international
and global activities at 162 different
companies.
The quantitative research relied on
survey data provided by respondents
selected randomly from a database of
supply executives. Researchers intention-
ally selected names from a database
consisting of larger rather than smaller

companies because experience sug-
gested that larger companies are more
likely to pursue the kinds of activities
that were of interest. The average partic-
ipating company had annual sales of
$1.5 billion. Thirty-eight percent of
respondents worked for companies with
annual sales of $500 million or less, 31%
worked for companies with sales of $500
million to $3 billion, 15% worked for
companies with sales of $3 billion to
$10 billion, and 16% worked for compa-
nies with sales over $10 billion.
Of 1,800 surveys forwarded world-
wide, 162 were returned, yielding a 9%
response rate. Some companies elected
not to participate due to their inexperi-
ence with worldwide sourcing activities.
Furthermore, the response rates for sur-
veys sent outside the United States

were low, resulting in a final sample
that contained a large percentage of
U.S. companies. The participants in this
study were primarily large, North Ameri-
can-based multinationals involved
largely in manufacturing. Most respon-
dents (91%) in the final sample were
vice presidents or managers working at
the corporate level rather than at the
division or site level. Represented indus-
tries included industrial products (39%),
consumer products (15%), high technol-
ogy (8%), services (9%), basic materials,
utilities and energy (each at 3%), retail-
ing (1%) and other diversified compa-
nies (19%).
Industry experts who are familiar
with leading-edge practices helped iden-

tify the 15 companies visited during the
field research. Visited companies com-
pete in the chemical, electronic, com-
puter, process control, consumer
products and transportation equipment
industries. Field visits featured face-to-
face interviews with sourcing team
members and leaders, executive steering
committee members, executives and
others closely involved with global sourc-
ing. Site visits provided a level of detail
that was not possible through the analy-
sis of quantitative data.
I About the Research I
One company, with operations in more than 100 countries, has
demonstrated its commitment
to global sourcing by creating a formal position best described

as a sourcing "czar."
20%. Furthermore, the company's worldwide engineering and
procurement centers have better aligned their strategies with
one
another and with the company's business strategy. An added
bonus is that sourcing managers now work with marketing staff
to include expected savings from global agreements when bid-
ding on new business opportunities. Integrated global sourcing
is
helping a company that operates in a mature yet intensely com-
petitive industry gain new market share.
5
The Characteristics of Outstanding Global Sourcing
On the basis of our research findings, we have identified a set
of
features characterizing organizations that are especially
effective at
global sourcing. (See "Characteristics of Global Sourcing
Excel-
lence" p. 30.) The features cluster into seven broad
characteristics:
i Executive commitment to global sourcing

"* Rigorous and well-defined processes
"* Availability of needed resources
"* Integration through information technology
"* Supportive organizational design
* Structured approaches to communication
* Methodologies for measuring savings
Few organizations, if any, demonstrate all the detailed features
pre-
sented here. However, this profile can serve as a benchmark,
allow-
ing executives to compare their company's current capabilities
and
features with best practices in global sourcing.
#1: Executive Commitment to Global Sourcing It's hard to
imagine a
process as complex as global sourcing becoming a reality
without
an executive champion who has the authority and ability to
translate a vision into practice; global sourcing does not migrate
up from the bottom of an organization. Best-practice companies
recognize the importance of a high-level individual who can

develop and communicate a global sourcing vision and is
respon-
sible for its overall success. This individual should also be
respon-
sible for making strategy presentations to the executive commit-
tee and to the board of directors. A leader who has access to the
highest executive levels will help differentiate successful global
efforts from less successful ones.
At companies that are proficient at global sourcing, an execu-
tive steering committee or council is often formed to oversee
the
process. The steering committee at a leading electronics com-
pany, for example, includes the vice president of research, the
vice
president of supply chain management, the corporate controller,
the vice president of marketing and sales and the vice president
of information technology. Each committee member is responsi-
ble for championing a global project that relates to a major pur-
chase category. The CEO, whom the steering committee reports
to regularly, stated that the development of a global sourcing

process was one of his primary initiatives during a recent plan-
ning period. This pronouncement quickly resulted in support for
global sourcing from functional managers and a willingness to
take on steering committee responsibilities.
Another company, which has operations in more than 100
countries, has demonstrated its commitment to global sourcing
by creating a formal position that is best described as a sourcing
"czar." This manager, a well-respected engineer with more than
25 years of experience, works closely with an executive steering
committee to prioritize sourcing opportunities while overseeing
the process. He recruits team members, allocates budget to spe-
cific projects, helps teams establish improvement targets, meets
weekly with project teams and looks for ways to continuously
improve the global sourcing process. He is currently leading an
initiative to develop tools and databases to support better sourc-
ing decision making and consistency at every level and location.
Executive leaders can demonstrate commitment in many
other ways, through both speech and action. They can fund the
development of a well-defined global process; make staff and

budget available to support global sourcing project teams; pro-
mote site and plant-level buy-in for global activities and agree-
ments; and stress the importance of global sourcing to other
groups within the company.
#2: Rigorous and Well-Defined Processes Developing a well-
defined and adhered-to process is a global sourcing best prac-
tice.6 In our research, respondents were asked to compare their
most and least successful global sourcing experience by
consider-
FALL 2005 MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW 27
ing 22 factors. The presence of a well-defined sourcing
approach
or process was found to be the strongest differentiator between
successful and less successful global efforts.
Developing a systematic global sourcing process makes sense
for a number of reasons. It accelerates learning as participants
become familiar and experienced with a defined process. It
"builds in" best practices and knowledge that enhance the likeli-
hood of success. Perhaps most importantly, it allows organiza-
tions to document, measure and continuously improve.
A defined global sourcing process also helps overcome many
of the differences that exist among locations - such as social
cul-

ture and laws, personnel skills and business culture - thereby
aligning participants and practices around the world with the
broader corporate interests.
The global sourcing processes we studied share certain fea-
tures: a widely communicated and understood process that
becomes the foundation for pursuing integrated global sourcing;
the designation of a process owner who has responsibility for
reviewing and improving the process; and "lessons learned" ses-
sions conducted at the end of each project, with results
forwarded
to global team members and leaders. In addition, contracts are
continuously monitored, reviewed and reestablished as required.
By requiring global teams to provide regular updates and to
meet
stringent milestones, the process allows executive leaders to
prac-
tice what Takeuchi and Nonaka term "subtle control."
7
#3: Availability of Needed Resources Various resources can
pro-
mote or interfere with the translation of a global vision into
effective practices.8 The availability of needed resources has
the
potential to separate marginally performing from exceptionally
performing global-sourcing organizations. The most critical
resources usually are access to qualified participants, budgets,
information, time and help from others outside the sourcing
process. Leading companies recognize the importance of these

resources and make them available before global initiatives
even
commence. The executive steering committee at one company,
for example, provides a travel and living budget at the time a
work team is formed. This alleviates the concerns of the com-
pany's functional managers, who had expressed strong
reluctance
to use their budgets to cover global sourcing expenses.
Time is perhaps the most essential resource to commit to
global initiatives, but also the least available, as an earlier
study
has concluded. 9 That study also found that the statistical corre-
lation between time availability and team effectiveness was
higher than for any other resource category. Since most organi-
zations rely on team members who have other responsibilities,
an important role for steering team members involves negotiat-
ing with functional managers to ensure that participants can
commit the necessary time.
One theme that consistently emerges when working with lead-
ing global sourcing companies is the importance of qualified

per-
sonnel. In the quantitative portion of our research, the factor
identified as most important to global sourcing success was
access
to personnel with the right knowledge, skills and abilities.
Respon-
dents ranked a lack of qualified personnel as the most serious of
a
dozen potential problems that could affect global sourcing
success.
The knowledge and skills required for global sourcing differ
dramatically from those required for site-based sourcing, and
that represents a challenging barrier in the short term. Most
companies have created decentralized supply organizations that
are proficient at managing transactions and material flows and
tend to favor familiar supply sources. Global sourcing, however,
requires individuals who can view supply markets from a
worldwide perspective while collaborating across functional
Fiv Leel of Sorcn
The movement from domestic purchasing to integrated global
sourcing can be viewed as a continuum

with five stages. The majority of survey respondents now
practice some form of international purchas-
ing, but most anticipate moving to a global sourcing approach
over the next five years.
Domestic
Purchasing
Only
International International Global Sourcing Global Sourcing
Purchasing Only Purchasing as Strategies Strategies
as Needed Part of Integrated Across Integrated Across
Sourcing Worldwide Worldwide
Strategy Locations Locations and
Functional
to on enrate at a arfticular level INI=1 691 Groupsnf rnmnininc•
nn•r,tinn nr nynor-in
Y 13.4% 21.3% 31.0%
Ilans 7.8% 7.8% 14.3%
d Change -42.0% 63.0% -54.0%
18.1%
15.6%
-14.0%
16.1%
54.5%
'239.0%
boundaries, particu-

larly between engineer-
ing and procurement.
As with any compa-
nywide initiative that
relies on teams, help
from outside the team
is often critical. This
may include legal help
when reviewing con-
tracts, technical help
when evaluating sup-
plier proposals or help
when evaluating supply
sources or collecting
data. A best practice is
to identify those indi-
viduals who must sup-
The use of teams to analyze and propose sourcing strategies
remains a popular and growing
organizational design option, but leaders should keep in mind
the barriers to their use.

port a global initiative before forming a project team. When the
team is formed, people external to the team are identified as "as
needed" resources.
Global sourcing demands an unusual amount and variety of
information, often from diverse and dispersed operating loca-
tions. Needed data include information about existing contracts
and suppliers; incumbent supplier performance and capabilities;
projected demand by commodity and location; capabilities of
potential suppliers, including suppliers in emerging markets
such
as China; and internal customer requirements. A lack of infor-
mation about potential suppliers often results in a reliance on
current suppliers, which may not be the best sourcing option.
#4: Integration Through Information Technology While it seems
obvi-
ous that accessible data and information support analysis on a
global level, the reality is that companies often struggle in this
area. Many companies have grown through mergers and acquisi-
tions, and newly combined units rarely have compatible
contracts,

systems or material-coding schemes. During our research,
respon-
dents rated their ability to aggregate common requirements
across
buying units as an important success factor for global sourcing.
Best-practice companies address these issues by creating global
data warehouses and contract repositories that use companywide
coding schemes for easier aggregation of requirements and by
assigning a commodity or category code to every major item
and
service required in their businesses. This allows efficient access
to
information when analyzing global sourcing opportunities.
Perhaps the most advanced information support system
observed during our research exists at a producer of automated
control systems. The company collects data on every supply
chain
transaction at each operating location. Analysts across the com-
pany can quickly identify worldwide usage requirements by
com-
modity, compare supplier performance across locations, review

any
contracts currently in place and compare actual prices against
con-
tracted prices. This system also validates the savings that are
real-
ized from global sourcing agreements, and the savings are
reported
regularly to the chief financial officer and executive committee.
In addition to data warehouses and repositories, leading com-
panies rely extensively on Web-based systems and intranets to
make global sourcing information widely available within the
company. One company that is noted for its creative use of
infor-
mation technology has placed a wide range of support docu-
ments on its intranet, including an online manual that describes
the company's global sourcing process; a global strategy
develop-
ment template; a contract terms and conditions checklist; a
report that identifies the status of completed, in-process, author-
ized and future global sourcing opportunities; a request for pro-
posal template; and currency risk-management guidelines. The

company has also created a system that allows users at any loca-
tion across the organization to search for approved suppliers. As
an added feature, this system provides advance notification of
any contracts that will expire during the next three to six
months.
#5: Supportive Organizational Design "Organizational design"
is a
broad term that refers to the process of assessing and selecting
the
structure and formal system of communication, division of
labor, coordination, control, authority and responsibility
required to achieve an organization's goals." Executive leaders
should not overlook the important relationship between organi-
zational design and the success of major initiatives, including
global sourcing initiatives.
Businesses that excel at global sourcing often share three orga-
nizational design features. Two of those features - a formal
exec-
utive steering committee to guide the global process and an
executive leader who has accountability for global results - have

been discussed above. A third is extensive reliance on teams to
analyze and propose sourcing strategies.
An earlier study involving 172 U.S. companies examined the
organizational design features that companies rely on when pur-
suing their supply chain objectives.' While only one-fifth of the
design features that respondents were asked to evaluate
involved
teams, team-related features represented three of the seven fea-
tures ranked as the most widely used. The study concluded that
the use of teams remains a popular and growing organizational
design option.
Executive leaders should plan for and use teams selectively,
always keeping in mind the barriers to their use. One barrier
involves relying on part-time team members who have other job
responsibilities. Dual responsibilities often lead to conflict as
members manage time and reporting pressures. Another barrier
involves teams whose members rarely, if ever, meet in person.
Just as global sourcing makes communication among partici-

pants more complicated, it also makes supplier evaluation and
selection decisions more complex. Given the performance
FALL 2005 MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW 29
requirements demanded of global suppliers and the extremely
high cost of switching suppliers after selection, it is not surpris-
ing that survey respondents rated site visits to evaluate supplier
capabilities as an important success factor. One approach is to
use
teams to conduct visits; another relies on international purchas-
Charcterstic of Glba SorigEclec
ing offices to conduct direct evaluations of supplier
capabilities.
These offices, usually staffed by people from the country or
region where the office is located, help identify potential
suppli-
ers, solicit price quotations, conduct site visits, obtain product
samples and support negotiations. International purchasing
While few, if any, companies possess every feature detailed on
this list, these characteristics were identified through qualitative
and
quantitative research about global sourcing best practices.
1. Executive Commitment to Global Sourcing
"* Cross-functional leaders participate on a global sourcing
steering committee or council.
"* A designated executive has the authority to translate a global

vision into reality.
"* Executive leaders work to gain support for global agree-
ments and processes from cross-functional groups and buy-
ing locations.
"* Global sourcing leaders make strategy presentations to the
executive committee and to the board of directors.
"* Executive leaders recruit qualified participants to join global
sourcing project teams.
2. Rigorous and Well-Defined Processes
" A well-defined process is in place that requires participants
to establish goals, meet milestones and report progress to
executives.
"* An executive leader or steering committee, with input from
participants, reviews and proposes process improvements.
"* "Lessons learned" sessions are conducted at the conclusion
of each project, and findings are distributed to worldwide
participants.
"* Global agreements are continuously monitored, reviewed
and reestablished as required.
3. Availability of Needed Resources
"* Executives make critical resources, such as budgets and qual-
ified participants, available to support global initiatives.
"* The process involves individuals who have the ability to take
a global sourcing perspective rather than a local or regional
perspective.

"* Relevant information is accessible to project teams and par-
ticipants.
4. Integration Through Information Technology
"* Data warehouses provide access to required data and infor-
mation on a real-time basis.
"* A companywide intranet provides access to global sourcing
support documents, guidelines, templates and progress
updates.
" Contract repositories store global agreements and provide
warning of expiring agreements.
5. Supportive Organizational Design
"* A formal executive steering committee or council oversees
the global sourcing process, including the identification of
global sourcing opportunities.
"* Cross-functional project teams are responsible for the
detailed analysis of global opportunities and the develop-
ment of sourcing agreements.
"* Organizational design includes the separation of strategic
activities, such as global sourcing, and operational activities,
such as the routine reordering of material.
"* International purchasing offices support global sourcing
requirements.
"* Sourcing support personnel are (1) located near technical
and marketing personnel during new product development
projects and (2) linked organizationally to the appropriate

global sourcing team.
6. Structured Approaches to Communication
"* Project teams meet regularly, either face-to-face or electroni-
cally, to coordinate efforts.
"* Strategy review and coordination sessions ensure under-
standing of global initiatives and buy-in for them.
"* Project teams regularly report progress to executive leaders.
"* Advanced communication and coordination tools are avail-
able, including videoconferencing and Web-based collabora-
tion tools.
" Project information and updates are posted on a company
intranet.
7. Methodologies for Measuring Savings
"* Finance representatives agree on methods of validating sav-
ings from global initiatives.
"* Global sourcing participants meet regularly with executive
leaders to review savings from existing agreements and
expected savings from in-process activities.
" Measurement systems support the calculation of
- Companywide savings realized and expected to be real-
ized from global agreements
- The impact that sourcing initiatives have on corporate
financial measures (e.g., return on assets)
- The return on investment for individual projects

- The impact that global suppliers have on buying location
performance indicators
offices also help with the many operational issues that arise
after
a supplier selection decision. Organizations that are committed
to global sourcing should seriously consider making interna-
tional purchasing offices part of their structure.
#6: Structured Approaches to Communication Participants in
global
sourcing initiatives are often located around the world, making
real-time and face-to-face interaction difficult. Furthermore,
participants may speak various languages and adhere to
different
business practices, cultures and laws. When research
participants
identified the factors most critical to worldwide sourcing
success,
a well-established approach to communication and coordination
was highly rated.

Leading companies rely on various methods to manage their
communication requirements, such as regular strategy review
meetings, training sessions involving team members from each
site or region and regular project updates reported through an
intranet. A common approach for coordinating team efforts is to
rely on scheduled conference calls, usually on a weekly basis.
Other widely used options include videoconferencing and Web-
based meeting tools.
Leading companies also commit the time and budget to con-
duct strategy review and coordination sessions, another highly
rated success factor according to survey respondents. These
meet-
ings, often featuring face-to-face interaction, provide an
opportu-
nity for managers to better understand an organization's global
strategies. Review sessions also reduce redundancy and
misunder-
standing among global participants and worldwide locations.
#7: Methodologies for Measuring Savings A frustration often
voiced
during field interviews was an inability to articulate or validate

the
savings derived from global sourcing agreements. A vice
president
at a top consumer products company said that one of his group's
greatest failures has been an inability to validate the savings
from
global sourcing and confirm its value. This failure is in part due
to
a lack of interest from the finance department in evaluating the
savings realized from global agreements. This company's
inability
to document savings has resulted in some of its managers
viewing
global sourcing as an expense rather than an investment.
Unfortunately, quantifying and validating the direct benefits
of globalization, particularly in areas such as better inventory
management or increased process consistency, is not an easy
task.
Best-practice companies have the capability to validate unit cost
savings from global activities and report them, usually to execu-
tive and site-based managers. Validation usually involves a

finance group verifying that actual prices are lower than a prior
base price or comparing actual price changes to market price
changes. The producer of automated control systems mentioned
earlier had the most advanced validation system observed
during
our research. To identify unit cost savings across the organiza-
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tion, the company's system compares current prices paid against
the last price paid during the previous year, which is considered
the base price for the current year. The finance department has
agreed that the system is reporting actual savings that should be
forwarded directly to executive management.
While the ability to measure unit cost savings from worldwide
sourcing is certainly desirable, total cost savings from global
sourcing are never equal to unit cost savings. In fact,
respondents
in our survey estimated that one-quarter of unit cost savings
achieved through global sourcing are consumed by the added
complexities and costs associated with international
transactions.
Unfortunately, few companies currently have systems that accu-
rately capture the total costs associated with worldwide buying.
We expect that organizations that are serious about global
sourc-
ing will develop measurement systems that look beyond unit
cost.
Currently, more progressive companies calculate the impact
that global sourcing savings have on measures that capture the
attention of executive leaders, such as return on assets. These
companies also show how savings from global sourcing agree-
ments affect the financial performance indicators at individual
sites. This helps create buy-in to the process from site locations,
which is a critical success factor. Additionally, some companies
incorporate current and expected global savings when calculat-
ing their financial projections.

Best-practice companies use measurement to promote compa-
nywide process consistency. Instead of reinventing a
methodology
for evaluating potential suppliers, buying locations can use
assess-
ment criteria and measures that are consistent across a
company,
with adaptation as required. The performance of incumbent sup-
pliers also can be evaluated with a companywide scorecard that
includes a defined measurement process and metrics.
Looking Ahead
Executive leaders should view global sourcing as a continuously
evolving strategy area and process that, if managed and sup-
ported properly, should provide a steady stream of benefits.
Interviews with sourcing executives reveal that they plan to
enhance and expand their global sourcing practices across a
number of important areas. In particular, many sourcing leaders
recognize the need to accelerate the development of a global
rather than local or regional view of the supply network. Other
needed enhancements include developing a set of global per-
formance measures, establishing compatible information
systems
across the value chain and pursuing worldwide consistency in
different sourcing processes, such as supplier evaluation and
development. Leading companies also expect their global efforts
to promote even greater integration between marketing, engi-
neering and sourcing groups.
Looking across many industries reveals something they each
have in common: The pressure to improve is severe and
relentless.
The companies that succeed will be the ones that have learned
how to leverage and coordinate their activities on a worldwide
basis. For many, integrated global sourcing may offer the best

opportunity to achieve the kinds of performance breakthroughs
required in highly competitive industries. Realizing these break-
throughs, however, demands a thorough understanding of what
an effective global organization looks like. And it requires
execu-
tive leaders who can define, support and put into place the prac-
tices that translate a global vision into a global reality.
REFERENCES
1. A.C. Samli, J.M. Browning and C. Busbia, "The Status of
Global
Sourcing as a Critical Tool of Strategic Planning," Journal of
Business
Research 43, no. 3 (1998): 177-187.
2. The continuum presented in this diagram has its roots in
research
performed in the early 1990s. See R.M. Monczka and R.J. Trent,
"Global Sourcing: A Development Approach," International
Journal of
Purchasing and Materials Management 27 (spring 1991): 2-8.
3. For a discussion of specific topics related to international
purchas-
ing, see M.S. Alguire, C.R. Frear and L.E. Metcalf, "An
Examination of
the Determinants of Global Sourcing Strategy," Journal of
Business
and Industrial Marketing 9, no. 2 (1994): 62-74; U. Arnold,
"Global
Sourcing: An Indispensable Element in Worldwide
Competition," Man-
agement International Review 29, no. 4 (1989): 14-28; L.M.
Birou and
S.E. Fawcett, "International Purchasing: Benefits,

Requirements, and
Challenges," International Journal of Purchasing and Materials
Man-
agement 29 (spring 1993): 27-38; P.R. Murphy and J.M. Daley,
"Logis-
tics Issues in International Sourcing: An Exploratory Study,"
International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management
30
(summer 1994): 22-27.
4. For a detailed discussion of the differences between
companies that
pursue international purchasing and those that pursue global
sourcing,
see R.J. Trent and R.M. Monczka, "International Purchasing and
Global Sourcing - What Are the Differences?" Journal of Supply
Chain Management 39, no. 4 (2003): 26-38.
5. Authors' interviews with managers at the company.
6. For a more detailed description of a leading company's global
sourcing process, see R.J. Trent and R.M. Monczka, "Pursuing
Com-
petitive Advantage Through Integrated Global Sourcing,"
Academy of
Management Executive 16, no. 2 (2002): 66-80.
7. H. Takeuchi and I. Nonaka, "The New New Product
Development
Game," Harvard Business Review 64 (January-February 1986):
137-146.
8. L.H. Peters and E.J. O'Connor, "Situational Constraints and
Work
Outcomes: The Influences of a Frequently Overlooked
Construct,"

Academy of Management Review 5 (1980): 391-397.
9. R.M. Monczka and R.J. Trent, "Cross-Functional Sourcing
Team
Effectiveness," (Tempe, Arizona: Center for Advanced
Purchasing
Studies, 1993).
10. D. Hellriegel, J.W. Slocum and R.W. Woodman,
"Organizational
Behavior" (Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College
Publishing, 2001),
474.
11. R.J. Trent, "The Use of Organizational Design Features in
Pur-
chasing and Supply Management," Journal of Supply Chain
Manage-
ment 40, no. 3 (2004): 4-18.
Reprint 47108. For ordering information, seepage 1.
Copyright © Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005. All
rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
TITLE: Achieving Excellence In Global Sourcing
SOURCE: MIT Sloan Manage Rev 47 no1 Fall 2005
WN: 0528807228011
The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article

and it
is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this
article in
violation of the copyright is prohibited. To contact the
publisher:
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Copyright 1982-2005 The H.W. Wilson Company. All rights
reserved.
CJ 316 – Research Methods in Criminal Justice
Component #3 – Research Design/Conclusion
Due by midnight on Saturday, February 24, 2018
Here you will explain the design for your proposed research.
There are 3 elements to this section.
1. Hypothesis- after your literature review and problem
statement you should have a clear thesis question
that you are intending to answer. This should be your first
sentence under this section backed up by a
few supporting details that illustrates this claim.
a. Example: Community orientated polices has been a major
contributor for decreasing crime in
inner cities. This fact has been cited throughout the literature
over the years and has been seen as

an effective strategy (Please add more details, this is just an
example).
b. Side note: You should have around 5 sentences, one stating
your hypothesis/ thesis question, and
the other sentences should involve supporting details about your
hypothesis.
2. Operationalization- Please discuss the variables that you will
be using in your study. Each study should
contain a dependent and independent variable. In addition if you
chose to use a theory to explain your
thesis question then please explain why your chose that theory.
a. Example: crime rate depends on community policing
practices. The crime rate is the dependent
variable and community policing is the independent variable.
b. In addition, please include any issues of Validity, Reliability,
or Ethics that pertain to your
operationalizing. Each of these elements should be broken off
into separate paragraphs.
3. Research design/ Data and Methods- please describe your
proposed research design. This should
include:
• The units of analysis
• Sampling frame

• Sampling procedure
• Sample size
• Methods of collection
Example:
With the evolution of the criminal justice system and its
continued reliance on technology, the electronic
monitoring system is a safer and more effective way to keep
track of criminals and reduce the recidivism of
the probationers. With probation officers under increasing
caseloads and having to keep track of more and
more probationers, the people on probation are followed less
and have less supervision while on probation.
This gives the probationers the opportunity to break their rules
with a less likely chance that the overworked
officer will catch them. The ankle electronic monitoring system
helps the officer keep track of more cases
easier and track the probationers more closely.
There are a few variables that are part of the electronic
monitoring research. The independent variable of
the research is the electronic monitoring devices and the
dependent variable is the reduction of recidivism.
The reduction of recidivism directly relates to the use of the

ankle monitoring device. With the ankle
monitor, it convinces the probationer to stick to his clean ways
because the probation officer will be notified
of the user’s actions. Without the electronic monitoring device
the people on probation could be tempted to
break their rules because the officer is overworked and sees
them less.
There are a few threats to the internal validity of this research.
The first threat is history, unknown
external events such as unexpected visits from old friends who
are against the probation rules, this would
cause them to break their probation and go back to jail. Another
threat is instrumentation, the constant
upgrade of ankle monitoring devices and the wide variety
available to the probation officers can cause a
reliability issue in the tracking of the probationers. A third
threat is the selection biases; this is a problem
because there is a higher likelihood that rich, white people will
be selected for the use of the monitoring
system. These people are less likely to recidivate due to their
social status.
There is construct validity threats as well. With this research it
has to be sure that the ankle monitoring

devices are actually the things that are reducing recidivism.
There could be other things that could cause a
reduction in recidivism, such as a group of individuals that
made a mistake once, or an over active probation
officer could keep track of the probationers so well that they
have no chance to break their probation.
Reliability can become an issue in this research. When
researching you want to make sure that the
results that are produced can yield the same result if the
experiment is done over and over in different areas.
When gathering information on whether the electronic ankle
monitoring devices actually affect the
recidivism of probationers the data needs to be reliable. The
way to avoid the reliability issues in this
experiment is to use interrater reliability. This way the results
could be compared to other results gathered
by other researchers to see if the data is reliable. Also, the test-
retest method could be applied to make sure
that the data gathered is reliable and accurate.
The research being done dose have some ethical considerations
to be dealt with. First, since it is a
research project it would have to be cleared by the Institutional
Review Board. They would make sure that

there were no issues with the project. Some issues would be that
the people being studied would be
considered special populations and thus would require informed
consent before starting the study. Another
ethical problem that could occur is asking them about what they
do on probation and trying to get the
information from them without tricking or deceiving them. If
the subjects are deceived then the data will not
be reliable.
In the data and methods section of the research design, the units
of analysis would be individuals. The
thing that is being studied are probationers, and they are people
that are the same. The sampling procedure
would be a disproportionate stratified sampling. This is the
procedure for this research because not everyone
is on probation, so it is not something common or a
representative of the population. The people for the
research have to be chosen from select cases where the people
are on probation.
The sample size of this research proposal would hopefully be
bigger than smaller. Other research on this
topic has had over fifty thousand people in their research. The
one that is proposed would have about ten
thousand participants in it. This is smaller than most of the

other sample sizes so there would be less
spurious data. But, it will have enough participants that the data
will not be skewed in one way or another.
With the methods of collection, the data would be collected
through a mostly qualitative survey. This form
of collection would be used because trying to discover whether
the electronic ankle monitoring device
actually influences people not to break their probation and
actually decrease recidivism wouldn’t require
numerical data. A longitudinal study would also be conducted
during this study; a survey would be
conducted just as the people got onto probation and when they
received the ankle monitoring system. Then
another survey would be presented to the subjects at the end of
their probation period to see the results.
There are some consequences to using this type of sample.
Using a smaller sample size can sometimes
be more accurate but has a tendency to more easily be skewed
by outliers; it can also have a higher sampling
error. A larger sample size on the other hand tends to average
out the outliers and creates a larger picture
that dose not really show the real data. Using a cross sectional
study gives a real in depth view of the
subjects during one point in time, but times always change so

the data produced can quickly become
obsolete. The longitudinal study covers the subjects over a
longer period of time so it does not become old
as quickly but does not go into as much depth as the other one
dose. Lastly, using an experiment can cause
unexpected problem among the subjects, such as the Stanford
prison experiment where the subjects ended
up suffering mental problems, causing the experiment to end
quickly. A control on the other hand can
produce results that are false. Placebos can trick people into
thinking that they are actually feeling the results
the real drug or treatment were supposed to produce.
For the surveys given to the participants, it would be broken up
into two different surveys. The first
survey would be given at the start of their probation. It would
ask on whether they had the electronic ankle
monitor as part of their probation, how long their probation is
and other questions along those lines. The
second survey would be sent to the house of the person on
probation and ask whether they felt it influenced
them to not break probation, if they thought about breaking
their probation, and whether they finished their

probation without breaking any of the rules. Assistants and
sending the surveys with a return envelope and
postage will be the methods of handing out and collecting the
surveys for this research. The positives of this
process are that the subjects don’t have to gather at a certain
place to take the survey and it is easier for
them. But, at the same time this does not make the survey seem
important and they could not fill it out. Also
the people on probation could lie on the survey skewing the
results. This format was chosen due to its easy
style to answer for the participants and would show whether the
electronic ankle monitoring devices
actually have an influence on the recidivism of the users.
The intended results from this research project would show that
the use of electronic ankle monitoring
devices used in probation actually reduces recidivism and makes
the probation officers job easier. The
device convinces the wearer that if they were to try and run
away from their sentence or to go into areas that
are off limits, the probation officer would quickly learn of it
and they would break their rules of probation
and head back to jail. With this success of reduced recidivism,
the monitoring device should be more widely
used than the amount it is now. It could help cut back crimes

and pull back the prison population which is
stressing our corrections area. The thought of someone watching
them during their probation causes the
subjects to change their habits for the better, so that by the time
they are free people their bad habits have
been changed to ones that won’t send them back to prison.
Conclusion
Please explain your intended results and the significance for
developing this study.
Running head: SOLITARY CONFINEMENT 1
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT 2

Solitary confinement is not effective nor does it benefit an
individual.
There are more than 800,000 inmates in solitary confinement
across the US prisons. Although it is slated as a critical method
towards curbing violence in the prisons, the opposite is true
since it is increases the number of violent behaviors in prisons.
The method is not effective since it reduces the mental
capabilities of an individual making them hypersensitive to
light, sights and sounds that in turn make the inmates to be
paranoid and more prone to violence. The prison system is
meant to be a rehabilitation center where prisoners are molded
to be integrated as better people in the society (Shames, 2015).
However, the increased number of inmates in the US prison
system only increases the level of recidivism and distress
among the inmates within the prison system. It is therefore,
imperative to make an analysis of the prison system and
compound the different attributes that are present in the prison
system to assess the effectiveness of the prison systems.
Solitary confinement is a cruel and ineffective method in the
criminal justice system and turns out to be counterproductive in
rehabilitating the inmates.
The US Supreme Court in 1890 indicated that solitary
confinement rendered the prisoner to be semi-fatuous after even
a small period of time in solitary. The court was ruling on a
case where a man had murdered his wife indicating that solitary
confinement was the main cause for the deteriorating mental
behaviors indicated in the inmate (Bennion, 2015). The US has
since increased the number of inmates in solitary confinement
which increased in the 1980s.
Statistics indicate that more than half of the suicides in prisons
occur in solitary confinement or among prisoners in isolation
(Bennion, 2015). It is even more distressing with most of the
prisoners in confinement being convicted for immigration
offences or being protected from violence and rape from others
in prisons. The problem is even more compounded with

prisoners spending even a decade in solitary confinement within
the prisons indicating the critical problem in the society.
The research will focus on reports within the criminal justice
system to assess the different attributes that are indicated in the
society. The report compounds the main problems that need to
be addressed and create a proper functional process aimed at
articulating the main tools of change in the systems
accordingly.
References
Bennion, E. (2015). Banning the bing: Why extreme solitary
confinement is cruel and far too usual punishment. Ind. LJ, 90,
741.
Shames, A. (2015). Solitary confinement: Common
misconceptions and emerging safe alternatives. Vera Institute.
1
Running head: SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
2

According to Bennion (2015), solitary confinement can take a
severe and permanent toll on the mental and emotional health of
the inmates. Research has indicated that those inmates taken to
solitary swiftly become paranoid, hypersensitive to sounds and
light, become withdrawn, more prone to hallucinations and
violence. At the University of California, professor Santa Cruz,
has evidence which indicate that people who did not have
previous history of mental illness, who after prolonged exposure
to confinement, developed paranoid psychosis. According to
Umphres (2017), the issue is more serious for adolescents,
whose brains are still developing and this can culminate into
suicidal cases. In prison, almost half of the suicides in prisons
occur in isolation cells. Morgan et al (2017), posit that human
beings are social beings, therefore, when they are put in
isolation, this leads to hopelessness, anxiety, and anger. Terry
Kupers, a psychologist indicates that confinement destroys
individuals as it leads to depression, anxiety, cognitive
disturbances, anger, perceptual distortions, self-harm, psychosis
and paranoia. According to Reiter (2017), in California, inmates
who are in confinement are 33 times more probable to commit
suicide in comparison to inmates from other states.
According to Reiter (2017), prisoners in solitary confinement
experience physiological symptoms despite the duration they
spent in solitary. Prisoners in isolation report signs identical to
those of hypertension, and they include trembling, chronic
headaches, extreme dizziness, sweaty palms and heart
palpitations. Inmates after being subjected to isolation
experience trouble with their digestion and eating habits, more
so in the initial three months of confinement. Drastic weight
loss and lack of appetite goes hand in hand with irregular
digestion leading to diarrhea. According to Gallagher (2014),
those prisoners in confinement may experience insomnia or
difficulty in breathing. Prisoners may also experience chronic
lethargy.
Some physical effects of confinement are as a result of
psychological stress, while other psychological effects are as a

result of the physical condition of confinement. For instance,
prisoners complain of muscle pain and abdominal pains, which
may be as a result of prolonged inactivity. According to Morgan
et al (2017), research has indicated that the undesirable effects
of solitary isolation are as a result of the depravation of
sensory. Prisoners who are confined may experience augmented
oversensitivity to stimuli, which is normal like the noise made
by closing doors. Hence, this can lead to sleeping problems.
Hence, the increased probability that prisoners will become
oversensitive to stimuli becomes a problem when they return to
the general prison population (Reiter, 2017). The subsequent
visits to solitary can worsen the situation and hence aggravate
the already existing symptoms, and also culminate into new
psychological effects.
Logan et al (2017), state that solitary makes prisoners more
dangerous. Solitary endangers the lives of the prisoners.
Prisoners who are subjected to confinement have been found to
undertake self-mutilation at higher rates than those prisoners in
the general population. Suicide has also been another major
concern. A study done in the prison system of California
indicated that between 1999 and 2004, solitary confinement led
to nearly half of the suicides encountered in prisons. A study
which was done in 1995 in the federal prison system, uncovered
that 63% of suicides took place in those prisoners who were
under solitary confinement (Morgan et al, 2017). Prisoners who
are in solitary confinement are so depressed and the only way
out is suicide. This is because such inmates do not have any
hope of getting out of solitary and they therefore see solace in
suicide.
Solitary confinement makes it difficult for prisoners to adjust
because they lose the capacity to control or initiate their own
behavior or even to put in order, their own lives. This is
attributed to the loss of control that inmates have over their
daily lives in solitary. Those inmates in solitary commence

losing the ability to initiate action of any kind (Umphres, 2017).
This results in lethargy, chronic apathy, despair and depression.
In dire cases, prisoners cease to behave completely. Prisoners
once out of solitary, do not have the ability to communicate
with others. They literally do not leave their cells, and this is a
sign of social atrophy. The anxiety that revolves around social
interaction can be very problematic and disabling for those who
leave solitary confinement (Morgan et al, 2017).
Prisoners, who encounter solitary confinement, reflect problems
which are similar to motor problems, and major disruptions of
experience. Reiter (2017) looks into the phenomenology, which
is linked to solitary confinement, and he relates this to the act
of being unhinged. Inmates in solitary confinement tend to see
things that are non-existent. Their body senses may even fail as
they may cease to feel any pain and they do not know when
others are harming them or when they are harming others.
Solitary confinement leads to impaired memory, distort of time,
difficulty in concentration and severe boredom. According to
Gallagher (2014), how and whether confinement destroys people
depends on the circumstances and duration and the individual
character of the inmate. However, most inmates suffer from
mental illness and solitary confinement interferes with the
mysteries of the brain, which is much worse than any form of
body torture. Solitary confinement has the negative effect of
derealization, which indicates that the prisoners downplay their
relation to the world. Therefore, the object boundaries turn out
to be uncertain. Solitary confinement clearly downplays the
capability to sustain meaning. According to Gallagher (2014),
women who experience solitary confinement have the
possibility of disappearing into non-existence or losing oneself.
This is because the experience of solitary confinement
undermines the inter-subjective relationality hence culminating
into self-destruction.
Regardless of the negativity associated with solitary
confinement, it was worked positively in reforming the behavior
of prisoners. This is because prisoners fear what solitary does to

an individual and they therefore try and avoid actions that will
land them into solitary. Incidences between inmates are reduced
and also the unruly behavior of inmates is also mitigated
(Gallagher, 2014). In addition, inmates give their ordeals of
what transpires in solitary confinement which improves the
behavior of other inmates to avoid going to solitary
confinement. Nevertheless, the effects of solitary confinement
cannot be ignored. Solitary confinement changes people by
affecting them psychologically and physiologically. People tend
to suffer from various mental illnesses like paranoid psychosis.
Prisoners also experience insomnia or difficulty in sleeping.
They may also experience lack of appetite, leading to weight
loss and stomach problems. People tend to lose themselves and
even forget their personality and they may therefore be a danger
to themselves and to others (Bennion, 2015). They may inflict
bodily harm or even lead to the incidences of suicide.
Reference:
Bennion, E. (2015). Banning the bing: Why extreme solitary
confinement is cruel and far too usual punishment. Ind. LJ, 90,
741. Retrieved from
https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?arti
cle=11149&context=ilj
Gallagher, S. (2014). The cruel and unusual phenomenology of
solitary confinement. Front Psychol, 5, 585. doi:
10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00585
Logan, M. W., et al (2017). Correctional shorthands: Focal
concerns and the decision to administer solitary confinement.
Journal of Criminal Justice, 5290-100.
doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2017.08.007
Morgan, R. D., et al. (2017). Questioning solitary confinement:
is administrative segregation as bad as alleged?. Corrections
Today, (5), 18. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320179584_Questioni
ng_solitary_confinement_Is_administrative_segregation_as_bad
_as_alleged

Reiter, K. (2017). Response: retaking the archive of knowledge
about solitary confinement. Social Justice, (4), 118. Retrieved
from
https://search.proquest.com/openview/b09ba90e144a6ed6533d8
4fb1d2c9aa1/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=48122
Umphres, E. (2017). Solitary Confinement: An Unethical Denial
of Meaningful Due Process. Georgetown Journal of Legal
Ethics, (4). 1057. Retrieved from
http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/g
eojlege30&div=55&id=&page=
Each article review must use the following outline (use a
heading for each bullet point): Comment by Haley Robinson: I
just need you to do the highlighted part this time!
· Cite the article (use same format as bibliography at the end of
the textbook chapters)
· Provide a brief summary/overview of the article (2-4
paragraphs)
<note: the two sections above are limited to one page>
· Was this paper peer reviewed or editorially reviewed? How
was this determined (include a website url if appropriate).
(Peer reviewed papers are received by editors and sent out to
usually two or more people who provide a critique of the article
which informs the editor’s decision as to whether it should be
accepted for publication. Editorially reviewed papers are only
reviewed by the editor.) One way you can determine if an
article is peer reviewed or editorially reviewed is to look up the
publication’s website and look for a section on “information for
authors/contributors.” They will usually specify in that section
how manuscripts are reviewed for possible publication. You
should assume an article was editorially reviewed unless you
have specific evidence that it was peer reviewed.
· Main theme:
· What is the main takeaway from the article? What specifically
did you learn?
· Research method/support:

· How did the author(s) come to their conclusion(s)? (e.g.
personal experience/opinion, case/multi-case analysis, survey-
based research, computer simulation, other?)
· Discuss the particulars of the methodology. For example, if
personal experience/opinion, discuss the author(s) qualifications
(education, experience, etc). If case/multi-case, discuss the
cases. If survey-based, what was the sample, how many surveys
were sent out, how many returned, how was the survey
instrument developed, etc.
· Critically discuss the validity of the author(s) findings based
on the rigor of their methodological approach and execution.
Did the authors adequately support their findings? Can the
findings be trusted? How generalizable are the findings? Is
there any reason to suspect a bias on the part of the author?
Types of articles.
At least four of the articles must be peer-reviewed articles. No
more than two of the articles can be from magazine type sources
(e.g. Newsweek, Forbes, etc.; note these articles are almost
always editorially reviewed). There are some very highly
regarded editorially reviewed business publications such as
Harvard Business Review, California Management Review,
Sloan Management Review, and Business Horizons just to name
a few.
Finding articles should begin with an online search using
specific keywords related to your theme. There is a high
likelihood you can get a full text copy of the article using the
MGA Library’s online search function. If it is not available
immediately, it can be requested through inter-library loan. A
representative from the library will be making a presentation on
using the system at the beginning of the second night of class.
Keep in mind that in many publications, authors cite their
sources at the end of their article. Thus, another source for
articles is the reference lists at the end of many of the articles

that you read.
Format.
Each review should be single spaced, 12 point, Times Roman
font. Each review (including all six sections) is limited to a
maximum of three pages.

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