Teaching operations management using empathetic discourse, lessons learned from Soft Systems Methodology

Abstract

This study is an experiential pedagogical account of transferring the use of empathetic discourse and Soft Systems Methodology (SSM to Operations Management (OM) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) teaching and learning. Lessons learnt from an Effective Management Consultancy module at a UK University, have been used to inform the teaching of a Business Operations Excellence module. Empathy has been used to understand some of the tools and methods used in this module. Recommendations are developed from this approach to supplement OM and SCM teaching through various methods such as stakeholder analysis, case study analysis, and empathic discourse. Empathy in SSM and OM can help with understanding complex ambiguous human centric problems.