Dr. Wendy Crossman

Supply chain resiliency was thrust into the spotlight during the pandemic — and with the war in Ukraine and ongoing worldwide economic pressures, it will remain a topic of considerable attention from Congress and the Pentagon. In the following op-ed, Josh Boehm and Wendy Crossman, two executives from Spirit AeroSystems, layout three steps the primes and the Pentagon should take to help lower-tier suppliers.

Researchers have been studying the effects of motivation on employee productivity to determine the factors that increase employee performance and increase business growth. The purpose of this study was to explore what practices are necessary for aerospace leaders to motivate supply chain professionals. A phenomenological study was developed using 11 questions to conduct face-to-face interviews with 20 supply chain professionals from an aerospace company in south-central Kansas. The… Show more

Researchers have been studying the effects of motivation on employee productivity to determine the factors that increase employee performance and increase business growth. The purpose of this study was to explore what practices are necessary for aerospace leaders to motivate supply chain professionals. A phenomenological study was developed using 11 questions to conduct face-to-face interviews with 20 supply chain professionals from an aerospace company in south-central Kansas. The self-determination theory (SDT) was used to understand the motivation of individuals in the work setting; the expectancy theory was used to view the main theme of the study. Data were analyzed using a process of constant comparison to identify common themes related to employee motivation. After the themes were identified, the data were coded to further identify specific issues of importance to participants. The main themes included (a) manager and employee communication, (b) intrinsic motivators that can include the ability to make decisions on behalf of the company, (c) extrinsic motivators that may include bonuses, and (d) management action that impacted the motivation of supply chain professionals. These findings may aid leaders at an aerospace company in south-central Kansas to develop practices to motivate supply chain professionals, which may positively affect the business goals of the company. The development of practices to improve motivation in supply chain professionals in south-central Kansas may lead supply chain professionals to impact social change through sourcing decisions, which include ecologically-friendly packaging and supply chain professionals developing ways to reduce waste within the supply chain. Show less