Ann Arbor, Michigan -- The 7th annual Global Operations Conference held on Nov. 14-15, 2013 at the Ross School of Business gave 300 attendees the tools they’ll need for “Navigating the New Normal” of operations management in today’s world. High-level economists and leading industry experts shared their knowledge on everything from value chain flexibility and analytics to risk management and the changing workplace.

The GOC is an interactive exchange of the latest ideas in management innovation that is organized by students from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations. Aimed at students, academicians, and industry leaders involved in global operations, the conference features speakers and panel discussions that deliver powerful messages based on real world experiences and insight.

View photos here.

This year’s keynote address by Maria de Lourdes Dieck Assad, Ph.D. offered an international perspective of the world economy and where it is headed. Dr. Dieck Assad said that the United States’ economy Maria de Lourdes Dieck Assad, Ph.D is still the bellwether for economic recovery around the world. “The rest of the world sees the U.S. as heaven for investments,” she said.

The 2013 Conference panel discussions included:

New Risks – a discussion of how cyber threats, protection of intellectual property and the proliferation of counterfeit goods present challenges in a global market. The concept of risk prevention was at the center of the discussion.

Outsourcing, Offshoring and Insourcing Decision – As the changes in global economy and labor market become more clear, companies are reexamining the way they do business. This panel highlighted the opportunities represented by outsourcing strategies as well as the opportunities of insourcing.

The New Office – whether it’s work-from-home or in a cubicle, this discussion explored new trends and attitudes toward telecommuting and collaborative workspaces and how they affect productivity and employee happiness. Studies show that working from home is not necessarily the best option for employees or employers, according to workspace analysts.

Big Data & Analytics – an exploration of the ways companies are using recording and storage technology to improve their business. Experts said that by mining the insights that vast amounts of “big data” contain, companies can increase their effectiveness.

Flexibility and Responsiveness in the Value Chain -- a discussion on the need for the responsiveness and agility needed to keep up with today’s consumer demand. Disruption of the status quo could be driving companies to improved competitiveness, according to industry leaders.

To close the event, Michael Finney, president and chief executive officer of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation offered a Michigan perspective of the economy.

“The conference was a great success. Our keynotes highlighted different aspects of the “New Normal” with Dan Carroll shedding light on the environmental and ethical considerations concerning rare earth minerals, Dr. Maria de Lourdes Dieck-Assad speaking on the global economy and what it means for manufacturing, and ending with Michael Finney who brought the story back to Michigan and spoke about what Michigan is doing to make it more competitive for manufacturing,” said Bonnie Chang, MBA ’14 and a GOC co-chair. She and co-chair Aren Turpening headed up a team of 14 students who helped make the event happen, with the help of Tauber and several key sponsors.

Business Case Competition Results

This year, Alcoa sponsored the annual Global Operations Case Competition to challenge business and operations students around the nation to design and pitch a product to group of investors. The winners were the Penn State University team of David Benton, Andrew Driscoll, Iqbal Aasim, Ankit Mahajan and Tatiana Kuzmenko.

The 2013 GOC was made possible by the support of the following corporate sponsors:

• Platinum: Con-Way Freight
• Gold: Steelcase, 3M, Eaton
• Silver: Cisco, Dell, Infosys, Microsoft
• Reception Sponsor: BorgWarner
• Case Competition Sponsor: Alcoa

Written by Nancy Davis, Independent Writer