PROPOSED METHODOLOGY FOR PROCESS IMPROVEMENT AT OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT TEAM TRAVEL OPERATIONS

摘要

Oregon State University (OSU) Athletic Department oversees 18 sports units, each varying in terms of technical and cultural aspects. Team travel arrangement methods within OSU Athletic Department lack standardization between sports units. Combined with a tight budget, this can lead to travel process sacrifices in comfort, time, safety, and overall well-being. The lack of standardized processes oftentimes leads to inconsistencies when choosing mode of transport and lodging, and high levels of variability with regards to cost and record keeping. The outcome of this paper is the FIR (Familiarization, Intervention, and Refinement) methodology to assist OSU Athletic Department in improving current team travel operations. The methodology follows the philosophy of Critical Systems Thinking and its commitments of critical awareness, improvement and pluralism. Conflict and incommensurable variabilities between sports units will be addressed by considering the perspectives of all stakeholders and seeking a consensus prior to implementation. This research is relevant to the Engineering Management community as it will create a practical implementation of Critical Systems Thinking within a sports organization.